The Cartographer
Member
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What do you think of fighting games as a genre?
- Thread starter cordy
- Start date
Well, I've always been into martial arts and I really would love to get into the fighting
game genre, but for me this is the genre in video gaming that stopped progressing
10 years ago.
MK, SF, KI, GG, BB....everything is a 2D fighter now.
I want to see brandnew systems in fighting games, like stamina, 3D movement, body part damage. All of this has already been explored but never delveloped any further.
So, unless someone changes things drastically in fighting games, I'm not interested.
A Street Fighter or Tekken game that plays like UFC without ground game would really get me into the genre.
game genre, but for me this is the genre in video gaming that stopped progressing
10 years ago.
MK, SF, KI, GG, BB....everything is a 2D fighter now.
I want to see brandnew systems in fighting games, like stamina, 3D movement, body part damage. All of this has already been explored but never delveloped any further.
So, unless someone changes things drastically in fighting games, I'm not interested.
A Street Fighter or Tekken game that plays like UFC without ground game would really get me into the genre.
Interesting opinion. Too quick and "juggle heavy"?
To Far Away Times
Member
One of my favorite genres.
I used to play other fighting games like Melty Blood and Vanguard Princess as well, but nowadays I really only have time to focus on Street Fighter.
I used to play other fighting games like Melty Blood and Vanguard Princess as well, but nowadays I really only have time to focus on Street Fighter.
I wouldn't say that I "love them".
Yeah, I spent a good portion of my high school days playing them with schoolmates. Mostly Marvel vs Capcom 2.
They currently are surviving as a niche genre. I don't expect a change in that aspect, for better or worse.
Not really.
They evolved into party games like Smash Brothers. But I think its impossible for them to even be a shadow of their former glory ever again with arcades being dead. I don't see them having any success in mobile unlike shoot 'em ups who managed to find a niche by being playable with touch screens.
Yes. Also, I feel that GG feels 'weightless' compared to, say, SF. I dont like it because it makes characters feels like paper cutouts. However I commend GG style, as they always have interesting characters and are willing to try different things.
I like the Persona 4 Arena games. The concept is similar to JoJo's stands: you have characters with an alter ego that you can summon separately. They are super-faithful to the games, and easy to play. I would recommed them to anybody who wants to try a Japanese anime fighter, but is put off by complexity of GG and BB.
Edit: to the poster above me: Smash is not simply a 'party game', for the simple reason that it's played competitively at fighting games tournaments. A game has the depth to sustain that, its not a mere party game.
There are a lot of fighting games available for much, much, less than £50. More like £5. Try any of the SF, King of Fighter or Guilty Gear out on XBLA. Or, alternatively, Virtua Fighter 5 on XBLA for a tenner or so (theres also VF2, but maybe not the best place to start).
I love fighting games. It's probably my favorite genre (along with JRPGS/action adventure games). I remember playing Street Fighter 2 back when I was only 4 years old and I had no idea how to do a fireball motion.
Now, most of my time with fighting games is competitively. The first fighting game I REALLY got into was Marvel vs Capcom 3. Most of my time was playing online and yeah sure, the netcode was barely playable, but there was something so satisfying with getting better at the game and having fun as hell matches with other people among my skill level. These days, I'm mainly a Sm4sh player, but I'm working on getting into GGXrdR and SFV. I just want to keep on improving and getting better. The road is more than a little salty and hard, but it's still a pretty fun ride.
Now, most of my time with fighting games is competitively. The first fighting game I REALLY got into was Marvel vs Capcom 3. Most of my time was playing online and yeah sure, the netcode was barely playable, but there was something so satisfying with getting better at the game and having fun as hell matches with other people among my skill level. These days, I'm mainly a Sm4sh player, but I'm working on getting into GGXrdR and SFV. I just want to keep on improving and getting better. The road is more than a little salty and hard, but it's still a pretty fun ride.
If you have an Xbox or capable PC, try Killer Instinct. One revolving free character to fully play, and heralded netcode.
But I concur that the barrier to entry is still high, and despite all efforts to make it more accessible will probably always be kept in check by its one-on-one nature (no team mates for the uninitiated to fall back on).
Do you love them?
I used to love them more than I do nowadays, but the thrill they provide can't be matched.
Do you have fond memories of the genre?
Yeah, a ton of them. I played most every major fighting game in the nineties and a lot of obscure titles as well, both in arcades and on console.
Do you think they'll survive?
Yes, they will survive. In which form, that's something up in the air.
Do you still play?
Yes. Not as much as I did and not with as much dedication either. I'm not a teenager anymore, you know. I'm focusing on SFV, at the moment.
How would you improve them?
By erasing any memory of them, letting people get to know the genre for the first time with no preconceptions. Also, deleting the FGC and building it up again with a whole new mindset. The FGC is doing a lot of harm to the genre. They have a getto mentality that's making fighting games stall and remain as niche as they are now. If you accept their conditions and mantras, they are very welcoming, but don't ever dare to say you play for fun and not to gitgut!
I used to love them more than I do nowadays, but the thrill they provide can't be matched.
Do you have fond memories of the genre?
Yeah, a ton of them. I played most every major fighting game in the nineties and a lot of obscure titles as well, both in arcades and on console.
Do you think they'll survive?
Yes, they will survive. In which form, that's something up in the air.
Do you still play?
Yes. Not as much as I did and not with as much dedication either. I'm not a teenager anymore, you know. I'm focusing on SFV, at the moment.
How would you improve them?
By erasing any memory of them, letting people get to know the genre for the first time with no preconceptions. Also, deleting the FGC and building it up again with a whole new mindset. The FGC is doing a lot of harm to the genre. They have a getto mentality that's making fighting games stall and remain as niche as they are now. If you accept their conditions and mantras, they are very welcoming, but don't ever dare to say you play for fun and not to gitgut!
Sorry, I know this is just your opinion and it's not right or wrong,
But I am struggling to understand how a competitive community can be built around the idea of 'playing for fun and not get good'. How? If you play only for fun and not to get better, how much enjoyment can you possibly get out of any game, let alone a fighting game?
I am struggling to see how this new fighting community could work. Would there still be playing tournaments? Would people want to watch people playing 'just for fun'? I must admit, even if I dont play SF5 myself, That I enjoy watching grand finals etc. cause I like to watch great players giving the best they've got. If they were just messing around pushing buttons and having a laugh, that would not be so interesting.
Care to explain it to me?
Highlighted where the problem lies. The game is competitive in its nature, just like most sports are. Doesn't mean the community should be built around high level competition. Imagine every sport was built around professional competition. Would it make any sense? No, it would not. People would get scared right away.
Back in the nineties people of all kinds played fighting games. There was no community, or more exactly, there were a ton of communities of very different levels. Just like there're for any sport. People go out to run for a while because it's healthy, then they start enjoying it and meet other people with similar interest. Then they join a club, then they start taking part in amateur competition, then go more pro about it... Or maybe they never go up, they never go further than running with their mates. Fighting games? Don't even bother starting off if you don't plan on being a pro.
You have other genres that are also competitive in their nature, such as shooters, are these niche? No, they are not. Why? Because people of all levels find a way to be introduced to the genre. Try going to a FGC forum and saying: Hey, I'm 500LP and got matched against someone with 2500LP, it's not fair! They will tell you: You're given the chance to play a player higher than you, yet you complain? That's was a gold opportunity to learn! This is not your genre.
The community should be built around helping people joining in, and enjoying the game. Then, naturally help those that want to improve have a clear channel to procceed. As it is now, it's a closed enviroment where new people don't even dare to ever go online and those that dare and complain about anything, even if it's a totally justified complaint, are pointed out. Had this been the rule back in the nineties, I might not have ever played fighting games. Back then we didn't have that attitude. We just played the game because it wa a blast, some of us delved deeper, some of use where better than others, but we all started with no complex and no preconceptions. Sad part of the story is that is the FGC the one creating these preconceptions that alienate most new players today.
Good post, i would like to add that the competitive community forget that fighting games are an arcade genre, they were big in a time when they were in arcades, cabinets had no internet connection and people were willing to pay to play for singleplayer! Playing against each other was expensive, most of the people just wanted to play the arcade mode. I really don't know who's the ignorant madman that convinced some people that fighting games are mostly a competitive online multiplayer genre.
I'm not sure that's entirely it either.
The other issue, unlike Dota and LoL or whatever, the player base is just smaller. So you have the problem of the matchmaking not always managing to get you a good result. Like in KI for example, I was being matched versus Silvers, Golds and even the occasional Killer while I was in Bronze. I somehow managed to grind my way to silver (I don't think I deserve to be there, mind), and then I mainly got matched versus Golds and Killers. Street Fighter V struggles with the same problem too, and that should have a bigger player base.
While yes, you do learn from losing against people who are a bit more skilled than you. If you're getting put versus people who are way better than you, and they roll over you like it was nothing. You don't really learn that much. I mean you could pass the replay over to someone on that level and they can dissect it, but in all likely hood it'll be a massive list, because they're just that much better than you.
Compare that to Dota and you're matched with other noobs for the most part when you start.
Good post, and touches on exactly what I was saying.
The community can be very insular and it's just so difficult to get into. Is it any wonder that the community continues to be kind of small.
StrongBlackVine
Banned
I used to love them, but now I'm not really willing to put in the time necessary to be at good at them. I thought SFV would be a revival of my interest in the genre, but Capcom fucked it up. I used to be a huge Tekken fan as well(and fairly good)l so I'll see how that release turns out.
Red Liquorice
Member
Yes, I grew up on them - arcade Capcom and Neo Geo fighters were my main gaming staple as a kid. We had a pretty good arcade near, even games like Warzard I got to play. As the Capcom games got more byzantine with the Marvel games, I moved away from them it wasn't really my style, but I kept on buying the console versions to mess with and still kept up with KOF and VF too.
I still think they're great, but I really don't have the time or patience any more to put in the work it takes to stay on top of your game, I miss them I had a blast with SF4 many hundreds of hours I plowed into that game, but I just can't justify the time it takes any more which is why I haven't bought SF5. I might get it eventually just to tinker with it, if it ever gets an arcade mode.
Maybe fighting games are more a younger gamers territory because of the amount of time investment you need to stay competitive? And because of that time investment, I think this turns off a lot of gamers who can't invest that amount of time, so they will remain more niche - also the culture around fighting games is somewhat of a turn off, it's a strong fanbase but I find it to be quite off-putting and toxic at times. I'd love to see someone make a GOOD fighting game that was accessible to casual fans, I just don't know how they could do that and still turn out a deep combat system.
I still think they're great, but I really don't have the time or patience any more to put in the work it takes to stay on top of your game, I miss them I had a blast with SF4 many hundreds of hours I plowed into that game, but I just can't justify the time it takes any more which is why I haven't bought SF5. I might get it eventually just to tinker with it, if it ever gets an arcade mode.
Maybe fighting games are more a younger gamers territory because of the amount of time investment you need to stay competitive? And because of that time investment, I think this turns off a lot of gamers who can't invest that amount of time, so they will remain more niche - also the culture around fighting games is somewhat of a turn off, it's a strong fanbase but I find it to be quite off-putting and toxic at times. I'd love to see someone make a GOOD fighting game that was accessible to casual fans, I just don't know how they could do that and still turn out a deep combat system.
Thank you. In the arcade where I played, the people playing VS each others were the minority, and we never went against somebody playing arcade mode unless mutual agreement. There was of course the occasionnal asshole, but the strongest players there did the police an replaced the victim to keep his credit.
Ivory Samoan
Gold Member
My childhood was full of fighting games, starting with Streetfighter 1 at my local fish and chip store (here in NZ). This only grew in the early 90s with SNES fighting games then Playstation with Tekken and such.
The last fighting game I really enjoyed would have been SF4 on X360, which was a multiplayer haven for many of my friends at a house I had a few years ago: but since then, I'm all about story based games and online multiplayer shooters/MOBA: it kind of feels like I've outgrown most fighting games.
I'll always remember the time I beat Sagat for the first time after putting 20c after 20c into the arcade machine.... great memories. Feels like a genre that hasn't changed all that much in 25 or so years, in my opinion MOBA and online shooters are the evolution of that competitive spirit of yesteryears fighting games.
The last fighting game I really enjoyed would have been SF4 on X360, which was a multiplayer haven for many of my friends at a house I had a few years ago: but since then, I'm all about story based games and online multiplayer shooters/MOBA: it kind of feels like I've outgrown most fighting games.
I'll always remember the time I beat Sagat for the first time after putting 20c after 20c into the arcade machine.... great memories. Feels like a genre that hasn't changed all that much in 25 or so years, in my opinion MOBA and online shooters are the evolution of that competitive spirit of yesteryears fighting games.
Shotgun Kiss
Member
I hate how inaccessible and presumptious most of them are. Most assume that you're already good at fighting games. Tutorials are either non-existent or absolutely barebones. Single-player content is usually terrible because they assume that you have friends willing to play with you.
The controls are usually needlessly complicated; I don't know why more fighting games can't have special moves with inputs as simple as Smash Bros. I don't see why they have to require levels of dexterity that many people simply don't have in order to have a halfway decent chance of being a top player. All that should matter is strategy/reading your opponent/etc.
I'd love to be able to get into fighting games, as I find the mindgames side of things fascinating. But because they pretty much all require a level of dexterity that I do not, and never will, have, I don't really bother with them, as I don't enjoy them much when I try. On the rare occasions I can enjoy a fighting game, it's usually not for long, and I'm stuck using just one or two characters because the game expects me to remember different combos and button sequences for each one.
The controls are usually needlessly complicated; I don't know why more fighting games can't have special moves with inputs as simple as Smash Bros. I don't see why they have to require levels of dexterity that many people simply don't have in order to have a halfway decent chance of being a top player. All that should matter is strategy/reading your opponent/etc.
I'd love to be able to get into fighting games, as I find the mindgames side of things fascinating. But because they pretty much all require a level of dexterity that I do not, and never will, have, I don't really bother with them, as I don't enjoy them much when I try. On the rare occasions I can enjoy a fighting game, it's usually not for long, and I'm stuck using just one or two characters because the game expects me to remember different combos and button sequences for each one.
marcbret87
Member
I generally like fighting games but truth is I am not very good at playing them. I am however quite enjoying Killer Instinct even though I am nowhere near good enough to play at top level. Virtua fighter also seemed more my kind of thing because the inputs were not that hard (or so it seemed to me). I'd imagine they'll survive just fine, they have been around for quite a while and there is always a core base of people who enjoy them,
I used to love them on the SNES and then the PSOne, particularly SFII Turbo and Bloody Roar, which my friends and I would play when we got back from the pub.
Since it's gone online and they've increased in complexity I've lost all interest in them, we were only ever casual players looking for a knockabout game to play on the telly at home or in the arcade before watching a film. I'm not interested in online play with strangers, and my friends and I are far too busy and live too far apart for local play. These days I bracket them with MOBAs and all the other online games that require constant play, practice and commitment that with a young family I just can't muster any more. I'm sure some are less impenetrable than others, but I have little interest in online play at the best of times, let alone genres that almost require it.
Since it's gone online and they've increased in complexity I've lost all interest in them, we were only ever casual players looking for a knockabout game to play on the telly at home or in the arcade before watching a film. I'm not interested in online play with strangers, and my friends and I are far too busy and live too far apart for local play. These days I bracket them with MOBAs and all the other online games that require constant play, practice and commitment that with a young family I just can't muster any more. I'm sure some are less impenetrable than others, but I have little interest in online play at the best of times, let alone genres that almost require it.
Do you love them?
Absolutely. I've been around long enough to have played pretty much all the big names in the genre, though I was a complete scrub in those days.
Eventually started competing locally in Tekken 5 and branched out from there. Haven't looked back since.
Do you have fond memories of the genre?
Too many to name, especially since getting into the tourney scene.probably SCR 2014 is my most memorable tourney to date for so many reasons,but just meeting a lot of the players from my game's community (SFxT) and being able to compete unlike my first EVO year... It was a great trip.
Do you think they'll survive?
4K entrants for SFV at EVO, 1K for Melee, smash 4 and Pokken each. Imma' say yeah =p
Do you still play?
Daily. Main focus is on SFV, but also moonlighting with Smash 4 and Pokken as well. Will probably enter SFxT at EVO if the homies are running a side tourney.
Someday I'll finally get my hands on GGXrd. T^T
Can't wait for KOF XIV!
How would you improve them?
I honestly think most companies have done an awful lot already..l just that the features haven't all become standard yet across the board. Every game should have tutorials as extensive as Skullgirls and Virtua Fighter 4... Every game should have training mode options like Tekken and SFV... Every game should come as feature-rich as Tekken and Smash do... Every roster should be full of characters that are unique, aka GG...
Really just need the one game that does all those things but in one package.
If I had to pick one thing to continue to improve, it would be online. It is far better than it used to be, but there's still improvements to be done and things that should absolutely be standard across all FGs.
I like them. I play almost every genre of video game and fighting games are just another genre I occasionally come back to between stints of other games.
Not particularly. Used to play SFII and Killer Instinct round a friend's house on his SNES, but we were young and we just mashed the buttons. Since then it's just been dabbling in whatever modern games were out at the time, like the Tekken games, Mortal Kombat (4 in particular), Soul Calibur II-IV.
Why wouldn't they? Every genre of game has survived to a degree (some more than others of course) and now that there's also a big indie scene in games there will always be someone, somewhere putting out fighting games.
Oddly enough I'm only now trying to "gitgud" with the genre and leave my button-mashing ways behind, because I discovered a lot of fighting game streams online and really enjoyed watching them, and figured that 1. the genre would be fun to play competitively (or at least without mashing) and 2. some more in-depth knowledge woudl also make watching tournament streams etc more enjoyable. I tried to get into SFIV (around the time AE2014 came out) but found the barrier to entry to be unreasonably high. I got a stick and practiced and did my time with Ryu like everyone says you should but the matchmaking was abysmal and I really couldn't be bothered with high-execution things like one-frame links, plinking, tons of option selects etc.
So when SFV was announced I decided this would probably be the best chance I'm going to get to get in on the ground floor with a game with a relatively small roster at launch and a chance to accumulate knowledge at a similar pace to the metagame and the addition of new characters, etc. I watched a lot of Youtubes (tutorials for fundamental, BnBs for Laura (who I decided to go with), high level players and so on. I also finally dared to go to my local scene (which I didn't have growing up - I moved to a big city 2 years ago) and learn something there, by virtue of being blown up all night and getting some pointers.
Has all this worked? Well, I currently flit between Bronze and Super Bronze, which while very low-level is something I'm honestly happy with - between having a job, a social life and wanting to play other games, not to mention the extracurricular work of needing to go out to a scene or do homework on Youtube outside of SFV itself, I feel it's about right for my (very) slow improvement. I'll never be a local tournament threat and I feel like I'll probably plateau maybe at Silver if I keep working at it for months to come, but I'm OK with that.
Tl;dr Yes I still play, I'm probably enjoying playing more than I ever have in the past.
My arduous trip to even get a little bit better is my main criticism - SFV, despite being touted as "more accessible", teaches you pretty much nothing you actually need to get anywhere in the game. You need a more knowledgeable person who can help you, or to be prepared to do a lot of online research. I've heard that some games, such as Skullgirls, have very good tutorials, but I still feel that the genre as a whole could do to improve in this regard.
I understand your point, but let me add something.
I have never been good at playing MP shooters. Back in 2007 when Halo 3 first came out I got caught up in the hype and tried for a while playing online. It was a terrible experience for me. I will tell you one thing that may seem strange: at some point I felt like I was a rat in a maze, like a psychology experiment. The endless running around the same enviroments depressed me. Recently I got Splatoon and that was the first time, ever, I enjoyed a shooter MP experience. So its not like all shooters are easy for newcomers.
In my experience with the Virtua Fighter community, they have a fantastic website called VFDC where people are welcome to ask questions and even arrange to play online or in person. I dont have much experience outside of VFDC so I cant really speak for other communities (especially in the USA as I live in Europe) but I can say with confidence that the European VF community is great. Of course you still need to play and understand the game. If you just gonna complain that the game is 'cheap' because you cannot figure out how to beat somebody straight away, then of course people will not take you seriusly. People like to see newcomers with the right attitude, with a disposition to learn from others and contribute to the overall knowledge about the community.
I agree that it's important for the people at the the core of a community to ensure that the community remains open to new players and that policies are implemented to makes sure that newcomers are not trolled when asking legitimate questions. However, it would be a stretch to imply that the fighting game community is one monolithic entity. Find a game with a community you like, and it will be a better experience.
Do you love them?
Favorite genre and only one I'll pay full price for without hesitation.
Do you have fond memories of the genre?
Yeah, it's how I met most of my friends and still make new ones
Do you think they'll survive?
Sure, just not sure under what model. In other words, will it follow KI's example or follow ArcSys' example?
Do you still play?
Played for a few hours not long before this post.
How would you improve them?
Better netcode for almost every single fighter. If I can play Skullgirls with a friend in the UK from the US, I want that to be possible in every fighter. A training mode that is a combination of KI's, Skullgirls', and Revelator's. I guess that's it, other than that just make the game fun.
Favorite genre and only one I'll pay full price for without hesitation.
Do you have fond memories of the genre?
Yeah, it's how I met most of my friends and still make new ones
Do you think they'll survive?
Sure, just not sure under what model. In other words, will it follow KI's example or follow ArcSys' example?
Do you still play?
Played for a few hours not long before this post.
How would you improve them?
Better netcode for almost every single fighter. If I can play Skullgirls with a friend in the UK from the US, I want that to be possible in every fighter. A training mode that is a combination of KI's, Skullgirls', and Revelator's. I guess that's it, other than that just make the game fun.
ThatStupidLion
Member
Eh - nothing much to them for me.... Had some fun with friends with sc2 and ssb... Grew up with mk, clayfighters, ki, sf2, virtua fighter, etc... just never really liked them more than trying out the many characters/movesets/fatalities
I think thats why sc2 resonated. It had a great rpg lite sp mode....
And ssb was just awesome and different on n64
I think thats why sc2 resonated. It had a great rpg lite sp mode....
And ssb was just awesome and different on n64
Black Mantis
Member
Love the genre, my favourite period was when VF2/Fighters Megamix/Last Bronx came out for the Saturn, up until SC2 for the Dreamcast. Future's definitely looking a bit grim, seeing as there's no sign of a new VF, Namco not yet announcing a Western release of T7, no mention of a new Soul Caliber, and SFV sales so far have been underwhelming from what I gather.
On the plus side, MK looks like its going strong and what they've done with the SP story mode is something I hope their competitors are looking at. KI has also impressed me with how they've grown it over the last 2 years.
On the plus side, MK looks like its going strong and what they've done with the SP story mode is something I hope their competitors are looking at. KI has also impressed me with how they've grown it over the last 2 years.
AppleSeason
Member
I used to love them when we did not know a lot besides pulling special moves and it was simple fun with friends. But when they turned into science and required training, learning about combos, cancels, etc... Them it lost the fun for us. I remember when in a convention somebody said "time to lose your virginity and I was shown how you actually play KOF 98. That day I gave up.
I think you're being extremely unfair towards the community. There's a level of elitism in the FGC, sure, but it's not as simple as you put it. All sports are geared towards competition, but there's so many people playing them that you'll always find someone on your level. But try getting into a niche game/sport, like... curling. You'll be lucky to find one noob, the rest will be expert players and would it be fair to ask them "please, don't play seriously because I'm a noob and I want to remain a noob"? It would be nice to have offline friends on your same level and with the same attitude, but when the game is small, not many will be so lucky. If there's a ton of people playing the game, communities of different skill level will form naturally, but if it's small... you'll have to adapt.
Of course not all communities are the same, but let me take your Splatton example. Are all FGC the same? Of course not, but take Smash. Why is Smash such a hit? Is it because the competitive side? No. Yet the competitive side is second only to Street Fighter. Is Smash easier on the player? You could say so. Is Smash any more dificult than SFII was? No, it's not, yet it's not as much of a phenomenom as SF2 was.
The thing here is that Splatoon ir Smash, are games that even though they are competitive in their nature, are not seen as competitive by gamers. And that's because the focus is not put on the competition, but on how fun they can be. Once people are hooked, those that do best and have a sparkling desire to get better will invest the time.
However, in games such as Street Fighter, that ain't gonna happen. You either are a casual or you are part of the community, meaning your focus is on getting good. Anybody that wants to be part of the FGC but wants to just have fun first and learn second, will struggle to find their place.
Now, as with any generalisation, I'm probably being unfair to a lot of local communities, but I think that, as a whole, the FGC is very toxic in their approach to new players. Don't think they do it on purpose, but they surelly are doing the games they love a diservice.
For reference, a friend of mine never dared to play fighting games because they were too daunting to him. I had to clear his mind, erase all misconceptions about how you need to face a fighting game. He's enjoying himself a lot, not caring about mains, or combos or whatever YOU-GOTTA-KNOW-THIS bullshit the FGC regurgitates like there's no tomorrow. If he keeps playing he'll eventually find what char he likes, will learn to do combos, will learn the basics. No need to cut corners, no need to play under pressure, it's a fucking game.
Edit:
I accept that I might be a little unfair here, but I honestly think your approach is wrong. When you have a small group of people doing the same thing, when someone new approaches, you don't say him: Do this like I do or go away! No, you try to create a safe enviroment for those to grow naturally. The FGC is full of to dos and to do nots, not as in an advice, but as in the only right way to go about the genre. It's no wonder it turned niche when the main message to new people is don't care about fun, but about learning!
Max Knight
Member
I practically live for fighting games these days. It is my favorite genre by far. My friends and I play almost every weekend. I'm going to Evo to play some KI this year. I loves it.
It is the most mechanically-focused genre with the highest skill ceiling. For me, this is a recipe for infinite entertainment. I loves it.
It is the most mechanically-focused genre with the highest skill ceiling. For me, this is a recipe for infinite entertainment. I loves it.
NA community is sparse and has some trolls but the fact that I'm entering a VF tournament on Saturday and the competition is strong enough that I'll be happy if I place 3rd puts a skip in my step.
-VFDC mod
I think I'm a fan of fighting games in theory. I like watching them and I like the concepts behind them. I do however struggle with actually getting into them for a number of reasons.
They're a hard sell in my group of friends who mostly play technically undemanding multiplayer games on steam. Fighting games tend to be both technically demanding (by the nature of being mostly console ports), limited in the amount of players that can play at the same time and not really lend themselves well to playing on a keyboard. That is a lot of obstacles to overcome in order to convince my friends to play.
I also have a philosophical disconnect with how input works in most fighting games. I'm pretty shit at doing hadoukens consistently. I know that I could get better at it if I practiced. But I don't really understand why I should have to learn it to begin with, or why this skill is interesting in the design of the game. Why isn't this move tied to a simpler input? Would simplifying this input fundamentally break the genre in a way I don't understand? Pokkén and Smash have what is to me more intuitive inputs for their moves and seem to be very functional fighting games which I enjoy. It doesn't make sense to me and I can't come up with something analogous in another genre. Is it like how the more difficult unit pathing in Starcraft 1 created an (arguably) more interesting competitive scene because the inputs where more complicated compared to the sequel? Based on how Starcraft 2 works, Blizzard themselves didn't seem to consider that "desired" depth but here is a genre where these complicated inputs are basically a norm for some reason.
What I tried of Rising Thunder seemed very promising to me, whatever becomes of that project after the cancellation I will be very interested in. I think the genre is doing fine, I wish I would get more into it. There is probably room for expanding the audience by attracting people like me who like to watch fighting game tournaments.
They're a hard sell in my group of friends who mostly play technically undemanding multiplayer games on steam. Fighting games tend to be both technically demanding (by the nature of being mostly console ports), limited in the amount of players that can play at the same time and not really lend themselves well to playing on a keyboard. That is a lot of obstacles to overcome in order to convince my friends to play.
I also have a philosophical disconnect with how input works in most fighting games. I'm pretty shit at doing hadoukens consistently. I know that I could get better at it if I practiced. But I don't really understand why I should have to learn it to begin with, or why this skill is interesting in the design of the game. Why isn't this move tied to a simpler input? Would simplifying this input fundamentally break the genre in a way I don't understand? Pokkén and Smash have what is to me more intuitive inputs for their moves and seem to be very functional fighting games which I enjoy. It doesn't make sense to me and I can't come up with something analogous in another genre. Is it like how the more difficult unit pathing in Starcraft 1 created an (arguably) more interesting competitive scene because the inputs where more complicated compared to the sequel? Based on how Starcraft 2 works, Blizzard themselves didn't seem to consider that "desired" depth but here is a genre where these complicated inputs are basically a norm for some reason.
What I tried of Rising Thunder seemed very promising to me, whatever becomes of that project after the cancellation I will be very interested in. I think the genre is doing fine, I wish I would get more into it. There is probably room for expanding the audience by attracting people like me who like to watch fighting game tournaments.
I loved smash bros and mortal kombat growing up. I still love smash bros, but mortal kombat is just so fucking boring now. My favorite mortal kombat was deception because it was different. It had a story mode and different game modes. Fighting games have been dying though. They are so god damn boring now
CrazyArcadia
Member
- One of my favorite genres out there. When they click, they're total bliss for multiplayer and zoning out.
- As a kid/early teen, I thought it was a dull genre. Then I got into them via Dreamcast. And Dreamcast era is one of my favorite gaming eras of all time. Soul Calibur, DoA2, getting to really know SNK games such as Last Blade 2 and Garou, ... Back then, luckily I also got a friend who was also into the same games, mostly Soul Calibur, DoA2 and Last Blade 2. We played that for 2-3 years. So much fun, amazing rivalry.
- The genre will be around in one form or another forever. I think though that as gaming in general progresses, they will have to adapt to be more accessible through easier controls and more about reflexes and mindgames instead of learning moves and mechanics.
- Last Blade series and Real Bout series are currently my leisure time. I know those in and out, but I love them. I will also get any release in the DoA series, Virtua Fighter series, KoF series and I enjoy Smash 4 a lot... if I had a PS4 already, I would probably be playing Street Fighter V (even though I'm not that much of a fan of SF series).
- Capcom had the right idea with MvC3 when they "dumbed down" the controls. People love multiplayer games and rival gameplay/mindgames, but the learning curve for most fighting games ist far too steep. I notice this myself, I hesitate a lot to get into a new series these days. The F2P model also proves to help getting people to play this genre even more.
- We need another SFIV-level fighting game soon to get back the masses into the genre... I believe though that SFV will recover and might be just that.
- If I personally were to improve on the genre, I would go back to sprite based low rez fighting games in the style of late NeoGeo and SF3
Maybe there will be a breakthrough indie game doing this (I know there are some). It's just better for responsivness if you can "count" the frames, I think.- Singleplayer. Unlockables. Challenges. Everywhere. Mutliplayer is awesome, but the online is usually a "ok you get beaten up by someone you don't know all the time" if you don't jump in and train every day from day 1. So there needs to be motivating SP training options as well as accessability. Less "learn by heart the moves and mechanics" and more "mindgames, reflexes, gameflow".
I was 10 when the Street Fighter II boom happened, so needless to say they are my "top 3" genres of gaming (RPGs and platformers being the other 2).
I played Street Fighter II for years, actively tried to get good at 3rd Strike once the online OG Xbox version came out, and enjoyed trying to keep up with the fighting game boom after Street Fighter 4 came out. Street Fighter 5 is my new "main" game and will probably be that way for a few years.
I played Street Fighter II for years, actively tried to get good at 3rd Strike once the online OG Xbox version came out, and enjoyed trying to keep up with the fighting game boom after Street Fighter 4 came out. Street Fighter 5 is my new "main" game and will probably be that way for a few years.
All those games started as 2D fighters, so of course they wont change into a drastically new game, unless a spinoff title, like the Street Fighter EX series is revived.
What you're looking for is a Bushido Blade 3, which unfortunately will never happen
Secret Character
Member
Do you love them? Absolutely. The fighting genre is easily my favorite type of video game.
Do you have fond memories of the genre? Yes. Everything that I love about gaming stemmed from when I was younger and first laid my eyes upon a Street Fighter II: The World Warrior machine. The lines were long, people were being loud, and the energy was electric. From that point on, I spent a crazy amount of time in arcades, cultivating my skills in SFII (and it's successive versions) and other games that would come out.
I distinctly remember the day Samurai Shodown 2 game out. SamSho was very popular and it actually took traffic away from the Street Fighter games. SamSho 2 was a whole different ball game though. The lines were crazy long again and I remember a fight broke out because somebody got chipped out. It was a crazy time.
Since then, I've managed a few arcades and have seen the fall and now rise of the fighting genre. Sadly, I'm no longer in the arcade industry, but I play all the damn time and I keep up with the community in town and try to make it out as often as I can to local events.
Do you think they'll survive? Absolutely. As long as Street Fighter, Tekken, and Mortal Kombat exist, there will be people playing them.
Do you still play? Not as much as I'd like, but yes. I play Street Fighter V regularly and I'll be diving into KOF XIV and Tekken 7 when they eventually come out.
How would you improve them? I'm not sure. I can nit pick little things about every game I play, but the genre as a whole doesn't have a lot of problems. The various sub-genres have created little rifts in the community (anime fighters, 3d fighters, etc) but thats bound to happen with any big genre.
This will sound pretty dumb, I'm sure, but more arcade releases would be good. As long as they're affordable to operators and offered some incentive for players to make the trip, it would help communities come together and be stronger. It won't happen as the arcade of old is on life support, but it's fun to think about.
Do you have fond memories of the genre? Yes. Everything that I love about gaming stemmed from when I was younger and first laid my eyes upon a Street Fighter II: The World Warrior machine. The lines were long, people were being loud, and the energy was electric. From that point on, I spent a crazy amount of time in arcades, cultivating my skills in SFII (and it's successive versions) and other games that would come out.
I distinctly remember the day Samurai Shodown 2 game out. SamSho was very popular and it actually took traffic away from the Street Fighter games. SamSho 2 was a whole different ball game though. The lines were crazy long again and I remember a fight broke out because somebody got chipped out. It was a crazy time.
Since then, I've managed a few arcades and have seen the fall and now rise of the fighting genre. Sadly, I'm no longer in the arcade industry, but I play all the damn time and I keep up with the community in town and try to make it out as often as I can to local events.
Do you think they'll survive? Absolutely. As long as Street Fighter, Tekken, and Mortal Kombat exist, there will be people playing them.
Do you still play? Not as much as I'd like, but yes. I play Street Fighter V regularly and I'll be diving into KOF XIV and Tekken 7 when they eventually come out.
How would you improve them? I'm not sure. I can nit pick little things about every game I play, but the genre as a whole doesn't have a lot of problems. The various sub-genres have created little rifts in the community (anime fighters, 3d fighters, etc) but thats bound to happen with any big genre.
This will sound pretty dumb, I'm sure, but more arcade releases would be good. As long as they're affordable to operators and offered some incentive for players to make the trip, it would help communities come together and be stronger. It won't happen as the arcade of old is on life support, but it's fun to think about.
Gunslinger
Member
Best genre out there. But it's very high skill ceiling scares off lot of players.
Do you love them?
Absolutely! It's easily one of my favorite genres of games to watch high level play of, and while I'm not very good at any of them except maybe Smash Bros I still buy them regularly and keep up with the newest releases.
Do you have fond memories of the genre?
No arcade memories, but plenty of memories of playing console fighters with friends, mostly Smash Bros games and Soul Calibur II and III. I also adored the single player modes in the Soul Calibur games and I'm heartbroken that Bamco has seemingly abandoned the series in favor of Tekken, which I never liked as much.
Do you think they'll survive?
Yes, but not with the degree of success that was achieved back in the glory days of games like SF2 and Tekken 3. Fighters will survive as long as passionate fans exist to play them and make them, and as long as they don't cost as much too make as other genres of games. They're never get as much recognition or money as other multiplayer games like MOBAs and FPS games, but they'll live.
Do you still play?
Intermittently. Right now it's just Smash U and Pokken, but I'll probably get GG Xrd Revelator when it comes out. I might pick up SFV by the end of the year too, but I'll need to find out if my laptop is good enough to run it.
How would you improve them?
First off, better single player modes. Not just fighting AI enemies one after the other or fighting enemies in-between long cutscenes. SCII got this right with all the wacky modifiers for fights and unique hazards and enemies to deal with. Combine SCII's single player stuff with a dedicated tutorial and you'd have a great single player fighting game.
Second, I want to see more fighters try single button special moves inputs. Rising Thunder was really on to something I felt, and I think it would be a great way to encourage new players to give fighter games a shot when they aren't sure. Same with the F2P model it was going to work on. Basically I want to see a FGC version of DOTA where the game is free and you buy costumes and stuff. That'd be a great way to entice people to try out a genre they may have had no interest in!
Absolutely! It's easily one of my favorite genres of games to watch high level play of, and while I'm not very good at any of them except maybe Smash Bros I still buy them regularly and keep up with the newest releases.
Do you have fond memories of the genre?
No arcade memories, but plenty of memories of playing console fighters with friends, mostly Smash Bros games and Soul Calibur II and III. I also adored the single player modes in the Soul Calibur games and I'm heartbroken that Bamco has seemingly abandoned the series in favor of Tekken, which I never liked as much.
Do you think they'll survive?
Yes, but not with the degree of success that was achieved back in the glory days of games like SF2 and Tekken 3. Fighters will survive as long as passionate fans exist to play them and make them, and as long as they don't cost as much too make as other genres of games. They're never get as much recognition or money as other multiplayer games like MOBAs and FPS games, but they'll live.
Do you still play?
Intermittently. Right now it's just Smash U and Pokken, but I'll probably get GG Xrd Revelator when it comes out. I might pick up SFV by the end of the year too, but I'll need to find out if my laptop is good enough to run it.
How would you improve them?
First off, better single player modes. Not just fighting AI enemies one after the other or fighting enemies in-between long cutscenes. SCII got this right with all the wacky modifiers for fights and unique hazards and enemies to deal with. Combine SCII's single player stuff with a dedicated tutorial and you'd have a great single player fighting game.
Second, I want to see more fighters try single button special moves inputs. Rising Thunder was really on to something I felt, and I think it would be a great way to encourage new players to give fighter games a shot when they aren't sure. Same with the F2P model it was going to work on. Basically I want to see a FGC version of DOTA where the game is free and you buy costumes and stuff. That'd be a great way to entice people to try out a genre they may have had no interest in!
Holy Order Sol
Member
Do you love them?
Absolutely.
Do you have fond memories of the genre?
Plenty of them, shout-out to homogenius moments though. Sometimes you play your hardest and still the most stupid shit happens and it's hilarious.
Do you think they'll survive?
The genre as a whole, yes. Some games will have trouble maintaining scenes but that's always been the case. It's up to the players to do their own matchmaking online and make arrangements to play their game of choice offline.
Do you still play?
Yeah, in recent years I played KOF XIII offline a lot (since the arcade version), I play SFV sometimes as a stopgap game until KOF XIV hits but even when I'm not available to play people I'll practice on my own anyway.
How would you improve them?
Mostly training mode improvements. Hitbox viewer, frame data. Allow me to record dummy action/program the dummy freely and in a convenient way so I can experiment and learn on my own. Yatagarasu has the best training mode I've seen in a 2D fighter, KOF XIII is a close second as it offers almost everything I need, SFV is alright but some of the stuff doesn't appear to work as intended, or there are limitations that makes the tools not as useful as they could be.
Absolutely.
Do you have fond memories of the genre?
Plenty of them, shout-out to homogenius moments though. Sometimes you play your hardest and still the most stupid shit happens and it's hilarious.
Do you think they'll survive?
The genre as a whole, yes. Some games will have trouble maintaining scenes but that's always been the case. It's up to the players to do their own matchmaking online and make arrangements to play their game of choice offline.
Do you still play?
Yeah, in recent years I played KOF XIII offline a lot (since the arcade version), I play SFV sometimes as a stopgap game until KOF XIV hits but even when I'm not available to play people I'll practice on my own anyway.
How would you improve them?
Mostly training mode improvements. Hitbox viewer, frame data. Allow me to record dummy action/program the dummy freely and in a convenient way so I can experiment and learn on my own. Yatagarasu has the best training mode I've seen in a 2D fighter, KOF XIII is a close second as it offers almost everything I need, SFV is alright but some of the stuff doesn't appear to work as intended, or there are limitations that makes the tools not as useful as they could be.
I used to think they were neat but I never got into them because the investment seemed really ridiculous and I was interested in other things. When I was 19 I started to play them a bit more seriously "just to be good enough to play with some friends." I'm 23 now and fighting games have turned into a job helping me get through college and I'm at an arcade twice a week to play. Kinda helped me get my life back together after high school.
It's a fun genre. We're due for a bit of time without a bunch of major releases every year but the good ones should stick around awhile.
It's a fun genre. We're due for a bit of time without a bunch of major releases every year but the good ones should stick around awhile.