Capcom Wants to Make Accessible Fighting Games

[Marshall Honorof]

Capcom Wants to Make Accessible Fighting Games

A VP at Capcom agrees with a fan who wants casual-friendly fighters.

The world of fighting games can be a harsh place sometimes. Between a fierce competitive scene, pointed out on the official forums [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/117405-Capcom-Celebrates-Street-Fighter-Anniversary-with-Collectors-Edition] recently. No less than a Capcom vice president replied to his concerns, though, agreeing that Capcom needs to draw in more casual fighting fans, and expressing hope that future Capcom games will provide the right tools to ease new players in.

The thread's initial post by "SamusTheHedgehog" expressed a lot of enthusiasm for recent Capcom hits like Street Fighter IV and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but lamented the fact that playing the game to its fullest requires the use of many moves that lack any kind of in-game training beyond a free-form Practice mode. Christian Svensson, a senior vice president, jumped into the thread one page later. Instead of defending this lack of tutorial mode in the games, however, Svensson took SamusTheHedgehog's side more or less unequivocally.

"I'd say we have varying levels of success in making sure there's enough content and fun in the mechanics even if you don't know how to plink, FADC or DHC," Svensson wrote. "[Street Fighter X Tekken] was intended to be a bit more casual friendly and frankly, I think with the introduction of so many new systems ... we probably overcomplicated things and it worked against that objective." Svensson explained that while Capcom has had good intentions in trying to implement tutorial modes, the company has yet to go far enough in welcoming new players and showing them the ropes. "I know some competitive players will scoff," he admitted, "but the vitality of the scene is linked to how successful we all are (I say all because the community needs to be accepting of new players too) in these efforts."

If Svensson has his way, Capcom's next big fighting game title might be as friendly to new players as it is rewarding for veteran fighting champs. With his humble attitude and forthright dialogue, Svensson may just set a precedent for the company in which honesty, innovation, and profit go hand-in-hand. "I'd like to think we can do better in the future," he concluded.

Source: Capcom-Unity [http://www.capcom-unity.com/ask_capcom/go/thread/view/7371/29255969/Capcom,_do_you_consider_the_Casual_gamer_when_making_Fighting_games&post_num=20#522463831]

Permalink

 

[Gearhead mk2]

You REALLY have to be careful with this, Capcom. Otherwise...

 

[DustyDrB]

That's why I play Smash Brothers.

But then, that's why I don't play serious fighters. Just can't make all those quick movements nor remember the moves.

 

[llafnwod]

Am I missing something? Fighting games are just about the only genre where randomly mashing buttons is a functional playstyle. I think that's about as low a barrier of entry as is really feasible.

 

[Kmadden2004]

Capcom Wants to Make Accessible Fighting Games

But only after a $5 surcharge...

 

[Orbot_Vectorman]

Honestly, I would like it if fighting games had a little video that showed you in slow motion the way to use any of the moves.

 

[sethisjimmy]

Am I missing something? Fighting games are just about the only genre where randomly mashing buttons is a functional playstyle. I think that's about as low a barrier of entry as is really feasible.

Maybe on single player easy mode, but for most fighters, button mashing isn't going to get you anywhere. Single Player on normal and above will most likely be difficult using that strategy, and you'll easily get destroyed when it comes to multiplayer with someone who uses actual strategy.

I think the problem here is that there are a lot of nuances to fighting game strategy that aren't explained or sometimes not even mentioned at all in-game, such as air-dashing, pushblocking, hitstun and guardstun, parrying, sometimes even heavy medium and light moves aren't even explained. It can be tough for someone who knows nothing about the genre to be able to have fun in multiplayer because of this.

 

[llafnwod]

Am I missing something? Fighting games are just about the only genre where randomly mashing buttons is a functional playstyle. I think that's about as low a barrier of entry as is really feasible.

Maybe on single player easy mode, but for most fighters, button mashing isn't going to get you anywhere. Single Player on normal and above will most likely be difficult using that strategy, and you'll easily get destroyed when it comes to multiplayer with someone who uses actual strategy.

I think the problem here is that there are a lot of nuances to fighting game strategy that aren't explained or sometimes not even mentioned at all in-game, such as air-dashing, pushblocking, hitstun and guardstun, parrying, sometimes even heavy medium and light moves aren't even explained. It can be tough for someone who knows nothing about the genre to be able to have fun in multiplayer because of this.

That's absolutely true, but that's a general problem amongst the complex genres. It's the same with RTSs; being competitive at all in multiplayer requires an enormous amount of practice and research in the community surrounding the game. I am entirely for having more in-depth tutorials that actually go over complex mechanics, but I don't see much else that can be done short of just simplifying the gameplay.

 

[Rad Party God]

Or, you know, you could play Smash Bros., the upcoming Playstation All-Stars looks like a fine Smash Bros. clone too and one I'm definitely interested into.

 

[MegaManOfNumbers]

I think ol' Cappy is COMPLETELY missing the point right now.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Am I missing something? Fighting games are just about the only genre where randomly mashing buttons is a functional playstyle. I think that's about as low a barrier of entry as is really feasible.

Maybe on single player easy mode, but for most fighters, button mashing isn't going to get you anywhere. Single Player on normal and above will most likely be difficult using that strategy, and you'll easily get destroyed when it comes to multiplayer with someone who uses actual strategy.

I think the problem here is that there are a lot of nuances to fighting game strategy that aren't explained or sometimes not even mentioned at all in-game, such as air-dashing, pushblocking, hitstun and guardstun, parrying, sometimes even heavy medium and light moves aren't even explained. It can be tough for someone who knows nothing about the genre to be able to have fun in multiplayer because of this.

The truth has been spoken.

The problem with training in a fighting game is it can be very tough to teach the stuff that really matters. Movement, understanding your moves, controlling space, etc. It's much easier to throw in a combo challenge mode, call it a training mode, and then call it a day. More able and less complex training modes and actual tutorials that are updated as the gameplay evolves are whats really needed. At this point, you can find much better training material from a ton of different sources on Youtube than you can get in the actual game, and that's where the problem lies.

Oh, and yes, mashing in almost any fighting game out there gets you absolutely nowhere against anyone who even partially knows what they are doing. It may win you a round or two, but anyone who says they are good yet losers to a masher really isn't any good at all. Mashing hasn't been a "functional playstyle" for decades.

 

[Artemicion]

Svensson may just set a precedent for the company in which honesty, innovation, and profit go hand-in-hand.

I wouldn't hold my breath. Still, it's nice for an internal entity of a company to admit there may be faults with the system.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

Persona 4: Arena was intended to be accessible. It's coming out in about a week from now in North America, so I haven't played it yet, but it seems newbie-friendly. Arc System Works' previous BlazBlue games (I'm not sure about Guilty Gear) had a pretty damn comprehensive tutorial mode and there seems to be a lesson mode in P4:A, as well. The button inputs have also been simplified; there is not a single half-circle or Shoryuken motion in any character's moveset. In addition, combos are more forgiving and require less specific timing. This makes sense because P4:A is marketed to both fighting game fans and Persona fans, who may not have had experience with fighting games.

My advice to Capcom would be to do what Arc System Works did: simplify the inputs, make combos easier and include a tutorial mode. Then they'll have a more accessible fighting game. It may not become a game with a hardcore following, but it'll help introduce people to the series.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Watch, as fighter fans come out the woodwork to decry devs 'dumbing down' there games.

I believe its noble to aim for a difficulty curve that is stable. Ideally you want it to be easy to pick up and hard to master and you want the increase in skill to not have any major gaps where you need a large increase in skill or practice to see an increase in game level. I think that's a good thing and thinking about it is the first step to achieving it. However, I think fighting games already have a pretty accessible entry level. Even if you don't know all the specials, you can still learn basics by just pressing buttons and you can still enjoy two guys (or girls) beating the crap out of each other. Moving from there to understanding every tiny detail down to which moves is quicker in terms of frames and hit boxes is a bit more dicey.

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

Pfft... dumb down my genre will you? Why I 'oughta...

To be fair though, there is definitely too much complication in fighting games for casual fans. I play 30-60 mins of practice mode just about every day for UMvC3 and I'm still only 'OK' at it. Games like KoF and SSF4 are even more complex, if a little slower and more forgiving.

 

[SageRuffin]

Am I missing something? Fighting games are just about the only genre where randomly mashing buttons is a functional playstyle. I think that's about as low a barrier of entry as is really feasible.

Maybe on single player easy mode, but for most fighters, button mashing isn't going to get you anywhere. Single Player on normal and above will most likely be difficult using that strategy, and you'll easily get destroyed when it comes to multiplayer with someone who uses actual strategy.

I think the problem here is that there are a lot of nuances to fighting game strategy that aren't explained or sometimes not even mentioned at all in-game, such as air-dashing, pushblocking, hitstun and guardstun, parrying, sometimes even heavy medium and light moves aren't even explained. It can be tough for someone who knows nothing about the genre to be able to have fun in multiplayer because of this.

The truth has been spoken.

The problem with training in a fighting game is it can be very tough to teach the stuff that really matters. Movement, understanding your moves, controlling space, etc. It's much easier to throw in a combo challenge mode, call it a training mode, and then call it a day. More able and less complex training modes and actual tutorials that are updated as the gameplay evolves are whats really needed. At this point, you can find much better training material from a ton of different sources on Youtube than you can get in the actual game, and that's where the problem lies.

Oh, and yes, mashing in almost any fighting game out there gets you absolutely nowhere against anyone who even partially knows what they are doing. It may win you a round or two, but anyone who says they are good yet losers to a masher really isn't any good at all. Mashing hasn't been a "functional playstyle" for decades.

While I agree that mashing is quite possibly the scrubbiest "tactic" known to the history of fighters, I'll have to disagree that if you happen to lose to a masher you aren't worth your salt (heh). The way the system works in some of the more "combo/string-friendly" games (DoA, VF, U/MvC3 for example), you may not even realize that your opponent is throwing out attacks sporadically until you've already lost the match. Not to mention that the player who actually know what the fuck he/she is doing still has to analyze what the opponent is doing, and by that time it may be too late.

Not trying to defend mashers, mind you. Just sticking up for the odd player that's run into a bit of bad luck with one.

---

Back to the core subject, it's all well and good that Capcom wants to make "more accessible" fighters, but there's a delicate balance to that. It's bad enough that fighting games are essentially made for people who play fighting games (and always have been when you think about it, with the few exceptions being SF and MK, or so I choose to believe). Make the game too easy, it becomes shallow and "scrubby" (U/MvC3). Make it too complex or esoteric, and nobody likes it because the game itself becomes to difficult to figure out what the fuck's happening (King of Fighters, Guilty Gear, even the SF3 series). There's a fine line that's needs to be tread and it's all too easy to fall over to either side and never recover.

Observation: To my regular fighting game homies, anyone else notice that the Smash Bros. series seems to be the fighting game that's specifically for non-fighting fans (and, interestingly enough, most of them don't play other games)? It's like how you used to hear people say they hate rap music but love Eminem.