How would you direct a SC game?

I would think of ways to make it even more competitive, and work on the story, thats all i got so far.
 
I'd start from scratch and do a reboot. This is probably going to be a long post. I actually decided to break out my idea into parts. Note the only games I've played recently were SCV and MVC3 so there may be some of these ideas/concepts in other/newer fighters. Here's part 1:

Premise: Reboot of the Soul Calibur franchise, with a strong emphasis on competitive multi-player. Does blend in a single player element that was present in past series entries.

Key Philosophy and Objectives:

-The game is built on 3 pillars:

1. Provide a balanced, fun, and unique gameplay system- Retain the strong basic system present in early entries of the soul calibur series. Place stronger emphasis on fluidity and movement. Provide gamers with a wide variety of styles. Place strong emphasis on balance. Example updates: Critical Edges Remove, Metered system remains however meter usage allows for expanded movement and stance options only, just guard removed, guard impact available with non-metered directional input execution (success benefits TBD).

2. Provide the players with the tools and information to master the basics and continuously improve their gameplay via training systems and statistics.

A. Training Systems- Provide guided and free form training options for players of all skill levels. Guided Training Examples follow:​

i)Basic System Tutorial and Basic Character Tutorials- Similar to the system in Virtua Fighter 5. Basic Tutorial introduces the basic attacks and movements in success is not required to move on to the next action at this level. However a small cosmetic reward is available for perfect completion. The basic character tutorial introduces each move in a character's move list in sequence, having the player perform each move in the movelist, along with very basic combos. Perfect success is not required to move on to the next action at this level. However a small cosmetic reward is available for perfect completion.​

ii)Intermediate to Master Character Tutorials- Consists of tutorials that introduce more advanced gameplay concepts and character specific concepts and strategy. Intermediate tutorial is unlocked at the starts. Tutorial levels beyond that are locked until appropriate "Mission Mode" sessions are successfully completed or online rank criteria are met.​

iii) Mission Mode- Each character has their own specific set of missions. Missions are battles designed to emphasize the use of a particular skill or set of skills. Battle conditions (Damage dealt and given by the player, movement properties, arena properties, etc) are altered from normal gameplay to promote the use and execution of the moves/strategies/techniques that are the particular focus of that mission. Missions and mission difficulty are sequential and availability is based on the level of tutorial completed. Rewards for mission completion include credit towards unlocking the next level of tutorial and character specific cosmetic items.
Free form training examples include:​

i)"Enhanced" Training mode- Basis is features found in most fighting games such as free form move practice with move list access, combo recording, hit location, hit damage, hit status, etc. Beyond that "enahnced" options are offered. The following concepts are examples. Movelist Update: Players can place custom inputs into the movelist for the purpose of outlining combos and mix ups for practice (inputs can be tagged such as "mix-up", wall only, high advantage, etc). In addition, players can denote timing of inputs, and timing can be incorporated into practice with feedback noting if timing was early, late, or exact from the original entry of the input). Can be uploaded to central database and downloaded by other players. Custom Routines: players can create several routines. Routines consist of individual moves, combos, or mixups compiled into a sequential list that the player then performs. In the list players can determine things such as number of consecutive repetitions, if success is required to advance to next input, etc. Can be uploaded to central database and downloaded by other players.
ii)Online Training Rooms- Online rooms in a training evironment. No lifebars or wins\losses involved. Two players can practice at a time (rooms can hold more people as spectators and partipants/spectators can be switched out by host or a time interaval can be set). Mock matches can be held as well without win/loss. Host can record session and in addition provide voice over. Recordings with voiceover can be uploaded to central database and can be downloaded for review by other players.​
Coming in part 2: Free form Training- Bots, and the multi-player focused 3rd pillar​
 
I really don't know what the director was thinking with SC5.

They took my favorite character, turned her from an 18 year old princess into a 35 year old mother of two and didn't so much as mention her in the story mode. I don't mind the fact Hilde's a MILF, I just hate that they threw away nearly 20 years of potential character development for no reason.

Meanwhile, other returning characters like Tira and Ivy now have some bullshit cliche disease that doesn't allow them to age and you know Taki will have this too when she returns (that, or she'll just be some bonus palette swap while Natsu gets a story). But I'm ranting lol If I was director the number one thing is:

- DON'T ALIENATE THE PEOPLE WHO GOT ME WHERE I AM

I know some people like to think of games of art, and SC5 does contain some amazing art but the game itself is a product and the director should be mindful of the customers. Way back I took a reaaaaaally long break from SC5 and even today I'm still a little angry over some decisions that were made. Other things I'd try to avoid:

- Don't make Ivy's boobs smaller
- Don't get rid of the lolies either
- Don't center the story around a new character most people can't even use properly
- Don't remove popular, established characters
- Don't add new characters with barely any explanation (Natsu etc)
- Don't hire a grade schooler to write the story (ex: Pat says he has no regrets... 30 seconds later he's filled with regret)
- Don't skip ahead 20 years; the game will either be retconned or you'll have to fill the gap
- Don't nerf the strongest characters; buff the weakest ones to their level

Other than that, I wouldn't do many things differently than Project Soul. Just change little things, like sync the lips to the original Japanese and maybe get rid of meters or gauges, keep things simple. Divekick looks really fun :P
 
Here's part 2 (Part one is in post #67). It covers through the end of pillar 2. Didn't have time to get to the multiplayer pillar:

(Last section under free form training)

iii) Mock Battle Mode with bots- Offline fight training (second player can be used in place of bot). Bot AI can be set based on general difficulty levels, can be customized to emphasize certain moves and combos, or can be customized to be based on the play style of specific players.

Player specific bots are bots developed automatically based on the play style of the player the bot represents. Each player has the option to allow the game to build a bot based on their play patterns over time (intervals can be set so that multiple bots can be created). Bots are stored on system and in an online database where they are available for download for use in Mock Battle Mode and in certain other single player modes.

B. Information- The second aspect of pillar 2. Provide in depth statistics and feedback to the player so that the player can identify areas of improvement and develop better tactics. Examples of systems that support this are:

i)In Depth Stat Tracking- Beyond the traditional charcter usage and overall win/loss info. Note offline playstats are stored long term for the main profile only, and some detailed stats are only temporarily available per play session.

a)Online win/loss info includes breakouts for general ranked/unranked play, tournament ranked/unranked play, by character in ranked/unranked play, by opponent in ranked/unranked play, by stage, by side in ranked/unranked play, by rounds won/loss in ranked/unranked play, by rank grouping and sub grouping in ranked play. An additional level of filtering is also available by win/loss type (KO, Ring out, Time Out, Quit/Forefit). Top level Filters can be layered. For example, a player could view how many wins he/she has in ranked tournaments with a specific character on the 1p side by ring out. Unranked information for wins/losses and all other stats can be toggled to be hidden from other players and from yourself. Offline win/loss breakouts include by general versus play, by character, by rounds won/loss and by side. Tournament information and by opponent information is available on a session by session basis.

b)Stat tracking also includes detailed damage breakouts. Damage breakouts are based on percentage of overall damage inflicted, recieved, and negated. All damage breakouts can be filtered for ranked/unranked and unranked info can be hidden. Note that like the win/loss info the filters can be layered. Damage inflicted breakouts include by move/combo/custom inputs as per movelist, by stance (standing/crouching/in air/on ground), by location (high/mid/low/special mid), and by type (normal/counter/wall). These are character based and can be filtered additionally to be viewed on match or round basis. An additional level of filtering is available on a by side, by stage, by rank, or by opponent basis that can be combined with the match or round criteria. Damage received breakouts include by move/combo/custom inputs as per movelist, by stance (standing/crouching/in air/on ground), by location (high/mid/low/special mid), and by type (normal/counter/wall). These are character based and can be filtered to be viewed on match or round basis. An additional level of filtering is available on a by side, by stage, by rank, or by opponent basis that can be combined with the match or round criteria. Damage negated breakouts (can be set to by you, or by opponents) include by type (blocked, stepped, impacted, missed, escaped, absorbed). This has the same basis and filter options as damage inflicted and negated.

ii)Gameplay experience options- This covers spectating and demo options.

a) Spectating- Aside from being able to spectate matches in their lobbies, under certain conditions players will have the option to view (and join if available, details will be in the multiplayer section) a match in progress. All matches in progress would be sorted in to channels and players can chose a channel to watch specific types of matches. Channels would have several layers of filtering options so players can be very specific in the types of matches they want to view. Channel filter examples include things such as by match type, ranked or unranked, by rank etc. Channels will have autopick (for continuing to view the same types of matches, but any players) or continuous follow options(ex continuing to view the same lobby or continuing to view a specific player regardless of lobby or mode).

b) Demos- Players can setup all of their matches to be recorded. In addition, tournament/league creators have the option to allow for an all matches captured option. As per the name, this option saves demos of all tournament/league matches and allows players to download all or a batch (ex semi-finals on) of matches from a specific tournament/league. Concerning the demos themselves, players will the option to add various layers to each demo while it is being viewed for one or both players such as move inputs, hit locations, and frame status. Players will also be able to cut demo footage and add a limited amount of voice over to cut or uncut demos.

Part 3 covering multiplayer options at some point next week.
 
I really don't know what the director was thinking with SC5.


- Don't make Ivy's boobs smaller
stopped readin there.

for reals though, they shouldn't have gotten rid of characters, hired grade schoolers to write the plot, or nerf.

Nerfing is fine in moderation, but I agree in that buffs, though harder, are much more rewarding for everyone.
 
Nerfing is fine in moderation, but I agree in that buffs, though harder, are much more rewarding for everyone.

"Nerf (Blank)? No! We shall BUFF EVERYONE ELSE!"

That's how I would direct it.

But still with the other stuff I mentioned.
 
When everyone's super, no-one will be.

Everything being broken wouldn't make a game balanced. It would make it Divekick. That's perfectly fine if all you want out of a game is a single mechanic to make a novelty game, but if you want a game that's fun to play you should be looking for depth and accessibility.

That's yet another reason I like what we have in SCV. Everything can be dealt with, it's deep, it's easy to pick up after you get a grasp of the basics, and no one mechanic outshines the other so there's always an alternative to what you're currently working on.
 
Everything being broken wouldn't make a game balanced. It would make it Divekick. That's perfectly fine if all you want out of a game is a single mechanic to make a novelty game, but if you want a game that's fun to play you should be looking for depth and accessibility.

That's yet another reason I like what we have in SCV. Everything can be dealt with, it's deep, it's easy to pick up after you get a grasp of the basics, and no one mechanic outshines the other so there's always an alternative to what you're currently working on.
I don't know, Brawl Minus is completely balanced and its basis is every single character being on the level of akuma from SS2T.
 
Focus on gameplay and aspects that make Soul Calibur unique.

I'm torn on the meter stuff... on the one hand, I hate Critical Edges and I don't like the presence of the meter. I think it kind of lessens the pure fighting aspect of the game with meter management. On the other hand, I like Brave Edges.

If you're going to reuse movesets, don't replace characters. If you're adding a new character, give them a new moveset.

Give as many options to the player as possible without significantly fracturing the playerbase.

Stop cribbing anime. Look at Soul Calibur 3 and every game before that for the ideal thematic flavor of Soul Calibur.

Take as much time as needed to make a complete and jelly-jam-filled game.
 
Lets see, go back to how the fighting system was in Soul Calibur 2 and improve from there. It is my opinion that it just slowly went down hill since then. I would like to see a little more in regards to guard impacts and possibly counters (remove the meter, not every game needs to be Super Ultra Street Fighter 4 Arcade Collectors Edition Premium)
Add in the feature from Soul Edge, blocking too much will lead to the character's weapon to break resulting in a crimped movelist and reduced attack and defensive power.
The sheer content from 3. Story mode was done way right here. Choose your path, fight a giant greek statue or a bunch of lizardmen. (priceless) plus the multiple input ending were awesome.
As for story in a Soul Calibur 6... I think a partial reboot. It is a story "eternally" retold so pick 3 time frames from history, dark ages, modern, and future, and have the story revolve around the story of the 2 swords from dark ages to the future. Assemble the cast from mostly Soul Calibur 4 characters and maybe some from 5. Have the characters battle it out past present and future. Have the swords actually do something meaningful in the story, again. No of this Well it was almost bad but Soul edge has been stopped. Have it destroy and I mean destroy nations, soul calibur too. Really push it with the story. Non of that half ass Omega Phyra. Really play up evil sword bit.
Just for the love of god no Algol. Of all the characters to include in 5 why him???
 
Let's say you have a team of developers, a huge budget and full freedom with the project, how would you make a SC game?

I'm not talking SC6 specifically, just any SC game period. It could be the next in the series, a spinoff, a reboot, or whatever. I'm curious what different ideas people have. Would you have a typical sequel with similar but improved mechanics and new characters? A reboot? SC: Legends 2? A spinoff based on the mechanics from Chronicles of the Sword? A new SC game for arcades? A 2D fighter?

You can be as detailed as you want, but try to be as concise as possible. Imagine you're pitching this to a management team who wants to know as many details as possible, but don't wanna be bogged down by trivial details.

-SC3AE cast as base (but fuck Olcadan and welcome back Edgemaster) + New Boss

-Overall SC3 style art style, aside some over bs fantasy a la NightTerror

-Obvious uber jaw breaking graphic and art to get attention, but no more 2D audience blowjob style choices

-No guest, if i have a slot i use it for one more SC character

-Come back to the huge giant movesets with 999 moves

-Keep SC5 Ultras, as SF fan i appreciated it, just make little harder get one

-Keep 3 points to win, love it

-Old 4136 GI system because i'm nonsense nostalgic

-At least 4-5 new characters (BANGOOO), with just one as new wannabe teen/young hero and the others actually original

-Keep the art style slighty realistic, example never again SC4 magic swaroski ice Sieg, and FTW SC1-3-5 simple badass steel knight Sieg

-Come back to the "world feeling" with many stages that give xxx nation atmosphere instead of somewhere in magicland atmosphere. SC1 ftw

-Hilde and Le Bello, because epic wins should not be forgotten

-Give me "no CaS allowed" as online option, so IF I WANT i can play online against Mitsu/Sieg/Ivy & Co (i pay 69.99 for Namco artist too, want see theyr stuff on my tv) instead herp derp peoples creations

-Cyclical a la SF4 update during years to refresh the experience and keep interest alive

-Fucking buff low tiers if needed, don't left them how they are because lulz who care

-I will not spent 999 time and money on huge story mode, just come back to pick x character, face x sequence of opponents, fight char specific sub boss/rival, fight Boss, character specific 1-2 minute ending sequence

-online: ranked (not fixable time/number rounds, no cas), not ranked.

-No 999 online modes to don't split too much the players, make sure is ever easy and fast find a fight

-Possible mark as friend/rival random dude, to be able challenge him again. If you're an annoying bitch he can block you eventually

-No coliseum mode, it's a fucking chit chat gay bar, and often it make annoying find opponents.

-Create a way to comunicate, but inside host room

-Create costumes/items for specific character that you can unlock only winning a lot in some hard mode, like a uber hard survival (reach 10 win, 30, 50 etc). Will be fun see somebody wear something that make you say "oh he got THAT item, he must be good with Sieg".
I know, good vs cpu =/= skill, but still i like the idea of visible reward for mastering xxx character
Probably was better "win 30/50/100 with xxx online", but not all have it
 
The bigger the budget and the longer of time will equal a game that we enjoy for years.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind if they rebooted the entire series with new characters, movesets, mechanics, stages, and modes.

We just may recieve something a lot better than what we have now.
 
The bigger the budget and the longer of time will equal a game that we enjoy for years.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind if they rebooted the entire series with new characters, movesets, mechanics, stages, and modes.

We just may recieve something a lot better than what we have now.

So save Soulcalibur by making a completely different game? Huh?
 
So save Soulcalibur by making a completely different game? Huh?

At that point, what happens to the people looking to play SoulCalibur?

Not too hard to understand.

Character/Movesets: We already have new characters and a couple of new movesets. I'm sure that PS will kick older charaters along with movesets out in future games (They've done it with SC5).

Stages/Mode: There are always new modes & stages being introduced in the game, that's definitely easy to comprehend.

Mechanics: Pretty self explanatory. Mechanics change every SC game anyway.

Most of the stuff I said has been done in 5 already, so it's already being rebooted if you think about it.
 
Not too hard to understand.

Character/Movesets: We already have new characters and a couple of new movesets. I'm sure that PS will kick older charaters along with movesets out in future games (They've done it with SC5).

Stages/Mode: There are always new modes & stages being introduced in the game, that's definitely easy to comprehend.

Mechanics: Pretty self explanatory. Mechanics change every SC game anyway.

Most of the stuff I said has been done in 5 already, so it's already being rebooted if you think about it.

So do that... Again?
 
Most of the stuff I said has been done in 5 already, so it's already being rebooted if you think about it.

I feel as though this is significant to many of the things people took issue with in 5.

I'm not at all averse to new stages and modes, but kicking old characters to the curb, and significantly altering the mechanics (ala, adding Super Meter) is treading on thin ice, and I think at least one foot fell through in SoulCalibur 5.
 
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