Smash 4 will strike a balance for casual and hardcore players (Sakurai)

[Revven]

Didn't see this posted as its own thread, but Jason Schreier of Kotaku asked one of my questions to Sakurai earlier today in an interview. He basically says that going forward, for Smash 4, he will be catering to both casual and hardcore players. It will be a mix of Brawl and Melee.

Exact words below:

"I would consider the changes that we're making this time around not as fixes, but that we're changing the direction," he said through a translator. "And so the vision for the overall balance of the game in Smash Bros Melee, it was sort of more focused towards more hardcore players. Then when it came around to making Brawl, this was a game that was targeting a Wii audience where there were a lot of beginner players, so it sort of leaned a little bit more in that direction."

"So now, for this time around, we're sort of aiming for something that is in between those as far as the speed of the game. Because I don't really think this time we're in a situation where we're trying to accommodate that many new players."

Source

What do you think of this news? With the removal of tripping and the above, can Sakurai really cater to both parties?

 

[_R@bid_]

I think it can and should happen, seeing as Melee already did the same. Really, this sounds great for me, since I'm a casual who enjoys playing in a more competitive way even if I'm not decent enough to be be a truly good player.

 

[Neanderthal]

So Smash 4 is confirmed to be faster paced than Brawl.

This is possibly the best news we've had yet. Even better than the Megaman reveal for me.

 

[Kellz]

He said the same thing last time.

 

[Hong]

http://smashboards.com/threads/conf...er-than-brawls-but-slower-than-melees.337360/
http://smashboards.com/threads/kota...hardcore-brawl-casual-wii-u-inbetween.337359/

Anyways, it will make for a tough bid. Generally the harder a game is, the greater the distinction between players of a different skill level. Games like StarCraft, Unreal Tournament and a lot of the fighters out there have a nice skill-index. Looking at SSB64 and SSBM, the pacing (overall speed like character gravity, animation-cancels, movement speeds, etc.) and mechanics of the game are far more punishing than Brawl (as reflected by the amount of stocks people usually play with). In general I was not crazy about the infinite air-dodges, low hitstun and very generous recovery. I believe the best course of action is to address defensive options and recovery, tune hitstun and increase the pace of the game a fair amount. If more casual players want a more casual experience, there will always be items and stages that are on by default for them to play with.

 

[Chiroz]

He said the same thing last time.

Lol no. Last time he specifically said he would cater the game towards casuals when he started developing, going so far as to say that his vision of Smash was always that of a party game and he never intended to create such huge gaps in skill and wanted to close that gap between casuals and competitive players. (Most people thought this meant the removal of ATs, not a dumbing down of gravity, overall speed and recovery) When he added tripping he said it was a way to level the playing field between casuals and competitive as tripping would cause competitive players to mess up.

 

[Isatis]

Lol no. Last time he specifically said he would cater the game towards casuals when he started developing, going so far as to say that his vision of Smash was always that of a party game and he never intended to create such huge gaps in skill and wanted to close that gap between casuals and competitive players. (Most people thought this meant the removal of ATs, not a dumbing down of gravity, overall speed and recovery) When he added tripping he said it was a way to level the playing field between casuals and competitive as tripping would cause competitive players to mess up.

This is right. Sakurai stated last time when Brawl came out it was all for casuals, but now he's acknowledging the competitive side of the game and developing with it in mind as well as focusing on casual players.

 

[Revven]

http://smashboards.com/threads/conf...er-than-brawls-but-slower-than-melees.337360/
http://smashboards.com/threads/kota...hardcore-brawl-casual-wii-u-inbetween.337359/

My b, I didn't look hard enough... (partly because I'm surprised neither of those threads were really near the top of the subforum).

 

[SKM_NeoN]

I think people tend to forget that Melee is a casual game. It's hard to master but very easy to play for the first time with a bunch of friends. Sure you'll get destroyed by someone who takes the time to play at a high level, but it's the same for Brawl, only professionals are forced to play in a slow, boring manner.

More on topic: Sakurai's approach to SSB4 is not ideal but I'll take it.

 

[Pyra]

I think people tend to forget that Melee is a casual game.

Incoming airforce of butthurt.

 

[Maricalistaro]

I think people tend to forget that Melee is a casual game. It's hard to master but very easy to play for the first time with a bunch of friends. Sure you'll get destroyed by someone who takes the time to play at a high level, but it's the same for Brawl, only professionals are forced to play in a slow, boring manner.

More on topic: Sakurai's approach to SSB4 is not ideal but I'll take it.

Not Ideal? Are you saying it should be hardcore only?

 

[SKM_NeoN]

Not Ideal? Are you saying it should be hardcore only?

No, I'm saying it should be more like Melee, which is very easy for casuals to pick up but has enough depth for hardcore tourney-goers to play at a high level.

 

[Hong]

In my opinion I think SSB64 and Melee are great casual games. Ideally you build the foundations of a solid, fast-paced, fun game. You start this with core mechanics and characters, and a few basic stages. Then you add items, crazy stage ideas and ridiculous ways of playing (IE Stamina mode, coins, etc.). These are mostly on and available by default. The game is inherently casual, and you take things away to make it more competitive. This is what will make it sell.

The core of the game should be a solid, delicious, chocolate cake. Just simple, plain, and delicious. This is your core game experience.
Then you give people different options for icing, toppings, fruits, etc. These are items and stages.
Or if you don't like chocolate, you can switch it for vanilla or something. This represents the different modes.
And if you don't like cake? Well, that's kind of like Smash Bros as a whole, so if you want pie or something you will want another game.

I hope you are all hungry.

 

[DakotaBonez]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I F#$%$#@ love analogies

 

[Vkrm]

There is is hope......

Thank you harada sensei.....

 

[DefenseTech]

I really hope they can strike a balance between brawl and melee.

 

[EnthusedPanda]

Did anyone ever confirm M2k playtesting?

 

[Hello.]

Did anyone ever confirm M2k playtesting?

He has not playtested the game.

 

[Chiroz]

There was a demo at E3 but it was only showed and one person was chosen at random to play against Sakurai, the demo was then taken away. It's like showing us a cake, letting us smell it, only to take it away :'(.

 

[Neanderthal]

He has not playtested the game.

But will he?

 

[IsmaR]

He said the same thing last time.

I came in here just to post this.

Sakurai can cater all he wants, at the end of the day the community will still be in charge of any and all competitive play.

At least now he's attempting to let others help him in balancing the characters. Hopefully not making them depend on items.

 

[Admiral Pit]

It'll be a tough job honestly. First, the game is on 2 different systems meaning there will be a lot of hard work has to be done. Then for the 2nd, no matter what you do, you'll have a group of ppl that are going to complain. Granted, it won't be perfect and I'm sure there's no such thing as a perfect game, but the least we should be thankful for is that it will be better than what Brawl was, and getting rid of tripping was a good start. Besides, the game is still early, and we have plenty of time to do our observations as we get more pictures and footage over the course.

 

[psyniac_123]

Really happy that they're taking this approach and am interested to see what comes out of it. I liked both Melee and Brawl and a mid-point would be perfect. Shocking to some, I know, the idea that someone can enjoy more than one game .