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FEAT U RES
DOWNRIGHT FIERCE
AN INTERVIEW WITH SETH KILLIAN
JUSTIN AMIRKHANI
S
eth Killian is a legend in the world of fighting games, and
deservedly so. While his PhD in philosophy and fluent German
skills are remarkable it’s his rise to power in the Street Fighter
“The 3D character models are all
community that’s won him fame. very carefully crafted, and their
As a competitor he made a handsome fortune playing in Street animations are second-to-none.
Fighter tournaments, and then reinvigorated the scene as an EVO
commentator. When Capcom needed someone to manage their The characters really come to life,
community they turned to him for guidance and now with Marvel so the things people loved about
vs Capcom 3 on the way he’s here to answer our questions about
the game. sprites are still fully present.”
C&G: Street Fighter IV sort of resurrected the fighting genre in a
way we haven’t seen since the arcade days. Why do you think it
Marvel had some firm ideas about the roster, and Capcom had
took so long for the genre to find a proper home on the consoles?
its own list, plus we wanted to make sure we also included as
When fighting games were at their arcade peak, playing them on many fan-favorites as possible. So we tried to balance out all of
consoles for the first time meant playing a slightly watered-down those considerations, and then make sure we had characters that
version of the game. It also meant you had fewer opponents, since weren’t just diverse in terms of story, but also had characters that
the early days didn’t have online play. Weaker graphics and nobody were actually fun to play and really different from one another.
to fight against is a bad recipe for fighting games, so when a new Ultimately that was what influenced the final choices—everybody
generation of gamers grew up on PS1 and PS2 consoles, fighters has to be fun and have their own unique strategies.
were just not their focus. Smaller audience meant fewer fighting
The roster is a bit smaller than Marvel vs Capcom 2, shrinking
games released, and it was a vicious cycle of decline.
from 56 to the 30 (known) characters in Marvel vs Capcom 3.
Today the processing power of consoles is as good as anything in What has reducing the cast offered the game in terms of refining
arcades, and you can play limitless opponents online. So I think each character?
fighters were always amazing games, but part of what made possible
The final roster will climb significantly higher than 30, but this
their recent success on consoles was that technology has caught up
cast has let us really dive deep on the design side, with no “clone”
to the genre.
characters that are just cheap imitations of one another. There’s
In the 10 years since the last Marvel vs Capcom game, how do just a great freedom of movement in the Versus series, but we’ve
you think the genre has changed most? How has this affected also added a ton of moves for everyone—this cast has more moves
Marvel vs Capcom 3? than any other in our history, and the moves are all pretty crazy.
All in all, it adds up to more freedom and different ways to play
Of course graphics today are far beyond what they used to be, but
than I think we’ve ever offered.
the genre actually seems to have re-connected with its roots, so in
a lot of ways it hasn’t changed that much at its core. I would say Fans always want more, what sort of DLC is possible with
the players have changed quite a bit—they’re smarter about fighting Marvel vs Capcom 3?
games, and with the ease of sharing strategies, videos, etc., the
Well we’ve announced the first round of DLC with Shuma Gorath
genre overall is easier to get into than it ever was before.
and Jill Valentine, but beyond that it’s really just been a race to
Character rosters are always tough, especially when you’ve got meet our deadlines and try and make sure the main game gets to
the entire pantheon of Marvel heroes at your disposal. What’s the the players when we promised it would, so we haven’t thought too
process for deciding who makes the cut? far down that road yet.
FEAT U RES
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Mechanically the VS series have always been more frantic and
a bit less technical, what can players expect from Marvel vs
Capcom 3? How does it compare to the refinement of Super Street
Fighter IV?
MVC3 is a much faster-paced game than a Street Fighter, and it’s
also much easier to mash buttons and get something exciting to
happen. As you get beyond the basics with the game, however, creativity. Ultimately though, I think people liked 2D sprites because
it turns out it’s every bit as strategic as a Street Fighter game, just they had amazing levels of detail and animation, compared to the
in a much more frenetic way. I remember when I first saw the crude 3D models of the time. That used to be true, but really isn’t the
early Versus games showing up in arcades, and thought “Sure these case today—at least not with MVC3. The 3D character models are all
are fun to mess around with, but they aren’t serious competitive very carefully crafted, and their animations are second-to-none. The
games.” Boy was I wrong, and people have been hardcore playing characters really come to life, so the things people loved about sprites
Marvel Vs Capcom 2 competitively for over a decade. Versus games are still fully present.
are easy to get into, but can get very deep.
So far what has been your favourite team to play? Any tips for
How has Marvel vs Capcom 3 most evolved from it’s previous those getting in to Marvel vs Capcom for the first time?
incarnations? What are the biggest differences fans of the classic
will notice? My favorite teams change all the time, but lately I’ve been playing
Thor, Super-Skrull, and Viewtiful Joe—a very unlikely squad, but
There are a bunch of little changes and tweaks to the game engine, that’s what makes this game so fun.
such as air-tags and the terrifying “X-Factor” technique, but overall
the similarities outnumber the differences about 10 to 1. What gives As for getting into MVC3 for the first time, it’s pretty easy to dive
MVC3 its unique flavor from MVC2 is the characters. There are a right in, but I do see a few recurring mistakes from new players.
ton of new faces and they all have really deep, robust designs, and The biggest mistake is probably not using their teammates as assists.
even returning favorites play in a new way. Assist moves are some of the strongest moves in the game, and really
let you cover your lead character’s weaknesses. They are 1-button
Artistically Marvel vs Capcom 3 is more similar to Tatsunoko vs fireballs, uppercuts, and more, so if you aren’t using your assists
Capcom than it’s predecessors. Why was the decision made to frequently, you’re really holding yourself back. Another problem
go cel-shaded 3D rather than HD animation like in Super Street people have is running into too many projectiles when they aren’t
Fighter II Tubo HD Remix? really that hard to dodge. First, instead of just jumping, use a super-
For one, 3D models are a much more flexible way to design—if you jump and take advantage of that giant screen to move around. Also
want to have Iron Man fly off the screen and pivot around, animating be aware of your character’s movement options. A lot of characters
3D models lets you make that change mid-way through design. If have teleports, or can fly, etc. If you’ve got those powers, don’t just
you were to draw that all with sprites, you need to commit to that sit there and block fireballs, use them to get inside and smash the
move much earlier in order to meet the deadlines, so it limits some opponent’s face!