Consistancy. Please, please PLAY the games you are basing a new game off of and get the story RIGHT. MKSM was a disaster when it came to story, so much that it made me hate that game.

Interesting news. I wouldnt mind if they did a "Mortal Kombat: Brotherhood of the Shadow" type of game. It would be interesting to see how Old Sub-Zero actually became noob. Also how he begins to put together the clan (I can see some RP elements here), how the clan starts growing and getting stronger.
The last boss could be Shinnok (to de-throne him). This game could kinda be like how MKMS was to MK4. You know like how it had characters from the game brought over to 4.
I dont know...could be interesting...

Shang Tsung would be my prime candidate, but a game like this would be tailor made for Quan Chi.

Ya know, I'd probably just have them refer to XD84's thread, in the Overall Forum. It's the best, most comprehensive fan understanding of what the story is to date. It also allows an insight into the consensus. Some of us disagree with XD84's interpretations, but for the most part, we agree with his assessment of the story. To argue that a particular fan of a long standing franchise can-not be a bigger story buff than the creator is a moot point. WE know it, and probably better than they do because it's the only vantage point that we have. May read as a bold statement, but it's so truthful, it's undeniable. (Ed programs the games, but is not the best player....some fan is. Same thing for the story element.)

The point of this, would be to allow them to understand what we know of, and think of MK's story thus far. Playing the game that they wanna base a new game off of is a great additive, but I feel like the story's been going for almost 20yrs now. So, a better approach might just be to find out what it is that we know to be the truth about the game, and create from that understanding. Even though they are the creators, of course.

I don't mean to assert the fans' interpretation of MK, and impose that they "have to" create from that position. No. But I do think that it would serve as a great asset to how well things are worked through, and received if they did read through a thread like XD84s. The MKTeam having a greater understanding of what fans know as the factual truth of the story is, could yield the greatest storyline reception of a MK game since....hell, since ever.

I also think it would serve as a fantastic opportunity to real-ize some of the conceptual thinking of the modern MK player. Concepts (reasonable//plausible ones) ooze from a thread like XD84's based on how good the story, and it's characters are developed. The base work is pretty much done for them coming from a thread like that. Just....fill in the blanks, essentially.



Quan Chi?

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd love to see inside one of Quan Chi's fiendish schemes, and play it out myself. I'd even love to play through, or find out how the hell this guy came to be who he is today. But I agree more with Shang Tsung if there were to be a game like this.

I think he's had great ups and downs throughout his journey. I feel like it'd be great to find out what he felt like when he accomplished so many little things, only to be defeated over and over when the final fight was at hand.

It'd be kinda like playing a game based on the Joker. He wins enough to where when he looses the big fight, and gets knocked all the way back down, his wins constitute him going on and on.

Difference though, would be how they play with the concept of Shang Tsungs soul stealing. It's his own personal gift and curse that we never get to see the inner workings of, and how Shang Tsung has been coping with near death at all times.

They could go into answering questions like:

: Where is he from? (we know but, there's still some debate about the info)
: What was he like when he was normal?
: What exactly did he do to get punished? // How did his beef with Earth and Raiden start?
: What was it like to get cursed by the elder gods and live through it?
: What is it like when he runs out of soul energy? What kinds of nasty//gross//painful things has he had to do to stay alive? What glimmers of light does he see that keeps him going?
: What is he going to do next?

We could play through all that stuff.

Now concerning Quan Chi, what is there (I'd really like to know)?

: Has he always been a demon? // How did he come to be?
: Why is his personality consistently indifferent and "all consuming"?

Idk, I just think there's more under the Shang Tsung prospect.

==

Probably about even with a Shang Tsung game, is a Shao Kahn game. They could start from his existence as a Guardian for Outworld under the rule of Onaga, or further in his past, or further in his future. Either way, he's got about as much unexplored content as Shang Tsung...if not more because he's alot older.

They'd have to make Shao a more progressive figure though. Having him sit in a chair and calculate moves the whole game wouldn't work. It'd probably be best to see him in a "conquer the universe" type game. Having him come into contact with every type of species.

But, they could let us play through his toppling Onaga, then taking over Edenia, Zaterra, the Vampire world, ect...having the greatest challenge be Earth, where he wins, and then looses to Liu Kang.

==

No matter what though, the point is to let us inside what makes up these bad guys (drag them through the mud as often as necessary). When were they "good" if ever, and what series of events lead them to have conflict with Earth? Commendable choices from their perspective, but conceded, evil aggressions that are no good for anyone from Earths perspective.

What the hell leads them to belive that taking over the whole universe, is the best thing they could do?

I have read XDs thread, and created my own way before he did, when Shaolin Monks came out. He did word his thread much more completely though. I have no (well, some, maybe a little at times depending on what it is) problem with re-envisioning a story. The problem I have is re-creating a story, at times resulting in contradiction, and there is a lot of that in Shaolin Monks. What gets me, is that some of it is so glaringly obvious and works to destroy some of the characters they created, that it really DID make me wonder if they even looked at the stories they created in the past. XD does address this wonderfully, and I agree with about 90% of what is said, with the 10% only being character interpretation theories. The contradictions of characters and story is so hard for me to ignore. XD does a good job of listing them.

noobde 28 minutes ago from Twitterrific
Wondering if Superman should be knocked down by Thor's hammer or if it should just push him back. Hmmm.



Ed Boon is toying with us again lol

Oh yea, I don't blame you one bit for this because I've thought similar. Like maybe they're just not paying enough attention to what they did before, so that they actually can stem from that going forward.

But now, even though I'm sure we got a good chunk of the story right in line with what they intended, I'm thinking that some of what fans may have solidified, may not coincide with what the MKTeam had wished to work. I think MKSM was a great example of this, because the game came out great...all except for the story element. I think fans simply had something else in mind despite the developers efforts to "make the characters accurate and believable" in that game.

That game was good enough to where I kinda knew they did their homework with that one. But when it came to doing the story, it looks like they did the wrong homework, or they only did a part of it really well. Looks like they only did an internal assessment of the actual material. That's what I think happened, and that's the kind of thing that can carry the story where MKSMs' went. I mean because from there, I can imagine the writers thinking that they could "fudge" here or there "just a little bit" and believe that we will be able to see why they made certain changes to the story.

But instead, what it looks like happened, is they only did the internal assessment, fudged a little bit here and there based on those standards alone, and ended up bastardizing almost the whole thing from what fans know to be true. Especially each individual characters story.

Now like I mentioned earlier, I don't believe they need to be having council with fans over game material. But I do think that since the option is there, and the channels for the information are definitely wide open for them to take advantage of (without ever coming in any real direct contact with fans, to tell you the truth), that they should definitely be taking advantage of fans knowledge of the games and it's characters.

I think it makes the games better for everybody.

====

Let's take Scorpion for example, shall we?

I'd guess the MKTeam generally knows and understands what Scorpion is. When I've created fictional characters in the past, I always generally understand the persona I'd like the character to exemplify. So they probably understand Scorpion as "Badass" >> So they probably go into creating Scorpion with the centerpiece of his creation being "Just make him as badass as you can, and Vogel will put the story to him later".

See, there's some science to him there, but it seems minuscule....and it comes out minuscule, letting us then receive him, minimally. Or "just enough to be satisfied for one game".

While on the other hand, fans see Scorpion as badass+. The hype surrounding the character spews of more and more potential. Probably because of the emotional attachments to the character >> which is probably due to individual experience. So, I think fans put Scorpion "together" emotionally first, then aesthetically. Which is the opposite of how the developers put him together...I'm guessing. And if Scorpion doesn't emanate what is relative to that emotional attachment that fans have with the character? Then fans have problems with what the developers did with Scorpion.

=====

Now, in my own personal opinion? Scorpion is someone who was wronged beyond comprehension...unless you've been through something similar yourself. He was forced to face an unrealized "worst fear", that he never thought could actually happen to him. This would've made him an extremely cautious man about his family. Most probably wouldn't have even known he had a wife and child judging solely by what he made people focus on....his fighting, and loyalty to the Shirai Ryu. He probably was perceived as "too vicious to love anything but the clan".

Scorpion is a ninja who was cursed to never rest without the presence of his wife and child. He loved everything about his life, and then someone took the best part away from him forever. Quan Chi violated his bliss, his heaven, and his once content soul. Once you have that kind of harmony in your life, you can't live without it, and the irony now that Scorpion is dead, is that now he can't ever really die without it either.

He had enemies, of course. But I think those enemies gave him purpose to be who is was intellectually and athletically. The Lin Kuei, and particularly Sub-Zero, gave Scorpion a fantastic reason to be as good as he was before he died. Opposition to him gave him enough fuel to last forever. I don't think he was happy to have opposition, no one is. But I think he was content with a consistent challenge. Which is something common in very competitive men.

To me, Scorpion was also a man with a thin code of honor. Yea, I believe he had one. Otherwise the death of his family would have been received better than it was. Not "good", just better. He would have gotten over it, chalking it up to the understanding that these things happen to ninjas as vicious as him, who belong to a clan such as his, sometimes. So, occurrences like that must not have happened around him at-all. He might have even been getting ready to get promoted within the clan too. Those things, or he was just conceded enough to never see that his family was also susceptible to death because of who he was, and what he stood for.

I don't think he was much of a leader. I think he was more...the quintessential nail in the coffin" for any and all opposition. He was not #2 to anything, he was #1, or matched with that at all times. And, when you wear that hat, you don't ever come down from it unless someone kills you for your position as that force.

Bad-Ass. He was the complete yin-yang symbolism in his own rite, even though I think it's plausible that not many people outside his "friend circle" knew who he truly was, or that he had a family. That may even be a stretch considering his profession. It's likely that the only ones who really knew who he was (mask on or off), are grandmasters of his clan.

And now? Scorpion is a creature from hell who still resembles his former human self. The primary persona will forever be a ninja, so that's what he should look and behave like.....Every time we see him. He is the worst thing that could ever happen to a human soul. Scorpion is the infiltrator of the human race's "best of the best". He didn't die correctly and can't die now, and he can't be alive ever again. So? He should be what purgatory looks like if it were housed in one body. Scorpion, is the demon with a consciousness, a hell based vitality, and an eternal emotional rage. He should be the best worst thing ever encountered in a confrontation. There is absolutely nothing he fears. He is a monster.

/IMO
======

Because of the above, I also am pretty skeptical when it comes to transforming these character from the previous versions of themselves, into modern interpretations of themselves. But I feel it is absolutely necessary for them to do this. Now.

I'm not really talking about how these characters look right now either. It's about the way they're built up, developed as realistic individuals who exist in this dark, surreal, and very fantasy-saturated world, and presented to us in true-to-character fashion.

Gotta stop somewhere, right?

It's been months since rumors about 2 games in the works started, yet we still haven't gotten confirmation for at least one.

Anyway, I would be more excited about a Shaolin Monks sequel than another fighting game since I prefer fighting-adventure over pure fighting.

Story, I'd love them to use the MK3 story. I can already envision battling through hordes of extermination squads and traveling/exploring through a half dead Earth.

It would be lots of fun. Kinda of like a Terminator style war game except with MK characters.

Okay so here it is the definitive proof of the next bloody MK is indeed just that. Just MK.

Ed Boons twitter:
@Keith44u MK9 isn't going to have Superheroes in it.
about 2 hours ago from web in reply to Keith44u

Motion capturing special moves & fatalities today....they are kind of sick !!
about 2 hours ago from web

Carlos & Rick O. doin some kool fatalities. I hope we aren't taking these too far. :(
27 minutes ago from Twitterrific

If he's talking about working on a new game, why hasn't he made an official statement?

What a tease.

He is. It seems Twitter was made for Ed.

RE Shaolin Monks 2: Seeing as SM1 was this half arsed fusion of MK1 and MK2 surely it wouldn't be impossible seeing SM2 as a MK3 and MK4 fusion. Bosses would range between awesome and meh.
Sheeva, Motaro, Cyrax, Sektor, Noob Saibot, Tanya, Jarek, Quan Chi, Shinnok. Maybe even Sareena, Kia and Jataaka.

Plus Mileena, seeing as she never died. Which is odd.

And seeing as no one really dies in Mortal Kombat, bosses from the previous game could appear.

Pred, excellent explainations of character and story development, particularly your view of Scorpion. It closely resembles mine. It's nice to know there are others out there that appreciate and put as much thought into character and story development as I do. Time will tell if they get it right for the next game. The way things are now though, with MKSM and MKA creating a veritable mealstrom of inconsistencies and breaks from the orignal tenants of the MK universe, I've kind of lost hope that MK can rise above the storm and put everything back together. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is one of the things that prompted Ed to say "Ah screw it, let's start over with a clean slate". At that point, I know I would be tempted to do so if I didn't have a clear direction as to where things were going, and what my universe was intended to contain, and what it was not.

QueenSindel: Hmmm..Mk3 eh? I definitely think that MKSM ended in a way purposely leading to a great MK3 storyline, but could there be another reason you want an MK3 MKSM game? Perhaps a facination with a certain character that you and I share an obsession over? Heh.

I think MK3 is going to be the most logical step that the team takes if they make another adventure game, although I concur with others that think that the origins of Shang Tsung or Quan Chi would be very interesting to delve into.

Oh definitely. I don't deny it. I want to see Sindel again!!!!

However, I also love the setting an MK3-based game could bring. Earth and Outworld merging, racing against time, extermination squads everywhere.

I do hope they make some of the ultimate characters playable though, namely Jade and/or Kitana with Mileena as a villain.

Shaolin Monks biggest flaw was its horribly limited roster, imo. A sequel needs more playabe characters with at least 2 females.

I would love to see the Lin Kuei's automation story fleshed out. It's funny that such a epic story has always been stored behind the curtains and it's hardly ever referenced.

Think of the benefits. We could see Cyrax and Sektor in their human forms, see Subzero and Smoke (almost) escape from the clan during automation, Hell, we can finally find out why Smoke was rotting in Shao Kahn's chambers for eight years. I know I'm game.