For whatever reason, I was thinking about how design a better fighting game. Kinda like virtua fighter, or (with less fantasy) like Tekken.
General tenets.
Basic stuff: Videogame platform based, one on one matches. Characters kept on memory cards. No pre-made characters, though an easy-build system based on a few sliding bars can generate characters with decent move-lists.
Character appearance customizable, naturally.
Character tech-lists customizable - there is a quota of points that you spend on techniques, with all-around better moves costing more. About half to a quarter of the techniques can be bought at one time, assuming lower-cost moves.
Buttons are: Punch, Kick, Grab, Block.
Directional imputs: All directions (hold), all direction (press then release), neutral.
Now on to the funner parts - the guts of the game, the way the mechanics work:
Attack speed types:
Quick:Interrupts when nothing is hit-boxing, killed by hitbox (Beats delayed, good against cancelled attacks and feints)
Strong:Constant hit-box (Beats quick) (balances forward?)
Delayed: Evasion then attack, or just a slower, stronger attack (Beats Strong via priority while hitting before hit-box arrives)
Balance:(Balance is one of the more special bits of this game)
Balance forward
Balance backward
Balance right
Balance left
Defenses against attacks:
Block: Take percentage of damage, proprotional stun and sometimes break, no other cooldown. Basic blocking only blocks attacks from the front of where the character is standing - vulnerable to circular attacks. Balance can effect damage vs. stun/break ratio.
Parry: Needs timing, takes time to start, static cooldown.
Defensive grab: Needs timing, must match forward or backward balance, auto-hit into grapple or throw.
Interrupt via quick: See earlier triangle.
Dodge: Needs early application, no cooldown, only avoids some types of attacks (duck, sidestep, jump, backstep), heavy balance
Defenses against grabs:
Counterthrow: Throw balancing in the same direction they are balanced to subvert their throw. (note that many throws have balance-backward at some part of their movement, but some balance forward while reaching to grab.)
Hit stun: Throws start attacking, grab, and then throw. The attack motion is the same as the defensive throw, so an off-balancing attack might get eaten by it, but otherwise hits normally. Grab solidifies whether it is a defensive throw, or an offensive throw, reduces hit-stun and knock-back - some attacks may not produce enough hit-stun or knockback to knock them out of the throw, or detach them. Damage is normal. Throw is too late, though if you have already imputted your own counter-throw, that will still implement.
Resist: use the imput-balance to pull away from the thrower's attack balance. Mostly pulling away from the opponent, but some throws just go with that. Does not work if you imputted the wrong throw command. Note this is the benefit of throws to the side, or throws that get behind the opponent. Visually, the throw slows and then breaks.
Notes on offensive throws:
Some throws can be reversed into other throws if resisted.
Throws have much shorter "grab" time if the person is already off-balance in the direction they are being thrown.
Throws have longer "grab" and "throw" times if the person is balanced away, worse if the player resists it.
(The grab is really just an off-balancing movement that preps for the throw.)
Get-up defense:
Grab to pull down - into grapple game
Grab to throw - into throw
Attack from ground
Dodge while rising
Defense while rising
Offense against get-up:
Grab and mount into grapple game
Hit opponent
Respond to get-up choice
Grapple:
Positions:
Guard: Person on top has better striking, bottom has worse, bottom has a 2/3 advantage in throw game
Mount: Person on top has better striking, bottom has worse, equal in throws.
Face-down mount: Person on top has better striking, bottom has none, top has 2/3 advantage in anti-throw game.
Options:
Strike: hit the opponent, varying keys and varying possible throws in response
Throw - Reposition: Shifts to a different position
Throw - Release: Throws the opponent into prone into a specific orientation near the throwing grappler
Strangle-hold/submission-hold: Constant damage. Wiggle/mash to escape, or throw (Each strangle has a throw-release key, but strangles can be shifted into other strangles mid-strangle.) Can strike during strangle, does not release, but works as a wiggle.
Restrain: if successful, negates one button-escape until wiggle-free. Some throws that go into grapples start with a restrain.
Near-Simultaneous grab:
If balance of throws oppose: First wins
If balance of throws same: Second wins.
Player Balance Mechanic:
Balance in one of four directions - forward, backward, right, left.
All created by movement, forward and backward can be created by attacks (can shift during attack
Grabs: Determines which defensive grabs work, and balance on opposed grabs determines winner.
Attacks on hit: More damage if balanced into attack, less stun/chance to interrupt; Less damage if balanced alway attack, more stun/chance to interrupt.
Auto-off: Some attacks (particularly kicks) inducing general off-balance penalties when attacked from any direction.
Attack direction:
Some attacks, particularly circular and retreating attacks, have an attack direction distinct from balance.
Circular: attacks from right or left, beats out side-steppers for either more damage or more stun.
Retreating: Often hits forward (weakly) while balance is backwards.
Hit stuns/status effects:
Attack stun: Recoiling from hit, can't initiate new attacks. Can use control stick to choose forward/backwards/left/right balance.
Induced Off-balance stun: opponent stumbles from attack/throw, balanced in that direction. Leads to better stun/damage, off-balance lasts a bit longer than actual stun. Some quick attacks and defensive-throws only provide off-balance, and minimal damage.
Off-balance collapse: If knocked over while balanced away due to the off-balance, stumble in that direction before falling.
Sensory stun: Variable amount of frame-delay on technique initiation - slowed between 1-X frames: Attacks will still happen, but timing is imprecise.(mostly face attacks)
Winded: Reduction in potency of attacks - priority, damage, stun-produced. May last a bit, reduces faster the less the character does. (Mostly gut attacks)
Gut-blow stun: Produces general off-balance, and auto-ducking.
Crumple stun: Produces general off-balance, auto-ducking, then falling to prone.
Misc. Status mods:
Pumped: Increase attack potency for a bit.
Adrenline surge: Ignore damage for a bit, then take all the damage you would have taken. Post-battle collapse is win, not tie.
Static Crouch: Acts as if automatically balanced opposing attacks: Less stun/push, more damage. Low mobility options. Also avoids high. (Note: This is while crouched - intial duck delay until fully crouched is neutral balance.)
Jump: Acts as if automatically balanced away from attacks: Less damage, more stun/push. Also avoids low. (Blocking in the air... almost garrentteed guard-break. At least there's less damage.)
Special games:
First blood (Lose imput control when damaged, if both players hit, whichever does more damage, if just one, that one loses.)
To knock-down (No damage, first player knocked to the ground loses.)
To Submission (Damage reduces wiggle efficiency but regenerates, first player to hold a submission hold for a specified amount of time wins.)
To Ring-out (Lose when forced off ring.)
Misc Character traits:
Regeneration: While no imput is taken, slow regeneration.
Default static crouch: Instead of holding down to stay crouched, hold up to uncrouch.
Special victories:
Taunt-victory: Three taunts in a row creates victory (forces aggression).
Ring-out: Drive opponent off of ring for victory.
Feints: Most attacks can be stopped before a certain point, some can be delayed (whiffs throws and parries, weak to quick and dodge), some can be converted into other attacks. (Strong against some dodge and quick, weak into strong and throws and parry)
