<extremely thoughtful response with good info>
(late reply... very long day yesterday)
I appreciate you responding even though this isn't a subject that you necessarily care for. And I also appreciate the depth and detail of your response.
And yes, perhaps my category distinctions, though debatably applicable and useful, could use some finessing as to not make unintentional implications (footsies def still apply in games like marvel and SG.)
I dont bring up categorization in hopes that you would necessarily buy into that line of thinking, but because for the sake of my questions, I had to establish my line of thinking that certain chunkings of fighting games have more mechanical/systemic similarities to others in their own chunk rather than between chunks. Nor do I come from a marketing perspective, because yeah: whatever to all that. It has little bearing upon game design, aside from seeking funding from a studio/publisher.
I was mainly trying to set the baseline for this: In a single game, smash bros, an entirely new approach to fighting games was birthed. Yes, it shares many fundamentals and whatnot, but I consider it a whole new lane to follow in terms of fighting game development.
Or consider the lineage of games that couldve been birthed if people followed in the path first forged by Bushido Blade.
Or even with street fighter: before it, what was there- karate champ? Someone carved that first path.
Are there paths yet to forge? Or has everything been explored that doesn't involve creating a new meter or gimmick? That was the heart of my rambling.
But I totally understand your answer to that question, and it makes great sense. People make what they know, what they like, and what they find fun. And the depth of their understanding determines the depth of their product. That also makes me think that the depth of their understanding, or lack thereof, will determine the offshoots that emerge.
With that said, who knows when new 'categories' will ever be birthed, since folks dont like to study any more, as evidenced by these kickstarters and mainstream sequels that abandon genre history (as you illustrated in your panel).
Anyway, thanks for sharing.
