Fighting The Curve: How Complicated Controls Hold Back the Fighting Genre

DualShockers writes, "Do you like fighting games? Does defeating your opponent in a strategic collision of skill and prowess make your heart beat faster than that of a small rodent? Do you love dazzling your foes with long, intricate combos that leave both his jaw and the jaws of all onlookers decidedly dropped? Do you enjoy spending hours upon hours in practice mode learning commands and combos with frame-specific inputs so technical they make you feel a dunce? Do the terms QCB, QCF, HCB or FCF mean anything to you?

You probably answered yes to all those questions except for the last two. The acronyms stand for: Quarter Circle Backwards, Quarter Circle Forward, Half Circle Backwards and Full Circle Forwards. If you like fighters but didn’t know this, you should read on...."

[Chadness]

I do think game controls sometimes lean toward the ridiculous. This isn't limited to just the fighting genre, either.

[Bedrockk]

for what its worth, the tournament edition sticks have the ability to "program" move sets.

don't worry, Chad, Move & Kinect will make all these gaming mechanics obsolete w/ their great gaming library and stellar 1:1 responses.

[topdawg122]

While I do agree with some things in this article I don't think that the controls are the real problem. I honestly don't find the controls or moves that difficult at all. It's how you apply them in a match that really matters. I think of fighting games as a high speed chess match. Most people don't realize you need to learn other dynamics of a match like anti-airs, frame advantage, cross ups etc. While I think this is the complicated part, that is also why it is so much more rewarding to me than most other genres. If most people took a week or two to learn some of this stuff than their game would immensely improve and fall in love with the genre.

[WLPowell]

My friend used to just button mash on SSF4 and he was such a fun punching bag, took 3 hours to teach him some basics with Ken. He can hold his own online now. He thought it was ridiculous how easy it is to learn to paly properly.

[nickjkl]

i think we need more buttons or features in out controllers

[Cenobia]

I fudging hate the half circle move that is required for basically any street fighter-like fighting game. I like to use the d-pad and I can never pull it off.

The end result is I twitch and duck like 10 times before I can actually pull anything off.

I loved DOA2 for its counter mechanic though. Countering in every other game seems to need god-like timing combined with insane button combos.

[RIPSKATEDESTROY]

gooood article!

[iiprotocolii]

Good article indeed. The ideas in here are intriguing, to say the least. And as someone who's been a fan of the fighting franchise, I think it'd be cool to see some of this thrown in with future IPs.

[Hitman0769]

This is an interesting and revolutionary way of thinking of Fighting games that I'm sure will draw controversy. Simplifying the beloved franchises could cause mass murders, pitchforks, and running out of the country of a certain developing outfit or two, but maybe if they tried this idea with a brand new IP it could attract a whole new crowd, they would just have to fight hard to get the existing Fighting crowd to buy into it as well otherwise it may flop the first time around. Great idea though all around.

[topdawg122]

They've already tried this with TvC, and while it was a success I think it was on the wrong system (The Wii). If developers can somehow retain the competitive and skillful nature of fighting games while still simplifying to the masses, that would be fantastic. Fighting games are incredibly hard to balance anyway, so blending a hardcore facet with simpler controls would be a daunting task for developers.

[ShadyDevil]

I personally think SFIV has great controls whereas I find Tekken 6 difficult because it is in a 3D plane of existance. However my girlfriend loves tekken over SFIV so...its a mixed bag.

[NYC_Gamer]

i gave up on fighting games along time ago

[sankthetank42]

its not so bad once u get used to it

[Godmars290]

Took me an embarrassingly long time to do fireball, twice as long for an uppercut and I on;y do super moves by mistake.

[JoelT]

I feel that anyone born in the 90's shouldn't even be allowed to comment in here. They no nothing of the arcade hay days when it was all about perfect that one great combo or remembering fatality buttons. You had to learn to become good because your pocket full of quarters would empty really quick if you didn't.

[Hitman0769]

I was born in 86 and although I had my first experiences with gaming on the NES I too miss the arcades and can relate a little here. I wasn't too big on Fighting games but more-so the shooters but the same concept applies. There was no auto-aim back then and certainly no AC130's!!!!

[topdawg122]

Exactly, that's why I love the genre, it still retains it's difficulty from years past. Honestly anyone who really finds the genre overly difficult is either young or hasn't grown up in an arcade competitive environment. Just take a little time like we did when we were kids, observed others playing styles, and you'll see how good you can become.

[UnSelf]

i was born in 86 and the fighting genre might be the reason i still game today.

i love that too many of my friends dont get nearly as excited as i do when a new fighting game is announced.

if they ever change the controls and make it easier ill quit playing fighting games the very next day. Part of being good isnt just learning to execute the moves is using them strategically

[Bedrockk]

good idea for an article and interesting take on the subject - maybe if certain games, like 1v1 fighting games, could include different difficulties of playstyle the way they incorporate levels of difficulties - perhaps an "easy" button mash system and still maintain the alternative, more sophisticated mechanics for hardened veterans. then, in online play you could add another prefernce when finding opponents to include play mechanic options.

[DelbertGrady]

For me it's more the lack of innovation.

[UP]

how would you have the controls for a fighting game be? If you say any motion controls for fighting games I will explode.

[topdawg122]

Fighting games have evolved a lot more gameplay wise than most other genres. Although I think it takes someone who plays them regularly to really see the changes. Whether it be 3v3, 2v2, super combos, super cancels, roll cancels, snap backs, fadcs etc.

[Ninferno]

people who find it complicated need to grow up!!!

[UP]

I agree. the controls for SSF4 are not hard at all.

[Hitman0769]

You are insane, Take a look at the combo list again my man... I think that people who don't find it complicated must have been not hugged as a kid.

[webeblazing]

thats what im saying gamers and so called journalist today are dumb. almost everybody has the same moves. if you think hcf, qcf is hard what did u do in the last fight night cause i could of sworn thats the only way to throw punches n everybody adapted. seem like gamers select wat game to adapt to these days and want every easy. i think next gen is gonna be even worst then this gen.

n who tries to remember combo i usually beat somebody up like im boxing the more u play with the char the combo pattern sticks to you after it comes out from just mixing it up from other times playing with him. do you even play fighting games start small 1st, try to win first.

[shotgun_ps3]

Amazing article but I'm not sure if that is the reason why fighting games aren't doing so well because Super Smash Brothers is more or less the ideal franchise this article is describing yet as a franchise it's not that spectacular.

I think the problem with fighting games isn't that the controls are too difficult to master, it's just not a major genre in the video game market. You have you're big blockbuster genres such as FPS, RPG, 3rd Person Shooters, then you have your smaller niche genres such as fighting games, RTS, puzzle, good 3rd party game on the Wii and so on. Sometimes games in these genres break into the mainstream but for the large chunk of what is released, there usually lucky if it breaks a million worldwide.

[ReBurn]

Excellent commentary on the state of the fighting genre, in my opinion. Today there tend to be so many moves per character that you end up have to remember dozens, or even hundreds, of combinations to master the game. It's really frustrating for someone who just wants to turn it on and play.

I think I know why developers do it. If the controls are too easy to pick up then the button-mashers show up, find the most unbalanced and overpowered character in the game, and absolutely decimate everyone who comes along. A good example is Zack from DOA4. I can't tell you how many times I watched matches where an absolute beginner was able to beat everyone who came along just by using the high kick over and over.

On the other hand, if the controls are too complicated then people get frustrated and nobody wants to play. Even online beginner matches are frustrating because someone who has spent a few minutes learning the basic special moves for one character can throw the whole balance of the match off.

I don't know what the solution is, but I'd like to see games that have easier to execute moves at the beginner level. The beginner level in most games is just stupid AI. The moves are still hard to pull off.

[colonel179]

it is an interesting topic, but what I don't like is that these days everything has to appeal the casual gamer. Every developer wants to sell the same amount as MW2, so they don't care risking their franchises in order to appeal to more people, even if those people don't even care about their games.

I am not good at fighting games. The only game that I mastered was Killer Instinct 2 and Mortal Kombat 3, with scorpion and sub zero, and that's it. but even then, I don't want to have a fighting game where you press a button, and you kill the guy without doing anything. Where would the challenge be there?

This trend of appealing to grandmas and mothers need to stop. Videogames have always require skill, even since pong, and Super Mario Bros. They have never been easy, so why would now?

[MechaGear]

Master moves are for those who mastered them only.
Thats the basic idea. No problem with that.

[BetaChris]

While some gamers may be disinterested in fighting games due to their often complex controls, I believe an equal or greater amount of fighting game players will be irritated if developers intentionally "dumb down" the controls in attempt to gain more so-called mainstream attention.

Removing a deliberately deep, complex combo system, in favor of an easier one with little to no learning curve may well serve to lessen the overall game experience. Imagine, for instance, if Capcom had abandoned their longstanding combos in SFIV, for a simplified combat method, relegating attacks to little more than a series of button mashing?

As far as I'm concerned, the bottom line is, the majority of fighting games, at present do NOT appeal to the lowest common denominator. If that means that they will be limited to so-called "niche" status (a fact Capcom and Namco will be quick to dispute), then so be it.

[Pennywise]

I'm so sick of the cushion that is needed for these crybaby gamers. If a fighting game didn't have in depth combos and controls it would just be a button bashing noobfest. People need to learn skills and quit crying games are too hard!

If they didn't have complicated controls, they would all be the same.

Everything seems to be dumbed down to appeal to the masses lately. It is a real turn off.

[Unicron]

I really have to agree. The feeling of accomplishment from learning a game, mastering it, winning because you are BETTER than the other guy? ALL GONE. Now "everyone deserves a chance to win."

UC2. 1.05 patch. Nuff said.

[Veneno]

Agreed. The fight genre is really the last of the genres to be truly hardcore. everyone complaining here is casual.

[maniacmayhem]

Well said Pennywise.

What ever happened to working hard, knuckling down and practicing until you were the best?

[Unbiased_gamer]

Please don't dumb down our fighting games!!! It was bad enough that they did it to MVC2 with only 4 buttons and 1 button combos sigh :(. I guess if they want to make a new IP that has easy controls for beginners or entry level thats fine but don't touch our SF's and Tekkens with that crap. I hate that everyone thinks it needs to be easier these aren't button mashers each move needs to be done a certain way, it's all about execution and skill not mashing to win. Fighting games are one of the last truly skill based games they are for the thinking man. It's like King fu mixed with Chess with a joystick. If you don't believe me than listen to Joseph Gordon-Levitt he's a smart man Go to about 3:19 http://www.dailymotion.com/... levitt-part-1

[Sprudling]

There aren't many moves in Soul Calibur that are hard to execute. There are some notable exceptions, but the huge majority of them are just tap a direction once or twice + a button or two.

[liquidus118]

Good to see someone who agrees with me.
In BlazBlue it can be a real pain to get Haku-men to do his good moves in Ranked Mathces (Which don't use the 'easy stick') and even if you do they take half a second to a second and by that time the opening is gone and they're either slapping you around the screen or are out of reach, ready to counter when your late attack falls just short of them. The problem is heightened with Haku-men seen as he's very slow to begin with.

[HumanStark]

I certainly had issues with the absurd inputs required for the Guilty Gear series, but outside of a 720 for super piledrivers, nothing in Street Fighter has been very hard.

[dkblackhawk50]

To be honest, more challenge the better :D

[Games4M - Rob]

I never gave a problem pulling of special moves but memorising combos for each game is really tedious.

[HeartDisease]

i disagree with your comment about being able to pick up COD or madden and "compete". i have never played COD. are you suggesting i can get on , play my first game, and hope to place anywhere near the top? even having played dozens of other FPS games i will not be able to compete at all due to no experience. i can certainly point the gun and hit the fire button but we all know there is more to it than that. just as you cannot hit punch or kick and expect to win.

fighting games are half about memorization, and half about thumb control and timing. you memorize the ammo and weapon locations on that COD map right? you memorize where all the warp portals are in mario galaxy right? you memorize all the monster weaknesses in that mmo you play right? your a master a timing in rock band right? how is memorizing button combinations or learning a new system of timing any different?

if a fighter has 6 super moves and 2 utlra moves, what buttons you going to bind them to? do you design and sell a control similar to the old atari jaguar one, that had 20+ buttons on the face?

take the standard ps3 or xbox control. first off my left thumb NEVER comes of the directional pad(or analog if thats your thing) so that leaves the 4 face buttons and the 4 shoulder buttons. if its SFIV, then 6 of these are for your punches and kicks. that leaves 2. they are usually set as all 3 punch and all 3kicks, depending on the game. what buttons left to program super moves to? L3 and r3? start, select? talk about making things anti intuitive.

man up and learn to play. you may not be as good as people that got their skills in the arcades when they were still popular, but you can improve thru practice. i consider myself an excellent gamer, but i still get schooled at console fps games due to lack of practice and not memorizing weapon/powerup locations. to get to #1 you have to practice. that is the universal truth in all things. mebe people shy away from fighters because they are 1 on 1 matches. there is 1 winner and 1 loser. in a fps game there are 1-20th place. you may get 19th but not feel you lost as there is one person lower than you, and thus you stick with it and get better instead of getting discouraged from "losing" constantly.

[EXID]

i'm absolutely frickin HORRIBLE when it comes to fighting games( ican't even pass ssf4 on EASY), but even i can pick up ssf4 and and pull off the 90%+ of the special moves with ease. it's the actual playing against ai or people where i suck. i look impressive in the training mode, but once the opponent starts moving and fighting back... lol not knowing what combination of moves and when to use them is what makes you suck at fighting games.

[tiamat5]

The last DOA game was a prime example. The button combos you had to press to reverse a punch or kick were ludacris. Who could remember these combos in the middle of an epic battle especially against a A.I. oppenent who knows every move the character has

[gypsygib]

Complicated controls explain the disappearance of Virtua Fighter. Most gamers just want to press a trigger to shoot and the other to aim, that is why a lot of action games fail too. No one want to remember long combos, it's easy to play FPS games they pretty much all control the same.

[Kwertie]

Controls aren't complicated. The reason people get whooped at fighters is because the other player outsmarts them. Fighting games aren't about jumping in and whoever can do the best combo, because good players won't let you jump in.

It's all about mind games and people new to the genre just don't get it and wonder why they lose when they jump around and do random moves.