At first glance, the entire scene is a complete fusion of Hollywood pop culture into the game.
Apart from a few original characters, every single one of them is someone you can recognize at a glance.
Even strangers who aren't particularly familiar with these people can recognize who they are.
Because these characters represent the mainstream culture and core values of the United States.
Even if you don't watch it yourself, someone around you must have seen it.
"Wait, this is... the Joker? What?"
Before Jasper could even look through all the available characters, the grinning green-haired guy in the corner caught his eye.
Fiery red lips, a deathly pale face, a flamboyant head of green hair, and a purple suit...
A classic design from a comic book.
Even the actor's face looks so familiar; he seems to be the same person who played the Joker in the Batman movie not long ago.
"Oh My God..."
Jasper then realized he had surprised too soon. This wasn't just bringing Hollywood into the game...
This is basically bringing in most of the mainstream United States culture.
Hollywood, American comics, and Gamenova video games.
The three systems are cleverly combined at this moment to form this... magnificent game.
Well, we don't know how the game will turn out yet, but at least from the character selection screen, it already looks a bit intimidating.
"This thing... only costs $900???"
Jasper scratched his head and picked up the statement, looking at it from left to right.
That's the cost price for getting the goods from Gamenova.
Compared to the expensive motion-sensing arcade machines of the past, this thing is priced at the same level as the early arcade machines like Space Invaders.
What incredible technological prowess is this?
Sage Lin is great, no further explanation needed!
" Liu Kang... he looks handsome, why don't we go for him?" After much deliberation, Jasper finally settled on Bruce Lee, who was standing in the center.
As for the AI, they gave it a Johnny Cage who looks a bit annoying.
After all, among a group of serious soldiers, this one was the one who laughed the most happily, yet he wasn't as creepy as the Joker.
He sat there strutting around, adjusting his sunglasses with a confident, or rather, arrogant, smile playing on his lips.
"Liu-kang!"
"Johnny cage!"
With his selection, the two characters stood on the left and right respectively.
Thanks to the "new" graphics architecture technology and the addition of a 2x speed disc drive, Gamenova was able to cram far more content into the game than Midway's version of Mortal Kombat.
The extra capacity allowed Lin Lixin to film a unique opening animation for each character.
Liu Kang, holding his nunchucks, assumed a standard Jeet Kune Do starting stance, facing his opponent.
Every movement and detail is meticulously crafted.
After all, it was drawn from a live-action film at a 1:1 scale, and the entire animation was incredibly fluid. Despite some compression, the frame rate was well preserved.
To the naked eye, there was not a single noticeable abrupt change.
As for Johnny Cage on the right, he's a completely different style.
He struck a fighting stance, but it was easy to see from the details of his muscle exertion that he was just showing off!
"Click, click"
The Flash went off, and he suddenly turned to face the screen, grinning, before straightening his expression and slightly adjusting his posture.
Even though you can't see his eyes through the sunglasses, he still gives off an incredibly irritating vibe.
That's so extravagant!
But standing opposite him was Liu Kang, a serious and proper character.
The stark contrast between the two standing together made Jasper inexplicably want to laugh.
However, he noticed it too.
This Johnny Cage is supposed to be a celebrity. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had the camera Flash non-stop.
Have you ever been to Hollywood?
The two characters each showcased their entrance animations, followed by Dianzhongdian's pre-match trash talk.
This design is not uncommon in fighting games.
Different characters standing together will trigger different pre-match voice lines.
This design serves two purposes: firstly, it further enhances the atmosphere of the fight, and secondly, it is part of the fragmented narrative.
After all, for a fighting game, how to unfold its world view for the players has always been a rather tricky issue.
As Carmack famously said:
The storylines in video games are like the storylines in porn.
You can skip watching it, but you can't live without it.
Thus, character dialogue became part of the narrative, giving players who didn't want to play the story mode a chance to glimpse the world. When the game officially started, Jasper's astonishment didn't diminish at all; on the contrary, it increased even more.
His neck was hunched forward, staring at the scene before him in disbelief.
Choosing characters with flashy roles is not very meaningful.
Just like how nobody cares how cool the title screen is for console games.
The title sequence of " E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial " was so cool back then, and the E. T. character was drawn so realistically, yet it still didn't change the public's perception of the film.
The true quality of a game depends on its actual performance within the game itself.
After all, the character selection screen consists of images and cutscenes, and these pre-rendered elements simply cannot represent real-time quality, leaving plenty of opportunities to deceive players.
But here's the problem...
How come this is... just like the outside?
Johnny and Liu Kang stood on either side of each other, their faces, movements, and clothing completely identical to those on the character selection screen.
This isn't a game.
This is like watching a movie! It's like watching a Hollywood action blockbuster!
The entire game is actually performed by real people!
Jasper doesn't understand rotoscoping, frame-by-frame animation, or pre-rendering.
In his eyes, the first thing he saw when he logged in was that the game's characters looked exactly like those in a live-action movie.
Both sides feature real people in the video.
This kind of performance... is not unprecedented in the history of video games.
Rather, it's more accurate to say that Gamenova itself is the master of this tactic.
This has been the case since Command & Conquer; Gamenova really likes to include some FMV clips in their games as cutscenes or inserts.
Whether it's used for plot development or serves another purpose.
EA's 3DO also advocates for the development of video games in this direction.
After all, with the rapid popularization of CD-ROMs, capacity is no longer an age-old problem.
Everyone can cram a lot of videos into game resources. Even now, there are still many players in the market who believe that "FMV is the future of games".
They didn't think 3DO was going in the wrong direction; rather, they believed the problem stemmed from its overly aggressive hardware choices.
In other words, broadcasting a large number of films is the current mainstream approach.
but...
Gamenova uses a slightly different approach.
Jasper tried shaking the joystick.
Liu Kang, whom he was controlling, began to move back and forth.
"Hiss... How is this possible?"
Logically speaking, while the visual effects of the video playback are fantastic, it also has a fatal flaw.
Poor interactivity.
EA is making a big push to create its own "interactive movies".
Numerous FMV segments were fragmented and integrated into QTEs and branching path selections. The aim was to develop a "new era of video games," drawing inspiration from the implementation of * Myst *, using the techniques of Adventure games.
But Gamenova chose a very... bizarre path.
The entire character is just like in a normal fighting game, with every move under your control.
This sense of control is something that FMV has never achieved before.
I wasn't "watching" a Hollywood blockbuster, but... I was actually acting in it myself.
He personally impersonated Bruce Lee and engaged in a life-or-death struggle with his opponent.
Seeing his every move follow your actions, this sense of disorientation is amplified infinitely by the live-action footage of Mortal Kombat.
"Too... too strong."
Jasper had never felt this way before.
Before I even really started playing, I was already completely hooked.
So what's next...?
For an average player who isn't a professional, the first thing to do when starting a new arcade fighting game is, of course,...
What a waste of time!
"Wow!"
Liu Kang let out a howl and swung his fists forward, which were blazing with fire.
Jasper didn't care how he created these special effects; all he had to do now was randomly press buttons.
If you win, it's because you have exceptional talent; if you lose, it's because you're unlucky.
A fireball flew out horizontally.
Yes, this is the mysterious power of the East.
That's how we cultivators are; we can breathe fire with a single slap.
However, even the normal difficulty version of Johnny Cage is no pushover.
After blocking the fireball, the distance between the two sides began to close rapidly.
"Bang!" Brother Qiang took the initiative and launched a spinning kick.
It was basically just a heavy kick with a basic attack.
However, thanks to Brandon Lee's martial arts direction and the deliberately exaggerated " Hollywood -style movements".
The entire kick was wide and powerful, a feast for the eyes.
The kick landed squarely on Liu Kang's chin, sending him flying backward.
Impactful impact!
If Jasper were to choose one word to describe this game, this would definitely be the word he chooses right now.
The impact of the attacks is incredibly strong.
It's not in the same style as Street Fighter or the King of Fighters.
This feeling is completely indescribable in words.
It's a pure, violent release of adrenaline.
Every move was powerful and sweeping. Although he himself didn't realize it, the extremely brief frame freezes and screen shakes deliberately designed in the game constantly amplified the moments of impact when these punches and kicks landed.
How to refine the feel of combat has always been an important issue for action games.
Having accumulated so much technology and experience over such a long period, Gamenova has long since developed its own set of formulas.
In the past, they often had to make choices based on the type and style of the game, or even explore new ways to solve it, in order to find the most suitable solution.
For example, games that emphasize fast-paced gameplay should minimize the use of freeze frames and slow motion.
For games that require precision, you need to be a little more careful with camera shake.
But when faced with Mortal Kombat...
Lin Lixin gave only one order: Use them all!
Young people often lack a sense of proportion when creating special effects.
Don't give me that nonsense about connotation, harmony, or artistry.
If a player doesn't feel the satisfying impact of a punch landing on their first throw, then the game is already a failure.
"Whoosh!" Liu Kang swung his nunchucks and swiftly pulled them out twice.
The splattering blood, the intense freeze-frames, and the shaky camera work transformed it all into a pure visual feast.
Honestly, Jasper had no idea what he was doing.
It's all about participation.
But perhaps that's the beauty of random scribbling; it always brings players endless surprises.
It's unclear which key he pressed, but Liu Kang suddenly felt fire erupt from his feet and launched himself forward with incredible speed.