I Think You're in Dangerous Territory, Capcom

I haven't really posted on Capcom's recent treatment of Mega Man, because I want to keep this blog focused on game design discussion and responses to goings on in the gaming community.

For the record (and disclosure), I was very sad and angry about the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3. Mega Man Legends 2 is one of the most superbly polished 3d action games ever created, and it's sad Capcom felt the mostly complete demo did not meet the criteria for release.

The resulting fan backlash now wonders if Capcom is trying to kill off the Blue Bomber. When Ultimate Marvel Versus Capcom 3 was announced, a lot of people began hoping that maybe Mega Man would make an appearance. He sure did, but not in a way anyone expected.

Personally, I was waiting for them to port over Megaman Volnutt from Tatsunoko Versus Capcom. Viewtiful Joe and Zero were plucked almost verbatim from that game, so it seems like it'd be pretty easy to bring Volnutt along too. I'd expect at least one of Mega Man's incarnations to make it in though, Mega Man (original recipe) has been in the two previous Marvel Versus Capcom games, for crying loudly outside.

Instead we get this. If you don't want to read the story, UMvC3 has a level referencing a famous comic book cover, but instead of mutants, this poster has characters from Marvel Versus Capcom 2 who didn't make it into MvC3. It merges the game world and the gameplay together neatly. The problem here is that one character is listed as neither slain nor captured: Mega Man.

This is a massive tactical error. Capcom could have switched him with someone else (say, Amingo!), which would spread rumors of that character being DLC and when it didn't happen noone would care. Instead we're left wondering if this is a concerted trolling effort from Capcom.

But even THAT is not the point of this post. The point of this post is a recent response by Capcom's VP Chris Svensson to a comment from a fan. The fan wrote to Capcom complaining about the appearances of Mega Man in UMvC3. To Quote Svensson:

So to understand you correctly, we can't use Mega Man in any form or make any references (other than as a playable character) without pissing some folks off?

I think you need thicker skin. I'd also think as a fan, you should like to see any/all exposure for Mega Man to raise awareness for the brand in any form, even if you personally aren't satisfied by the execution

Is this where we are now? A fan is unhappy, so you're telling him to man up. Let's instead stretch his complaint to hyperbole as our counter arguement and throw context out the window! How does this make any sense? Even Segata Sanshiro knows better than that.

I really just don't understand why Svensson felt the need to put this fan in his place. Couldn't he have just said nothing? That's Capcom's problem these days. A lot of this Mega Man stuff would've blown over if it weren't for antagonizing inclusions like Days of Future Past, and relentless anti-pandering to fans. Mega Man fans are upset, how about we let it blow over?

Retro Graphics Leave more to the Imagination

I've been playing through the DS remake of Chrono Trigger lately. I hadn't played CT in at least 5 years (probably more like 10), and it's really interesting to go back and check it out now that I'm not a kid.

I think the biggest thing that stands out to me is how many visual tricks the future Squenix use to manipulate the player's imagination to fill in the blanks of what's happening on screen. For example: At a late point in the game, a character is about to take off in Chrono Trigger's version of the airship from a docking bay (inside another airship, which is kind of like an aircraft carrier in the sky). The character is sitting in the cockpit, the ship is sitting on metal planks with metal walls (you know, a docking bay) and prepares to launch. Then the docking bay opens, how do I know it opens? The game applies a simple bright grey semi-transparent layer in a square over the bottom half of the scene. In the players mind, this immediately demonstrates the doors opening and light shining in.

Even when you understand the tricks Squenix is using, it's still a great effect. I think because it encourages your imagination to recreate the scene in your mind (probably by mixing images from movies or 3d games). This effect is one of the secret appeals of retro games which nobody talks about. Modern 3d games have so much painstakingly thorough detail that you admire it and then just kind of ignore it, like your friend who always "gets sick" whenever nobody's paying attention to her.

I'm not sure what it is exactly. Perhaps we just naturally interpret images in our heads, and the more abstract/indistinct it is the more striking and imaginative it is once we've got it in our heads. Think of it like looking at clouds. Whenever I see a cloud that looks like a baby riding a crocodile (for example), it always sticks with me more than a banner for party radio attached to a plane.

To be honest, when MegaMan 9 came out I began desperately hoping that more AAA game companies (at least Japanese ones) would follow and begin pumping out retro games again. It seemed like it would make fiscal sense. Modern game programmers can probably churn out all the code for a 2d platformer in a month, the art takes maybe two months (done in parallel of course) and then you have a whole 10 months left for a standard production cycle to tune/polish the hell out of the game. Realistically this means you would probably spit out a new game every 3-4 months, and they would be goldmines.

Alas, MegaMan 10 didn't sell so well, and since then I don't think there have been any similar projects. Bummer.