Neutral Game

One of the most common scapegoats for players frustrated by the complexity of games, frame data is demonized as the inscrutable language of the elite that the average player cannot make use of. You have to be OBSESSIVE to learn frame data. It’s such a BURDEN, it’s unreasonable! Or… is it? Maybe you’re thinking about frame data the wrong way. Maybe you can just dip your toe in, just a little, and come out a stronger player. Miodrag and Six are here to help you understand this misunderstood cornerstone of fighting games. What is frame data? What does it mean? And how can I make it work for me, without doing a whole ton of studying? We’ve got your back.

You can contact Six on Twitter at @sixdettmar, and Miodrag at @MDKII. We’ll see you again in a month!

This month, we’re focusing on the more personal challenges of our cohosts, as Miodrag and Six tackle different elements of fighting games in their lives. Miodrag introduces friends and coworkers to Guilty Gear, and observes the challenges and pitfalls of new players trying to adapt to the most anime of heavy metal fighters. With all of the newbies coming at the game from different perspectives, what does that mean for their play? Meanwhile, for the first time in ver life, Six has a genuine rivalry on ver hands!

You can contact Six on Twitter at @sixdettmar, and Miodrag at @MDKII. We’ll see you again in a month!

We’re about three months into 2018, and still no game has hit with the impact that Dragon Ball FighterZ has. With one of our favorite developers, Arc System Works, going all out to make a fighting game for a classic franchise, we couldn’t stay away. Miodrag and Six have spent the time in the lab and the ring, and now it’s time to sit down and talk about the most popular fighting game in years. From systems to roster, netcode to DLC, we’ve got a thorough analysis of what makes DBFZ so interesting.

You can contact Six on Twitter at @sixdettmar, and Miodrag at @MDKII. We’ll see you again in a month!

It is ever our endeavor to be your newbie-friendly fighting game podcast, so when famed competitive game designer David Sirlin and the team at Sirlin Games released a fighting game focused on making the genre more accessible, we took notice. Fantasy Strike declares that it has “cut the chaff to focus on the heart of the genre.” It’s certainly an impressive claim, but does the game itself back that up? Miodrag and Colin investigate, and come away with mixed feelings.

You can contact Colin on Twitter at @sixdettmar, and Miodrag at @MDKII. We’ll see you again in a month!

Over the course of December, Miodrag undertook an ambitious task: to stream over eighty different fighting games, and demonstrate their systems. This great project would be known as… Deckember. Now, on the other side of the endeavor, Colin and Miodrag convene to discuss the lessons of dozens of fighting games, and what moments and games stood out as remarkable in the crowd.

You can contact Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and Miodrag at @MDKII. We’ll see you again in a month!

We touched on it briefly last month, but on this episode, Miodrag and Colin talk in-depth about Gundam Versus, the first of its kind to hit western shores. From mechanics and systems, to strategy and personal favorites, it’s a great beginner’s guide to a game that is at once both fresh and familiar to fighting game veterans. Among your busy schedule of Street Fighters, Tekkens, and Guilty Gears, Gundam Versus can be the change of pace you need in an often predictable genre.

I deserve an award for the self-restraint I showed not making a bunch of Gundam puns in this writeup.

You can contact Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and Miodrag at @MDKII. We’ll see you again in a month!

This month on Neutral Game, we take a look at team fighting games! No, not… not the games where you build a team out of characters like Marvel vs. Capcom. I can see how you made that mistake, Miodrag did too! I’m actually referring to games where multiple PLAYERS work together on one team, like Gundam Versus, or certain modes of Super Smash Bros, Dead or Alive, and Tekken. It’s not the most widespread mode, but it has joys and challenges all its own, and it’s well worth exploring.

You can contact Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and Miodrag at @MDKII. We’ll see you again in a month!

As much as we love fighting games, they drive us crazy sometimes too. There are so many backwards ideas and traditions about how they should be built, stemming from the genre’s arcade origins, hardcore player elitism, or simple thoughtlessness. This episode, Miodrag and Colin take the opportunity to discuss the quality of life changes that fighting games really need to undertake to move towards a better future, from input code to training options, and much more still.

You can contact Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and Miodrag at @MDKII. We’ll see you again in a month!

It’s easy for us to talk about what it’s like to get started in fighting games as a newbie, but in truth, it’s been a long time since either Miodrag or Colin started taking the genre seriously. We hope our advice can be a tool for newcomers, but… what is it actually like for someone who’s just getting started? In the interest of finding out, we’ve brought on our friend Harri as a guest to discuss how, several months ago, he finally started to actually get into fighting games, and how his journey has been.

You can contact Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and Miodrag at @MDKII. We’ll see you again in a month!

The world’s biggest fighting game tournament, Evolution, has come and gone! There were many fantastic fights, incredible comebacks, and all around stunning displays of skill Miodrag and Colin may never hope to match. In the wake of this yearly clash of titans, what announcements made us excited, and what is the state of the competitive meta for various games?

You can contact Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and Miodrag at @MDKII. We’ll see you again in a month!