It’s time to revisit our Radio Detection and Ranging devices to see if anything can be found underneath. In other words, it’s time to see what probable additions to Brawl we have neglected to think about. I don’t blame you. With the onslaught of interesting Brawl news every week it’s easy to forget something.
Today, I’ve found two things under the radar.
1) Single Player Story
2) Proper Training Mode<!--more-->
In Smash Melee, the single player story is little more than what can be imagined about a disembodied floating hand that brings our favorite Nintendo characters to life only to have them battle and return to the plastic statuettes from whence they came. What if Sakurai wants a more legitimate storyline like Soul Calibur? This fighting series features small scenes in its single player mode where the characters attempt to convey complex plot in terse phrases before battling.
“Don’t do this my long lost sister, or the evil will spread throughout this land!”
“Don’t sand in my way brother, or I’ll cut you down like I did Kilik! AHH!”
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/soulcalibur_link1.jpg" title="soulcalibur_link1.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/soulcalibur_link1.jpg" alt="soulcalibur_link1.jpg" /></a></p>
Soul Calibur’s hodgepodge story was comical, short, and ultimately entertaining. It definitely won’t be winning any awards though. By revealing small bits of plot before each match, the developers kept things flexible. They were so flexible, in fact, that Link, one of our favorite Nintendo characters, was interposed into the storyline of Soul Calibur 2.
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/20060426-screen-kingdomhearts2.jpg" title="20060426-screen-kingdomhearts2.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/20060426-screen-kingdomhearts2.jpg" alt="20060426-screen-kingdomhearts2.jpg" /></a></p>
What if Sakurai wanted something more substantial like Kingdom Hearts. Now there’s a story featuring a conglomeration of seemingly unlike characters from alternate universes. “Final Fantasy characters, I would like for you to meet my good friends the Disney characters.” Somehow this game was pulled off successfully.
What if this fall we could embark on a journey featuring our Mii’s running around an assortment of Nintendo worlds with our Brawl buddies fighting evil? It doesn’t have to make sense. It just has to be fun. An approach like this is a massive undertaking. But what if Sakurai had the resources? I’ve heard that Sakurai and his team got a boost in staff from Nintendo. All off them can’t be used for making and balancing characters.
In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled. Melee’s Adventure mode was a flop. I’m sure Sakurai wants to rectify this single player situation.
Training Mode! I don’t use this mode very much because it’s not very useful. I want a training mode where I can experiment and closely examine different situations. There are few reasons why Melee’s training mode fails.
1) No C-stick: If you’re going to train, you’re probably training for matches with other people. In versus mode, the C-stick was converted form a camera stick, to a context sensitive miracle stick. Why would the conditions in the training mode be different from versus mode? Was this an oversight? I think so. I believe that the game was originally programmed with the C-stick controlling the camera. When the developers realized that this would be bad for multiplayer, they adapted it for attacks.
2) Weak AI: Why didn’t they include the option to battle a level 9 computer? The AI we have now is pathetic. And the options to set it to jump or walk aren’t enough.
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/training_mode3.jpg" title="training_mode3.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/training_mode3.jpg" alt="training_mode3.jpg" /></a></p>
3) No Pause: When you pause the game the menu comes up, but the game never stops. This makes it to freeze and examine the game.
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/training_mode2.jpg" title="training_mode2.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/training_mode2.jpg" alt="training_mode2.jpg" /></a></p>
4) No help: When the AI is insufficient, we turn to our friends to help us train. Up to 4 people can train together, but 3 of them have to be the same character. Isn’t smash a legitimate 4 player fighter? Why limit the number of characters in training mode?
5) No DI: The combo meter doesn’t factor in Direction Influence. So, when you think you’re making a combo, chances are, your opponents can simply lean out of it. This is very deceptive. What good is a combo if it’s not a really a combo?
All fighting games try to include useful training modes that will hold up to future years and future levels of play. <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=dwJKgyAQw6Y" title="Virtua Fighter did a good job">Virtua Fighter did a good job</a>.
I suggest that Training Mode needs VCR controls. What I mean by this is features like pause, rewind, zoom in, and reset. If the player could pause and rewind the game, he could see exactly how things work. What if the player could rewind play in Training mode, and then start playing form any point in the footage? What if you could reset to that point to train for specific situations? This would be an incredibly powerful and versatile asset because one player can create situations involving multiple characters all by himself. In this way, the training mode will be as good as the player.
Training mode could also include mini games that help player learn different functions in the game. What if the “how to play” video was interactive? In other words, when Mario dashes on the screen, he’ll wait for you to dash before continuing. Virtual fighter already demonstrated some simple “mini-games” to help teach players how to perform attacks. It’s little ideas like this that go a long way.
Today, I’ve found two things under the radar.
1) Single Player Story
2) Proper Training Mode<!--more-->
In Smash Melee, the single player story is little more than what can be imagined about a disembodied floating hand that brings our favorite Nintendo characters to life only to have them battle and return to the plastic statuettes from whence they came. What if Sakurai wants a more legitimate storyline like Soul Calibur? This fighting series features small scenes in its single player mode where the characters attempt to convey complex plot in terse phrases before battling.
“Don’t do this my long lost sister, or the evil will spread throughout this land!”
“Don’t sand in my way brother, or I’ll cut you down like I did Kilik! AHH!”
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/soulcalibur_link1.jpg" title="soulcalibur_link1.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/soulcalibur_link1.jpg" alt="soulcalibur_link1.jpg" /></a></p>
Soul Calibur’s hodgepodge story was comical, short, and ultimately entertaining. It definitely won’t be winning any awards though. By revealing small bits of plot before each match, the developers kept things flexible. They were so flexible, in fact, that Link, one of our favorite Nintendo characters, was interposed into the storyline of Soul Calibur 2.
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/20060426-screen-kingdomhearts2.jpg" title="20060426-screen-kingdomhearts2.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/20060426-screen-kingdomhearts2.jpg" alt="20060426-screen-kingdomhearts2.jpg" /></a></p>
What if Sakurai wanted something more substantial like Kingdom Hearts. Now there’s a story featuring a conglomeration of seemingly unlike characters from alternate universes. “Final Fantasy characters, I would like for you to meet my good friends the Disney characters.” Somehow this game was pulled off successfully.
What if this fall we could embark on a journey featuring our Mii’s running around an assortment of Nintendo worlds with our Brawl buddies fighting evil? It doesn’t have to make sense. It just has to be fun. An approach like this is a massive undertaking. But what if Sakurai had the resources? I’ve heard that Sakurai and his team got a boost in staff from Nintendo. All off them can’t be used for making and balancing characters.
In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled. Melee’s Adventure mode was a flop. I’m sure Sakurai wants to rectify this single player situation.
Training Mode! I don’t use this mode very much because it’s not very useful. I want a training mode where I can experiment and closely examine different situations. There are few reasons why Melee’s training mode fails.
1) No C-stick: If you’re going to train, you’re probably training for matches with other people. In versus mode, the C-stick was converted form a camera stick, to a context sensitive miracle stick. Why would the conditions in the training mode be different from versus mode? Was this an oversight? I think so. I believe that the game was originally programmed with the C-stick controlling the camera. When the developers realized that this would be bad for multiplayer, they adapted it for attacks.
2) Weak AI: Why didn’t they include the option to battle a level 9 computer? The AI we have now is pathetic. And the options to set it to jump or walk aren’t enough.
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/training_mode3.jpg" title="training_mode3.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/training_mode3.jpg" alt="training_mode3.jpg" /></a></p>
3) No Pause: When you pause the game the menu comes up, but the game never stops. This makes it to freeze and examine the game.
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/training_mode2.jpg" title="training_mode2.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/training_mode2.jpg" alt="training_mode2.jpg" /></a></p>
4) No help: When the AI is insufficient, we turn to our friends to help us train. Up to 4 people can train together, but 3 of them have to be the same character. Isn’t smash a legitimate 4 player fighter? Why limit the number of characters in training mode?
5) No DI: The combo meter doesn’t factor in Direction Influence. So, when you think you’re making a combo, chances are, your opponents can simply lean out of it. This is very deceptive. What good is a combo if it’s not a really a combo?
All fighting games try to include useful training modes that will hold up to future years and future levels of play. <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=dwJKgyAQw6Y" title="Virtua Fighter did a good job">Virtua Fighter did a good job</a>.
I suggest that Training Mode needs VCR controls. What I mean by this is features like pause, rewind, zoom in, and reset. If the player could pause and rewind the game, he could see exactly how things work. What if the player could rewind play in Training mode, and then start playing form any point in the footage? What if you could reset to that point to train for specific situations? This would be an incredibly powerful and versatile asset because one player can create situations involving multiple characters all by himself. In this way, the training mode will be as good as the player.
Training mode could also include mini games that help player learn different functions in the game. What if the “how to play” video was interactive? In other words, when Mario dashes on the screen, he’ll wait for you to dash before continuing. Virtual fighter already demonstrated some simple “mini-games” to help teach players how to perform attacks. It’s little ideas like this that go a long way.
