Hey man!
Yes, from the ground up the game has been built for the casual player and expert player. Something I wish I had known how to do back in WL days.
I have actually become an expert in ‘all skill’ player control over the years. A monkey could play buffy (xbox part 1) and do cool stuff (and get far), but an expert could take it really far. Same with all my work since that time, I was even contracted to put casual player helpful control & camera systems in WoW, Right-Click to move is something a programmer and I slaved on to make sure it covered newbs to hardcore Korean players who primarily play that way. Now THAT was challenging and it turned out well thanks to Blizzard being so good at working on it and providing exact feedback.
Shred Nebula has easy controls and all the fun weapons are easy to use and you blow stuff up big-time (single player). Then there are the more skilled weapons that require some thought, strategy- even how to combo some of them to create bigger options- that is for the mid-expert… although, it is setup that any player can stumble across this stuff all the time-MASTERING it is what is pro+. MP ships have your easy to play to very hard to master ships based on their weapons and flight feel.
But I cannot say much more then that, or I scoop myself for future big reveals when the videos hit 4 weeks before launch…
I would love to see DJames actually write up a bit about his game design and balance theories, as they apply to both this game and SF. This is someone who has walked the walk quite successfully.
BTW what you said about SF4 on your blog rocks! That’s pretty funny about Akira Nishitani thinking that slower was better. Ah well, I enjoyed SFEX2 myself from that series. Couldn’t get into EX1 and EX3 always felt like it was rushed for the PS2 launch to me. Heh, it’s always good to hear behind the scenes stuff. :tup:
Don’t own a 360 and I’m not sure if I’ll ever pick one up, who knows. But I do have a PS3. So, any chance of you making this game or other games for Playstation Network or even PC?
Though yeah I still have an OG Xbox lol I’ll see about finding that Buffy game after this XMas thing blows over… Haven’t bought a single gift yet…
I actually just answered another members email and it relates to this. It will be awhile before I can get to design theory, but anyone interested in some of my basic planning steps, read my post on my blog “FIGHTING SYSTEM PLANNING 101- PART 1”
I am knee deep in balance theory right now on Shred Nebula and it turns out doing fighting stuff with space ships is WAY harder then expected. I will definitely share the correlations as the game launches.
You worked on 10th Degree? I was lucky enough to play that on location at Dennis’ Place for Games in Chicago. I thought it was really cool, if unbalanced. I heard the Taekwondo girl was made unbeatable because there were no more characters after her, is that true? Because I literally could not IMAGINE beating her, she could 100% you anytime she chose…
HA! That 10th prototype must have been some whacky one, Sung is totally beatable on the one I have. There is a final boss & depending on the version a few other characters that were not unlocked yet (but you fought).
Guess what the bosses name was in 10th Degree… ? FUNIMIZU
Now that was an unbalanced character (in honor of his namesake :lovin:).
So why did it not come out? I’ve heard that either a) it didn’t get good feedback on location, or b) the company thought Americans were tired of fighters or the market was too flooded?
It was doing pretty good on location, but the timing of other games coming out caused Atari/Midway Coin-op to over-react. They had Bio Freaks bomb (because it sucked) and MK4 not do well and then they were being told by Capcom that Alpha 3 was not doing well & that they only expected to sell 1000 in the US- so they basically said there is no way ANY fighting game except Tekken 3 can do good, so they gave up vs. spending a few more months to finish and then make all the boards. It was definitely a bad decision and I did everything I could to convince them otherwise, I then left the company shortly afterwards (but helped them plan the golf game they needed designed 1st).
Very frustrating, at least I was able to buy a prototype board from someone (thanks JW) and can play it. Maybe someone out there has finally cracked emulating this- if so, anyone can check it out (not that I support such things :looney:).
Just thought I’d let you know that good ol’ Hyper Fighting is STILL played every single day at arcades in this country (Trinidad). I’m not kidding. I could to any of a half dozen arcades after work tomorrow (and sometimes, even during work, depending on where I go, though those places are way too ghetto for me) and get competition for hours. It’s still considered the game of skill and still makes a lot of money. Not quite as much as in 15 years ago, of course, but there’s no other game here that is as old that still draws as much as this game, and it draws a lot more than a lot of newer games too (including newer versions of SF; Super Turbo, for example, never caught on like HF did, far less the Alpha games or Sf3 series; Marvel is pretty popular though).
It’s also because of this game that 90% of the players here play Ken in every single game. No matter how good or bad he is in a particular game, they somehow all think Ken is automatically good because he’s good in HF. It’s hilarious.
I’m probably the Last M.Bison player here. That is, I only play M.Bison in HF, even though he’s the worst character in the game. I make him work, most of the time, but if Zangief shows up I just walk away.
Anyway, enough rambling. Just letting you know that your work still lives on and is very popular, at least in this corner of the world. I hope SFIV (assuming there’s an arcade version) can be even a fraction as popular.
re: Shred Nebula
Sadly, I don’t own a 360 (or any current “new” gen systems - being married and Real Life? takes a toll on one’s playing time/money), otherwise I’d be sure to check it out.
Also, Weapon Lord needs a modern revival. Seriously, HOWEVER, lose the whacked out motions. Sadly, I don’t see it doing well if it’s not 3D, but maybe Weapon Lord’s gameplay can translate to 3D better than SF’s can (the latter of which I think is impossible).
I can’t believe I’m actually reading info from the MAN who created Hyper Fighting. This whole time I thought it was a room of crazy Japanese dudes who made the game. Hyper Fighting was extremely fun when I was playing it around 13-14 years old. I am 27 now and looking back, I realized that HYPER FIGHTING is a MASTERPIECE that will be difficult for any game to mirror. I’ve played MANY fighting games after that. They’ve all been fun, but I still felt none of them have been DEEP like how hyper fighting was.
The fact that I’ve learned more about the game at an older age and still puzzle myself about certain aspects of game has lead me to appreciate the masterpiece you have created.
I’m sure us enthusiasts would love this once in a lifetime opportunity to pick your brain about certain aspects of the game. Care to open up a session for Q & A ?
Shred Nebula looks awesome, and fills one of my favorite game genres! And an Asteroids style game at that! Definitely looking forward to picking this up when it comes along.
Also Hyper Fighting is is still my favorite fighting game all these years later. So excellent work with that.
Definitely gonna get Shred Nebula when it comes out. Can’t wait. Thanks for making Hyper Fighting, too. Hope this turns out to be just as great, though that’d be awfully tough.
DJames! Glad to see 10th Degree is doing well in your place =P All you need to do is have Raw Thrills and you fix it up and independently release it in arcades now, hint hint =P
