Assignment 1: Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
The mechanics of any fighting game will be similar to those included in the book’s analysis of Street Fighter II, but it can be noted that more recent fighting games include still more mechanics that either didn’t exists in SSFII or were not mentioned. Blocking can probably be considered a mechanic, as blocking by itself is an action with plenty of feedback and strategy involved. Blocking is instantaneous unless one is already performing an attack, and the character model switches from high and low guard sprites respectively. Also relatively unique to UMVC3 is the sub-mechanic of push-blocking, in which pushing two attack buttons while blocking allows one to push the attacker away. Some other mentionable mechanics are assist calls and throws, as they lie somewhat independent from normal attacks. Assist calls allow your player to move independent from an attack from your ally, and throws interrupt blocking.
All of these input mechanics apply to real time control. As with SSFII, attacks range from light, medium, to heavy, and light attacks take less frames to start up and execute than heavy attacks. It’s also worth noting that certain button combinations for special attacks form natural mappings to their nature. For example, a [quarter circle back + attack] combination for Ryu will have him performing a hurricane kick, an attack that animates by having Ryu spinning in conjunction with the moving simulated by the input. Super attacks can be mashed by repeated pressing an attack button for additional hits. Super jumping (an extra high jump) can be accomplished by pressing down before pressing up to jump, naturally accompanied by the need to crouch before launching high into the air.
2D fighters like UMVC3 are a lot about controlling space. The effect of simulating space comes from attack size, from collision and parries of attacks, and from the wall and ground bounces from certain attacks. With several options of moving around like dashing, air dashing and teleporting, the idea of space in a real-time environment is kept on the mind at all times while playing. Navigating and blocking projectiles also contributes to this feeling. In terms of attack collision, UMVC3 actually uses hit spheres instead of hit boxes, as the developers felt that it applied more to actions like sword swings and Hulk’s downward smash. The adjustment of hit boxes in patches has always influenced the perception of space.
UMVC3’s polish is simply effects that heighten the sense of feedback and sensory overload that the game projects. People who watch the game for the first time usually have no idea what’s going on, as the screen is constantly littered with projectiles, flashy specials, and full screen supers. Every time a character is hit, bright yellow strike effects appear, either in a splash formation from a melee attack or in sharp lines from a sword strike. Dashing and jumping make dust splashes on the ground. Teleports and fast movement warp the character model. Another element of polish is how distinct every character feels. On one hand you have Wolverine, whose fast dashes and quick slashing attacks provide the feel of a light rush-down character. On the other, you have Hulk and Haggar, whose attacks take several frames to complete and have armor on lots of their normals.
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