The History of Mortal Kombat - Episode 1 Explains the Game's Van Damme Origins

Updated on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 2:10PM by Carmine

MK Secrets put together a nice video detailing the history of the original Mortal Kombat. Did you know that Mortal Kombat was originally conceived as a game starring a digitized Jean Claude Van Damme? Since JCVD's schedule wasn't compatible, the designers ended up making the game without him. Also, the only reason that Liu Kang has hair is because the actor playing the bald monk wouldn't shave his head!

Get a look at some of the design sketches and controversies surrounding the first Mortal Kombat game after the break!

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Fighting Game Luminaries Killian, Sirlin, and Sanchez Speak at NYU PRACTICE Game Design Conference

This past weekend, the NYU Game Center hosted the PRACTICE game design conference. The panel Designers, Players - Fight! focused on game balance in fighting games and featured speakers Seth Killian, David Sirlin, and Arturo "Sabin" Sanchez. Seth Killian, Capcom Special Advisor, and David Sirlin, game designer of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo: HD Remix, spoke about game balance from a designer's point of view. Arturo spoke on behalf of those still playing the games in tournaments, although all of the panelists had previously played fighting games at a competitive level. iPLAYWINNER was in attendance and recorded the entire panel.

Listen and learn about the design decisions influencing the games we play!

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UMVC3: Frank West and Rocket Raccoon First Video and Images

Updated on Monday, October 31, 2011 at 9:40AM by Carmine

Capcom just dished out a Halloween treat by revealing the final UMC3 characters. Frank West — he's covered wars, you know — now uses his photography skills to level up his attacks and get his Willamette maul on. The furry Rocket Raccoon, "Guardian of the Keystone Quadrant," looks like a very mixup-heavy character who can set traps and annoyingly move around the screen while burrowed.

Check out the trailers and screenshots after the break!

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SFxT: Seth Blames Gem Controversy on Unanswered Questions

Gamastura spoke to Seth Killian, Capcom's Truly Outrageous Special Advisor, about the controversy surrounding Street Fighter X Tekken's recently announced gem system. Seth realizes that the initial NYCC presentation that revealed the gem system left too much unexplained. While he doesn't explain how gems are acquired, he does reiterate that they are considered an integral, balanced part of the game.

After the break, see what Seth says about the challenge of revealing information on a specific schedule, and check out the entire interview over at Gamasutra!

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UMVC3: Seth Demonstrates Frank West and Rocket Raccoon for IGN

Seth Killian, Capcom's Special Furry Animal Advisor, gave IGN a hands-on demonstration of the brand new UMVC3 characters, Frank West and Rocket Raccoon. Frank's got some nice normals once he levels up to paddlesaws, and Rocket Raccoon looks like a slippery little critter with extreme mobility and a host of traps.

Check out the videos after the break!

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Contest: Dress Like Your Favorite Player for Halloween, Win Free Games

If you haven't been checking out Alex Valle's Facebook page, you've been missing out on some nostalgic stuff from the fighting game community of a decade or two ago. He's been posting pictures showing fighting game legends like Seth Killian, James Chen, and David Sirlin rocking dope 90's haircuts. The video after the break is a segment from TechTV covering the B5 (pre-EVO) tournament back in 2001. Thanks to YamKoo for the upload.

So what's the contest? Hit the jump for the rules!

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Fighterpedia's Debut Episode Covers Early Street Fighter Design Sketches

TheSw1tcher launched a new video series covering fighting game history called Fighterpedia. If you can bear with the hosts' harshly sarcastic tone, you'll catch a glimpse of some early Street Fighter II design sketches of characters we know and love, as well as some obvious rejects.

Witness the evolution of Vega and learn Zangief's original name after the break!

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SFxT: Dawgtanian Proves Pandora's Worth in Match Videos

When Pandora was first announced, everyone feared that it would be an overpowered comeback mechanic. Then, everyone saw it in action and decided that it was worthless. Dawgtanian has been arguing that it might be better than people think. In these videos, he shows how an incoming Pandora character can act immediately, leading to instant, high-damage fireball punishes.

Check the technique after the break!

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MVC3: Desk Combines Three Glitches in One Combo, Triple-Breaks the Game

Desk posted a new combo that was cut from an upcoming MVC3 "lifetime" combo video. The notorious game-breaker combines the Trish Peekaboo glitch, the Trish/Shuma assist glitch, and a combo counter glitch all in a single combo.

Look at the results after the break!

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CVS2: A-Cho Footage is Hours of Pure, Honest Fighting

If you miss the good old days, or if you just want to prepare yourself for this Sunday's CVS2 ranbats at Southtown Arcade, A-Cho has you covered. The Japanese arcade captured hours of recent, high-level CVS2 play. If you like sneaky surprise attacks at the start of the round, true love makin', or Bison's deadly Paint the Fence maneuver, you are in for a treat!

This battle is about to explode... after the break!

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Skullgirls Offers Solutions for Real Problems in Fighting Games

Fighting games have evolved over time, but they still often face many of the same problems (and I'm not talking about disparity between high-level players). No matter how cautious developers are, things like infinites and high-low unblockables often sneak their way into games. Skullgirls has innovative systems that prevent both of these, which Producer Peter Bartholow describes over at the PlayStation Blog. Included is a new video demonstrating these systems, along with some nice custom-assist combos.

Check out the video after the break!

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Sub-Zero is a Terrible Roommate

Since there's not much news breaking this week, we've been re-watching a few humorous videos over and over for the past few days: UltraDavid as Phoenix Wright, those Primal Rage designers arguing about who had the idea first, and Roommate Konflict. This video comes via BadEnoughDudes and is written by Will, the host of Capcom-Unity's World Warriors Podcast.

What is life with Sub-Zero like? Find out after the break!

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SSF4:AE: Count the Machine Gun Blows in Desk's 33-hit Dudley Combo

Desk provides a little teaser for his upcoming Dudley combo video with a crazy 33-hit combo. The combo is only possible using AE's improved EX Ducking, and is loaded with Machine Gun Blows. Exactly how many can he fit into one combo?

Watch the video after the break to find out!

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Prehistoric Throwback: Primal Rage Design Video Features Steel Skeletons, Stop-motion

Normally, just the mention of Primal Rage is enough to get a fighting game fan to snicker. However, in this ancient video, you can see that designing and animating the game's dinosaur combatants was serious business. Props to Video-Game Ephemera for digging up this classic piece of fighting game history.

Watch the video after the break. You'll never look at Primal Rage the same way again!

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Harada Explains the Four-limb System, Realism in Tekken

Tekken Producer Katsuhiro Harada recently sat down with Gamasutra for an interview covering what exactly makes Tekken different from other fighting games. Harada explains why a four-button system made more sense than the usual six-button scheme. He admits that some of those unfamiliar with the game think that you can just mash buttons to win, but he doesn't mind as long as that makes people more likely to play it. Finally, he proposes an online training mode as a great way to teach new players about the game.

Check out an excerpt after the break and get the whole interview over at Gamasutra.

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Hold It! Watch Ultimate 'Assist Me!' with Phoenix Wright Right Now

Surely no one will object to Maximilian's latest Ultimate 'Assist Me!' video, starring UltraDavid (aka David P. Gems, Esq.) as Phoenix Wright. Learn how to gather evidence, put the screws to the defendant, and land that decisive Level 3 conviction in UMVC3. (There's also some scarf-hat dude called Iron Fist.) The verdict is in: it's awesome!

Stand witness to the best video you'll see all day, after the break!

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Canada Cup "New Challengers" Trailer Loaded with the World's Best Players

Canada Cup rapidly approaches, and the international competition is looking more stacked than any tournament in history. Infiltration, Kindevu, RF, and D44Bas will be making the trip, along with a host of killers from Europe and Singapore. With competition like this, who knows who will take the top spot in the international AE 5-on-5?!

Check out the trailer after the break and get hype!

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Soul Calibur V Is Inspired by the New Generation of Fighting Games

The PlayStation Blog conducted a Soul Calibur V interview with Namco Bandai Community Manager Rich "FilthieRich" Bantegui. He talks about Ezio, Just Guard versus Guard Impact, the speed of the game, and character customization. When asked about what Soul Calibur V takes from the new generation of fighters, Rich has an interesting answer.

So, what did FilthieRich say that Soul Calibur V borrows from modern fighting games?

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Which Part of the World Has the Most Street Fighter Fans?

If you said Japan... you were way off! Japan and Asia combined only make up 10% of Street Fighter fans. The actual largest portion of the SF fan base is North America, with 60%. That leaves Europe with 30%. Sorry, South America and Australia, but these are Ono's words, taken from a Capcom internal interview, as reported by Siliconera. What's most interesting about this interview is an explanation of how Capcom keeps such a fervent fan base in North America.

How does Ono keep Street Fighter fans happy? Check after the break for an explanation from the man himself!

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SSF4:AE: V-Ryu Vs. Poongko in Red Fight District Grand Finals is Non-stop Rushdown

This past weekend, the Red Fight District tournament took place in the Netherlands. Some of Europe's top players were in attendance, along with special guest Poongko. The grand finals saw top Makoto player V-Ryu face off with The Machine Poongko. Both players are known for their relentless offense, so it makes for an exciting match.

Check out the match after the break!

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