Strauser

We sent the video off to Andy Strauser in Los Angeles and then I took off for Denver.

Cake Boss Buddy Valastro 2010

Then, the most amazing thing happened: The day before the Challenge, Strauser called to tell me that we had already been green-lit.

Cake Boss Buddy Valastro 2010

Andy Strauser, director of Talent Development and Casting at Discovery, the man who discovered me.

Cake Boss Buddy Valastro 2010

Beyond those specific data points, Strauser echoed comments that had been made earlier in the presentation by EA Tiburon's general manager Phil Holt: The next Madden needed to reflect and react to the changing habits of its players.

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The takeaway, Strauser said, is a ton of depth in Madden that simply isn't being surfaced to the player.

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Sue Strauser remembers a rice casserole called "Shipwreck" she'd like to find again.

Memphis Commercial Appeal Stories 2010

Sue Strauser remembers a rice casserole called "Shipwreck" she'd like to find again.

Memphis Commercial Appeal Stories 2010

- Strauser also showed a graph comparing real-life NFL passing and rushing statistics from this season compared with online statistics from players in Madden NFL 10.

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Strauser said the Madden team now collects somewhere in the neighborhood of 173 million data instances every day from Madden 10 players, which can result in interesting data nuggets like this:

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While Strauser didn't go into detail, he did mention three key words that the team at EA Tiburon is focusing on for the game: simpler, quicker, and deeper.

GameSpot's News, Screenshots, Movies, Reviews, Previews, Downloads, and Features 2010