Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

Interview With SethKillian reveals DLC and Mission Mode

Marvel VS Capcom 3 has been the big buzz in the fighting game community forsome time now. Recently, Capcom unveiled a new build and four brand new characters(MODOK, Magneto, Arthur, and Spencer) at the New York Comic Con, and all ofCapcom’s major celebrities including producer Ryota Niitsuma and specialadvisor/community manager Seth Killian. We already talked very briefly withNiitsuma-san on the show floor, and Seth Killian was nice enough to agree to apost-con interview with us.

But … what on earth could we ask S-Kill that hasn’t already been asked bycountless mass media outlets and amazing fighting game communities likeShoryuken.com. Damned if we know! So we let you decide instead! Over the courseof the New York Comic Con we asked the fans who were hovering around the Capcombooth what they would like to ask Seth Killian about MVSC3 if they had thechance. We combined these with questions we got in our own mailboxes, andquestions we personally wanted to ask him and sent them all to Capcom, lettingSeth choose which ones he wanted to answer.

We only had one rule: no questions about upcoming characters. Everyone hastheir favorite character they want to see in the game, and Capcom probablywouldn’t allow that info to be leaked anyway. Aside from that, we got somegreat responses including some new info about new modes that will be includedin the final game. So without further ado, on with the interview!

Angelo D’Argenio: So, it’s been a long time since Marvel VS Capcom 2. Whatactually made Capcom decide to do a Marvel VS Capcom 3?

Seth Killian: Capcom always loved the series, but there’s been a lot ofcompetition for the Marvel characters among gaming companies, so it really camedown to timing with the return of fighting games and both companies being readyto make it happen.

AD: What are some of the biggest challenges you are encountering in designingthe game system and balancing the game?

SK: There are so many it’s hard to know where to start, but mostly it’s amatter of being true to the “Versus” fighting engine while preventing anyparticular tactic from becoming too powerful. The Versus games are known forincredible freedom of movement and a huge amount of over-the-top,screen-filling moves, so making sure it all hung together, especially with theteam tactics, really comes down to some specific insights and a lot of smartplaytesting.

AD: What are the basic criteria you use in making decisions regarding thecharacter roster? How did you decide which characters would get in and whichones wouldn’t?

SK: It comes down to a few factors: 1) Requests from Marvel. The Marveluniverse moves in its own ways, with certain characters becoming moresignificant and gaining the spotlight, so Marvel wanted to make sure those wererepresented, as well as keeping a few more obscure surprises. 2) Capcominternal favorites. We have our own characters that we love, or feel areimportant to a franchise, so Capcom staff makes choices about who we want tosee 3) fan requests. Fans are very important to us, so we work hard to to makesure their requests have a voice at the decision-making table. It’s impossibleto accommodate them all, but we try and get in most of the biggest requests,where we can make those work with the other big “gating factors” on this list.4) combat style diversity. This is something a lot of fans don’t think aboutimmediately, but it’s really key to keeping the game fresh and full of uniquecharacter personality, rather than just having choices that end up as “oh yeah,he’s just like that other guy, only with a slower fireball and more health” orsomething. If that’s where you end up, you’ve failed in the design department,so we want a cast with fighting styles as unique as their storylines.

AD: Some of the character choices have been pretty obscure, what withcharacters like Trish, X-23, M.O.D.O.K., and Nathan Spencer joining the roster.What made you include these and other obscure characters from Marvel andCapcom’s history in the game?


SK: Some were suggestions from our Marvel teammates, who are huge comic nerdsin their own right and have favorites that span the popular to the obscure. Inthe case of M.O.D.O.K., I think the Capcom team just fell in love with hisstrangeness and really wanted to see what was possible in terms of creatingmoves for such an unusual character. We also want to keep that sense of“what?!” and fun in the game. Having all superstars is just obvious and a bitboring–you want to have underdogs and surprises to keep the game spicy.

AD: Niitsuma-san has already said there would be no Rival Schools or PowerStone characters in Marvel VS Capcom 3. Why no love for these franchises?

SK: It’s certainly not a case of “no love” (the producer on MVC3 did includeBatsu from Rival Schools in the recent Tatsunoko Vs Capcom), it’s actually acase of “too much love and so many great franchises.” You’d be surprised howfast a character roster fills up with so many worlds to choose from, and I’msure the Power Stone guys will get their day in the sun eventually.

AD: There have been some complaints about the lack of other Ansatsukencharacters such as Ken, Akuma, and Dan. Are you trying to limit your characterselection process to only a few characters per franchise like Tatsunoko VSCapcom did?

SK: I don’t think there was any conscious effort to limit certain franchises,but it’s great for character style diversity to reach out to a lot of differentgames, especially with characters that have never been in a fighting gamebefore. There are important differences between Ken, Dan, Akuma, and Ryu in,say, a Street Fighter game, but in the over-the-top Marvel context, thosesubtle differences tend to get overshadowed so it’s usually more fun to bringin someone with a totally different style.

AD: The E3 build of the game featured a universal double jump and air dash.This was taken out of the EVO build. Why is that? Does this make any charactersmore susceptible to projectile or assist spam?

SK: It’s just a natural part of the game’s evolution–some characters have moremobility than others. This was a very conscious choice, and we want everyone tohave unique strengths. Usually the ones that are less mobile have more nastytricks up close, so when they do get inside, you’re really in trouble. The moremobile characters often have lower health, so they have to avoid trading blowsto win, but overall every character has a unique “sweet spot” where they’remost effective.

AD: The “Mega Crash” from Tatsunoko VS Capcom was a great balancing mechanic asit allowed anyone to break a combo at any point. Are there any “burst” or“combo break” mechanics in Marvel VS Capcom 3? If not, what made you choose toremove/not include them?

SK: There really isn’t anything like the Mega Crash from TVC in MVC3. The onlything even remotely similar is that during an air-combo, if you try to performan air-tag and bring in another teammate to continue the beating, the opponenthas a brief window where they can counter if they predict your move correctly.If they do, they can bust out of your combo, but that’s really the only wayout. There’s no way to escape combos that don’t use an air-tag, and air-tagsare totally optional for the attacker (you get a damage bonus if you use onesuccessfully, so that’s the incentive for taking the small risk).

AD: Along the same lines, is there any system in place to help preventinfinites?

SK: There are many, but the most general one is something that the fightinggame core might call “hit-stun decay.” Basically the more moves you do in acombo, the less hit-stun each one generates (“hit stun” is the amount of time asuccessful hit freezes the opponent for you to continue your combo). This meanseven if you find some sequence that seems repeat-able, it won’t work more thanonce or maybe twice, because each hit is doing less hit-stun. So if you trysomething that might have been an infinite combo in MVC2, in MVC3 your opponentwill be able to block that sequence eventually if you don’t mix it up on them.

AD: We have seen many characters such as MODOK, Dormammu, Spencer, Amaterasu,and Arthur using unique combo strings of normal, special, and super movesrather than simple A, B, C, combo progression. Are you actively trying to makeeach character combo differently? Was there a problem with “dial-a-combos” inearly testing?

SK: Not sure what you mean exactly with “dial-a-combo” but although everycharacter still has chains, they all play in a pretty different way. Some aremore reliant on normal attacks, while others won’t win without extensive use ofspecials and supers. For most, it’s really a mix, but overall we want to giveevery player a team of characters that are a good fit for their personal style.

AD: You have shown how simple mode allows players to get into the game quickly,but in the past, the largest challenge for new players that have learned on“beginner” modes is the transition into “normal” modes of control. What willyou be including in the game that will help new players get acclimated to“normal” mode? Will we see a tutorial, or combo challenges?

SK: There will be a series of character-specific “Mission” challenges includedin the game to help people explore the normal control scheme and moves withouthaving to learn everything in online fights.

AD: Is the game being designed with DLC in mind?

SK: Yes, DLC was a consideration from the start, so the game is technicallyready for it if we’re successful and go down that route.

AD: Who is YOUR favorite MVSC3 team and why?

SK: I play a lot with a few characters that haven’t been announced yet, butright now my favorite team is Trish, M.O.D.O.K. and Arthur. I like projectilesAND oddball characters, so they’re a great fit for me.

C.P. Viper

Storm