everything you always wanted to know about fighting games (but were afraid to ask)

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Fighting Games

(But Were Afraid to Ask)

Maddy Myers & Todd HarperNo Show Conference

Boston, MA -- September 15, 2013

You think...

• Technology:

They think...

• Technology: http://youtu.be/Hwip7ixaDNE

You think...

• Salty:

They think...

• Salty:

You think...

• Pringles • Curly moustache

They think...

• Pringles, curly moustaches, mangoes, the New York Knicks, Häagen-Dazs, and more: http://youtu.be/sZZUMjoxfZA

Fighting Games

• Related to/grew out from beat-'em-ups• Games of competitive "martial arts" combat• Borrows from kung fu/wu xia movie tropes• Examples:– Karateka (1982, http://youtu.be/wKqk9kosCs4)– Yie Ar Kung Fu (1985,

http://youtu.be/Zh9mPILeuOk?t=10s)

2D Genre Norms

• Street Fighter 2 (Capcom, 1991)

2D Fighter Norms

• Life bars up top• Match timer• Special moves & Control scheme• Iterations with new features– "Super" gauge/moves (Super SF2 Turbo, 1994)– Midair blocking (SF Alpha, 1995)

2D Fighter Norms

• Still visible today – compare earlier shot to games like KoF 13 (SNK, 2012)

2D Fighter Norms

• Or BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma (Arc System Works, 2013)

3D Fighter Norms

• Sega introduces Virtua Fighter in 1993• Takes place in 3D space w/polygonal models

rather than 2D plane w/sprites

3D Fighter Norms

• Control scheme changes– "Guard" button instead of back-to-block– Evade/shift into/out of 3D plane– Ring out victory– "Button series" rather than motion+button

• Other than Virtua Fighter games, Namco's Soul and Tekken series other major titles in 3D dev track

3D Fighter Norms

• Soul series: "weapons" fighter, more like VF

3D Fighter Norms

• Tekken series: hybrid of 2D and 3D styles (yes, that's a kangaroo)

Imitators and US vs. Japanese Games

• Lion's share of fighting games come from Japan

• Early-life US imitators tended to focus on violent content rather than gameplay

• Biggest name offender: Mortal Kombat series


• Mortal Kombat series difficulty often more about “cheapness” than technique– Can feel fun to play because visually satisfying, but

not fun to watch because technically boring• 3D-”ish” play (block button, series combos)• Not respected because not mechanically satisfying• Series had a huge downslide– Picked back up w/latest game series reboot

(appeared at EVO)


• Other "violent but poorly-playing" US fighters from that era

• Primal Rage (Atari, 1994): Be dinosaurs! Eat other dinosaurs! Mysteriously cheering cavemen!

• http://youtu.be/_aF-HtQ_BcU

Metagame Knowledge

• Fighting games have huge barriers to entry• One such barrier: execution– Basic level: "can I physically do this move"– Next level: "when should I do this move"– Even further: "how can I create situations where I

can use this move"– Even further still: "how do I maximize efficiency

for moves"

Metagame Knowledge

• The "metagame" is constantly evolving because it comes from community play

• Knowing the basic moves isn't enough– Have to keep up on "the latest" strategies to stay

competitive• Parts of "metagame" are not always intended

by designers

Metagame Knowledge

• The Daigo Parry: http://youtu.be/jtuA5we0RZU?t=20s

Metagame Knowledge

• Example: "wavedashing"– Quirk of Smash Bros. Melee physics engine– Found by tourney players, became heavily used in

Melee tournament play– Not part of the "default" Melee moveset– http://images.wikia.com/ssb/images/f/f2/

Wavedash.gif

Community-Produced Knowledge

• "Frame data" is important to high-level fighting game theorycrafters

• Basic measure of speed in these games is frames of animation

• Moves have windup, active, cooldown frames, etc.

• Knowing how many frames a move takes = able to plan moves/counter opponents

Community-Produced Knowledge

• Example: Ryu frame data for Super Street Fighter 4

• http://wiki.shoryuken.com/Super_Street_Fighter_IV_AE/Ryu#Frame_Data

Specific Technology Uses

• Arcade sticks are ubiquitous in the FGC• Many reasons for using– Physiological: easier to do motions w/wrists rather

than thumbs– Cultural: hearken back to arcade cabinets– "Norms": everyone uses them, so everyone uses

them


• Not using a stick can have various reactions• "Vangief"– Uses Zangief (a weak character)– Uses a pad (abnormal)– Folk Hero status/"underdog"

• Players of Hilde at EVO 2009– Character with powerful ring out combo, easier to do

on a pad than a stick– When finalist switched from arcade stick to pad,

crowd boo'ed


• Sticks not always about efficiency/use• Example: LED stick -- http://youtu.be/G-

ADymPCP0I• Stick in Rubbermaid container:

Need for Balance

• Fighting game culture obsessed with notions of balance

• Games are conceived of as skill tests: whoever has the greatest skill wins

• Thus balance is required: need to eliminate influences other than skill on match outcome

Need for Balance

• Many artificial ways to approach otherwise unreachable "perfect balance"– Patches– New "versions"– Tournament rules and bans– Tier lists– Etc.

Need for Balance

• Example: Akuma in Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix

• Capcom brought in David Sirlin (author of Playing to Win, longtime FG player) to help fix things– He claims all characters would be balanced

• Akuma consistently banned from SF2HDR tourneys for being unbalanced

Balance and Characters

• "Tier Lists" are a way to group characters based on in-game strengths

• Are not "official" but come from communities based on various construction methods– Usually: # of tournament wins featuring that character

• Have a big influence on some games– Marvel vs Capcom 2: 48+ characters, fewer than 12

used in major tournaments• Change over time as the metagame develops

Smash Bros.

• Is it a party game or a fighting game? Different players have differing opinions on this

• Communities like Shoryuken.com often look down on Smash games

• Examining Smash helps highlight persistent issues in the FGC's core playstyle

"It's Too Easy"

• Smash has lower (not low, "lower") execution barrier– Universal controls for most moves/characters– Motions are simple (single button,

direction+button) rather than complex ("down,down-right,right, punch")

• Objections based on difficulty: suggestion that "real" fighting games are hard to do– Legitimates existing community as "experts"

"Items Aren't Fair"

• Smash has pick-up items and stages with hazards– Items have strong degree of randomness: when

will they appear/what appears– Stages have semi-random events that can

influence match (hurt players, etc.)• Return to ideas of balance– These influences are randomness, games are skill

tests, randomness opposes skill, must ban items

"It's Not Arcade Perfect"

• "Default" Smash has items/stages on, no banned characters, etc.– Unlike most other fighting games, these elements

can be turned off• Smash tourneys use extensive rulesets for

tournaments– FGC sentiment: if you have to make all these

changes just to make it tourney-legal it's not a fighting game

Emergent vs. Restrictive

• SRK-style philosophy: only restrict things if you absolutely have to– Prefer "emergent" response to "broken" things: devise

new strategies to deal w/it, expand "metagame"• Smashworlds-style philosophy: remove elements

that will hurt the skill test– Effectively about removing randomness and

protecting players from "unfairness"• Differing strategies but same endpoint: moving

toward "perfect balance"

(False) Meritocracy

• Belief in balance/search for perfect balance predicated on the idea that games are "about skill"

• Secondly, on belief that games are about determining who has the greatest skill

• Assumption: only skill matters, everything else is secondary

(False) Meritocracy• Idea of meritocracy blinds FGC to problems with

diversity and its own behavior• Example: "there aren't many women in FG

tournaments because none with skill are competing"

• Ignores factors that might prevent women from:– Training against other skilled players to improve– Feeling safe in a masculine-coded, "rowdy" space– Feeling like they can enter a tourney at all– Etc.

Paying Your Dues

• Community has strong "you have to pay your dues" feeling – you just have to put up with it until they respect you

• Example: "09ers" at Shoryuken.com– Big influx of new people b/c of SF4 in 2009– Existing forum people highly unfriendly/actively

want to push new people out– New people who "paid their dues"/sucked it up

could stay

Cross Assault• Sexual harassment of woman team member

results in her forfeiting competition so she can leave

• Example of how meritocratic system doesn't work/is ignorant of influences– Woman player with demonstrated skill still can't

compete b/c of harassment outside the game• Harassment wasn't just one person (Aris

Bakhtanians)– Responding to "stream monsters": fans watching the

show/responding in chat

Class and Ethnicity

• Financial barrier to entry– Consoles cheaper than computers– Easier to share consoles etc. among group– Fight sticks aren’t cheap but are de rigueur

• Different ethnic breakdown than many competitive communities– Primarily Black and Hispanic

• Arcade space/urban space has influence on community’s public behavior

It Goes With Everything

• http://youtu.be/4qwKCQ4M2Nw

Wrap-Up

• FGC has some good points– High energy, infectious at its best– Games can feel awesome/be really fun to watch• But: room for strategy too, not just reflexes

Wrap-Up

• HOWEVER:– Obsession with balance/meritocracy– Overwhelmingly hegemonically masculine playerbase– Defensiveness vs. other gaming communities

(especially e-sports)• All of the above encourage bad, exclusionary community

behaviors– Especially to those viewed as outsiders• ESPECIALLY to women

Wrap-Up

• Community espouses idea of “anyone who wants to can come and play” just like in the arcades

• Hopefully community will start to grow up and put that idea into practice

Thanks for coming!