Divekick and Competitive Balance
Fighting games are a fairly prominent genre inside the video game industry, originating in the arcades of previous generations and eventually being ported to video game consoles as the technology involved evolved to be better suited to a home marketplace. As a genre, fighting games are one of the few that have always been centered around competition, whether it is between the computer, friends, or international competitors. Fighting games usually contain fairly complex systems that in turn create a somewhat steep learning curve, requiring a degree of skill to be built up before a player can truly play against other players of the game. However, this has a side effect of possibly turning away players who have an interest in a fighting game but aren’t skilled enough to get any enjoyment out of it, thus causing them to quickly lose interest in the game. As Salen and Zimmerman (2004) wrote, "If your players feel that your game is unfair, that it lacks a level playing field, it is unlikely that they will want to play" (p. 263), and the gap between experienced players and interested newcomers tends to give the impression of unfairness to people encountering any particular fighting game for the first time. However, Divekick’s design works against this disparity.
Divekick’s mechanics build around the use of only two buttons (defined by the user), one for jumping and the other for kicking with the ultimate goal of hitting the opponent first without getting hit in turn. The incredibly simple controls make the barrier for entry almost non-existent; Divekick is one of the few fighting games that can simply be picked up and played by anyone. Despite its uncomplicated control scheme, Divekick also retains all of the tension of mainstream fighting games. Intense moments of what move to make and when, positioning, and how to counter an opponent’s moves are a constant during matches and aggressively pushed into existence by the limited time span and middle line mechanic (which awards victory of the match to the player closest to the center line, in the case no one has been hit when time is up). Divekick may be the fairest fighting game to ever exist, but as a result it innovates a new dimension in a debatably stale genre.
Salen, K., Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals.
The MIT Press.
Being a fan of fighting games myself, it felt like Divekick was almost a step back for the genre. It reminded me many old fighting games such as the original Virtua Fighter game. It features no special attacks and only punch, kick, and block buttons. Both games have gameplay that has been simplified so much that they can be approached and be played instantly by an amateur player. However, I enjoy taking satisfaction in learning the complex mechanics and character limitations that most modern fighting games, such as Blazblue, have. For this, it seems like Divekick is unfair because of how much less rewarded I feel for practicing the game.
ReplyDelete