Fighting Game

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Screenshot of OpenMortal, a free fighting game. At the top you can see the life bars and the remaining fight time.
Street Fighter II (arcade version)

The Fighting Game (English for "Kampfspiel", in German colloquially often referred to as "Beatling Game") is a subgenre of the action game . Although the term seems very generalizing, it describes a very specific genre of computer games . The central game element are usually two equal fighters who face each other in a clearly defined area (e.g. an arena). The winner is whoever beats the opponent first (often over several rounds).

The possibilities for this can also go beyond simple melee attacks, for example in the form of the use of weapons, the inclusion of the battlefield up to, depending on the title, sometimes also supernatural, special skills. Well-known representatives of the fighting game genre include the Street Fighter , Mortal Kombat , Tekken and Super Smash Bros.

Almost exclusively in German-speaking countries, the term beat 'em up is often incorrectly used for fighting games. However, this is an independent genre, even if there are overlaps.

history

As arguably the greatest pioneer of the genre of fighting games, the sword fighting arcade game applies Warrior from the year 1979 in vector graphics and is designed for two players, but even from the top view shown. The lesser-known Apple II game Swashbuckler from 1982 then already represented the typical 2D side perspective, but is classified as a beat 'em ups genre and could only be played by one player. In September 1984 the arcade game Karate Champ followed , which is considered the first fighting game according to today's definition due to the side-scrolling technology and was subsequently ported for the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Commodore 64 , among other things .

Among other things , it was also Karate Champ , together with Konami's Yie Ar Kung-Fu , which developer Capcom largely served as inspiration for the Street Fighter published in 1987 and which finally established the genre, but the real breakthrough only came with the sequel Street Fighter II in 1991. Due to the great success of the game, numerous development studios around the world tried to adopt the concept and publish their own titles. In terms of success, this was mainly achieved a year later by the American studio Midway Games with Mortal Kombat . In the fall of 1993, Sega's Virtua Fighter finally appeared , which is considered the first arcade fighting game to be implemented entirely in 3D polygon graphics . Since then, a distinction has been made between “2D fighting games” and “3D fighting games”, although the game mechanics are largely identical.

Game mechanics

In the genre, the focus is on the sporting competition between the game characters. In terms of plot, most of the representatives are often kept very simple: The background is often a form of tournament that the player has to win. Usually there are several characters to choose from, all of which usually have individual skills. Once you have made your choice, you have to defeat all the other participants in the competition one after the other. In order to achieve the goal, in addition to simple punching techniques (high punch, deep punch, high kick, low kick in combination with crouching and jumping as well as defense), so-called special and combo moves are available to the player, with which special punch combinations (the composed of the basic techniques) and skills (e.g. a special use of weapons or supernatural skills such as fireballs, teleport, etc.) of the figure can be activated. These combinations usually require a certain amount of skill and some have to be discovered first (see also button mashing ). The fireball in the Street Fighter series is carried out e.g. B. by turning the control pad a quarter turn in the direction of the opponent and then immediately pressing the punch button.

The confrontation with an opponent usually takes place over several rounds. Both opponents have a hitpoint bar. Whoever k was first lost O. or has less life energy left after a given period of time. As a rule, at least two rounds are fought, three if there is a tie after the second. Modern fighting games, however, usually allow the player to make numerous changes to these fighting rules. Fighting takes place in different arenas, which can often also have an impact on the course of the fight - for example, a lion appears now and then in a lions' den and robs a careless fighter of life energy.

Fighting games often have game modes for two players fighting each other; Since both characters are usually on the screen due to the nature of the game, the game can usually be played on a single device and without a split screen . Over time, various developers have also repeatedly designed new game modes for their titles, such as 2v2 matches in which two characters compete against each other (comparable to the tag teams in wrestling ) or "challenge storms" in which a series of Fights must be completed one after the other, but different framework conditions apply to each.

Well-known fighting games

A variety of fighting games have appeared over the years, mostly (but not exclusively) from Japan and the United States . The most successful titles are often part of long-lived series, sometimes with dozens of publications. Sometimes there is an overlap with the field of sports simulations, such as the WWE 2K series, the UFC Undisputed games or Fight Night Round .

Differentiation from the beat 'em up

Mainly in German-speaking countries (but not exclusively), games of the fighting game genre are very often incorrectly referred to as beat 'em ups , both by players and by game magazines. The beat 'em up is, however, an independent genre, even if there are various overlaps in the game mechanics and the history of its creation. The origin of this widespread error can hardly be determined today. The main difference is that in a fighting game two equal opponents usually face each other in an arena or similar, whereas in a beat 'em up the player or players are involved in close combat actions with several, mostly weaker opponents, usually within level structures . Examples of well-known beat 'em ups are the Double Dragon and Final Fight series or Fighting Force . Often, especially with older genre representatives, flexible side scrolling is used. The overlap with the action adventure genre is fluid, however, while the definition of the fighting game is much narrower and clearer.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Tao of Beat-'em-ups at eurogamer.net (English)
  2. ↑ A List and Guide to Game Genres at / v / 's Recommended Games Wiki (English)
  3. ↑ Warrior at arcade-museum.com (English)
  4. ↑ The History of Street Fighter at GameSpot.com (English)
  5. ↑ Street Fighter II - The Ultimate Player's Guide! at meanmachinesmag.co.uk (English)
  6. ↑ Beat 'em Up - History - The history of fighting games at gamepro.de