The Drilling Juggernaut
Smash Lord
- Joined
- May 26, 2012
- Messages
- 1,448
With Lucina showing up I'm seeing a lot of comments along the lines of "another lazy clone added to the roster" and "why can't we just have more unique characters in the game?" As someone who used to feel that exact same way I would like to share some perspective that helped me see clones in a different light, as well as share some facts that, while common for Smash fans and fighting game fans in general, might be new to people just now getting into the games. These are:
Clones are added to pad and strengthen the roster:
While the roster is decided before the game begins development and some clones may be planned at that point, a good parentage of them are added after the initial roster is finished. The thought process behind clones is this: "the intended characters are basically finished, but maybe we can make another one using 'this' characters assets. Let's see who could work with this character build/moveset." Of course, I imagine it is slightly more organized then that. They probably have a list of characters they are going to make, and then a list of characters they can use as clones if there's time. My point is no one in the Smash team decides to make clones out of simple laziness, in fact it's usually the opposite. They want to add as many fan favorite characters as possible to the game, and they assume most fans will enjoy seeing their favorite characters. Even if those characters are similar to pre-existing fighters.
The addition of clones in no way effects how many unique characters we have:
Clones take up some development time, but they take up far less time then a brand new character. New characters don't just have to be made from scratch; they have to be balanced as well. Designing a character isn't as simple as simply making a model, giving it moves, and calling it a day. What if your teams initial idea for a moveset doesn't work? What if the moveset is unbalanced? What if the game can't handle a design you had in mind? These are very real problems a fresh new character brings to the table. Problems that can pop up at any point when adding the character to the roster. A clone eliminates these problems entirely. You know the moveset works, so giving it to another character makes sense. A few alterations to speed and power gives the clone spice without forcing the team to head back to the drawing board and start over. Since these characters take far less time to make thinking they are some how holding back a unique character simply isn't true. There is no way they could design and implement a new character in the time it takes them to make a few clones.
Characters (even clones) are finished long before we see them:
A common complaint is that since we see a clone at a certain point we assume that the team scampered to make them at the last minute. While you could say this is the case from a development perspective, this is far from true. They aren't going to add a character a few weeks before a game goes gold. Even the most bare bone clones were added months ago. The fact that most clones are secret gives us this impression that they were somehow added "very late." Toon Link and Lucina have been finished for months, when we see them has nothing to do with when they were made. I say all this to say that even though they're developed using "other parts" they aren't half-ass Frankenstein monsters added on a whim. Someone worked hard so we can have them. I'm not saying this to pop your mouth and tell you to "be grateful," but understand that a "lazy clone" is anything but.
I understand your frustration when it comes to clones initially. There is nothing more disappointing to see your favorite character...only to have him play like someone else. Lamenting over wasted potential is fair; a lot of potentially unique characters have "succumbed" to the "cloning." But try to look at it from a development perspective. They took the time to add as many characters to the roster as they could and they did it with fans in mind. Clones are specifically there to make us happy and give us characters we otherwise couldn't get.
Clones are added to pad and strengthen the roster:
While the roster is decided before the game begins development and some clones may be planned at that point, a good parentage of them are added after the initial roster is finished. The thought process behind clones is this: "the intended characters are basically finished, but maybe we can make another one using 'this' characters assets. Let's see who could work with this character build/moveset." Of course, I imagine it is slightly more organized then that. They probably have a list of characters they are going to make, and then a list of characters they can use as clones if there's time. My point is no one in the Smash team decides to make clones out of simple laziness, in fact it's usually the opposite. They want to add as many fan favorite characters as possible to the game, and they assume most fans will enjoy seeing their favorite characters. Even if those characters are similar to pre-existing fighters.
The addition of clones in no way effects how many unique characters we have:
Clones take up some development time, but they take up far less time then a brand new character. New characters don't just have to be made from scratch; they have to be balanced as well. Designing a character isn't as simple as simply making a model, giving it moves, and calling it a day. What if your teams initial idea for a moveset doesn't work? What if the moveset is unbalanced? What if the game can't handle a design you had in mind? These are very real problems a fresh new character brings to the table. Problems that can pop up at any point when adding the character to the roster. A clone eliminates these problems entirely. You know the moveset works, so giving it to another character makes sense. A few alterations to speed and power gives the clone spice without forcing the team to head back to the drawing board and start over. Since these characters take far less time to make thinking they are some how holding back a unique character simply isn't true. There is no way they could design and implement a new character in the time it takes them to make a few clones.
Characters (even clones) are finished long before we see them:
A common complaint is that since we see a clone at a certain point we assume that the team scampered to make them at the last minute. While you could say this is the case from a development perspective, this is far from true. They aren't going to add a character a few weeks before a game goes gold. Even the most bare bone clones were added months ago. The fact that most clones are secret gives us this impression that they were somehow added "very late." Toon Link and Lucina have been finished for months, when we see them has nothing to do with when they were made. I say all this to say that even though they're developed using "other parts" they aren't half-ass Frankenstein monsters added on a whim. Someone worked hard so we can have them. I'm not saying this to pop your mouth and tell you to "be grateful," but understand that a "lazy clone" is anything but.
I understand your frustration when it comes to clones initially. There is nothing more disappointing to see your favorite character...only to have him play like someone else. Lamenting over wasted potential is fair; a lot of potentially unique characters have "succumbed" to the "cloning." But try to look at it from a development perspective. They took the time to add as many characters to the roster as they could and they did it with fans in mind. Clones are specifically there to make us happy and give us characters we otherwise couldn't get.
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