作者：Maxwell McGee

在烈日笼罩下的沙漠中，两个身披斗篷的土匪赤手空拳地展开搏斗。踢出致命的一脚便能置对方于死地。当两个男人进入屏幕时，你便能够猜出这款游戏的基本理念。这便是非常简单的《Senor Footsies》。

游戏开发者Luke Esquivel将其描写为“立马就能学会的搏斗游戏”，这款游戏只将传统打斗游戏原理作为其中的一个基本面，即间距。这是一款简单且快节奏的游戏，有效地抵制了受机制驱动的游戏的发展潮流。

Esquivel是在IPLAYWINNER与打斗游戏社区的其他成员进行头脑风暴时想到《Senor Footsies》的游戏理念。作为音乐家兼业余游戏开发者，Esquivel早就对现代许多打斗游戏的开发方式表示不满了。他甚至认为如今的打斗游戏已经失去了其真正有趣的元素。并且带有这种想法的不只他一个。

《Senor Footsies》会让你想起另外一款双按键的打斗游戏——《Adam Heart’s Divekick》。这两款游戏虽然具有很多共同点，但呈现出来的却是两种不同类型的游戏玩法。《Divekick》让玩家能够跳到空中进行打斗，而在《Senor Footsies》中，玩家只能在地面上进行打斗。Esquivel认为打斗游戏必须发生改变，而地面游戏便是不可避免的趋势，《Senor Footsies》的出现更是起到了推动作用。

Walk（from-gamespot）

如何操作游戏

玩家将通过两个按键去操作《Senor Footsies》中的角色，即行走和踢腿。游戏默认角色将向后行走，而玩家需要按压行走按钮控制着他朝前进。这是Esquivel在一开始便明确的理念。他说道：“最初想的控制角色朝后移，但是我更倾向于移动着角色向前走。”这么做能让游戏更具有攻击性，即玩家是控制着角色的进攻行为而不是防守。

踢腿按键也很简单，即执行的是下段踢击，攻击范围虽然不是很广，但是攻击力却非常猛。如果是在现实生活中，这样的踢击将会重伤对方发膝盖，但是在游戏中，这却是最有力的攻击。如果你足够大胆，你也可以同时按压行走和踢腿按键，从而使出弧线形踢。这么做具有一定的风险，即虽然能够延长攻击范围，但却需要更长发恢复时间。

虽然这两种攻击系统听起来很简单，但却存在着一个特别的设置。即当双方位于最大的撞击范围时，他们所使出的踢腿攻击便不能发挥功效。屏幕下方的条块便为我们呈现出了有效的攻击区域（即能够伤到对方的区域），而剩下的区块便是遭受攻击区域（即可能被击中的区域）。同时，踢腿的有效攻击区域比起遭受攻击区域更为醒目，也就意味着当两个角色相互碰撞时，踢腿的角色将能赢得胜利，因为这一行动拥有较小的缓冲区。

除了这些区域，我们还需要面对手枪这一元素。角色能否使用手枪取决于能量仪表是否能被慢慢填满。是的，与其它打斗游戏一样，《Senor Footsies》也拥有能量仪表，但是在此该功能却区别于其它游戏中的仪表。比起在屏幕上填满五颜六色的激光和两位数组合，玩家可以通过填满仪表中的数值（游戏邦注：即按压并释放踢腿按键）进行射击，而立刻击晕对手。

SenorFootsiesHitbox（from-gamespot）

Esquivel说道：“我喜欢通过仪表进行管理。这能让我们在保持控制简单的同时增强游戏的深度。”仪表同样也能给予更具进攻性的玩家一定的奖励，从而推动着他们继续前进。当然了，这里也存在一定的局限性。即当目标向后退时，玩家的射击便会失败。除此之外，当仪表被填满时，它只能短时间维持这一状态。也就是玩家不可能永远保持着这种优势。

尽管设计如此简单，《Senor Footsies》仍然能够带给玩家无穷的乐趣。尽管紧张的打斗归根到底就是一个反复重现的像素，但是玩家却能从中感受到满满的能量。这远远胜于各种技术组合。这是一款带有简单乐趣的游戏，它的出现也证明了打斗游戏类型还存在着发展空间。

精通游戏

Esquivel的创造性是在成长过程中不断累积起来的。早前因为深受The Crystal Method和Prodigy组合的影响，他对音乐充满了激情，不仅创造了一些个人作品，还曾为《超级街霸2》制作配乐。高中时期他还是学校霹雳舞剧团中的成员（与其兄弟James一起），并在整个加州进行巡回演出，可想而知这是一个多么有个性的人。

尽管未经过专业的代码培训，Esquivel仍能够在2天时间里将《Senor Footsies》从理念变成可游戏的样本。他所拥有的编码知识都是在业余时间自学的。

Sequence（from gamespot）

高中毕业后，Esquivel偶然进入Capcom的IRC聊天室。由于看到许多人在《街头霸王3：三度冲击》的当地竞赛中赢得了胜利，他也厚脸皮地向一个高手发起了挑战，也就是《Level|Up》系列游戏的开发者Alex Valle。最终，Esquivel遭遇了惨痛的失败。

他承认：“这次经历让我打开眼界了。那时候还未出现直播流，所以我并不了解周边的（打斗游戏）硬核社区。而在这次比赛后，我真的被这一领域深深吸引了。”

如今，Esquivel将自己的才能带到了游戏开发中，并即将发行属于自己的唱片《Super Square》，而他的正式工作则是Knack.it的首席开发者。对于《Senor Footsies》他设定了许多计划。其中一个便是将游戏从2D版本转向3D版本，让玩家从中回想起《街头霸王4》。也就是他将求助于好友，也是美术人员Gordon Henson。“Gordon是个全能型人才。他通过自学掌握了绘画技巧，之后又学会了建模，多年来观看着他的开发过程让我受益匪浅。”

3D模式也就意味着将添加更多复杂的动画，包括玩家射击偏差时所出现的矩阵式躲闪行动。关于游戏的其它计划还包括添加X元素机制，即“JalapenYOLO”。如果玩家在一开始同时按压两个按键，角色将变成红色并能够在这一轮战斗中快速移动。如果玩家在之前输掉了越多回合，他便会在之后的战斗中变得更加迅猛。但是玩家只能使用1次这种技巧，而如果他们不能在这时候置对方于死地，便算浪费了获胜的良机。

他也在规划并创造其它角色。Esquivel说道：“我希望我所添加的新角色能够拥有不同的武器。”例如当一个女性角色发射一枚抛物弹时，对手可以使出俯身踢腿而避开攻击。除此之外，打斗者还可以使用机械手瞄准屏幕上的特定领域。

“整个过程真的非常有趣。一开始我并未将游戏当成一个真正的项目，但是现在它却演变成一个成熟的项目了。并且因为游戏使用的是Uinity引擎，所以我可以将其移植到iPhone，iPad，Android，Xbox 360或PS3上了。能从中赚钱自然是件好事，但是最重要的还是我能从游戏制作中感受到乐趣。”

model（from gamespot）

回归本原

不管是《Senor Footsies》还是《Divekick》的出现都是对于日趋复杂的打斗游戏的回应。一开始Esquivel并不喜欢《街头争霸4》恢复基本元素的设置（游戏邦注：这是许多竞争者所忽视的设计策略），但是后来他开始领悟到其中的魅力。他说道：“一开始我很讨厌《街头霸王4》，我也很不理解其中的一些理念，但是这款游戏删除了许多不必要的机制并呈现出了最根本的内容。就像互让元素便非常重要。所以后来我便深深地爱上了这款游戏。”

“许多开发者都会忽视一些带有缺陷的进攻。但是我认为这种进攻非常有趣，能够让角色间进行更真实的互动。如果一种进攻方式非常强大，那么玩家便会一直使用它。就像在《Marvel vs. Capcom 3》那样。而如果一款游戏只带有各种完美的进攻，游戏乐趣便会被大大削弱。”

Esquivel发现大多数游戏都在续集中强调“功能的发展”。不断添加各种新机制的打斗游戏似乎正在遗忘其最具吸引力的元素，即心理战术。

即使是添加更加华丽的组合也不能弥补这种缺失。Esquivel所感兴趣的是瞬间发生的场景而不是长期组合。玩家在打破对手防线后的生死关头时刻才是游戏真正的乐趣所在。“找到突破口是游戏中最让玩家兴奋的点，如果游戏越简单，玩家便能够越轻松地做到这一点。”

“有些开发者试图采取相应的措施，但是最终都遭遇了失败。而《午夜竞技场》在这点上就做得不错。即玩家可以在游戏中执行扩展组合，但却必须为此付出更多仪表值。从而让它看起来不像是一款坐等型的组合游戏。我并不喜欢冗长的组合，反而短暂的组合更容易将我们带进有趣的情境中。”

同样地，他也承认了精通打斗游戏所具有的优势。他说道：“在《Marvel》中，当玩家遭遇一个组合的攻击后便不得不暂停游戏而进入漫长的等待。有些人甚至会在等待过程中退出游戏去查看手机中的其它内容。”

early-version-of-HUD（from-gamespot）

对于这款游戏的发展Esquivel还有很长的一段路要走，我们也还不能预测到其最终的结果。几天前他刚完成游戏新的HUD的优化（如上图）。他同样也致力于准备下一次的更新内容。随着这一游戏项目在规格和范围上的不段发展，我们可以期待《Senor Footsies》在打斗游戏社区取得更大的反响，而其他游戏开发者也可以从这款游戏中吸取适当的经验。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Playing Footsies With Fighting Games

By Maxwell McGee

Under the blazing sun of a nameless desert, two poncho-wearing banditos square off in mortal combat. They do not fight with guns or knives, only kicks. One kick, one kill. Two men enter, one man–well, you get the idea. This is the simplicity of Senor Footsies.

Described as an “instantly learnable fighting game” by its creator, Luke “A-Rival” Esquivel, this game distills the conventional fighting formula down to one of its fundamentals: spacing. It’s a simple, fast-paced game that bucks the trend of an increasingly mechanics-heavy genre.

The spark for Senor Footsies came to Esquivel after brainstorming ideas with members of the fighting game community at IPLAYWINNER. A musician and hobbyist game developer, Esquivel has grown dissatisfied with the way some modern fighters are being developed. As precedence is given to larger, deadlier combos, he feels the more interesting aspects of fighting are being overshadowed. And he is not alone.

Senor Footsies may remind you of another two-button fighter, Adam Heart’s Divekick. While the two share several similarities, their play styles are completely different. Divekick is an air-to-air fighter about reading trajectory. In Senor Footsies there is no jumping, only ground-based combat. Esquivel noted that this style of fighting is something a lot of newcomers–and some veterans–try hard to avoid. But the ground game is unavoidable, and Senor Footsies is here to help.

HOW IT WORKS

Senor Footsies is played with two buttons: walk and kick. By default, your character walks backward; holding the walk button will move him forward. This was an idea Esquivel had in place from the very beginning. “At first it was [the opposite], but I liked the idea of having to commit to moving forward,” he said. Doing so makes the game feel more aggressive by putting you in control of an offensive, rather than defensive, action.

The kick button alone performs a simple low kick that doesn’t reach very far but strikes fast. While it would destroy your knees in real life, this is your rapid-fire, go-to attack. Now, if you’re feeling bold, pressing the move and kick buttons together performs a low roundhouse. This attack reaches farther but takes longer to recover from, making it more risky.

This two-attack system may sound simple enough, but there’s one small quirk. The sweep actually loses to the kick when they collide at maximum range. A peek under the hood reveals that the sweep’s hitbox–the area of the attack that can actually hurt you–rests flush against its hurtbox–the area that can actually be hit. Meanwhile, the kick’s hitbox sticks out a bit away from the hurtbox. When the tips of the two moves collide, the kick wins since it has that small buffer area.

But enough about boxes; there’s one other factor to manage: the pistol. When you can use the pistol is determined by an energy meter that slowly fills as you miss attacks. That’s right, like so many other fighters, Senor Footsies has an energy meter, but its function is different from most. Instead of filling the screen with colorful lasers and double-digit combos, you cash in the meter to fire the pistol–performed by holding and releasing the kick button–which momentarily stuns your opponent.

“I like meter management. It helps add depth without making the controls too complicated,” Esquivel said. The meter also helps push the action forward by rewarding you for being aggressive. Of course, it has some limitations. The pistol shot will miss if the target is walking backward. In addition, once the meter is full, it will stay that way for only a short time. This way one player will not remain in a dominant position forever.

Despite such simple designs, Senor Footsies remains very exciting. The energy felt from a nail-biter match, where everything comes down to a pixel, is reproduced round after round. All the long, technical combos have been washed away. It is a game of simple pleasures, and it exposes how there is still room in the fighting genre for experimentation.

THE MASTER OF FOOTSIES

Growing up, Esquivel has cast a wide net creatively. Performers such as The Crystal Method and Prodigy drove him toward a passion for music early in life, leading him to produce several personal compositions, as well as collaborate on the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix soundtrack. He was even part of a high school breakdancing troupe–alongside his brother, James (a.k.a. “Jimmy Hits”)–that performed across California, so you know the man has style.

Despite having no formal training in coding, Esquivel was able to take Senor Footsies from concept to playable demo in just two days. What coding experience he has is self-taught from school projects in his free time.

After graduating from high school, Esquivel happened upon Capcom’s IRC channel. Flush from numerous victories over the local competition in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, he brazenly challenged another hotshot, Alex Valle, now president of Level|Up Series. The showdown took place at the Battle by the Bay 2001, the precursor to EVO. Naturally, Esquivel was destroyed.

“It was an eye-opening experience,” he admitted. “I mean, back then we didn’t have live streams, so I didn’t know there was this whole hardcore community around [fighting games]. After that tournament, I knew I was hooked.”

Today, Esquivel keeps his talents alive through game development, the upcoming release of his album Super Square, and his job as a lead developer with Knack.it. And he has plenty more plans for Senor Footsies. For one, he wants to move from the hand-drawn, 2D version to a 3D version reminiscent of Street Fighter IV. This means tapping the talents of friend and artist Gordon Henson. “[Gordon] can do everything. He taught himself how to draw, and later model, and it has been really cool watching him develop over the years.”

3D models will also allow for more complex animations, including a Matrix-style dodge when a pistol shot misses. Other ideas for the game include an X-Factor-style mechanic dubbed “JalapenYOLO.” If you hold both buttons at the start of a round, your character will turn red and become faster for that round. The more rounds you have previously lost in the set, the faster you become. But this technique only has one use, so if you don’t get the kill then, well, you’ve just wasted it.

Additional characters are also in the works. “When I eventually add new characters, I want them all to have different weapons,” Esquivel said. One example is a female character who fires a projectile that can be dodged by timing your low kick to duck beneath it. Another is a fighter using a mechanical arm that targets a specific area of the screen.

“That’s the funny thing. In the beginning this game wasn’t going to be a serious project, but now it has turned into a full-fledged project. And now that the game is in the Unity game engine, I can port it to iPhone, iPad, Android, Xbox 360, or PS3 if I want to. It would be cool to make some money off of it, but honestly this is just for fun.”

BACK TO BASICS

Senor Footsies, as well as Divekick, arrives in response to an increasingly complex fighting genre. Initially, Esquivel did not enjoy Street Fighter IV’s return to basics (a design strategy seemingly ignored by its competitors), but he has since grown to appreciate it. “At first I hated Street Fighter IV, and there are still some things I don’t agree with, but they stripped out a lot of the unnecessary [mechanics] and went back to roots. The give-and-take is what’s really important. I like that.”

“A lot of developers will [include] attacks with no downsides. I think the downsides are what make things beautiful because they allow for interesting interaction. If an attack is super good, you will just use that attack all the time. You saw this a lot in the first Marvel vs. Capcom 3. That game had a lot of really powerful attacks with no downsides, and those made the game less interesting.”

With every sequel, Esquivel feels that “feature creep” is taking hold. As new mechanics create larger, deadlier combos, many fighting games are losing one of their most exciting aspects: mind games.

Longer, flashier combos are not the answer. What interests Esquivel are the split-second situations that precede long combos. Those do-or-die moments, when one fighter breaks past the opponent’s defenses, are the real entertainment. “Finding the window [for a combo] is the most exciting part, and the simpler your game is, the easier it is to see that happen.”

“I think [some developers] are trying to take a step back, but their execution is off. Persona 4 Arena does a good job of this. You can perform extended combos in that game, but you have to pay a lot of meter. It doesn’t feel like a sit-and-wait combo game. I don’t like the trend toward touch-of-death combos. I like short combos that lead into interesting situations.”

Of course, he is quick to acknowledge the merits of technical proficiency in fighting games, just within reason. “In Marvel you get hit by a combo and then you just have to sit there and wait. I’ve seen guys stop and check their phones during long combos, at tournaments.”

Esquivel still has a long way to go with his game, and the end is certainly not in sight. A few days before this post, he had just finished polishing off the game’s shiny new HUD, seen above. He also teased another major update that he wasn’t quite ready to reveal. As his project grows in size and scope, it is exciting to see how Senor Footsies will resonate within the fighting community, and what lessons other developers will take away from this less-is-more approach. (source:gamespot)