Soul Calibur: Difference between revisions
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—'''Narrator''' | —'''Narrator''' | ||
<br /> | This article discusses the fighting game Soul Calibur. First the game is going to be introduced. Furthermore research-relevant contents of the game are listed. Other research approaches can be discussed and for further readings the reader ca follow the links. <br /> | ||
==About the Game== | ==About the Game== | ||
Soul Calibur is a weapon-based fighting game with 3D graphics. It is the second game published after Soul Edge (Soul Blade), but the first one with its name Soul Calibur of the series. | Soul Calibur is a weapon-based fighting game with 3D graphics. It is the second game published after Soul Edge (Soul Blade), but the first one with its name Soul Calibur of the series. In other sources the game is listed as a beat 'em up game. The Game was published 1999 by Namco (also known for ''Tekken''.<ref><span class="reference-text">Fox, Matt: ''The Video Games Guide:1,000+ Arcade, Console and Computer Games, 1962-2012'', 2012, P. 266.</span></ref>) as a launch title with the Dreamcast, the last video game console of Sega. Besides the title for the home console Dreamcast, the game was also released as an arcade version in 1998. The newest version is Soul Calibur VI released 2018. | ||
The | The story is about the dark sword Soul Edge which is causing trouble all over the world. There are a lot of characters with oversized weapons to choose. Every character has her or his own story. | ||
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===Game Mechanics=== | ===Game Mechanics=== | ||
<br /> | You can analyze the game under relevant elements typical for a fighting game. As already mentioned, SC is also marked as a beat 'em up. Maybe the [[genre]] differs because there are only smooth differences. But this is not going to be the leading point of this abstract. SC needs the player to take action, to choose a character and repair to the stage or the combat zone which marks the space. With every game there are some regular characters, one guest character and some new characters. For example in Soul Calibur V there a disciples of the regular characters taken over the skills of the regular ones. <br /> | ||
===Cameos from other Games=== | ===Cameos from other Games=== | ||
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<br /> | <br /> | ||
=== | ===Fighting Self=== | ||
Under this aspect, the performance of the player or the ideal performance can be analyzed or discussed. "Speaking generally, the ideal fighting game player takes the game seriously, is a gracious winner, seeks self-improvement, has an investment in both gamer culture broadly and fighting game culture specifically, considers fighting games to primarily be a social activity and a test of skill, and both appreciates and seeks to emulate the (American) arcade ideal of two fighters challenging each other one on one."<ref name=":0">Harper, Todd: ''The Culture of Digital Fighting Games. Performance and Practice'', 2014, P. 135.</ref> Taking over a role or a fighting character seems to be like picking your replacement or representative. The player is not fighting physically with his body, but has his character fighting for him or fighting with him. In SC it is not just a Martial Art Tournament, it is staged like a dead or alive battle where the player has to fight for the world or for a sword. But in the environment of the player, she or he has a controller or an arcade stick. This can lead to the original idea of having a fight side by side, face to face or in a crowd, like in an amusement arcade.<ref name=":0" /> SC was also released as an arcade but also for the home console, so there could be a tournament surrounded by a crowd or alone at home where the player just have his surroundings, oneself. Depending on the controller or an arcade stick, the player can more identify with the stick, reminding him of playing a serious fighting game.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
<br /> | <br /> | ||
Revision as of 01:51, 22 January 2020
"Welcome to the stage of history, retold."
—Narrator
This article discusses the fighting game Soul Calibur. First the game is going to be introduced. Furthermore research-relevant contents of the game are listed. Other research approaches can be discussed and for further readings the reader ca follow the links.
About the Game
Soul Calibur is a weapon-based fighting game with 3D graphics. It is the second game published after Soul Edge (Soul Blade), but the first one with its name Soul Calibur of the series. In other sources the game is listed as a beat 'em up game. The Game was published 1999 by Namco (also known for Tekken.[1]) as a launch title with the Dreamcast, the last video game console of Sega. Besides the title for the home console Dreamcast, the game was also released as an arcade version in 1998. The newest version is Soul Calibur VI released 2018.
The story is about the dark sword Soul Edge which is causing trouble all over the world. There are a lot of characters with oversized weapons to choose. Every character has her or his own story.
Research-relevant Contents of the Game
Game Mechanics
You can analyze the game under relevant elements typical for a fighting game. As already mentioned, SC is also marked as a beat 'em up. Maybe the genre differs because there are only smooth differences. But this is not going to be the leading point of this abstract. SC needs the player to take action, to choose a character and repair to the stage or the combat zone which marks the space. With every game there are some regular characters, one guest character and some new characters. For example in Soul Calibur V there a disciples of the regular characters taken over the skills of the regular ones.
Cameos from other Games
Next to the regular characters also known from the previous game Soul Edge, the player can choose one cameo character from other popular games like Tekken, Assassin's Creed, Star Wars, or like in the current version Soul Calibur VI The Witcher. But there is also Yoshimitsu to choose who appears in Tekken. He appears first in Soul Edge but stays as a regular character in the sequels.Guest characters playable from other games seem to lead to a new playing experience and can be reason for buying the newest edition of the Soul Calibur series. To play the favourite character of a game in another environment could be like taking the character with you to fight with other favourite fighting game characters. In some way it reminds a bit of Super Smash Bros. where you have a lot of different characters from other games having a big brawl. The cameos are taken out of their usual environment or at least in some extent. For example the character Ezio Auditore da Firenze, he is the quest character in Soul Calibur V. The player can fight with him and can also choose his surroundings. Every character has an own environment or an own combat zone. Ezio's zone are the rooftops of Venice. It is like a transfer of Ezio and his skills in another game. But there the player has to face other conditions and other characters. The theme of guest characters can be discussed as a reason for commercial success. Having Namco as a publisher seems to make it obvious that there is also Heihachi as a cameo in Soul Calibur II. Also Yoshimitsu mentioned before. Guest characters can be marked as a special feature. There can also be discussions about the role of the avatar and the fact that you can create your own character in the series, for example in Soul Calibur V where the player has the opportunity to create a character with the physics of Tekken's Jin.
Weapon guided fighting game
Fighting Self
Under this aspect, the performance of the player or the ideal performance can be analyzed or discussed. "Speaking generally, the ideal fighting game player takes the game seriously, is a gracious winner, seeks self-improvement, has an investment in both gamer culture broadly and fighting game culture specifically, considers fighting games to primarily be a social activity and a test of skill, and both appreciates and seeks to emulate the (American) arcade ideal of two fighters challenging each other one on one."[2] Taking over a role or a fighting character seems to be like picking your replacement or representative. The player is not fighting physically with his body, but has his character fighting for him or fighting with him. In SC it is not just a Martial Art Tournament, it is staged like a dead or alive battle where the player has to fight for the world or for a sword. But in the environment of the player, she or he has a controller or an arcade stick. This can lead to the original idea of having a fight side by side, face to face or in a crowd, like in an amusement arcade.[2] SC was also released as an arcade but also for the home console, so there could be a tournament surrounded by a crowd or alone at home where the player just have his surroundings, oneself. Depending on the controller or an arcade stick, the player can more identify with the stick, reminding him of playing a serious fighting game.[2]