Street Fighter: AI changing the world of video games

There is a question that grips the minds of the children of the 1980s and 1990s: is it stronger than theHadoken or the Shoryuken?

To understand this, let's start from the beginning.

In 1987 CAPCOM with Street Fighter reinvented the world of fighting games and from time to time has been able to innovate and keep up with the times, showing an increasingly inclusive world.

Still CAPCOM amazes us, in fact, two new control modes are planned for Street Fighter 6, Dynamic and Modern, which integrate Artificial Intelligence within them to simplify the controls for complex actions, but most importantly, they break the fourth wall by including video gamers within it!

Index

1. What is it and how Street Fighter was born
   1. CAPCON: AI for inclusiveness at play.
2. Street Fighter: evolution of commands and controls

1. With Dynamic everyone can play
2. Modern: you choose how to play
3. Specifically, how does this AI work?
4. What do Street Fighter veterans think?
   1. So can you be even more inclusive?

What is it and how Street Fighter was born

CAPCOM is one of the largest video game production and distribution companies, and in 1987 it launched a series of game fighting games (in which characters duel in fights to the death) called Street Fighter.

Street Fighter was not the progenitor of this category of games but it was the one that, from time to time, innovated it in terms of themes and technologies.

CAPCON: AI for inclusiveness at play.

From the very beginning, the principle of inclusiveness held sway., in fact, not only did fighters come from all over the world and host the player to fight in their own state, even covering minorities such as Native Americans, but also representing the sexual sphere with male, female, and trans characters.

You may be wondering: how can you be more inclusive? Simple, by breaking the fourth wall And by including video gamers!

Street Fighter: evolution of commands and controls

Initially, two different types of arcade booths were created for Street Fighter VI, one with six buttons to differentiate the power of the blows (three for punches and three for kicks) and the second with two buttons with pneumatic technology, one for punches and one for kicks, which recognized the power based on the pressure on it. 

But what is the use of knowing all this?

Evolution is continuous, it doesn't stop! In fact, CAPCOM, today, for the home consoles has created two new types of controls, the Modern and Dynamic which will stand alongside the classic.

Okay, maybe they could have invested more time in choosing names but given how they work I'd say we can live with it! 

Outgoing, early June for Street Fighter VI these new types of commands will allow everyone to be able to play this video game. How? Let's see how they work!

With Dynamic everyone can play

The very bad AI is working so that everyone can play the game without having to do years of practice. In fact, with this mode, complicated commands are simplified and only one key will be needed to carry them out.

Dynamic controller

All of us should know that to make theHadoken one must do: low, diagonal, forward and punch.

But this is not always the case; those who are approaching the game for the first time and have no desire or time to practice or those who have poor mobility, perhaps even just because they have dislocated a finger, may not be able to do this key combination. 

Solving this situation is the Dynamic. With this the complicated commands are simplified and it will be enough to use a key to carry them out. In addition, this intelligent and inclusive system will figure out on its own, based on the distance to the enemy, the command you want to execute.

If I am away from my opponent he will perform a ranged strike or jump toward him, while if I am in close combat he will do short-range techniques or projections. 

Source: streetfighter.com

In short, it will only take one hand to play the game and will help both people who are playing it for the first time and people who for some reason have poor mobility to compete with veterans of this series. Ensuring the fun for both!

Modern: you choose how to play

The influence of AI in this mode is less pronounced, it will be up to the player to decide which technique he uses and how to move. However, the controls will be simplified.

Modern Controller Source: streetfighter.com

Many combinations can be difficult to memorize for the inexperienced, first-timers, or those with cognitive disabilities. 

With this mode, a complete and spectacular gaming experience can be achieved without therefore having to be a veteran in the video game industry and know every key sequence.

Specifically, how does this AI work?

I technical details remain a secret kept in the CAPCOM house but from the first gameplays shown and from the words of the lucky people who tried this technology in preview we can tell how it works.

First, each character has its own intelligence, due to its techniques and predilection for hand-to-hand or ranged combat.

A character who is a wrestler (such as Zangief, who also returns in this chapter) will tend to dodge ranged attacks and pounce on the enemy. Attacks will mostly be powerful, close-range strikes.

A medium-distance fighter, such as Guile, will try to keep away from the enemy. If he is too far away, he will be able to attack him from a distance, and if he comes close, he will hold him off with attacks that drive him away. In addition, he will counter long-range attacks in two ways: simply by parrying or by interrupting the opponent's blow by responding to it in the same way.   

The decision will be subject to several factors-the player's aggressiveness, the opponent's strategy, and remaining health-that could lead to more or less defensive combat. 

In addition, some techniques will not be immediate-if playing with the classic controls takes x seconds to make a move, the player using the new controls will have to wait or hold down a particular button for x seconds.  

What do Street Fighter veterans?

To date, few people have yet tried these new technologies, but from initial feedback it would seem that everyone, more or less, is satisfied. 

The fact that using the new controls gives you less precise and free control than in the classical scheme means that nonetheless the experience beats, almost always, the technology making the game more fun even when you challenge your little brother who will (finally) stop pressing random buttons realizing that it only takes a little bit to be able to do really spectacular things and play on par with the experienced challenger.

So can you be even more inclusive?

Of course, and CAPCOM with Street Fighter is committed to ensuring everyone's right to entertainment! So it is really helpful to know that theHadoken is done by pressing low, diagonal, forward, fist? Evidently not, the important thing is that as many people as possible can play together.

Thanks for your attention, I look forward to seeing you on the Ulixe Group blog with a new article!