Your message to the MK team: What are your priorities for MK8?
Mortal Kombat X
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Your message to the MK team: What are your priorities for MK8?
0
posted11/21/2007 12:52 AM (UTC)by
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02/25/2004 03:05 PM (UTC)
I haven't been posting as much lately, but I have still been reading alot, and I think that there are alot of common themes as far as what people want to see in the next MK game. Hypothetically speaking, if the MK team were to check this thread, what priorities would you rank as being highest on your list of improvements for MK8? Rank them in order of most important to you, to least. Honestly, I'm just curious as to what the MK faithful care about as far as the new game. You don't really have to read my explanations, as the priorities listed in capital letters speak for themselves, but I included them with the idea that maybe some people might change their mind or see something from a new angle. I might not agree with all of these arguments, but I agree with alot of them. So what do you think, and why?
(in no order)
GRAPHICS
My argument: After MK2, the digitized graphics stopped being as eye catching and 3D fighting games caught on in a big way. MK has never really caught up the Virtua Fighters and Soul Caliburs of the world in terms of graphical power. If the graphics aren't good, the rest of the game suffers.
FIGHTING STYLES:
My argument: It's unfortunate, but MK still plays like a fighting game from the early mid nineties where every character has the same or similar stock regular moves and only differentiated by their special moves. Fighting games moved beyond this a long time ago. Give characters a unique style and move set that works for their style. If a character is a wrestler or a judo expert, they should have more than two or three throwing moves for example. A character that uses a style like Thai boxing for example should move, feel and play like a Thai boxer, not just have the stance and a move or two that looks like a Thai boxer would use it.
FIGHTING SYSTEM:
My argument: MK needs to modernize in terms of the way their games play. No more dial a combos, no more glitches. Develop a new system where the player has more options in fighting. A better parry system, a better countering system, staggers, better frame management, more uses of the 360 degree/8 way environment, escapes, and everything else that more modernized fighting games have been doing SUCCESSFULLY for years now.
GAME MODES:
My argument: Sure it's great that MK employed online for the series, but no one can deny that the actual modes available in MK games as far as single player or multiplayer fighting are extremely limited. MKA had what, Arcade, VS and practice? How about a survival mode? Team Battle mode? Tournament mode? I like the idea of the create a character mode, but can't that be expanded upon? More options for everything from hair styles to boots/shoes? More special moves? How about a create a tournament mode where you can create your own story for your created characters including bio and endings, and you get tools like pictures that you can insert your character on for the ending and the vs screen etc. But there has to be alot more and I hate that stuff like that can't be done or isn't done because the MK team wastes time on modes that don't pertain to kombat (Kart racing, Konquest etc).
THE STORY:
My argument: Before MK:D came out, EGM said that MK had storylines that were "porno quality." While I disagree, I would say that since MK2 or MK3, the quality in both the story telling and the consistency has gone down considerably. I don't know if it's an afterthought now or what, but why they even bother killing off characters, I'll never understand. They just show up in the next game anyways.
Also, because of the fact that you never know what actually happened until you play the next game, it's way too hard to figure out what has actually happened to all of the characters and what has not. This fact basically relegates certain characters to B Team status, and their endings are either irrelevant to the storyline as a whole, repeated throughout the series multiple times, or they contradict other things that have happened.
There needs to be a coheesive story again, built around the MK tournament. We should learn more about the characters and the goings on of the tournament through cut scenes before, during and after the character has won or lost in the tournament (yes, only one character should be able to defeat the final boss in story mode, but there are a billion other ways to make characters stories interesting without them having to win the tournament)
I got into MK because I loved the stories and the sense of mystery in MK1 and MK2. I think that the MK team needs a Story Mode to flesh out their characters and make things actually happen to them. More twists and turns, more drama, etc. This mode could and should feel like a movie that could be pasted together after all of the cut scenes are unlocked.
REALISM
My argument: From graphics to gameplay, fatalities to environments, and everything else in between, if the MK team wants to modernize their brand, it's time to ditch the campy, cartoony look and feel of the previous installments. They've said that the next MK game will be dark and gritty, but if I'm not mistaken, they've been saying that for a long time now. It starts with a real, believable world and goes from there.
FATALITIES
My argument: I've heard alot of people say that the fatalities need to be modernized. No more 18 rib cages or bright red blood geysers. Alot of fans want gory fatalities where we feel a sense of fear coming from the victim as something gross and/or humiliating happens to them. It should be up close and shocking, but it should also look real. MK made alot of money on it's shock value in the past, and it can continue to do so, but in a world of GTA, Manhunt, Gears of War etc, MK has its work cut out for themselves if they want to recapture that crown.
CHARACTERS
My argument: Is it just me, or are the amount of memorable characters decreasing with each passing game? MK1's characters became staples of the series, even symbls of the series. That number of memorable characters has gone down with each passing iteration. Whether it's the look of the characters, their special moves, their stories etc, I'm hoping that the MK team can fill it's new cast with memorable characters that become hallmarks of the series for years to come.
THE NEW FACTOR
My argument: In every game, it seems like the MK team tries to go for a new mode or feature that brings a certain "new" factor to the game or the fighting genre as a whole. MK1 had fatalities and a hiden character, MK2 was a souped up MK1, MK3 introduced the run button, multi tiered backgrounds and hidden playable characters, MK4 went 3D and featured weapons, MK5 had 3 styles per character, the krypt, and minigames not related to fighting, MK6 had mid match environmental kills and MK7 had online play and create a character. Ed Boon has already said that there's something very special planned for the new MK game. While it's difficult to say how important this will be now, if you consider the past, I would say that this new feature or idea could potentially change MK forever.
MINI GAMES
My argument: MK is more than just a fighting game now. While the number one focus should be on the fighting, it's nice that the MK team has included other modes to make the MK games more complete. While I wasn't a big fan of konquest mode in either MK5, MK6 or MK7, most people might agree that if a konquest mode were done well enough, it could make for an awesome bonus for MK fans and general gamers as well.
SECRETS & UNLOCKABLES
My argument: While most people won't consider this of the utmost importance, I would argue that one of the most exciting aspects of the MK series has always been the secrets and unlockables. Fighting Reptile in the pit and trying to find Ermac were obsessions of mine when the first MK came out on home systems. But ever since I played as Smoke in MK3, I have been insane with the idea of unlocking stuff in MK games. The Krypt was an awesome addition in MK5, but I still kinda think that it took a little away from finding stuff for yourself. I also think that spending 800 hard earned koins on a picture of a guy performing a fighting style with plastic weapons was NOT my idea of fun. That type of stuff should be free and available in the kontent section. Keep the krypt for unlocking alt outfits and create a character parts and leave the secrets to the game itself. Maybe unlock more characters through the story? Just an idea. But I must say that secrets and unlockables are a fun and important part of this series past, present and future.
(in no order)
GRAPHICS
My argument: After MK2, the digitized graphics stopped being as eye catching and 3D fighting games caught on in a big way. MK has never really caught up the Virtua Fighters and Soul Caliburs of the world in terms of graphical power. If the graphics aren't good, the rest of the game suffers.
FIGHTING STYLES:
My argument: It's unfortunate, but MK still plays like a fighting game from the early mid nineties where every character has the same or similar stock regular moves and only differentiated by their special moves. Fighting games moved beyond this a long time ago. Give characters a unique style and move set that works for their style. If a character is a wrestler or a judo expert, they should have more than two or three throwing moves for example. A character that uses a style like Thai boxing for example should move, feel and play like a Thai boxer, not just have the stance and a move or two that looks like a Thai boxer would use it.
FIGHTING SYSTEM:
My argument: MK needs to modernize in terms of the way their games play. No more dial a combos, no more glitches. Develop a new system where the player has more options in fighting. A better parry system, a better countering system, staggers, better frame management, more uses of the 360 degree/8 way environment, escapes, and everything else that more modernized fighting games have been doing SUCCESSFULLY for years now.
GAME MODES:
My argument: Sure it's great that MK employed online for the series, but no one can deny that the actual modes available in MK games as far as single player or multiplayer fighting are extremely limited. MKA had what, Arcade, VS and practice? How about a survival mode? Team Battle mode? Tournament mode? I like the idea of the create a character mode, but can't that be expanded upon? More options for everything from hair styles to boots/shoes? More special moves? How about a create a tournament mode where you can create your own story for your created characters including bio and endings, and you get tools like pictures that you can insert your character on for the ending and the vs screen etc. But there has to be alot more and I hate that stuff like that can't be done or isn't done because the MK team wastes time on modes that don't pertain to kombat (Kart racing, Konquest etc).
THE STORY:
My argument: Before MK:D came out, EGM said that MK had storylines that were "porno quality." While I disagree, I would say that since MK2 or MK3, the quality in both the story telling and the consistency has gone down considerably. I don't know if it's an afterthought now or what, but why they even bother killing off characters, I'll never understand. They just show up in the next game anyways.
Also, because of the fact that you never know what actually happened until you play the next game, it's way too hard to figure out what has actually happened to all of the characters and what has not. This fact basically relegates certain characters to B Team status, and their endings are either irrelevant to the storyline as a whole, repeated throughout the series multiple times, or they contradict other things that have happened.
There needs to be a coheesive story again, built around the MK tournament. We should learn more about the characters and the goings on of the tournament through cut scenes before, during and after the character has won or lost in the tournament (yes, only one character should be able to defeat the final boss in story mode, but there are a billion other ways to make characters stories interesting without them having to win the tournament)
I got into MK because I loved the stories and the sense of mystery in MK1 and MK2. I think that the MK team needs a Story Mode to flesh out their characters and make things actually happen to them. More twists and turns, more drama, etc. This mode could and should feel like a movie that could be pasted together after all of the cut scenes are unlocked.
REALISM
My argument: From graphics to gameplay, fatalities to environments, and everything else in between, if the MK team wants to modernize their brand, it's time to ditch the campy, cartoony look and feel of the previous installments. They've said that the next MK game will be dark and gritty, but if I'm not mistaken, they've been saying that for a long time now. It starts with a real, believable world and goes from there.
FATALITIES
My argument: I've heard alot of people say that the fatalities need to be modernized. No more 18 rib cages or bright red blood geysers. Alot of fans want gory fatalities where we feel a sense of fear coming from the victim as something gross and/or humiliating happens to them. It should be up close and shocking, but it should also look real. MK made alot of money on it's shock value in the past, and it can continue to do so, but in a world of GTA, Manhunt, Gears of War etc, MK has its work cut out for themselves if they want to recapture that crown.
CHARACTERS
My argument: Is it just me, or are the amount of memorable characters decreasing with each passing game? MK1's characters became staples of the series, even symbls of the series. That number of memorable characters has gone down with each passing iteration. Whether it's the look of the characters, their special moves, their stories etc, I'm hoping that the MK team can fill it's new cast with memorable characters that become hallmarks of the series for years to come.
THE NEW FACTOR
My argument: In every game, it seems like the MK team tries to go for a new mode or feature that brings a certain "new" factor to the game or the fighting genre as a whole. MK1 had fatalities and a hiden character, MK2 was a souped up MK1, MK3 introduced the run button, multi tiered backgrounds and hidden playable characters, MK4 went 3D and featured weapons, MK5 had 3 styles per character, the krypt, and minigames not related to fighting, MK6 had mid match environmental kills and MK7 had online play and create a character. Ed Boon has already said that there's something very special planned for the new MK game. While it's difficult to say how important this will be now, if you consider the past, I would say that this new feature or idea could potentially change MK forever.
MINI GAMES
My argument: MK is more than just a fighting game now. While the number one focus should be on the fighting, it's nice that the MK team has included other modes to make the MK games more complete. While I wasn't a big fan of konquest mode in either MK5, MK6 or MK7, most people might agree that if a konquest mode were done well enough, it could make for an awesome bonus for MK fans and general gamers as well.
SECRETS & UNLOCKABLES
My argument: While most people won't consider this of the utmost importance, I would argue that one of the most exciting aspects of the MK series has always been the secrets and unlockables. Fighting Reptile in the pit and trying to find Ermac were obsessions of mine when the first MK came out on home systems. But ever since I played as Smoke in MK3, I have been insane with the idea of unlocking stuff in MK games. The Krypt was an awesome addition in MK5, but I still kinda think that it took a little away from finding stuff for yourself. I also think that spending 800 hard earned koins on a picture of a guy performing a fighting style with plastic weapons was NOT my idea of fun. That type of stuff should be free and available in the kontent section. Keep the krypt for unlocking alt outfits and create a character parts and leave the secrets to the game itself. Maybe unlock more characters through the story? Just an idea. But I must say that secrets and unlockables are a fun and important part of this series past, present and future.
0
O.k. then. Looking at this like I did each of the "makeovers"
(Mk1, Mk4, MkDa, or whatever).
GRAPHICS: If it isn't graphically spectacular, not many people will pay attention long enough to find out about the other stuff. Ive said before though, that mortal kombat consistently does well at making things look good. So I don't really have a reservation about graphics. I think they'll do fine here atop anything else.
THE STORY: All who bought MKA will be skeptical of this next title...because of the story. I think the most important thing for them to do with the story is "Grow up"(for a lack of a better phrase). It doesn't have to be critically, and strictly adult, but it must re-establish a ground to stand on for anything future Mk. To say that it must be serious isn't enough. MK has to finally show it's age as a franchise, and finally mature........dramatically.
If the roof of their target demographic is still around age 25, it has to read like they're main focus is at least the education level of a college dropout. We're a more perceptive crowd now and as time goes by, more complex criteria is taught to a younger age. Means we're able to understand more complex situations intuitively, and more quickly.
So I really think that they want to step their story game up.
Other things that must be in place is "FACT", and "Continuity". It's the informations age, the general sense that I get is that we don't want to be deceived anymore by Mortal Kombat. To lessen insult to injury, don't make us wait 2-3 years for the next game to come out, only to find out that the producers lied to us. That's the biggest "no, no" right now anyway considering bigger situations like the "War on Terror". (that's a stretch, I know. but "the people we never see" are always lying to us, "going back on the fact" is not what I to have to deal with coming from my video game. Not unless its a plot twist within one game and remains factual after that. Simple. No more of this in between games, switch-er-roo shit.)
When you have the facts there, all kinds of possibilities open up for a good writer. All kinds of spins, coincidences, and theatrical agreements within the story come easy. But you gotta know the facts, and you have to be in tune with the history in order to create something interesting and new.
Employ a couple best sellers, dig for the ambitious starving artist or something, and team them up. I'm saying they gotta do something to overhaul the whole story department of the game, because they know full well by now that people buy the game just for the story. It deserves that "million copies sold" kind of attention already. In fact, its long over-due.
FIGHTING SYSTEM: Well, I'm not a tech. So from my experience, the bottom line is, All (or at least 95%) of the glitches and lag and shit gots-to-go. This franchise is pushing 20 years old. You got game specialists coming straight out of 2 year colleges right know that can build from scratch, a better system than what's been there. Hell, you got armatures with no college Education that are experienced in the field by just toying around with the latest systems.
And in my honest opinion, we should never be so knowledgeable about the systems that the latest games are using. So much so, that we can tell what's wrong with a game systematically right off. If so, it should be so rare and minuscule, showing the more knowledgeable, that You Know What You're Doing Beyond A Doubt(and its not like that right now). There should always be at least what?...a 6month, to a years lag in customer knowledge of a fighting games inner workings? By that time, they should be working on the next game.
I even understand that there's a good sized risk in this department with them entirely changing things around every so many years. A risk that says: "If we start all over, lets try to keep the "problems" to within a 10% margin of perfection of this system".
Animation problems, glitches, infinites, and pot holes in shit like point of contact are such childish mistakes for a franchise this old(I feel). One character with a little too much speed or power should be about the only things we see wrong with a franchise this experienced.
REALISM: Back when they were creating Mk3 I think it was, Boon said something about "Nobody wants to buy reality, reality is boring."
And I think he was right.....but look around now. You got games out now that actually take you through some of the events of WW1 and WW2?!? How much more real does it get when some of the soldiers who were in those wars, and made it back home....Are Still Alive?
So sure, the game doesn't need to feature the real actors, and computer graphics is an easier process in terms of lawsuits and shit. BUT, we liked the real actors....with "special abilities". We liked the real threats.....in the "fantasy settings". These two things alone made for a more intense fight because I for one, cared more about what happened to my character.
Every single round counted.
All the punches and kicks don't need to spill blood, but we need to at least visually feel them(or the like with the rumble pack). Use kick dust like in the old martial arts movies for some of the lighter punches. Clarify for us visually, the difference between a regular jab, and a power punch by the way the opponent reacts to each...better than ever before. One animation per the type of hit being dealt will simply not do anymore.
Fatalities don't have to be deaths we read about in yesterdays paper. But they should be unique to whatever character. And they should exploit the extent of that characters power, based on the facts about that characters personality, or the elements that make up his/her powers.
The characters could also express frustration through what they do to finish an opponent off. If you got beat badly, but still won, maybe one of the characters just shoves the fucker into the arena fatality. *cinema= "I'm too damn tired to knock your head off, but you will die right now for giving me such a hard time*. If you beat the hell out of them with ease, you have more energy to perform a better looking, more elaborate, or more horrific fatality.
You don't need a power bar or anything for this, all you need is posture and some graphical scarring.
CHARACTERS: Facts rule about characters. If they're a military officer like Sonya or Jax. Make them a REAL military officer....that happens to be placed in a video game. If they do that efficiently//correctly, they'll recognize that they need to know how military officers behave....how they talk in real life, how to properly carry a knife or gun, and where to properly holster a knife or gun. What the believable fighting styles are for such a character, and how those styles might help win or loose a fight. How do they stand in a fight, and is it reasonable to be stuck in only one stance position the entire fight? -- (No, people don't fight like that. You "come to realize that you need to find your center again. Boxers drop their guard ect..)
What about magicians, or sorcerers? Don't those guys look unorthodox when they adapt a formal fighting style? (it's why Shang Tsung worked for me), aren't they the guys that usually use their magic//sorcery more, and generally try to stay away from actual physical contact? Them guys don't really employ physical punches and kicks alot. They "summon things", they use serendipity man, they trap you and set you up to fall into shit. lol Them guys manipulate fortune, they use necromancy, and cast spells and shit. Mortal Kombat-ize that, and it would be a beautiful character. That just sounds like Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, or Shinnok.
Then, what about elementals? What's practical for a person who distributes fire, or lighting from his body as an assault method. Fire is open-hand or fist, lightning needs to be directed, and looks like pointed fingers. Water is centrifugal and should be mostly open handed, Earth has strength in the base, or in the joints. So closed fist makes sense here too("Sandman"). It just makes sense.
Some people use the environment to their advantage in a fight. So some of our characters should be doing that. It's part of their personality and the way they fight.
No two characters should have the same voice....no one voice, should repeat the same exact growl, grunt or moan unless it's their tradmark or something(G-G-G-G-G-G-G-U-nit! Get what I'm saying?). Albeit, ever so rare.
Characters should by now, be wearing more than two costumes that represent things about them. Because people, are more complex than just two costumes. Pendants, and jewelry should mean something to the character. Maybe somebodies dog died or something, I don't know.
Back stories should almost give an unnecessary insight into why the character is even in Mortal Kombat. Where they came from, training, who was the sensei, who did they meet with, who the friends ans foes are, who might become a friend or foe.....childhood bullshit, anything//anyone sentimental, where they got their main costume, what --whatever piece means to them, if they're a fuckin vegetarian...ect. We should know everything about them that they may have ever been exposed to, or told anybody.
Bios are necessary. A necessity in fact, to tell us anything that happened in the last day of their life, to the recent past 5 years. In my opinion, bios should be more conversational with us. Like they are talking right to us. We should get the most of their personality from the bio. I wanna see if my favorite new character is actually a story I wanna follow.
Hell, I might hate Raidens' personality, but love what he does in the fight. That's character depth for me. But, because I think the bios should be more personal, and more recent, I think they should be IN THE GAME, and audio should be there. I like reading them, don't get me wrong, but this has alot to do with "feeling like I'm playing a New, Next Generation MK".
Endings Have got to be cannon//fact. What happened with the last fight they fought, into whether they are dead, alive and well, or almost dead, did they get into some shit with someone//something they weren't supposed to? What? Cinemas dude, I want animated endings..and not the kata thing anymore either......push the release date back, I do not care. Make the game right.
FATALITIES: First, in some prominent form or fashion, they gotta put back the cinematic Fatalities. If it's a million little ones like in Shaolin Monks, they gotta come back. They'd all have to be really good in that case but, you see what I'm saying. Traditional, or at least little character specific fatalities have to come back in the cinematic form.
I think each character should get at least 3 excellent, personalized fatalities. 5 max, 2 minimum.
Shock value is always appreciated from MK, but as long as it makes spectacular//genius sense to be a Raiden(whoever) fatality....I'm all in.
If I see bones or guts ripped out of some one, it has to be so gross and graphic. And I'd only want that from one person on the roster.
I like "cold, chilling, merciless" fatalities though. Like Mk2 Barakas' impale, MkDa Sub-Zeros' ice then stomp, or MkShaolinMonks Scorpions' double slice. If Raiden makes it to this next game, I wanna see something so cold blooded from him about his lightning.
Maybe the looser begs the God for mercy while groveling at his feet, not realizing it started raining and they're now kneeled in a puddle of water. Raiden teleports into the puddle of water, and in slow motion, the camera circling slowly around the scene, they show the guy getting electrocuted. Clothes igniting and skin boiling and setting into an erratic combustion frenzy. Blue fire igniting from the eye sockets, and random spots on the body as you see a terrifying glimpse of Raiden in his terrestrial lightnting form char the guy until there's nothing but a crispy corpse left. Camera pans out, back to regular speed...*Boom!* Raiden Wins....Fatality.
lol That's what I'm talking about.
All I really mean is don't do MkA fatalities again unless they're gonna be character specifics. Over all else? Innovation and creativity is key. They have the system power to do it now too.
FIGHTING STYLES: I liked the fighting styles in these last three games but, I'd much rather prefer if there was just one big style each character had that incorporated a couple styles, and captured a characters potential.
Also, I think that if the character has weapons on them, use those. Yep, grab them right off your outfit and use those. Gives a better, more tactical reason to have 5 costumes too.
SECRETS & UNLOCKABLES: Oh my god, don't ever just give 'em to me. Don't put them in a krypt to where I can just go online and get a key to get the secrets. I wanna find them myself. Yes, mysterious secrets throughout the realms of MK.
Listen, PAY for costumes and weapons. TRAIN for experience WITH a character specific sensei.... HUNT within the game for secrets. Paying for a weapon shouldn't exactly mean you are trained and ready to use it either. Some shit you buy, the sensei shouldn't let you use until he//she feels you are ready. Reason for radical weapons?
UNLOCK a mode. Which means that's should be a code I have to figure out somehow. Like the blood code back in the day. Now unlockables should be secret missions to gain crazy experience points or money. But still not easy though. 10 tries and you've tapped the mission out for that profile or something.
GAME MODES: "Arcade Mode", "Tournament Mode", "Multi-Player or Team Mode(2on2//3on3//4on4...online)". this can be an individual venture, or you can have 4 people on each side, waiting for their battle to start with their own controller.
"Training with YOUR sensei Mode". That's your home. It's where you house all your costumes and weapons selections, spar with sensei, get sent on little stupid missions, Test Your Might, all that. Pupils have teachers or sensei, grunts have drill sargents and generals, elementals have gods, spirits, or avatars of such.
"Story Mode". Do it right, and we won't be able to live without it. I still like the 10hr Shijinko Konquest better than any of them. There was just so much to do! lol
We should be able to select different characters for Mk8 though, and ever take our KAK through there if that's a feature in the next game. Have it so that the outcome leans on your choices more. Tell little supporting facts about each character so that we get to know them better...Ex: "Talk to a civilian that used change your shitty diapers, and she says: "So and so has alway been good with darts"...or whatever. >> That's why he has the bow and arrow>>> that's why he's a distance type character>> that's why he has more projectiles to start. ect...whatever.
If you take your KAK through there, you will have been building a history through training, and going on missions for your sensei.
MINI GAMES: Experience or Money missions. "Collect all of the komidogu(or whatever) for however many experience points or money. In turn you take that back and make your character better somehow. Clothes, weapons, add some move to your arsenal...whatever.
You should be your senseis' little biatch in the mini games, but it's making you stronger at what you do so it's no big thing.
"Climb the Icy mountain and fight the beat in the cave for a garment I left there."
"Cross the Dessert and get all the artifacts."
"Kill all the thugs"
"Protect the Fort!!
Or what the hell ever...its character building basically. Minigames.
THE NEW FACTOR:
This might be the correct placement where they revamp old features like the Run button, or Aggressor for example. Make them more tactical features now, and add the graphical appeal of todays technology.
Other than that they could probably focus on immersion. Take personal media and let us play with pictures and stuff. Maybe they could toy with the MMORPG idea a little it...idk here.
(Mk1, Mk4, MkDa, or whatever).
GRAPHICS: If it isn't graphically spectacular, not many people will pay attention long enough to find out about the other stuff. Ive said before though, that mortal kombat consistently does well at making things look good. So I don't really have a reservation about graphics. I think they'll do fine here atop anything else.
THE STORY: All who bought MKA will be skeptical of this next title...because of the story. I think the most important thing for them to do with the story is "Grow up"(for a lack of a better phrase). It doesn't have to be critically, and strictly adult, but it must re-establish a ground to stand on for anything future Mk. To say that it must be serious isn't enough. MK has to finally show it's age as a franchise, and finally mature........dramatically.
If the roof of their target demographic is still around age 25, it has to read like they're main focus is at least the education level of a college dropout. We're a more perceptive crowd now and as time goes by, more complex criteria is taught to a younger age. Means we're able to understand more complex situations intuitively, and more quickly.
So I really think that they want to step their story game up.
Other things that must be in place is "FACT", and "Continuity". It's the informations age, the general sense that I get is that we don't want to be deceived anymore by Mortal Kombat. To lessen insult to injury, don't make us wait 2-3 years for the next game to come out, only to find out that the producers lied to us. That's the biggest "no, no" right now anyway considering bigger situations like the "War on Terror". (that's a stretch, I know. but "the people we never see" are always lying to us, "going back on the fact" is not what I to have to deal with coming from my video game. Not unless its a plot twist within one game and remains factual after that. Simple. No more of this in between games, switch-er-roo shit.)
When you have the facts there, all kinds of possibilities open up for a good writer. All kinds of spins, coincidences, and theatrical agreements within the story come easy. But you gotta know the facts, and you have to be in tune with the history in order to create something interesting and new.
Employ a couple best sellers, dig for the ambitious starving artist or something, and team them up. I'm saying they gotta do something to overhaul the whole story department of the game, because they know full well by now that people buy the game just for the story. It deserves that "million copies sold" kind of attention already. In fact, its long over-due.
FIGHTING SYSTEM: Well, I'm not a tech. So from my experience, the bottom line is, All (or at least 95%) of the glitches and lag and shit gots-to-go. This franchise is pushing 20 years old. You got game specialists coming straight out of 2 year colleges right know that can build from scratch, a better system than what's been there. Hell, you got armatures with no college Education that are experienced in the field by just toying around with the latest systems.
And in my honest opinion, we should never be so knowledgeable about the systems that the latest games are using. So much so, that we can tell what's wrong with a game systematically right off. If so, it should be so rare and minuscule, showing the more knowledgeable, that You Know What You're Doing Beyond A Doubt(and its not like that right now). There should always be at least what?...a 6month, to a years lag in customer knowledge of a fighting games inner workings? By that time, they should be working on the next game.
I even understand that there's a good sized risk in this department with them entirely changing things around every so many years. A risk that says: "If we start all over, lets try to keep the "problems" to within a 10% margin of perfection of this system".
Animation problems, glitches, infinites, and pot holes in shit like point of contact are such childish mistakes for a franchise this old(I feel). One character with a little too much speed or power should be about the only things we see wrong with a franchise this experienced.
REALISM: Back when they were creating Mk3 I think it was, Boon said something about "Nobody wants to buy reality, reality is boring."
And I think he was right.....but look around now. You got games out now that actually take you through some of the events of WW1 and WW2?!? How much more real does it get when some of the soldiers who were in those wars, and made it back home....Are Still Alive?
So sure, the game doesn't need to feature the real actors, and computer graphics is an easier process in terms of lawsuits and shit. BUT, we liked the real actors....with "special abilities". We liked the real threats.....in the "fantasy settings". These two things alone made for a more intense fight because I for one, cared more about what happened to my character.
Every single round counted.
All the punches and kicks don't need to spill blood, but we need to at least visually feel them(or the like with the rumble pack). Use kick dust like in the old martial arts movies for some of the lighter punches. Clarify for us visually, the difference between a regular jab, and a power punch by the way the opponent reacts to each...better than ever before. One animation per the type of hit being dealt will simply not do anymore.
Fatalities don't have to be deaths we read about in yesterdays paper. But they should be unique to whatever character. And they should exploit the extent of that characters power, based on the facts about that characters personality, or the elements that make up his/her powers.
The characters could also express frustration through what they do to finish an opponent off. If you got beat badly, but still won, maybe one of the characters just shoves the fucker into the arena fatality. *cinema= "I'm too damn tired to knock your head off, but you will die right now for giving me such a hard time*. If you beat the hell out of them with ease, you have more energy to perform a better looking, more elaborate, or more horrific fatality.
You don't need a power bar or anything for this, all you need is posture and some graphical scarring.
CHARACTERS: Facts rule about characters. If they're a military officer like Sonya or Jax. Make them a REAL military officer....that happens to be placed in a video game. If they do that efficiently//correctly, they'll recognize that they need to know how military officers behave....how they talk in real life, how to properly carry a knife or gun, and where to properly holster a knife or gun. What the believable fighting styles are for such a character, and how those styles might help win or loose a fight. How do they stand in a fight, and is it reasonable to be stuck in only one stance position the entire fight? -- (No, people don't fight like that. You "come to realize that you need to find your center again. Boxers drop their guard ect..)
What about magicians, or sorcerers? Don't those guys look unorthodox when they adapt a formal fighting style? (it's why Shang Tsung worked for me), aren't they the guys that usually use their magic//sorcery more, and generally try to stay away from actual physical contact? Them guys don't really employ physical punches and kicks alot. They "summon things", they use serendipity man, they trap you and set you up to fall into shit. lol Them guys manipulate fortune, they use necromancy, and cast spells and shit. Mortal Kombat-ize that, and it would be a beautiful character. That just sounds like Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, or Shinnok.
Then, what about elementals? What's practical for a person who distributes fire, or lighting from his body as an assault method. Fire is open-hand or fist, lightning needs to be directed, and looks like pointed fingers. Water is centrifugal and should be mostly open handed, Earth has strength in the base, or in the joints. So closed fist makes sense here too("Sandman"). It just makes sense.
Some people use the environment to their advantage in a fight. So some of our characters should be doing that. It's part of their personality and the way they fight.
No two characters should have the same voice....no one voice, should repeat the same exact growl, grunt or moan unless it's their tradmark or something(G-G-G-G-G-G-G-U-nit! Get what I'm saying?). Albeit, ever so rare.
Characters should by now, be wearing more than two costumes that represent things about them. Because people, are more complex than just two costumes. Pendants, and jewelry should mean something to the character. Maybe somebodies dog died or something, I don't know.
Back stories should almost give an unnecessary insight into why the character is even in Mortal Kombat. Where they came from, training, who was the sensei, who did they meet with, who the friends ans foes are, who might become a friend or foe.....childhood bullshit, anything//anyone sentimental, where they got their main costume, what --whatever piece means to them, if they're a fuckin vegetarian...ect. We should know everything about them that they may have ever been exposed to, or told anybody.
Bios are necessary. A necessity in fact, to tell us anything that happened in the last day of their life, to the recent past 5 years. In my opinion, bios should be more conversational with us. Like they are talking right to us. We should get the most of their personality from the bio. I wanna see if my favorite new character is actually a story I wanna follow.
Hell, I might hate Raidens' personality, but love what he does in the fight. That's character depth for me. But, because I think the bios should be more personal, and more recent, I think they should be IN THE GAME, and audio should be there. I like reading them, don't get me wrong, but this has alot to do with "feeling like I'm playing a New, Next Generation MK".
Endings Have got to be cannon//fact. What happened with the last fight they fought, into whether they are dead, alive and well, or almost dead, did they get into some shit with someone//something they weren't supposed to? What? Cinemas dude, I want animated endings..and not the kata thing anymore either......push the release date back, I do not care. Make the game right.
FATALITIES: First, in some prominent form or fashion, they gotta put back the cinematic Fatalities. If it's a million little ones like in Shaolin Monks, they gotta come back. They'd all have to be really good in that case but, you see what I'm saying. Traditional, or at least little character specific fatalities have to come back in the cinematic form.
I think each character should get at least 3 excellent, personalized fatalities. 5 max, 2 minimum.
Shock value is always appreciated from MK, but as long as it makes spectacular//genius sense to be a Raiden(whoever) fatality....I'm all in.
If I see bones or guts ripped out of some one, it has to be so gross and graphic. And I'd only want that from one person on the roster.
I like "cold, chilling, merciless" fatalities though. Like Mk2 Barakas' impale, MkDa Sub-Zeros' ice then stomp, or MkShaolinMonks Scorpions' double slice. If Raiden makes it to this next game, I wanna see something so cold blooded from him about his lightning.
Maybe the looser begs the God for mercy while groveling at his feet, not realizing it started raining and they're now kneeled in a puddle of water. Raiden teleports into the puddle of water, and in slow motion, the camera circling slowly around the scene, they show the guy getting electrocuted. Clothes igniting and skin boiling and setting into an erratic combustion frenzy. Blue fire igniting from the eye sockets, and random spots on the body as you see a terrifying glimpse of Raiden in his terrestrial lightnting form char the guy until there's nothing but a crispy corpse left. Camera pans out, back to regular speed...*Boom!* Raiden Wins....Fatality.
lol That's what I'm talking about.
All I really mean is don't do MkA fatalities again unless they're gonna be character specifics. Over all else? Innovation and creativity is key. They have the system power to do it now too.
FIGHTING STYLES: I liked the fighting styles in these last three games but, I'd much rather prefer if there was just one big style each character had that incorporated a couple styles, and captured a characters potential.
Also, I think that if the character has weapons on them, use those. Yep, grab them right off your outfit and use those. Gives a better, more tactical reason to have 5 costumes too.
SECRETS & UNLOCKABLES: Oh my god, don't ever just give 'em to me. Don't put them in a krypt to where I can just go online and get a key to get the secrets. I wanna find them myself. Yes, mysterious secrets throughout the realms of MK.
Listen, PAY for costumes and weapons. TRAIN for experience WITH a character specific sensei.... HUNT within the game for secrets. Paying for a weapon shouldn't exactly mean you are trained and ready to use it either. Some shit you buy, the sensei shouldn't let you use until he//she feels you are ready. Reason for radical weapons?
UNLOCK a mode. Which means that's should be a code I have to figure out somehow. Like the blood code back in the day. Now unlockables should be secret missions to gain crazy experience points or money. But still not easy though. 10 tries and you've tapped the mission out for that profile or something.
GAME MODES: "Arcade Mode", "Tournament Mode", "Multi-Player or Team Mode(2on2//3on3//4on4...online)". this can be an individual venture, or you can have 4 people on each side, waiting for their battle to start with their own controller.
"Training with YOUR sensei Mode". That's your home. It's where you house all your costumes and weapons selections, spar with sensei, get sent on little stupid missions, Test Your Might, all that. Pupils have teachers or sensei, grunts have drill sargents and generals, elementals have gods, spirits, or avatars of such.
"Story Mode". Do it right, and we won't be able to live without it. I still like the 10hr Shijinko Konquest better than any of them. There was just so much to do! lol
We should be able to select different characters for Mk8 though, and ever take our KAK through there if that's a feature in the next game. Have it so that the outcome leans on your choices more. Tell little supporting facts about each character so that we get to know them better...Ex: "Talk to a civilian that used change your shitty diapers, and she says: "So and so has alway been good with darts"...or whatever. >> That's why he has the bow and arrow>>> that's why he's a distance type character>> that's why he has more projectiles to start. ect...whatever.
If you take your KAK through there, you will have been building a history through training, and going on missions for your sensei.
MINI GAMES: Experience or Money missions. "Collect all of the komidogu(or whatever) for however many experience points or money. In turn you take that back and make your character better somehow. Clothes, weapons, add some move to your arsenal...whatever.
You should be your senseis' little biatch in the mini games, but it's making you stronger at what you do so it's no big thing.
"Climb the Icy mountain and fight the beat in the cave for a garment I left there."
"Cross the Dessert and get all the artifacts."
"Kill all the thugs"
"Protect the Fort!!
Or what the hell ever...its character building basically. Minigames.
THE NEW FACTOR:
This might be the correct placement where they revamp old features like the Run button, or Aggressor for example. Make them more tactical features now, and add the graphical appeal of todays technology.
Other than that they could probably focus on immersion. Take personal media and let us play with pictures and stuff. Maybe they could toy with the MMORPG idea a little it...idk here.
yea what he said.
with the new next-gen consoles realism is a must. Make a serious dark MK game with realism. Thoughtful fatalitys. The character list can be low, fatalities per character can be low (atleast 3 each please). But make sure the detail is there. Make the fatalitys unique and thought out.
Oh and bring back Reptile and make him look right this time.
with the new next-gen consoles realism is a must. Make a serious dark MK game with realism. Thoughtful fatalitys. The character list can be low, fatalities per character can be low (atleast 3 each please). But make sure the detail is there. Make the fatalitys unique and thought out.
Oh and bring back Reptile and make him look right this time.
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