KNOCKOUT LEAGUE - SHOWTIME DEEP DIVE
DESIGN WIN
Existing Mechanics in New Contexts: We were able to build some unique character interactions in VR by piggybacking off of the game’s core systems. These interactions are some of my favorite from the game and serve to reinforce Showtime’s character.
We built a move where he tries to startle players by getting in their face. By using our hit detection system we could detect if players “flinched,” which I defined as blocking or dodging during his intimidation attempt.
If players flinched, Showtime would make fun of them for it. If players did nothing and stood still, he’d be vulnerable to a punch. This move worked well because his fight already primes players to react to small movements and it illustrated his overconfidence and disdain for the player.
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This approach to new mechanics was handy in an unexpected place: exploit prevention. Most of Showtime’s jab combos could be ducked entirely, which allowed players to avoid interacting with his facial tells and feint mechanics
So, if we detected players ducked whole combos, Showtime would squat down and give them an in-character warning.
Using characterization as a feedback mechanism this way kept things clear and entertaining. It let us create personal character moments that added to the player’s feeling of presence/immersion without a lot of effort to build.
DESIGN PROBLEM
Making it Too Personal: Showtime is a character optimized for irritation, but he very easily became frustrating for many players. Starting out, I knew it would be a delicate balance, but I underestimated how quickly player perceptions sour when a character taunts them constantly. Once anger sinks in, every problem was amplified.
SOLUTION: It was a constant effort during development, but I took a very holistic approach and tried to help a little in many places. Character-wise, I didn’t want to soften his character completely so I kept him on-brand by replacing some player-insulting VO with self-congratulatory lines.
Combat-wise, I removed flinch checks after his shorter 2-hit combos. They are the same flinch reactions from his “startle” move mentioned above and would prevent players from retaliating if they blocked too many times.
This was originally meant to punish players for auto-piloting after mastering the feints but it was too punishing for regular players and too hard to get feeling consistent and fair for the advanced players. This change allowed everyone to get more damage in but benefited the struggling players more.
I also wrote more direct in-game hints and alternate strategies based on common issues I observed in playtests. We also made it more lenient to progress by allowing players to damage him a bit if they got hit by the first punch of a combo but avoided the rest. This was actually a part of a larger effort to “allow partial credit” for the whole game.
DESIGN PROBLEM
Clarity of Attack Tells: Early attempts at facial expression tells had so much going on that playtesters would latch on to irrelevant details only to be led astray. How could I blame them? His original tells were combinatorial! His eyes, eyebrows, and mouth each gave a separate clue about what was coming.
SOLUTION: I started off by simplifying the tells so they had fewer but more obvious differentiating elements. When that proved not enough, I increased the length and looped key aspects to give them more time to be recognized.
The last thing I did was add unique VO to each of the tells and fake punches so that by audio alone you could tell which feint was coming and when he did it. I was the most resistant to this change because I feared it would give the fight away.
It turns out my concerns were overblown and most people didn’t even notice. The ones that did felt clever for noticing and found the VO helped confirm that they had the right idea. I took these learnings to heart and applied them to another character’s rework: Sir Octopunch.
More than our other characters, Showtime showed that simple concepts executed well can yield amazing results and that you don’t have to build a ton of new tech to get engaging mechanics.
Video/GIF Credit: catbert7’s Gaming Highlights - Knockout League - Finally Released! - Full Circuit Tour Part 3 - Vive (Starts at 6:52)