I saw some threads where people were very against people learning more than 1 fighting game to start with. Why is this though? I heard fundamentals carry over so the only thing I can imagine is having to learn way to many combos and not getting the hang of the highly advanced deep stuff. (I assume here that the basic differences are still pretty easy to catch onto)
Combos I personally believe are a very small part of the games (and even that carries over to an extend due to execution improving) and the highly advanced deep stuff doesn’t come into play until said player is way out there already. So what makes it so bad?
It’s not bad per say, but it really depends on your goals as a player. If you want to have fun, meet a bunch of new people, and enjoy playing multiple games, go nuts.
But if your goal is to be a top player in a game, then you’re going to run into some problems. First of all, it takes a LOT of time and effort to become proficient at just ONE game. Multiple that amount of work needed to be good across multiple games, and you pretty much have to practice them as if it were a full time job. Not everybody is willing or able to do that kind of work.
And while the basic fundamental skills do carry over from game to game, each game has their own set of nuances where you really have to spend a lot of adjusting to their cues, timing, and character or matchup specific setups, to really maximize your odds of doing well.
And while I also believe combos should be less emphasized than they are for new players, they are absolutely necessary in newer games. Sure, in SF2, you can get away with not knowing combos, because individual hits and throws do much damage, combos are just round-enders and icing on the cake. In newer games, it’s pretty critical that you learn even a few very basic, but practical combos, and be able to utilize them consistently and accurately if you want to be competitive.
As far as learning goes, it’s way easier to learn a fighting game if you’re already good at another one. High-level experience removes a lot of the learning curve by drawing upon related experiences to get you through it. That’s why the top players can switch games easily, because they quickly reapply what they’ve learned from previous games.
Imagine a situation where you are a fairly casual player who plays SF4, Marvel, KoF and Guilty Gear all equally for 2 years. You will probably end up being bad at all of them, because they’re all very different games and you’ll be spending more of your time adjusting than truly learning how to play.
However, if you focus intently on one of those games for 2 years instead, you’ll probably become fairly decent at it. You’ll gain meaningful match experience and fundamentals from other people who are decent, and you will level up faster. Now, you can spend a month or so on another game and become almost as good at that one, too, because you know how to practice, you know what to look for, and you have a solid skill set to build upon.
Imo, play as much fighters that you enjoy but pick one that you’ll play competitively and put the most effort to that.
Nothing wrong with casually playing other fighters and it certainly doesn’t mean that you have to play your main game and only that game. Play, learn, get better, play better people but above all have fun with the journey.
There’s nothing wrong with learning multiple games. Just be aware that it will take lots of work to become good in any of them. You should focus on learning how to improve at this point, not how to win.
I used to be of the camp of learn as many as i could, and as stated above I go good at none of them. I focused on one game mostly for the next year, and lo and behold I am better at the games that I had not been playing. I think that since i was only paying attention to 1 game engine, I was able to focus more on space control, timing, mind games,seeing patterns in opponets, ect. But by all means BUY all the popular fighting games so you have them for friends, tournaments, ect.
So it’s just a focus thing then. I thought that at least at an early point that wouldn’t matter enough but it seems I’m wrong there.
My main intend of playing fighting games is to play with people, so I won’t stop playing everything but I might make a game my main game then.
(No clue which one yet)
Thanks for the answers.
I heard that you may actually learn one activity faster if you take time off to learn a second. For example spending 60-70% of your playtime on SSF4AE 2012, then spending the other 30-40% playing another game. It’s ok to play multiple games, but you’re going to want to pick one of them to devote the most of your time to.
What I have a hard time with, is keeping the drive to only play one fighter. I understand that if I divide my attention it will only slow the process, and the ultimate goal is to get to that high level of play, but it’s difficult to not get board of one and get the itch to play another.
Remember, monogamy is for people who don’t have options.
The problem is that FG use also the strategic and statistical element. if it was just for the motions like say in 2d/3d platformers,shmups or FPS this wouldnt be such a big deal.
Or sports games. Eg moving from FIFA to Pro Evolution Soccer. Because those games follow the established rules of football.
But each FG has its own strategy. being able to tolerate the wtf moments of one fighter or 2 fighters is already enough, even for the patient players.
Still the difference is not as big as moving from one strategy game to another, but at least there you can adjust the game time to your needs. But not in fighters.
Well, I’m sorry you have ADHD, but if you want to be good at this genre, you need to learn to appreciate the fact that the games become infinitely BETTER if you devote more time to them, whereas bouncing around between the flavor of the week means you’ll just be getting a sad little limited taste of everything.
Or for those who realize it’s the superior option.
I don’t have ADHD, but I do have a desire to try out new things that I might like. I’m not sure if you really think dividing your attention among multiple things is the definition of ADHD, but it isn’t even close.
So I started “fighters” with Smash 64 at a fairly high level. Its not a very well respected game but I put a lot of time into it and understood advanced techniques. After playing Smash 64 and no other fighters for 2-3 years I would say things like “nothing in this game can surprise me” and considered my knowledge of the game complete. I knew how all the moves interacted with all the moves and all the right damage percentages to do the correct next thing. I was in this mindset that there was only smash 64 and I understood smash 64 perfectly well.
Then I moved on to marvel. It turned out that the best thing about marvel was that it was popular in the fgc. My desire to watch marvel led me to start watching other games. Watching AE or anime games in the beginning was boring and they were always popping up when I was trying to get my marvel fix. But as I grinded it out more and more in the games I played I started appreciating the games I used to hate watching on stream.
My exposure to a wide range of fighters made me start to focus on things that were universal in fighting games. In AE commentators would use this unfamiliar phrase “on wake-up”. Once I figured out what this meant in AE it became clear to me that in marvel my wake-up game was bad, I wasn’t doing intelligent things defensively and good players were exploiting this easily. In turn that made me more conscious of my wake up game and my on ledge game in smash 64.
It turned out that my lack of knowledge about other fighters was actually limiting my ability to play and appreciate smash 64. Seeing the mindgames of players who play other games, seeing how specific mechanics affect specific games became fun and I felt like with this learning came improvement at the games I played. I feel that learning more about different games (even if you don’t play them) broadens your perspective and gives a player fresh ideas about how to fight and compete.
Fubarduck told me that when youre getting into fighting games you should play a lot so then you find out which one you like most and mostly stick with that one and play the others casually. And hes right, youll find which one is more your type and you should really stick to what youre best at.
When I was getting into fighting games, I played many different ones, going from 2D to 3D, and it helped me progress my skills a little. I found that some things I learned in one game, I could transfer to another and another, and after playing those games many times, when I settled on one, I didn’t have to do too much practicing on one particular thing, for example, footsies.
I can understand your pain there is so many games to choose and each have their perks and cons that its hard to choose one. Example I love how fast marvel is its fun and the movement is ridiculous at high level. Then there’s ssf4 not as fun to watch or as fast paced but I enjoy that their is a bit less obvious bullshit such as xfactor level 3 it makes u feel that the game is relatively fair which I like. That’s why I play both and take breaks when I get tired or frustrated and switch to the other it keeps things fresh for me. I have fun playing my two games sure I may not be progressing as fast as I could if I stuck with one but then I don’t think I would have as much fun. To me do what will create the most fun for you. If u perceive fun as being a top player of your respective game then by all means dedicate yourself to your game but if fun is just leisurely playing with friend or online or just playing games then go on an spread the love. Do whatever will make you happiest
People learn stuff in different ways and what works for some, might not work for you. There is no tried and true method that is guaranteed to teach you how to be good at fighting games in general.
I mainly play one game but I also dabble in a few others and I feel this is the best method for me. Things remain interesting even if I’m a bit bored (or too salty) of my main game. Those other games also emphasize different things and that can help me better learn some aspects and concepts that might otherwise be lacking in my play. This helps me keep my interest and when it comes down to it, it also keeps me competitive in at least that one game and if I feel like it I can always switch my priorities around to focus on another game.
I don’t claim to know the “right way” any more than anyone else but from what I’ve seen generally the worst way to go is to try and invest as much time and effort to multiple games at one time. This might work for some really high level players but usually the results haven’t been too encouraging.
But if you truly, truly love a game, I think it is a good idea to have it for multiple systems. Nothing is sadder than watching a great player lose then listen to them blame their loss on the fact the tourny was played on the “other system” than the one they own at home.