Community Excuses To Not Play/Learn Dead or Alive.

[Lulu]

In my quest to find a Sparring Partner (Offline).... I hear some weird things my friends say to avoid playing DoA with Me.....

So why not Share them with you guys, I'l update the OP as more of the Stories Come to light.

1) The Hoge (yes thats what I call him)

Spoiler: Read More....

Hogi, A.K.A The Hoge, Isn't actually my friend so much as he is someone whom I happen to have alot of Social Interactions with..... Anyway.... I lent him my Copy of DoA5 Ultimate (by accident) and after spending some time with the game..... he said he wasn't that into because, and I quote:

Lol I don't like the controls in that game though.....It's just wierd and complicated.

Had anybody else told me that then I wouldn't make huge fuss about it, After all, Fighting Games aren't for everyone. But the part in Bold stood out to me because it turns he's a Tekken Player.

he said he prefers Tekken because :

I don't know about that. I actually love everything about that game. Especially the combos.....The controls make a lot more sense because it's left punch right punch. Left kick right kick. Kinda makes it a lot easier to do anything in Tekken

For those of you who haven't played Tekken, it's a 4 Button 3D Fighting Game. Each Button represents a Limb.... and the Control Scheme is laid out in a way that each Limb corresponds to a specific Face Button on the Controller based on its Position, for Example... here are the Face Buttons on a Xbox Controller:

X Y
A B
Upper Buttons would control the Hands which would be positioned on the upper part of a Character's body..... and the lower buttons would control the Feet which would be positioned on the lower part of the Character's Body. Furthermore, X & A are on the left therefore they control the Left Hand & Left Foot while Y & B are on the Right side so they would control the Right Hand & Right Foot, Respectively.
All together this makes the game easier for players to Kineasthetically Project The Controls.... which, in turn, makes the game easier to Learn... I consider this to be good design.... to a point.

Its important to note that while this makes it easier to Learn which button does what.... its not an intuitive Layout considering how complex the Inputs can become when you actually play the game.... for example: Throwing Requires Multiple Button Macros where as DoA only requires one Macro for throws. Tekken is full of things like that... Without going into too much Detail, I think Ultimately Tekken does wind up becoming more Complicated than DoA..... still though.... it does make think if theres a more intuitive design that would make DoA more appealing to newcomers.

2) My Older Brother.

Spoiler: Read More....

If theres one person in my life who has a Serious aversion to playing DoA its my Big Brother.... I remember the first Time he saw me playing it..... in less than 5 minutes these words came out f his mouth:

Why are you still playing this, All the combos look the same..... Why does every Character Fight the same way ?

Now unlike my Friends my brother is actually good at his Fighting Game of choice, Mortal Kombat. He used to torment me in that game back when we were little.... I kid you not, I remember I got Beatings so Bad I would cry to my mom, being the busy person that she was and not wanting to be disturbed over and over again, she ordered my Brother to let me win...... ahhhh Good Times . And to this Day he's still kicking ass In Mortal Kombat.

So its kinda weird to hear him say that after watching me play DoA for 5 Minutes.... he literally had no idea DoA existed before that day. .

Anyway, the whole thing was so dumb that I decided to ignore... and then one day... he walked in on me watching Winter Brawl X.... LoL..... and he said:

You're still on this "DoA Garbage" ?..... You're not even paying it, You're just watching other people play games.

WHAT !!!!.... I honestly had no words. I felt like someone had just told me Mother Theresa gave up Charity to do hardcore Granny Porn.

I had enough.... I wanted to point out the weird Logic behind some of the things he says..... but I knew I couldn't use DoA to do that so I thought I would ease him in with something alil More Familiar. I told him to try Killer Instinct.... being the Xbox Fanboy that he is.... he was naturally curious so he gave it a shot. Some weeks went by and I asked him: "So what did you think of Killer Instinct ?" His response was:

Oh that ? Yeah I tried it.... once.... it was too much of a Button Masher.

!!!! If there was one critism I was expecting to hear from him it would have been about the Lack of Single player content. But nope... he surprised me yet again.

Now, obviously KI.I aint no button masher and obviously a game you could win just by button Mashing would be a Bad game..... but When I pressed him about what he meant.... thats when I got a better understanding of what he was trying to say. Basically he's got a Problem with any game where Button Mashing does yield some sort of result.... even if its something small as Cool looking moves coming out. If noobs can do DP's or Super Ultra Combos by accident, then he labels that game a Button Masher. His reasoning was:

Button Mashing doesn't work in MKX....... If someone tried to Button Mash me in that game, I'd beat them with ease.

Since he never actually played K.I. against anyone other than the AI.... you would think he would extend that same coutersy to other Fighting Games.... but Nope !!! Not him. But does he have point ? is it bad for a game to not allow Button Mashing to have any affected at all ?

So how about you Guys, Are you friends also saying weird things about DoA ? Do they have a point ?

 

[The Spine]

The people I've talked to don't really like the fanservice. It's a real turn off for them, which is understandable honestly.

 

[Sotherius]

Fanservice and the xtreme games are bad marketing for the outside people really. People don't take DOA seriously a lot because it is that "titty game".

The stun/hold system is also something that will turn off some people, which you either love or hate really.

 

[deathofaninja]

I don't really see what good could come out of a thread like this. Most of this stuff has been beaten into our brains enough. If you don't get DOA now, it's likely you never will. In my opinion the fan service has brought more people in so to me that excuse makes no sense. Not everyone is going to like it and their reasons are irrelevant if they didn't even give the game a chance.

 

[Rikuto]

DoA is the easiest 3D fighter to learn, with the exception of maybe soul calibur being on equal ground.

If you somebody is claiming otherwise after getting good at Tekken I'd consider them to have simply not given it an honest shot, or to be wired extremely differently than the average human.

 

[GreatDarkHero]

People not liking the fan service? Well, the thing is that many players during the development of DOA5 were actually complaining about the lack of fan service that it initially had in the first place. Another thing to realize is that DOA is not the only fighting game that has sexualized content. That's pretty much any other competitive and/or popular fighting game.

Other excuses may have something to do with the learning curve of DOA (despite the in-game tutorials and youtube game play videos floating everywhere)...

EDIT:

In retrospect, I am not entirely sure what the real excuse is, other than just the ignorant/misinformed opinions on the game cycling about. Or, the fact that people simply just don't like the game... Considering what the game has to offer (which is a lot). Even better is that I got a few of my coworkers from Germany interested in actively playing DOA and they were mostly SF players.

 

[deathofaninja]

I've taken DOA to my local arcades for a while. Everyone that bothered to play with me really had fun with the game and because of how simple it was they could catch on quickly and being an expert wasn't required to land cool moves. People that brought Naruto games tended to be more curious about playing DOA from my experience.

Good feedback I always remember is that DOA is fluid and has nice animations which are both true things to say... the common negative I've heard is definitely "I don't understand how to reverse properly" and "I don't like these get-up moves"

 

[Lulu]

I don't really see what good could come out of a thread like this. Most of this stuff has been beaten into our brains enough. If you don't get DOA now, it's likely you never will. In my opinion the fan service has brought more people in so to me that excuse makes no sense. Not everyone is going to like it and their reasons are irrelevant if they didn't even give the game a chance.

But its fun to Vent our Frustrations ..... atleast I think it is. Think of it as one of those scrub thingies I heard so much about.

DoA is the easiest 3D fighter to learn, with the exception of maybe soul calibur being on equal ground.

If you somebody is claiming otherwise after getting good at Tekken I'd consider them to have simply not given it an honest shot, or to be wired extremely differently than the average human.

Thats the thing I find weird..... Not one of my friends is good at any competitive game except sports games... with the exception of BoobTube (yes I actually call him that, its adorable) he likes CCGs (Yu-Gi Yoh) and my Brother is pretty good at MKX (more on this later).

But other than that they suck at These Types of Games. So its weird when they say things like:
DoA is too hard.... I prefer Tekken
Or DoA is a Button is a Button Masher....

I think this happens because:
A) Most of their knowledge from Fighting Games comes from an era where They didn't have tutorials.
B) They've never seen what any fighting game looks like a played at a high level.

I think this is why my friends say these weird things..... the one that really made my head spin was when Bongoleena told me: "Dude this game is too hard.... can't we play Street Fighter IV instead ?"......... O_O

LoL.... this is the world I live in.

All isn't bad though.... I have cousin who's interested in DoA..... so thats cool.

 

[Lulu]

There we go..... I decided to neaten up the structure of the OP by using spoilers.... it would get cluttered very fast if I just chucked everything in there as is.

 

[UpSideDownGRUNT]

The people I've talked to don't really like the fanservice. It's a real turn off for them, which is understandable honestly.

This is incredibly ironic, because usually its the opposite lol

 

[Matt Ponton]

This is incredibly ironic, because usually its the opposite lol

Not really. It's a common response here in the States.

 

[Lulu]

I would imagine Mortal Kombat gets a similar stigma because of their Excessive Gore...... luckily they got Injustice as an alternative for those people.

I'd would say TN should do the samething but I can't see that ending well.

 

[Awesmic]

Reasons I hear are often polarizing. Some detractors dismiss it because they believe because you can spam holds while stunned, it automatically means there's a higher chance a lesser known player can beat an experienced tourney player consistently, dismissing the game as "random" or "poorly designed for casuals".

Yet on the other side of the spectrum, some actually have high expectations to instantly do well in tournaments because it's easy to learn, thus gaining them FGC cred and winning cool points with certain higher-ups... social climbing, mind you. And when they don't succeed, bam. They dismiss it as trash because they didn't get their way.

And then there's the people who dismiss it because it's "too softcore for a hentai fighting game"... but I won't go too deep into that one. It's disturbing, even for me.

 

[iHajinShinobi]

Saying DOA is a porn game or whatever is just very cliche to say about the game, a very ancient cliche. That's not really the reason people aren't trying to learn this game as a whole anymore. It's an excuse and nothing more.

Its because the community (or rather, a better, more educated portion) doesn't do anything to help bring in more new players and make it appealing. What happens is most that try to help are only helping those within, instead of within and outside the community. Most trying to help just aren't educated/informative and skilled enough at fighting games to really relate with players coming from another game(s). (Not knocking anyone, it's just the truth, because it even shows in our commentary majority of the time. Pretty much, only about 4 different people can really deliver great commentary for DOA in the States).

There isn't enough of the informed to help "everyone" and not everyone that is well informed can handle such responsibility.

It also doesn't help that majority playing this currently lack/severely lack the learning and competitive mindset. And can only see black and white.

 

[Brute]

Most DOA players I know are evangelists promoting the game to every person they meet online and offline. People keep blaming "the community" because it's a nice and impersonal call to action and an easy scapegoat to rally behind while also conveniently pointing blame at certain people without explicitly putting a specific figure on the spot. Yeah, not all of the top players are the loudest, but many are.

As far as clichés go, few are more pointless and tired than that one. It's a vapid method to toot one's horn and nothing more.

 

[Sotherius]

Here where i live(Brazil, the entire country), i got to know about a small playerbase of DOA, but it seems that they formed closed groups where they fight between themselves and are not actually willing to expand or try something to increase it... Basically, everyone is in their confort zone, and me as a newer player of the series, got screwed.

I'm trying to find a way to spark something in those players, to see if we can build a nice fondation and from that maybe build a bigger playerbase, but i don't have the structure (like, this town where i live doesn't have, is not lack of money or will), to set up streams, organize events and stuff like that.

I want to make DOA bigger here, mostly for me to have people to fight against, and who knows, even some offline matches someday, but i really don't know what to do.

 

[iHajinShinobi]

Here where i live(Brazil, the entire country), i got to know about a small playerbase of DOA, but it seems that they formed closed groups where they fight between themselves and are not actually willing to expand or try something to increase it... Basically, everyone is in their confort zone, and me as a newer player of the series, got screwed.

I'm trying to find a way to spark something in those players, to see if we can build a nice fondation and from that maybe build a bigger playerbase, but i don't have the structure (like, this town where i live doesn't have, is not lack of money or will), to set up streams, organize events and stuff like that.

I want to make DOA bigger here, mostly for me to have people to fight against, and who knows, even some offline matches someday, but i really don't know what to do.

It's hard because everyone has to keep each other motivated towards the same goal. That's pretty much what the Southern California scene and myself did in 2013-2014. When I came to Northern California it was a lot more difficult to keep players motivated to play. The NorCal scene is pretty much dead for DOA. A few want to play but not everyone makes an effort towards that goal anymore.

 

[SilverForte]

I do my best to promote doa whenever I go to offline events near me. No one rags on the game, they are just too busy playing their own games like street fighter, marvel, or guilty gear. People in my community have even told me they've watched the doa tourneys when they go to majors and such, and it was pretty hype. Heck when I traveled with them once to compete in doa, they congratulated me on my performance. But at the same time, they each already focus on their own games. It is what it is. I at least got a few folks around here who I've gotten interested in playing.

 

[Force_of_Nature]

The vast majority of reasons why people don't play DOA are essentially excuses though it mostly boils down to: The reversal & stun system turning them off, the "titty fighter" stigma making them feel ashamed to take an interest in the game series, the game being too different from how most fighting games function, and the game being too "complicated" for them to learn. It can be tough for newer players to get into DOA beyond a "button-mashing" level because the mechanics can seem unintuitive compared to something like SF, and the relative difficulty in auto-piloting offense. Basically, a lot of people want to be more brain-dead with their offense.

It's hard because everyone has to keep each other motivated towards the same goal... A few want to play but not everyone makes an effort towards that goal anymore.

I feel that a lot here in my own scene for the past 16 months or so. One of the more positive players in the scene left to go to Australia, and as a result, the DOA & VF scenes began to slowly crumble here since then. That motivation part is a big thing because if you're around people whom aren't motivated, it starts to affect your own psyche, and as a result everyone begins to lose interest. With that said it's still absolutely amazing that DOA5/DOA5LR is still relevant and a thing even in 2017.

 

[Sotherius]

Also, just to be clear, i said once or twice before. I legit thought DOA was a bad series because it tried to sell too much of its titties over its mechanics.

It took for me to play ninja gaiden and see the connection to DOA and all that for me to get into the series.

The problem with fanservice, is not the fanservice itself, but the impression that it leaves a lot of the times that it is the only thing that a certain series can offer, and DOA is saddly one of those cases, where the game is sold as a fanservice game, even if it is a great fighting game series.

The doa xtreme games and the fanservice merchandising is also partly guilty on that.

And while yeah, the fanservice also brings a lot of customers and a fanbase of its own, you now have those that got into the fanservice, and stayed due to the game mechanics and is learning and getting gud, and you have those that will never bother to actually learn the game, and will just stay for the fanservice, doing ryona videos or something.

I think, it would be smart of Team Ninja(or whoever works with the Marketing of DOA games, maybe it is not even TN, but Koei that does that part), to keep the fanservice as it is, and just invest more on bringing the tournament, competitive side of DOA to the table.