Why must fighting games have such bad controls?

It seems to me that fighting games are the most complicated games in terms of control scheme than any other game or genre. No other game requires such complicated and hard to pull off moves to be done constantly....so why?

Why do fighting games require such unneeded and useless learning curves in order to get to the actual good stuff of fighting?

There's no doubt in my mind that this is completely unnecessary and it would be very very easy to make these moves easy to use, but why don't developers do that?

Power corrupts. Knowledge is Power. Study hard. Be evil.

Which fighting games in particular are you talking about? I can vouch for the fact that not all fighters have these overly complex inputs and steep learning curves you're referring to.

While I do like the occasional fighting game with this type of control style, I completely agree. Instead of "Light", "Medium", "Heavy" things and specials that basically turn the competitive game into mind-numbing memorization and practicing just being able to use the special attacks at all, I wish more games used something like the systems from Dissidia and Super Smash Bros, where all attacks and special attacks can be used with just a button press and pushing the analog stick in a direction.

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Um... how else would you give the players access to dozens of different moves that can all be done instantly (ie: not context sensitive)?

In most of the fighting games I've played, few, if any characters have more than six or so special attacks...

Welcome to th:|

Who said anything about special attacks? Normal attacks are moves too. If you're already using up 6A and 66A and 3A and 2A and jumping 6A and all that, what commands are left for the flashier stuff?

Having dozens of special moves is just overkill, and is really unnecessary when only three of those are actually easy to use at all.

"It's so hard to be humble, knowing how great I am."

Has anyone stopped to consider that they can't always blame the controls? Has anyone stopped to think that maybe fighting games aren't for them?

Not every game has be to easy to learn.

edited 21st Sep '11 3:44:44 PM by ForceSkullgirls

Stop supporting Capcom. Now.

Again, Super Smash Bros is a good example of giving a wide range of attacks to use with a simple control scheme.

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It's not very wide. The game is pretty simplified. It's still pretty fun, but it's a different sort of fun.

Not every game should be easy to learn, no. But controls should be simple, clear, and easy to remember.

Difficulty that stems from being able to hit "ABXYBABYBABT" as quickly as possible is Fake Difficulty at its worst.

"It's so hard to be humble, knowing how great I am."

Each character has 19 attacks and four throws in Brawl.

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Fighting games are to me as Bullet Hell is for 99.9% of gamers. u_u

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I don't recall most fighting games having moves that complex. If anything, it's more important to read your opponent and play mindgames than memorize extremely situational combos.

I find performing motions to use special moves to be natural and don't find the controls to be terrible, so I'm sorry I can't relate, OP.

edited 21st Sep '11 3:50:49 PM by ForceSkullgirls

Stop supporting Capcom. Now.

I have to agree with . It's possible, OP, that you're just not the kind of gamer suited towards fighters, plain and simple.

This reminds me of Monster Hunter, where apparently having to keep the camera on the enemy is supposed to be part of the challenge. I dunno, but that just screams Fake Difficulty to me.

Welcome to th:|

I've never really had a problem with the controls of fighting games. I was raised with down-downforward-forward-punch being as natural as breathing. Ah, I still remember my little 7-year old self desperately trying to beat my brother's Guile. Good times, good times.

But yeah, you might just not be the type who would enjoy most "normal" 2d fighters. Also, as Skullgirls said earlier, it's not all about memorization and the combos, especially at a medium-high level of play. The difference between me and Justin Wong is his incredible zoning and in-depth knowledge of the games he plays. I can pull off most of his combos, but I'd still get curbstomped by him as easily if I was a complete noob.

edited 21st Sep '11 4:36:04 PM by YoungMachete

"Delenda est." "Furthermore, Carthage must be destroyed." -Common Roman saying at the end of speeches.

Super smash brothers is a party game, not a fighting game. I will hold that opinion until the day I die.

Thats an overblown stereotype. Is camera control important? Yes, but you get used to it very easy. Besides, whiners got their way. MH 4 or 3G is getting lock on if you want it.

edited 21st Sep '11 4:35:42 PM by Thorn14

I find this topic funny, I loved Richter Mode on Symphony of the Night more than the main game because of the fighting game motions you could pull.

But I can see why someone might dislike them, it's just that some people need their fix of weird motions to get by the day.

Heh, after playing Touhou, I think Bullet Hell is exactly the same to me as Fighting Games. I'm not very good in them and will probably rot on the easiest difficulties, with any attempt to try out a higher one resulting in total failure, but they are so fun that I barely care.

I tend not to use many special moves in Fighting Games and even then mostly simpler ones. Normal attacks work just fine. Maybe not the best way, but if it works, I see no reason to complain.

People aren't as awful as the internet makes them out to be.

[[quoteblock]]I don't recall most fighting games having moves that complex. If anything, it's more important to read your opponent and play mindgames than memorize extremely situational combos.

I find performing motions to use special moves to be natural and don't find the controls to be terrible, so I'm sorry I can't relate, OP.]]

This. Nothing more needs to be said.

"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.

Well since you agree with this person, obviously the discussion is over and no one else's opinions are needed or wanted, so thank you.

I'm just J/k, please don't yell at me

Fighting games have always interested me, and the whole "mind games" aspect is what draws me to the genre, but.....well I rented Blazblue and it should be here tomorrow. This game I hear has an awesome story and characters, and though the controls may also be complicated, perhaps this game will give me the motivation to stick with it. The easy special stick sounds awesome, but since the sequel replaces it with "beginners mode" which limits the amount of advanced stuff you can do, I wont' be using it.

edited 22nd Sep '11 12:35:53 AM by ViralLamb

Power corrupts. Knowledge is Power. Study hard. Be evil.

As far as fighting games go, I grew up with the Mortal Kombat and Tekken series, so these "bad controls" are not entirely unfamiliar to me... but even in more recent times I still consider Soul Calibur to be the most complicated the controls of a fighting game should ever get. (Ignoring Ivy's two special grabs in Soul Calibur 2, which are ridiculously complicated.)

How so? Soulcalibur uses four buttons (horizontal attack [A], vertical attack [B], kick [K], and guard [G]) and has free-form movement in all eight-directions with a rock-paper-scissors relationship between A, B, and the 8-Way Run. Non character-specific throws are A+G and B+G and, overall, the inputs are very similar to that of Tekken, its sister series. You mentioned Ivy, but she's pretty much the reigning queen of Difficult, but Awesome in that series.

At least compared to Tekken (from my experience the fifth one is a notable offender), Soul Calibur doesn't hurt my fingers as I try to attack. The less I have to roll my thumb around the edge of the d-pad the better.

And Ivy's not that bad. Even her basic moves are usually good at flowing into eachother. My only issue with her is getting used to which attacks have what range.

Voldo on the other hand...