The Tone of MKX

spader

BANALITY
Hey guys,

Just wondering what your thoughts are, and what you all as fans want.

For many years, I have wanted mk on next gen hardware, and always wanted it to be the game boon spoke of back in '08, before we got that godawful piece of shit mk v dc.

He said we would love to do a completely revamped, very dark and gritty, serious mk.

Now judging by this trailer it looks like my dreams have come true in that regard.

Disregard the horrendous tripe called music on the trailer...But the trailer looks to be representing a very dark, ominous mk...Just look at the character designs , they are a lot more practical an realistic, leathers, cloths, and padded materials....I think they look the best they ever have...It definitely looks like a step in the right direction.

But like always I am concerned, and I will tell you why, and would like to know all your thoughts.

For instance The look and feel of the game, I HOPE is exactly like the trailer...I'm sorry, but while mk9 was the best mk we got in years...it looks comical the character designs were so over the top an stupid, scorpion especially, and I just hated the over all camp cheesy vibe it had...while gory, it lacked any real serious tone. And had way to much idiotic comedic value then it should have, especially with cage, I don't get why cage needs to be comic relief, I never thought he was a joke in mk1 or mk2....Sure he was a movie star, but he was still portrayed as a serious character, just looking to prove him self...I mean, its not to make him less pathetic, employ a Jamie lannister type persona to him? So i would like a serious tone, with the characters....No more humor.

The content...Now this concerns me....now I couldn't care less if there was no challenge tower or krypt if we had DECENT in game content...I would have rathered in mk9, brutalities, 3-4 fatalities for EVERY one....More focus on the game, then pointless content like concept art,sound tracks, stage designs etc etc...its just silly to me...put it in a collectors edition box if you want that....

The fatalities...NOw these need to be good, coz again the ones in mk9 plain sucked, save a few...It was all torso ripps, an head cuts...based all on the slice point crap..in turn, it looks lazy an cheap...it was all the same...And again...NO JOKES....

I dont want any one turning into clowns, or shoving trophies in peoples split heads..thats just SHIT....

and with finishers, i would much rather a new brutal idea, to coincide with the standard 2 fatalities, or brutalities....but I for one do NOT want to see the ridiculous crap thrown in like friendships, babalities, or animalities...to me it just cheapens the game and makes its too comical..Im always amazed at why people love this shit...its so stupid... I mean...its mortal kombat....its a tournament about fighting for your realm, to the death....why do you want comedy? To me its like suddenly playing gears of war and you go to a locust hive and start playing pool with the locusts and playing tea parties...its just dumb....I dont see the justification in wasting memory, and cutting fatalities, and brutalities for that crap....

Characters... NO crappy ones, as they just dont suite mk...stryker should stay dead, as hes the worst ever....Liu kang, not coz he dont fit...but just because hes soooo done to death and boring... i dont know why people want shit like nitara, i mean a winged vampire? Seriously? or hornbuckle? all this made up crap...you want? how do you think it would be good? haha

I would like to see some more black and red dragon members personally....

Any way, i just hope the game looks like the trailer, an remains a very dark, girtty and ground breaking mk...
 
Okay, I am also hoping for a darker tone of MKX, but as far as MK9 goes, it was pretty much a remake of the original trilogy (perhaps with the exception of the original MK, which had a more serious tone), which was to be honest, full of silly jokes such as "TOASTY!", friendships, babalities... heck even fatalities looked silly - especially when you could see like five skulls, three torsos and a dozen of limbs when the opponent exploded. In that sense, MK9 stayed true to the original three games BUT certainly added more blood and gore.

If MKX is to be modelled after MK4, MKDA or MKD, then I would expect a more darker tone just like those three games had. At the same time, I highly doubt it will be humour-free, because I assume fans enjoyed it in MK9.

Also, how is Nitara a "shit" character? Makes absolutely no sense since in the realms of Mortal Kombat you have ninjas, cyborgs, shokans, reptilians, dragons, centaurs, demons... How does having a vampire not fit into MK again? Blood is what MK is all about and what differentiates MK from other fighting games, vampires suck blood - it does fit with the MK universe. I am sure that we a good redesign, she can be an awesome character just like Kenshi.
 
maybe, i just dont like the design of nitara...but yah, Im hoping for a very serious tone in the game and humor free....im a little worried with the whole cross gen thing though....:(
 
From the trailer, I'm loving the serious tone. I loved mk9 as well and the fatalities but I couldn't stand the cartoony look the characters had and the childish jokes they kept trying to make. I mostly mean the story mode regarding all the stupid one liners. I felt injustice did a way better job with having a serious story and good voice actors. This is Mortal Kombat and there should be some humor, but I think it should be demented humor along the lines the last twisted metal game had. If they keep the look and tone this trailer had, I'll be really happy. You never know though since mk9 trailers made the game seem like it was going to be darker than it actually was.
 
nahhhh mk9 always looked cartoonish, yah the only humor it should have is black comedy...like quanchi over killing some one, and making a comment or kano or some thing....But yah i pray this one is indicative of the trailer
 
Im all for a darker, grittier MK. I dont mind the humor personally. Its another thing that makes MK unique. You have all this blood, gore, and intensity, then all of a sudden, "TOASTY!". The only humor I didnt care for was Johnny Cage in MK9s story. You dont just call the god of thunder "Ray Dude." It made me chuckle at first, but I soon found it to be a bit ridiculous. I have the utmost faith in NRS. I lived MK9 and Injustice was awesome as well. I know MKX will kick ass. I cant wait to see more at E3 next week!
 
I sure hope they make it darker and serious and less obnoxiously loud and flashy.

In another thread I described MK1 having the character of a mastiff that silently stares at you in the eye knowing it could murder you before you even noticed, and MK9 being more like a noisy rabid poodle, complete with fancy poodle haircut, bling and whatnot.
 
yah it nees to stay that way i dont want them to be puttin in babalities, or stupid one line jokes cheapening the franchise... I mean I live in australia and making kano a dumb ass aussie with that god awful accent is ED ...i agree uker....mk9 was good..but it just looked and felt so comical and silly
 
Mortal Kombat should always be "darker" and more serious. But the occasional throw away joke is not so bad. Babalities are fun every once in a while and aren't forced down our throats.

I do believe that characters like Mokap need to stay the f*** away from the series. It's a huge waste of time on the developers part and ours.

There are joke characters like Meat and Rain who are still worthy of being in the MK world - And then there's Mokap. No. No. NO.
 
how are babalities forced down your throat?

They can only happen if you got your ass beat by someone who didn't block once.

So basically it's forced on you... if you're a bad player.



Also I find myself caring less and less about fatalities. They were cool when I was like 7 years old. But now I'm really only intrigued by plot/game play. The gore doesn't even do anything for me anymore. I'm completely desensitized.


Not saying these things don't do things for you guys. Cuz perhaps it does. I've just outspent it. So I'm just looking for plot and gameplay mechanics.
 
how are babalities forced down your throat?
Are you aware that he just said they are NOT forced down your throat?

Also I find myself caring less and less about fatalities. They were cool when I was like 7 years old. But now I'm really only intrigued by plot/game play. The gore doesn't even do anything for me anymore. I'm completely desensitized.

Not saying these things don't do things for you guys. Cuz perhaps it does. I've just outspent it. So I'm just looking for plot and gameplay mechanics.
Most of us have stopped caring just because 90% of them look uninsteresting or ridiculous.
If they did look realistic, believable, shocking, instead of taken out of Happy Tree Friends, and using a canned body dismemberment model, with blood looking like fireworks, they would still be interesting to have.
You want an Unreal Engine game with believable gore? Look at Outlast.
Does the gore in MK look anything like this?
Is MK ever HALF as moody as this first random screenshot?

vlcsnap-2013-09-10-22h22m42s43.jpg

OLGame-2013-09-21-14-48-15-33.jpg


Also, I'd say they should somehow make it so they go back to MK2 times when fatalities were something that wows onlookers when you make one and gets them sayin "whoa, how did you do that?". Either by making them harder, or by making them secret, I don't know.
 
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MK should keep it's dark and gory nature. Hell, that's what made it famous.

Maybe I just need to see a little bit more of the development of the game, but so far, what I see is spot on with how the franchise should be going.
 
Are you aware that he just said they are NOT forced down your throat?


Most of us have stopped caring just because 90% of them look uninsteresting or ridiculous.
If they did look realistic, believable, shocking, instead of taken out of Happy Tree Friends, and using a canned body dismemberment model, with blood looking like fireworks, they would still be interesting to have.
You want an Unreal Engine game with believable gore? Look at Outlast.
Does the gore in MK look anything like this?
Is MK ever HALF as moody as this first random screenshot?

vlcsnap-2013-09-10-22h22m42s43.jpg

OLGame-2013-09-21-14-48-15-33.jpg


Also, I'd say they should somehow make it so they go back to MK2 times when fatalities were something that wows onlookers when you make one and gets them sayin "whoa, how did you do that?". Either by making them harder, or by making them secret, I don't know.

good point about the babalities I miss read his post.

none of what you showed me means anything to me. It might mean a little in a horror game, but gore isn't even what scares me in a horror game. It's the lack of power, and the fear of the unknown. You know your own fears better than a game developer does so it's best to leave things up to your own imagination when trying to scare you. Gore still does not affect me. I've played those games. And believe me it didn't do anything for me.


Also, I'd say they should somehow make it so they go back to MK2 times when fatalities were something that wows onlookers when you make one and gets them sayin "whoa, how did you do that?". Either by making them harder, or by making them secret, I don't know.


That won't happen anymore with the internet. The closest thing was the toasty uppercut bonus to your meter. Because NRS never told us, and we didn't know the trigger, but now we do. Since fatalities are something people know how to look for, unlike that toasty bonus, it would be solved ridiculously quickly with thousands of people trying combinations.

I said they AREN'T forced on you.

Relax I already realized I miss read.
 
That's the point.
MK has lost the mystique.

For starters, in MK1 there wasn't a single spoken word. The closest was Johnny Cage's "Yeah".
And it was good. You could even imagine the characters talking in unknown otherworldly dialects should they ever open their mouths and speak.
Now everyone is made to talk stupid, pointless one-liners, obviously in plain english.
It surprises me they haven't made Goro and Kintaro speak yet.

MK went from being a horror/shock mysterious, drab fighting game to a craptastic Michael Bay-directed spectacle of endless screams, colors, flashing lights, steroid junkie males and stripper naked chicks, down to the "look at me, my voice is so deep and loud" announcer.

While certainly a step up from what was MK5 to MKvsDC, MK9 was MK for the ritalin generation.
 
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That's the point.
MK has lost the mystique.

For starters, in MK1 there wasn't a single spoken word. The closest was Johnny Cage's "Yeah".
And it was good. You could even imagine the characters talking in unknown otherworldly dialects.
Now everyone is made to talk stupid, pointless one-liners, obviously in plain english.
It surprises me they haven't made Goro and Kintaro speak yet.

They did make them speak in Story mode.

I never once considered Mortal Kombat Horror. I can agree on Shock.

MK went from being a horror/shock mysterious, drab fighting game to a craptastic Michael Bay-directed spectacle of endless screams, colors, flashing lights, steroid junkie males and stripper naked chicks, down to the "look at me, my voice is so deep" announcer.
This is MK for the ritalin generation.

Michael Bay.. hmm... (smokes fatality from older generation)
Endless screams... pretty sure the old games had them scream anytime they got hit as well.
colors, lets not forget the rainbow color of ninjas.
flashing lights, admitted I don't remember much of that in either new games or old games.
Steroid males, Yah you're probably right about that, they do look bulkier in this game.
Naked chicks, Sonya was conservative back in the day, but I can't say Sheeva's attire in the 2-D era was very non-naked, or any of the UMK3 Jade/kitana/Mileena outfits.

You did have all these complaints in the 3-D era right?

I do however understand your view on the no talking. It lets the player imagine the world they best see fit.

It's why samus was beloved, because people could imagine her any way they wanted because she didn't speak, she only fought.
 
I always thought that most of the fans took MK more seriously than the devs themselves. The gore is more funny to me than shocking.
 
Stryker a joke character?
Sure it's a shitty one, but I don't see him as a joke.

They did make them speak in Story mode.
Crap, you just had to remind me of that. XD
I never once considered Mortal Kombat Horror. I can agree on Shock.
I was talking about the mood I guess.

Michael Bay.. hmm... (smokes fatality from older generation)
LOL, no, I was talking about the humor and the compulsion for being loud and flashy, disregarding any sense of what's corny, no matter HOW corny it may be.
I won't go into detail, but take a look at the characters' round intros and victory poses. I have to force myself to look away in most of them. Maybe you should go over them and check whether each is something a top-30 fighter in the whole 4-realm universe would say in a battle that supposedly decides over the fate of the whole thing.

Endless screams... pretty sure the old games had them scream anytime they got hit as well.
Mostly I'm talking about the babbling in many of the specials.
Mostly all of Raiden's, all of Quan Chi's, Sub-Zero's ice, Kung Lao's hat and dive kick, Shang Tsung's skulls, Rain's lightning, Jade's boomerangs, and the list goes on.

colors, lets not forget the rainbow color of ninjas.
I was talking about the oversaturated overall look of the game.
Just look at fire in MK1 compared to MK9 and you'll see what I mean.

flashing lights, admitted I don't remember much of that in either new games or old games.
Care to explain why Sub-zero's ice would emit light? (which by the way is much stronger than the nonexistent luminosity of Raiden's ultra high voltage specials)
Or reptile's acid? Or whoever's hit by Kabal's dash? Or any of Rain's specials (save for the lightning)?

Steroid males, Yah you're probably right about that, they do look bulkier in this game.
Bulkier? That's A BIT of an understatement.
Have you checked Johnny Cage's or Liu Kang's shoulder width? Or the size of Sub Zero's arms?
What's strange however is how ridiculously thin some characters' legs are. Johnny Cage again.

Naked chicks, Sonya was conservative back in the day, but I can't say Sheeva's attire in the 2-D era was very non-naked, or any of the UMK3 Jade/kitana/Mileena outfits.
Well, yeah, not that anyone would have got turned on by Sheeva, or would they?
Also, up to MK3 the tendency was towards sluttiness, but now they're not only half naked but also in high heels. And don't get me started on that Mileena alt costume with the bandages.
 
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mk did become a joke, cage wasnt rally a joke to me in mk1 now he is...wearing glasses while fighting? Thinking the whole tourney is a joke? it was just cheesy and lame as .... it has no darkness too it no ominous vibe any more its all bright purple an pathetic... and yah the fatalities are not cool at all any more... I stand by the fact the ones i drew up an posted on here in 2011 are WAY better then any thing nrs came up with....they were even featured on 4 web sites an reposted with other people claiming they drew them up... mk 2011 was just slice point generic shit...there is SOO much you could do, that they didnt, and dont...
 
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