R1665
Pan-JumpEntry #21
ARTWORK GET! (Somewhat)
12/1/10 by R1665
As the title of this news post suggests, I have received some of the artwork from 3X. It's not nearly all of it, but it's a good start. He has been busting his ass to get this stuff processed for me and I am animating the stuff I am able to accordingly. While it is probably unrealistic at this point, I am going to cross my fingers and hope to have a finished product by New Years. Might not happen, but I'm gonna try.
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I'd also like to bring up something that has been bugging me. Since I released the VGE3 Easter Egg, it has gotten over 1,900 views and currently carries a 4.31 score. I was honestly not expecting this.
The views are normal for a non-frontpaged flash, but 4.31? Seriously? This is grossly overrated.
I figure that it's probably a couple of people going to it every day and voting five, but I still find myself perplexed by the general response. You could say that it was kind of an experiment. I made that specifically to illicit a negative response from Akuma fanboys. In the month or so since I released that flash, not one single fanboy has shown up in defense of Akuma. Not one zero-bomb review. Not one butthurt private message. Not one single person bothered enough to voice protest against my clear hatred of Akuma. Not one. In fact, several people openly supported killing that poorly-designed prick.
Now, to a scientifically-minded guy like me, this is a very strange and unexpected result. 1,900 is a remarkably good test sample. Why is it that out of these 1,900 people, not one of them felt the need to defend this highly popular character?
I feel that the strongest explanation at this time is that Akuma's popularity doesn't even closely approach the hype. Is it possible that I've been fooled into believing that Akuma is popular based on his overexposure in the related media? Is it possible that the Akuma supporters I have met before were only operating under the same pretense and bandwagoning with a crowd that existed only in their assumptions?
I find all of this terribly interesting and I'd certainly like to hear what you guys have to say about it.
Also, here's something interesting I was led to the other day:
R1665
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1/1/11
I forgot to mention ermac.
1/1/11
What do you think of noob saibot and smoke?
Not together like mk deception but as seperate characters?
12/31/10
well now that the akuma arguement is done (at least i think it is) how is the progress on the episode and im kinda hoping that the episode is finshed by new years to also on and unrelated note ive seen u made many comments on mugen stuff and i was jus wondering if u have any tips cause im making a spawn charceter
12/29/10
progress update?
I will post the monthly update within the next couple of days. I'm a bit busy at the moment.
R1665
12/26/10
when can we expect anymore upcomming shorts like the last easter egg
Probably a hell of a lot sooner than you might think...
R1665
12/26/10
Papa Roach has gotten tamer and tamer over the years, but Last Resort will always be with me. Now that Jacoby's stated he's never doing any more of that "rap shit" I don't think Papa Roach will ever be the same.
Papa Roach has gone mainstream, and most of the songs suck dick, addmitedly, but they still have that spark somewhere. They just need to ignite the flame.
Cut my life into pieces!
"they still have that spark somewhere"
I honestly don't see it. Truth be told, I cannot think of a single band that has ever truly regained their spark after losing it. You can never go home again.
I can certainly name lots of bands that have changed/developed for the worse, though, and Papa Roach definitely fits that bill. Oh well. There are too many awesome bands still in the underground to worry too much about those fatally poisoned by the mainstream. Nothing gets through the mainstream unscathed.
R1665
12/25/10
What do you think of kung lao and his backstory?
I think Kung Lao's backstory remains quite bland considering how much time the developers have put into him. However, his character design is spectacular. He's kinda the fantasy love child of Bruce Lee and Oddjob. If that's not a formula for coolness, I don't know what is.
He deserves better than having to be Liu Kang's sidekick.
R1665
12/25/10
Merry Christmas R1665.
12/25/10
You know what band has been almost completely forgotten??
SKINDRED.
If you never heard of 'em before, check out Nobody- Skindred lyrics on youtube. Make sure you get the lyrics in there, because it's almost impossible to understand what their saying unless you know the song...
Lemme know if you like them.
Of course, there's always my TOP favourite band, which would be Papa Roach. But hey, you gotta be living underneath a fuckin' rock if you haven't heard of them.
IMO, Papa Roach went downhill after the INFEST album. After that, they kinda lost their spark of individuality. Everything I hear of Papa Roach now sounds like everything else on the radio: neutered.
Just my opinion.
R1665
12/24/10
.....So looking forward to Exiles3 as a christmas present. Or a New Years present. *crosses fingers*
Not gonna happen, but I do have some other goodies for you guys...
R1665
12/23/10
WHAO I was listening to Juno Reactor (never heard there music before) when Masters of the Universe came on! Fucking great choice of music for your 2nd sprite flash. Rock on R1665.
BTW what do you think of there latest album Gods and Demons. Immaculate Crucifiction has an undeniably good build up sense.
It's alright. There's not a whole lot of potential fight anthems in it, especially considering the darker path that the VG Exiles is taking. IMO, the best action track is Tanta Pena and smoothuser already claimed it.
R1665
12/22/10
Sooo.... Any updates on that artwork yet? Us loyal fans are slowly losing our senses, and are tempted to shoot your art guy. >_>; Dunno how many of us, certainly not me.... I would never.... *Hides pistol.*
12/21/10
Hey, thought I'd throw my 2 cents in:
I don't think your submission's high rating is because of a feeling of overratedness towards Akuma. I personally think Akuma is awesome, and I thought it for a long time before I found out he was so popular. It was my own opinion without any outside influence.
I think this is more from people getting hyped that you're releasing easter eggs for VGE3. Not only are you a good story teller, your sprite animations and ideas are fresh as can be. I'm thinking the high ratings are a form of support from your fans, saying that we know you're going to rock our faces with awesome and we can't wait. At least that's why I voted 5 :D
12/20/10
I hate it when there are tiers list.when I play Marvel vs. Capcom2 I;m just minding my own buissiness and someone plays against me and chooses Storm,Psylocke,and magnito.or,cable,ironman and again magnito.That pisses me off alot.
12/20/10
I hope I don't get My spine ripped
12/20/10
http://www.dorkly.com/video/5320/dork ly-bits-mortal-kombat-after-the-fatal ity
This you need to see.
LOL! That was glorious!
R1665
12/18/10
pivot 3 beta version, has a load sprite option. Mind you it takes forever to even make the background move but its all I have. I can't blow up my computer with a torrent virus again, lost the freakin startup cd.
So right now its pivot 3, paint.net, camstudio, and hopefully a swf converter. if I get any of this to go right I deserve a damm medal.
12/18/10
Haha, you bet bud! :P
12/18/10
life lesson from mini-dude.
12/18/10
Well R1665, if you send Boon a link to VG Exiles 1, he'd have a harder time classifying you as an ordinary fan. Besides, this character NEEDS help to stay fresh. He's totally been done already in other games as well.
Also, to the guy above me, it's not really considered a "Sprite Movie" if it has no sprites. And Pivot and SF DONT go together, man.
What you gotta do is pirate Flash off of uTorrent or something... Or pay the money. It's not THAT expensive. If you haven't got the time to earn the money, you haven't got nearly enough time to animate.
12/17/10
Dude, I beg you, beg you, can you please tell me where you get your sound effects and special street fighter effects from. I'm trying to make my own sprite movie (with pivot, can't afford flash). And I can't find them anywhere.
My sound effects, when not directly recorded from games by myself, are extracted from the data files of PC games. They aren't available for download.
I actually own a sizable collection of PC games that my computer isn't good enough to play. They're there purely for resource extraction.
R1665
12/17/10
I'm sure you are more than a nobody. I do believe they check fan work a good amount of the time.
I am starting to like this game more and more. Kratos is only a versus character so it's definetley marketing only, but I am really starting to like this again.
I think I may preorder from Amazon.
12/16/10
I know who this person is...
And I say he could use a little R1665 in his MK9 design! Hell man, just e-mail Boon your ideas or something... All I know is that if you had a say in it, this character would fuckin rock.
Of course he would! However, I'm nobody to Ed Boon. I'd be just another MK fan pitching unsolicited opinions.
R1665
12/16/10
.......
That certain character would be jarek???
^^,
progress???
........
Nope, not Jarek... Jarek is only my second favorite. I'm talking about my TOP guy...
R1665
12/16/10
I am losing faith in MK my friend. Please reinstill it with the release of VG Exiles 3 soon.
Nothing would please me more. However, that is currently a bit beyond my direct control.
The path MK is taking, despite having a few missteps, is still overwhelmingly positive. You know what I'm looking forward to the most. I would KILL for the chance to sit down with Ed Boon and pitch a few ideas regarding one certain character...
R1665
12/15/10
A general response that everybody usually has about premium skins, but the fact they get there original fatalities from there selective special editions still kinda tempts me. I don't bye special editions often but to just to get sub-zeros spine rip almost feels worth for me almost.
12/15/10
... Speaking of which, R1665, who would you pick as your main out of the currently confirmed roster for the next MK?
"Currently confirmed" is the key phrase, I assume. Out of the OFFICIAL ABSOLUTE 100% CONFIRMED by ED BOON roster, I would have to go with Jax. I REALLY like his MK9 design. Johnny Cage would be my second.
Subject to change with more official reveals.
R1665
12/14/10
http://www.1up.com/news/mortal-kombat -retailer-exclusive-fatalities
Problem Sir?
I think Warner Bros. is trying piss me off.
Its not working.
Gentlemen your thoughts on this fight stick.
If I gave a crap about, or ever thought I would play seriously as Reptile, Scorpion, or Sub-Zero, I might consider getting something more than the simplest version of the game available. As it stands, however, no.
As for a fight stick, I know that many fighting game enthusiasts swear by them. However, since I am not particularly good at fighting games in general and arcade games in total, I'll be passing on this one, too.
Besides, fight sticks seem counter-intuitive to me when the same series of key presses would take fewer muscle motions on a standard controller.
R1665
12/13/10
I never said he WASN'T an egotistical dick. I was just attempting to succeed at a challenge I probably can't win, but am too damn stubborn to give up.
Okay, his design IS rather... Extremely bland. I could make a better edit in less than 4 minutes.... But other than some different techniques, he's not much...
Fair enough. It was kind of a loaded, rhetorical challenge. I'm really just trying to encourage some critical analysis within Akuma fans. If just one person has that, "damn, I guess he does kinda suck... never really thought about that" moment of clarity, then I will have done some good in the world...
R1665
12/12/10
Also, his Alpha II ending.
12/12/10
Kratos is an interesting character, and really think I'd enjoy gouging an enemy's eyes out, and ripping their head off. Or stabbing them repeatedly and ripping them in half. He's pure rage, and pure dealiness. So, he's perfect for MK.
Okay, I got another concept why Akuma is different. Why Goutetsu was the current Anasetsuken master(The guy who taught Gouken and Akuma), he taught the killing moves to his sons, Akuma and Gouken, so one would become powerful enough to kill him. Gouken refused to use such attacks, and took them out of the style he taught Ken, Ryu, and at one time Dan(but not too long). Akuma is simply attempting to replicate his father, and be killed by someone stronger, and there's an added touch to it, by using one of his brothers students, a man he sees as a coward and a disgrace to his father's name, as the tool to get through his means. Also, look up his Alpha 3 ending. It shows his motives....
So, it's a sick turn of revenge. I think that's all I got, but I'll post more if I can. My Street Fighter nerdiness will force me to finish this challenge. xD
Not bad, but it still has to do only with story. While that does have some importance, it is certainly not as important as appealing character design. Story is the easiest part of a character to come up with. I should know. I've done it a few times.
After looking up his Alpha endings just now, your interpretation seems valid. However, I noticed a great deal more grandstanding by Akuma than I had noticed before. I already knew that he was an egotistical, self-righteous douche, but I now know more so.
I didn't think it was possible, but after watching THIS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q M_B8jMoPQ
...i do believe I dislike him even more than before.
R1665
12/12/10
And Finally, HECK YES, Scorpion, Kabal, and Baraka are all confirmed. My top three MK characters are all in the roster, sweeeet. I can not wait for this game. All I'm hoping for, though, is that they change up Kabals moves a bit, because even though he's always been one of my favourites, I've never ever been able to use him.
Lucky you, R1665, Stryker's been confirmed. Now all he needs is Akuma as a guest character!
I'm actually pretty surprised that he made it in
12/12/10
Could be cool, except for the fact that Kratos has already been featured as a character in Soul Calibur 4. I could've gone for a more fresh character, and besides, how is Kratos going to fight in a Mortal Kombat game?? Ed Boon has already said that there will no longer be weapon styles, so what is Kratos going to do without his blades??
If they do allow him to use weapons, I have faith that Kratos could be a very cool character to play as, with some sweet new special moves to bring to the table.
Unfortunately for you, R1665, it clearly states that Kratos has been confirmed as a a PS3-exclusive character. Whether you like it or not, you're not going to need an opinion about him.
I will say one thing for sure: I'm glad that there's probably not going to be any Star-Wars characters like in Soul Calibur 4. Yoda was such a piss-off, mostly because of his size.
But yeah, they still could've gotten a guest-character from another fighting game, like Ryu or Jin Kazama, or even someone from games like Bayonetta, Final Fantasy...
But then again, Kratos was a kickass character in Soul Calibur 4, and he'll be an even more kickass character in Mortal Kombat.
More bad news about him, however, is that he's not going to be in the Story Mode. Story Mode was my favourite mode in MK VS DCU, and I rapped it soooo many times, mostly when i've gotten bored of other games and I just went back and played some MK VS DCU for a while.
So now that I know that the guest-character isn't going to be in story mode, I think to myself, "Well, why the hell not?!" Is it really that hard to just fit him in for 2 or 3 missions in the story mode?? I'm guessing not. C'mon, Boon, lets get some creativity going in that sadistic head of yours.
Also about the Story Mode, I want it 6 times longer than MK VS DCU, and I wanna have to play with EVERY SINGLE character (even the boss, work him in for 1 or 2 missions) because as fuckin awesome as MK VS DCU was, I beat it in 2-3 hours every time. And I was also looking forward to playing as Deathstroke but he wasn't in the Story Mode as a playable character. THAT SUCKED. He happened to become one of my new favourite DCU characters.
Read on below.....
"Unfortunately for you, R1665, it clearly states that Kratos has been confirmed as a a PS3-exclusive character. Whether you like it or not, you're not going to need an opinion about him."
Actually, yeah, I kinda do. Although I would play it only on the Xbox, the existence of a PS3-exclusive character implies the existence of an Xbox-exclusive character. I don't want Master Chief anywhere near my MK.
I have no real problem with Kratos as a character. I've never played the God of War series, but Kratos could be at least fairly appropriate from what I've seen of him. The problem I have is the gimmicky marketing aspect of it. MK already has a full roster of excellent characters and the space taken up by Kratos (or his counterpart on the Xbox) must necessarily mean the omission of one of MK's own.
I find it disappointing, really. The whole appeal of MK9 for me was the idea that they were getting back to the darker, grittier origins and leaving the more gimmicky stuff behind. Now I learn that they are doing some of the most gimmicky stuff they have ever done. No matter how good the character turns out to be, it's still a big marketing trick.
They're making a big mistake, IMO. They are forgetting that the hype and support for this game is coming mostly from the old-school fans who were old enough to pick up a controller when the original Mortal Kombat was released. I don't give a damn about Kratos, Cole Train, Dante, Link, Wolverine, General Grievous, or any other potential cameo character that they might feel inclined to put in, regardless of how good they might be. I want Mortal Kombat. I think I speak for a sizable percentage of my peer group.
R1665
12/12/10
You know other stuff were confirmed like Ermac, Goro, Kabal, Noob Saibot, Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, Sindel, Smoke, and Stryker along with test your might and Brutalities and more guys along the way my source is http://www.1up.com/news/kratos-mortal -kombat-characters-accidentally-leake d
12/12/10
New topic -
Kratos has just been confirmed as a bonus playable character for the PS3 version of MK9. Discuss.
I shall weigh in later.
R1665
12/11/10
have you ever thought of putting relative conflicts in your flashes like how that father son hate thing going on kinda like dark vader and luke skywalker?
p.s. Donovan Baine is a way better character than Akuma skill wise and personality
Oh, the entire series is going to be mostly conflict from here on in. As the Exiles recruit new members, we will find that this is definitely not going to be one big happy family. Not by a long shot.
R1665
12/11/10
4.41 now? *Facepalms*
Am I seriously gonna have to start zero-bombing MY OWN STUFF?!
R1665
12/11/10
I think we can all agree that Gen is the beastiest street fighter
I personally never paid much attention to Gen. I don't think too many people did.
Having just now looked him up, I think that a terminally ill, elderly assassin like him has much storyline potential. (Before dying, of course...)
R1665
12/11/10
One of the SF characters i have always admired the most is Gen. He shoots no fireballs, has not flaming legs, heck his arms and legs dont even glow then he attacks! But he can still kick major ass... I havent really followed Gouki's (akuma) story line much (not that there ever really was one) but i have always thought of him as being more of like a "What if." kinda how Marvel did. What if Deathstroke was a complete sociopath...you get Deadpool.
12/10/10
Doesn't meen to look like the "Street Fighter Master" or say anyone doesn't know anything abouts the series, just think that this shoud be a cool thing to know, because not so much people know that...
I've known of the whole "Ansatsuken/Shotokan" controversy with regards to these characters for quite a while. I refer to them as shotos for the sake of convenience as pretty much anyone who plays these games will understand exactly who is being referred to by the word "shotoclone".
R1665
12/10/10
Just a fun fact: Akuma is not a "Shotoclone", because there's no "Shotoclones" at all, the only character who is a shotokan fighter is Karin, from the Alpha/Zero series, the Sakura's Rival, the "kimono fighters" (Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Dan, Sean and Gouken) are Ansatsuken fighters, a diferent variation of Karate, and Sakura just "emulates" Ansatsuken, after seen the Ryu's fights
12/10/10
Okay... Lemme try this....
Akuma doesn't fight to prove he's the strongest. He fights so he can die. He wants to fight someone who is better than him, and have that person kill him. This is why he is a Ryu stalker, and at one time, a Gen stalker. Because they both have the potential to kill him. Gouken does not.
Ryu fights to become more powerful, and learn as much as he can to become the strongest, without giving in to the Satsui No Hadou. He has once (Just ask Sagat), but still, he tries to keep it back. So Akuma tortures Ryu and stalks him just to be killed by him....
Other reasons why Akuma is different.... Hrm.... He has neckbeads? Akuma's an old man? He stalks random fighters who he thinks can kill him? ..... Myeh, not enough. I'm sure there IS something, but....
While Dan and Ken both have their own personalities, and Dan even has his own motives, Akuma's.... Actually, quite bland. But he wasn't even supposed to exist. If it weren't for the Sheng Long rumors... He's another stereotype, like Ryu. The badass who is better at the main character at everything.... Like Racer X or that other android from Kikaider....
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"Akuma doesn't fight to prove he's the strongest. He fights so he can die. He wants to fight someone who is better than him, and have that person kill him. This is why he is a Ryu stalker, and at one time, a Gen stalker. Because they both have the potential to kill him. Gouken does not."
This is the first I've heard of this. While I have not seen or read anything of Akuma that explicitly confirms this interpretation, I am open to the possibility that it is true. Do you have a source for this? It is unlikely to change my opinion of the character, but it would be interesting, nonetheless.
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"Other reasons why Akuma is different.... Hrm.... He has neckbeads? Akuma's an old man?"
I knew someone would bring up the beads. I therefore counter with "Donovan Baine". He is the half-vampire demon slayer from Darkstalkers. He is also several orders of magnitude more unique and interesting than Akuma, IMO.
Old men are not at all uncommon in fighting games. Most of the mainstream fighting game franchises have at least one.
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Many props for rising to the challenge, Alrik. Let me know if you think of anything else.
R1665
12/10/10
which aspect of akuma are you talking about;
gameplay, character plot, or an animation stand point?
(character plot meaning backstory and the way he looks)
by the way, maybe if you used someone like mario instead of stryker
it would of got a bigger "fanboy" reaction.
because no matter who you are, no one would believe that a sprite of mario's size could go toe to toe with akuma's overratedness.
just saying...
"which aspect of akuma are you talking about;
gameplay, character plot, or an animation stand point?"
Hell, I'll consider anything at this point.
R1665
12/8/10
its intresting how u look into charceters depending on orignality and unquieness
tho i do agree u shouldent favorite a charceter because hes (THE MOST POWERFULL PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE) but i tend to like chars by morely looking on the charecteristics like the way they look (of course that doesent mean ima like a char cause he looks badass or sumthing) and alot of exactly what his powers are or how he may chose to use those powers like subzero for example he has the power to use ice but he doesent always jus shoot ice blasts that freeze people he also uses them to freeze the groumd cause them ether to slip or (like in mortal kombat 9) freezing there legs makeing them unable to move i belive he even occasionaly make weapons out of ice and its pretty good to look at chars cause of the unquieness cause most of popular charecters are pretty unqiue in there own ways even being simular to other chars and even tho akuma seems to jus be a fully powered evil person bent on just killing and staying in power but even who basicly ryu has to bust balls to try to defeat him akuma is still pretty unquie and is pretty awesome and is suppose to be like the perfect nemisis which is why akuma on my list of favorite charceters so dont always try to judge chars just cause they are similar to others or have simular powers
"even tho akuma seems to jus be a fully powered evil person bent on just killing and staying in power but even who basicly ryu has to bust balls to try to defeat him akuma is still pretty unquie and is pretty awesome and is suppose to be like the perfect nemisis which is why akuma on my list of favorite charceters so dont always try to judge chars just cause they are similar to others or have simular powers"
Now, anybody can like any character that they choose as there is no accounting for taste. However, characters don't become unique simply because we want them to be.
Ryu and Akuma are IDENTICAL. The only thing that distinguishes them is that one is evil and stronger. Everything else, including the moves and motives, are exactly the same.
Ryu travels around the world challenging other fighters so that he can be the strongest. Akuma also travels around the world challenging other fighters so that he can be the strongest. That is literally the entire motive for both of these fighters and they are identical. As I said, the only difference is that one is evil and stronger.
The "evil badass" trope that Akuma displays is neither original nor unique. It is literally EVERYWHERE in fiction. I could name half a dozen of them from mainstream fighting games alone.
As I said, any person can be a fan of any character they wish. The phrase "I like them just because I like them" is sufficient enough to justify any person's tastes. It's subjective and can't really be challenged. However, making a claim like "character X is unique" CAN be challenged.
That said, if Akuma's moves, appearance, and motivations aren't unique or original for the medium, then exactly what part of him is? Exactly what does he bring to the table other than being an evil, more powerful Ryu? Is there ANYTHING about him that can be viewed as being even remotely unique or original? Does he have even one single asset that cannot be easily found in other characters?
This question is open for anybody to answer, by the way.
R1665
12/8/10
I liked Ep 1 and 2 a lot, but I will agree with you that the easter egg was nothing special, and deserved a rating of 3 out of 5 at best.
12/7/10
I'm am a huge Akuma fan in SF. I, however, do not worship the character. I try to see things from a broad view and keep an open mind so I found the flash funny. Besides, the english voice acting for Akuma is god-awful and Stryker was the first guy I pulled of a Brutality with. :)
Y, B, X, A, Y, B, A, X, Y, A, A (SNES UMK3)
That's one of a couple of Brutality sequences that I will remember until the day I die. Good times.
R1665
12/6/10
If it makes you feel better, I'll hate on you for killing akuma, just to make you feel better. I was never a big Street Fighter person myself though, so I didn't care. I think the humor of the situation kinda made the fanboys laugh too hard to write an angry review. I remember laughing myself half to death.
12/6/10
What's your take on characters that have shoto-moves but aren't wearing gis? Like Morrigan or Terry Bogard?
Also, I'm gonna guess that SNK characters will make an appearance.
Having Shoto-like moves doesn't matter too much. Otherwise I wouldn't have used Sakura.
You would also guess correctly.
R1665
12/5/10
Wonderful.
This one has taken awhile eh?
how comes the episode after.
I've stopped just short of the fight scene of Ep4. As soon as Ep3 drops, Ep4 will pick up at full force. No waiting.
R1665
12/5/10
I think it's just what I said before about the Shoto Characters......since they'er all clones of each other all one really needs to do is learn ones moves then switch and say that they can play with more than one character
There maybe a slight difference in speed / stregnth of an attack but other wise it's just the same damn character with a different back story each time.