Excitement surrounding Madden 21’s newest game mode, The Yard, has been building for the past week, and thanks to a press presentation and demo that took place earlier this week that showed off the mode in-depth, we finally have a better idea as to what to expect.

The Yard will feature backyard-style football that allows for (and actually encourages) double passing, laterals, and a multi-snap mechanic to keep defenses on their toes. The new game mode will also be avatar-focused, meaning that player-created custom characters will be an important element in The Yard.

During the general presentation, JP Kallams - Producer for Madden 21’s The Yard - mentioned that players will be able to create custom avatars however “he or she” sees fit (referring to the actual human player). While it seemed unlikely, that made me wonder if custom female avatar models would be making their way into the game.

I asked Kallams if there were plans for female character models, to which he responded:

Given the fact that there aren’t currently any female players on an NFL roster, it’s not necessarily surprising that female character models wouldn’t be included in Madden 21’s create-a-player. However, considering the industry’s current focus on inclusion in gaming, it’s undeniable that including female avatars would be a pretty impressive move for the Madden franchise to make, ESPECIALLY for a mode based on informal pick-up-game/ backyard-style football.

“This year, there’s only male create-a-players, but obviously diversity and inclusion is an incredibly important topic in games right now, and it should be in games forever. It shouldn’t be a topic that goes away. While we don’t have anything to announce now, I think that especially in recent months, the topic of diversity and inclusion, and understanding that we have such a diverse audience that plays our game is going to be an increasingly prevalent part of the Madden experience.”

How awesome would it be to see a female player demolish a big-name ball carrier in an open-field tackle, or break a tackle (or ankles in a juke move) while running to the endzone herself? On the flip side, would players be able to stomach tackling a female avatar in the same, often violent manner in which most NFL-level tackles are made - or even worse, would female avatars be targeted by male players looking to intentionally grief players who play as female avatars? It’s a moral gray area that needs to be navigated with the utmost care.

That said, change can’t occur until those in a position of privilege start changing the narrative to that of a more inclusive one (Yes, men. That means us). As Jen Welter - the first female to hold a coaching position in the NFL - stated regarding her inclusion in last year’s Madden 20:

Madden 20 was a good first step in the right direction with its inclusion of Coach Welter, but there is still a vast amount of work to be done. Being avatar-focused, The Yard is a perfect scenario for introducing female create-a-player models, so it definitely seems like a missed opportunity. However, Kallams’ statement did come off as genuine and thoughtful. Here’s hoping the rest of the Madden NFL team shares those same thoughts on diversity and inclusion.

“(The video game) was based on a conversation that I had as a consultant with Madden. (I told them) ‘Girls can’t see themselves in your game.’ Everything is about a sin of omission in football. You don’t have to tell girls that they can’t play, right? You show them because they can’t see themselves playing anywhere.”

Sources: SportsNet.ca, Jen Welter

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