Thoughts on controls and inputs
I think the biggest reason I’ve avoided playing fighting games despite loving the concept is the control/execution complexity.
I’m adhd and autistic af and instantly forget combos and get overwhelmed. It’s true in most games, actually. I have a habit of picking a favorite weapon/move and mashing my way through. Otherwise, the game becomes stressful instead of fun. I’ve picked up similar accounts from other people over the years.
So how do I make this more accessible without completely neutering what’s largely fundamental and fun about fighting game controls…?
My first idea is to just limit the combos. Don’t make them complicated. Don’t give a million to every character. With so many characters, that’d be an insane burden not just for me to program but for the player to keep track of (it’d likely get boring and samey too). So, the fun factor comes from getting to play as all these AUs, each with a neat little set of moves that doesn’t require too much investment to get your head around. Because that’s more what the point of this project is—being a celebration of the fandom’s creations. I don’t mind not making it into EVO.
Cool. Good. But even a basic moveset without crazy combos still has lots of options for button/key presses. What else?
Another idea I had has to do with the SPARE mechanic. I could divide the control scheme in half. Only use A and B to do FIGHT moves, only X and Y for MERCY moves. Executing those moves builds the FIGHT or MERCY meters, and whichever one fills up first will finish the fight. You’re encouraged to pick one or the other and stick to it, otherwise you’d just be taking longer to win the match and risk getting your ass kicked (or… hugged?) by the opponent and losing.
Even if, say, A and Y were exclusively for jumping and blocking, there’s still plenty of minor combo potential if you pair B and X with other inputs so the combat doesn’t come down to who can mash the fastest.
Still the same signature fighting game feel, just… smaller in scale.
Does that make sense? Am I missing any glaring issues? Pls comment below.