Smash Bros. Fight Lab

[Big-Cat]

An ongoing problem with Smash and most other fighting games is that you're not given a proper rundown of how the games work or how to properly play them. As a result, you typically have people stranded left wondering what you're suppossed to do. Thankfully, games like Skullgirls and Virtua Fighter 5 have made efforts to include optional in-game tutorials with Sega going so far as to include a Youtube tutorial series.

Anyway, a tutorial is, unfortunately, typically boring and feels like a chore. Namco's looking to change this with Tekken Tag Tournament 2. A new feature for the upcoming console release is the Fight Lab. It's a tutorial except it's never called one. The fight lab teaches you how to play Tekken in the form of minigames. You can learn how to sidestep, get down the concept of timing your combos, hitting at any height, etc. The minigames are rather silly such as Muay Thai fighter Bruce in a weird getup sending out chickens and eagles at you or hitting Lili with enough lows so her dress falls off to reveal a bikini. Don't take my word for it, here's the recent released trailer for it.

Here are some details on this fight lab.

Harada's brief to his development team: "We want a tutorial, but we don't want it to be called a tutorial. It has to be a series of mini-games where the player doesn't realise that they're learning Tekken - they're enjoying the mini-games as they go along. But then they look back and realise they've gotten better, too."

• Fight Lab finds you taking control of Combot - a fighting robot designed by Violet (who is actually Lee Chaolan in disguise). The idea is that you train up the Combot by helping it to complete exercises.

• As you progress through Fight Lab's challenges you'll be able to learn iconic special moves that belong to other Tekken characters. "Essentially what this means is you can customise the moveset of your Combot," says director Katsuhiro Harada. "You can have Nina's Blonde Bomb, Paul's Phoenix Smasher and Heihachi's Wind God Fist all in one character." You'll also unlock items that change the look of your bot.

• You'll be able to pit your customised Combot against other players online. "Currently we hope to be able to use them in Arcade mode and online play," says Harada. "Obviously there's a problem with ranked matches, but other than that we hope to have other modes available."

• One of the first minigames lets you to pull of complex attacks and combos by tapping any button successively; the aim here is to teach players the importance of basic timing. After this prologue sequence, Violet/Lee accidentally destroys the Combot, and you start again with a new unit - and full controls.

• The next challenge requires players to perform high, medium and low attacks against incoming henchmen. Initially, this simply demands that you respond to icons that appear over the opponent, and perform the relevant attack. In the subsequent challenge, hitting the incorrect target will result in an explosion that damages the Combot.

• These targeting exercises round off with a boss fight against Jack, where the only way to prevent a damaging counter attack is to hit specific parts of his body.

• Aside from what was shown, Harada discussed two other mini-game concepts that may show up in the final release. The first is a side-stepping trainer where the player must avoid (or collect) either incoming sushi, or small pandas which roll towards the Combot.

• Another suggested idea is a Juggling tutorial where players must hit Gon up into the air and then keep him afloat with successive strikes. With each successful hit Gon expands like a beachball, until he eventually pops.

• Overall, Fight Lab is designed to train beginners and advanced players alike. Challenges are graded based upon time and efficiency, so skilled players will acquire rewards faster.

The more I was thinking about this, this seems very much like a Nintendo thing to do and Namco is working on Smash 4. Would you like something like this for Smash? If so, what kind of minigame tutorials would you like? I always felt Break the Targets and Board the Platforms were really good examples of this until the derpification that happened with Brawl.

 

[Metal Overlord]

Wait, Gon is in Fight Lab? Nice, I thought he would never make an appearance again after Tekken 3

Anyway, I've loved this idea since I first heard it, I would love to see Smash have something like this

For a minigame tutorial, maybe there could like a Duck Hunt stage where since you're the target of the gunman, you have to avoid the shots fired by the gunman using sidestepping, air dodging, and roll dodging at the right time

Basically, it would teach you how to dodge

 

[Big-Cat]

Duck Hunt Dog confirmed?

I think another cool thing would be a bumper that can only be destroyed on one side and you have to jump over to hit that side and not get hit. This would teach you how to cross up.

It'd be even better if you can use the fight lab to show how to use characters and their tools.

 

[kisamefishfries]

I am REALLY getting sick of programmers/designers trying to cater to stupid people who can't figure out how to play a game. How many times am I forced to sit through a tutorial where I learn that I can use the analog stick to move and the A button to jump? It gets worse every generation. I don't recall ever being told how to play battletoads, ninja gaiden, or super mario bros. Those games are great. The games battle system is based off of common sense. Like holding up and hitting a attacks upwards. Leave it at training mode please.

Teach people megaman style how to play games from now on. Do it a single obstacle at a time that in no way endangers the player. After the player observes this their death is justified. Smash can be done similarly with training mode.

 

[Johnknight1]

@ kisamefishfries
The difference is that nowadays, gamers are a lot more diverse.

Take, for example, how much younger some gamers are. I mean, most of my friends growing up didn't learn how to play video games until they were say 6-10, whereas I started at age 2 (and yes, I had to be taught the controls by family members at the age).

Then take another example, on how many older people who never/rarely played games are getting into gaming, and this is all "new to them."

So, presenting an OPTIONAL fun way for them to learn the game is important in this day and age. And besides, telling people to just "learn" a game where every one of around 50 characters has (mostly) completely different attacks is unfair. That's what=??? Like 25 or so moves per character=??? That's 25 * 50, which is 1,250 attacks. For someone new, that's a lot of attacks to know if they want to experience every character for themselves.

It's not like that would take away from the game for you...

As for this kind of tutorial, smash bros. has a lot of advanced techniques, quite a few of which you wouldn't know about without word of mouth/the internet, and quite a few that are hard to perform (short hop double laser with Fox in Melee anyone=???). So even stuff like that could be useful. Plus, even if this kind of tutorial is not in the game or hosted by Nintendo, we could use it as a template to use for fan-made advanced technique tutorials (since the template is great IMO).

 

[Eternal phoenix Fire]

I am REALLY getting sick of programmers/designers trying to cater to stupid people who can't figure out how to play a game. How many times am I forced to sit through a tutorial where I learn that I can use the analog stick to move and the A button to jump? It gets worse every generation. I don't recall ever being told how to play battletoads, ninja gaiden, or super mario bros. Those games are great. The games battle system is based off of common sense. Like holding up and hitting a attacks upwards. Leave it at training mode please.

Teach people megaman style how to play games from now on. Do it a single obstacle at a time that in no way endangers the player. After the player observes this their death is justified. Smash can be done similarly with training mode.

Everyone learns at a different pace and a different method. It's like school, some people can learn only when taught by an instructor, some can learn everything they need in a text. This method is actually brilliant; it allows players to learn the mechanics in the game while they ate participating in a mini game, so learning doesn't feel like a redundant chore. Plus this is a great way to help players measure their collective progress and strive to get a higher score. The point of this is to help newer players get better without compromising the integrity of the games skill gap.

Smash 4 may be the first smash a lot of people so the tutorial is in place for them. If it doesn't effect you just ignore it. Gaming is become more socially acceptable in mass media and as a result companies must cater to the late booming markett, just like after World War II industries were rising based on the generation the baby boomers were born in.

If tutorials bother you so much then bust out your SNES and Genisis and play the old games since something that you could just ignore is so bothersome to you.

 

[Pyra]

I am REALLY getting sick of programmers/designers trying to cater to stupid people who can't figure out how to play a game. How many times am I forced to sit through a tutorial where I learn that I can use the analog stick to move and the A button to jump? It gets worse every generation. I don't recall ever being told how to play battletoads, ninja gaiden, or super mario bros. Those games are great. The games battle system is based off of common sense. Like holding up and hitting a attacks upwards. Leave it at training mode please.

Teach people megaman style how to play games from now on. Do it a single obstacle at a time that in no way endangers the player. After the player observes this their death is justified. Smash can be done similarly with training mode.

Calm yourself sir. Stay calm and don't let the tutorial hurt your feelings.
Just proceed as normal. It's no big deal.

 

[mrbrawl]

i like the idea they could have one on spacing jumps and recovery through a ballon fighter stage

 

[Morin0]

Calm yourself sir. Stay calm and don't let the tutorial hurt your feelings.
Just proceed as normal. It's no big deal.

He's got a point, though.

 

[Big-Cat]

Got Tekken Tag 2 yesterday, and I tried out the Fight Lab. It's pretty solid tutorial even if I found some things to be rather annoying such as the side stepping one or the punishing one, but they'll be worth it in the long run. I would definitely want something like this in Smash 4.

Also, in the Fight Lab, the tutorial is hosted by Violet and his assistant. The way it was presented reminded me greatly of Kid Icarus Uprising. Perhaps Palutena and Pit should host it.

 

[8-peacock-8]

I could see the following if this happens...

E.Gadd instead of Violet/Lee

Duck Hunt Dog instead of Gon

Super Team Robot (Mario Strikers) instead of Violet/Lee's robot

 

[Big-Cat]

I never saw Gon in the fight lab. Realistically, I'd see an Alloy or whatever they'll be using for the next multi-mook being the equivalent of Combot.

 

[8-peacock-8]

I never saw Gon in the fight lab. Realistically, I'd see an Alloy or whatever they'll be using for the next multi-mook being the equivalent of Combot.

True. I just want an excuse to see the super team robot in another game.

 

[Vkrm]

What would be the point? Sakurai has already said that he wants to take the emphasis off player preformance.

 

[Ember Reaper]

What would be the point? Sakurai has already said that he wants to take the emphasis off player preformance.

When has he said this? Do you have a link?