God was said to make Adam out of clay. Dustin Smith’s creations are built from zeros and ones, but he probably hears many of the same complaints.

Mr. Smith is the ratings czar for the popular videogame series Madden NFL, responsible for imbuing the digital doppelgängers of real-life National Football League players with varying levels of speed, strength and agility. Like most people, players want more.

“My...