Colorado State University Athletics
Photo by: CSU Athletics Communications
Oldenburg delivers for his college team
8/13/2019 4:00:00 PM | Football
Current Rams enjoy former standout's work on Madden NFL 20
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Marvin Kinsey Jr. had to give it a crack the first chance he had.
So he fired up Madden NFL 20 and it did not disappoint. The news which made the experience better came later, and that was finding out former Colorado State player Clint Oldenburg was part of the brains behind the game.
"I had no idea it was a CSU Ram," Kinsey said when told Oldenburg is the senior game play advisor. "That makes it way better. Maybe we can hit him up if our game breaks."
Oldenburg was actually the reason the football team had copies in the player's lounge, a gift to the program from him.
At the time, Oldenburg was packing for another road trip, meeting with a group of gamers about the latest release. How Oldenburg reached this point is amazing to him, starting out as an intern at EA Sports after finishing his NFL career. The game was popular, but in the early stages, bringing more realistic play was a driving goal, and Oldenburg's expertise was called upon.
As he worked his way up the company ladder, he helped build more of the real game into the gaming world, taking pride in the fact the first steps an offensive line takes when the ball snaps mirror what happens on an NFL field. It took him back to the days when he came to Fort Collins as a tight end, then was moved to the offensive line where he became an all-conference performer.
"Not yet, but they probably will someday," Oldenburg joked. "I go to an offensive lineman's coaching clinic every year, and I run into John Benton and we talk. We always have a good laugh, because with John, if you weren't an offensive lineman, you weren't a football player. He always tells me that after I moved to the line, that he knew I could be a good football player.
"But I didn't expect to be doing this, not in a million years. If somebody would have told me I would have been fortunate to have an NFL career, albeit a short one, and that I would be working for EA Sports, I would have looked at you like you had three eyeballs."
With each new version, Oldenburg stated the goal is to improve the game by bringing another touch of realism to its play. While he said hundreds of ideas end up on the cutting-room floor during development, the key component this year was the X-Factor, enabling star players to "get in the zone" and raise their level of performance as they stack up good plays.
Oldenburg said it will make gamers have to know who their best players are, as well as account for the opposition's stars – just like NFL teams game plan. For Kinsey, the addition was spot on.
"Hey, Madden 2020 was much, much better. The game is faster, you get more plays," Kinsey said. "It's more realistic, and we have the X-Factor now. You really know who your best players are. I mean, there are good players in the NFL, and there are much better players. They made it realistic where you know who your best players are. I really like the X-factor.
"I played with the Cowboys, and Zeke (Ezekiel Elliott) was the X-factor. His was he had a better spin cycle and he could break tackles."
Kinsey was able to get Elliott into the zone, but not before hitting up an old friend first.
"For sure. I tried a bomb the first play with Michael Gallup," Kinsey said. "But he was guarded."
Kinsey said he also spent some time in story mode – known as Face of the Franchise: QB1 -- where he started with a quarterback in his college career and developed him. He felt it was a cool addition, one he wants to explore a little more.
Receiving feedback is what fuels Oldenburg to improve the game every year, and he is active on social media, just not to the degree he was early in his career. He used to respond to everybody, but also found out cheap shots came with the territory – personal and professional. He still uses social media, but has learned where the real benefits can be found.
But a video of happy players is always a good sign. It's even better when it comes from home, as a video of Bobo's announcement was posted on Twitter.
"That was so cool to see, that they get that excited about getting the new Madden game, that the players at my old school are that excited to play the game is great," he said.
So he fired up Madden NFL 20 and it did not disappoint. The news which made the experience better came later, and that was finding out former Colorado State player Clint Oldenburg was part of the brains behind the game.
"I had no idea it was a CSU Ram," Kinsey said when told Oldenburg is the senior game play advisor. "That makes it way better. Maybe we can hit him up if our game breaks."
Oldenburg was actually the reason the football team had copies in the player's lounge, a gift to the program from him.
At the time, Oldenburg was packing for another road trip, meeting with a group of gamers about the latest release. How Oldenburg reached this point is amazing to him, starting out as an intern at EA Sports after finishing his NFL career. The game was popular, but in the early stages, bringing more realistic play was a driving goal, and Oldenburg's expertise was called upon.
As he worked his way up the company ladder, he helped build more of the real game into the gaming world, taking pride in the fact the first steps an offensive line takes when the ball snaps mirror what happens on an NFL field. It took him back to the days when he came to Fort Collins as a tight end, then was moved to the offensive line where he became an all-conference performer.
Former CSU assistant John Benton molded him first, then Darrell Funk helped apply the polish. The things they taught him first, his stance, leverage and footwork, are the same skills he carried through is collegiate and professional careers and what he installed into game play. Oldenburg still runs into Benton on a yearly basis, and he's surprised neither of his former mentors have asked for a portion of the royalties.When an alum works on @EAMaddenNFL, he looks out for the family!
— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) August 6, 2019
Thanks @ClintOldenburg for the 🎮! pic.twitter.com/8t81Qr1AOV
"Not yet, but they probably will someday," Oldenburg joked. "I go to an offensive lineman's coaching clinic every year, and I run into John Benton and we talk. We always have a good laugh, because with John, if you weren't an offensive lineman, you weren't a football player. He always tells me that after I moved to the line, that he knew I could be a good football player.
"But I didn't expect to be doing this, not in a million years. If somebody would have told me I would have been fortunate to have an NFL career, albeit a short one, and that I would be working for EA Sports, I would have looked at you like you had three eyeballs."
With each new version, Oldenburg stated the goal is to improve the game by bringing another touch of realism to its play. While he said hundreds of ideas end up on the cutting-room floor during development, the key component this year was the X-Factor, enabling star players to "get in the zone" and raise their level of performance as they stack up good plays.
Oldenburg said it will make gamers have to know who their best players are, as well as account for the opposition's stars – just like NFL teams game plan. For Kinsey, the addition was spot on.
"Hey, Madden 2020 was much, much better. The game is faster, you get more plays," Kinsey said. "It's more realistic, and we have the X-Factor now. You really know who your best players are. I mean, there are good players in the NFL, and there are much better players. They made it realistic where you know who your best players are. I really like the X-factor.
"I played with the Cowboys, and Zeke (Ezekiel Elliott) was the X-factor. His was he had a better spin cycle and he could break tackles."
Kinsey was able to get Elliott into the zone, but not before hitting up an old friend first.
"For sure. I tried a bomb the first play with Michael Gallup," Kinsey said. "But he was guarded."
Kinsey said he also spent some time in story mode – known as Face of the Franchise: QB1 -- where he started with a quarterback in his college career and developed him. He felt it was a cool addition, one he wants to explore a little more.
Receiving feedback is what fuels Oldenburg to improve the game every year, and he is active on social media, just not to the degree he was early in his career. He used to respond to everybody, but also found out cheap shots came with the territory – personal and professional. He still uses social media, but has learned where the real benefits can be found.
But a video of happy players is always a good sign. It's even better when it comes from home, as a video of Bobo's announcement was posted on Twitter.
"That was so cool to see, that they get that excited about getting the new Madden game, that the players at my old school are that excited to play the game is great," he said.
Players Mentioned
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