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If I Could Make a Fighting Game-

Games are increasing in quality as time goes by, but few games increase in creativity and innovation. It seems that every new fighting game has better graphics and sound than the previous one, and maybe some more moves. The Mortal Kombat series has received much criticism, but it is exactly the kind of thing that we need. When it first came out, Mortal Kombat was very innovative. Finishing moves and blood had never been seen in a fighter before this series. It was innovative, and that's just what gamers need, something new and exciting. As I have always been one to criticize a game and say, "they should have done this," I feel that it's time to put my money where my mouth is.
In most fighting games, you pick your character and play with him/her. The character never changes, and the improvements that are made are the ones that come from your own skill. If I were in charge, there are two things I would improve. The first is the improvement of your character. For each fight you win, you should get experience, like in an RPG. The better you do (the faster the kill, the less damage you take, the more moves you use) the more experience you would get. When you earn enough experience you could level up, possibly learning new moves and improving your energy, strength, speed, stamina, and agility. You would get a certain amount of "points" that you would distribute into each category, which would add a personal touch to the game, helping gamers to further enjoy it, but more importantly, it would ensure a different experience each time you play, adding replay value. The second thing would be an optional training mode after each fight, where you could practice and learn new moves. A tutorial session could be included in the training mode, to teach you your moves and decrease the learning curve. Here's how it would work: in the training mode, you practice certain moves. As you work on old moves, they become more powerful. As you work on new moves, you could gain access to others. A fighting game that added these features could set a new standard for innovation.
To keep gamers playing for a long time, I would add an expert mode. This mode would maximize the character traits and AI of all your opponents. It would be designed to be unbeatable until you master the game. Once you beat it once, you would be able to go into training mode and teach a new fighter some of your abilities. By the time you had beaten the game with all the characters, you would gain access to this new expert mode. By training new fighters and combining abilities, the challenge would become within reach. This is another way to add replay value and customization, as every person's final fighter would be different.
Create a player is another important option. There will always be those who dislike the look of his/her favorite character, and by adding create a player, the same character stats could be kept, but the look of the character would change to suit the player's desire. You could also have a certain amount of points to distribute into the fighter. The fighting style could be picked, like boxing or martial arts. I would even go so far as to add a create an arena option. The player could design his own area, and hold fights against the computer in it. This would add more customization to the game, giving it an even more personal feel.
Adding all these features to a fighter could give way to a new line of interactive and customizable fighting games. I would love to see a developer take some initiative and do something innovative in his/her game. There have been steps in the right direction along the way. Both Bushido Blade and Soul Blade are unique and innovative. This kind of fighting game could help to separate arcade games from console ones. Hopefully, someone will step up to the plate and make a game that will set new standards, and change the industry for the better.

-By Matt Ely