SSF2THDR Designer Clarifies Street Fighter IV Comments

27 Feb 2009 at 11:49:51 by Tim McDonald

David Sirlin, lead designer of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, has responded to IncGamers about the stir his Street Fighter IV comments have caused.

Sirlin told IncGamers he believes the comments have been taken out of context, and states he's been "having fun with [Street Fighter IV]."

He also reiterates that his position as designer of the recent XBLA and PSN re-tooling of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo has no effect on his opinion of Street Fighter IV.

"My posts about Street Fighter 4 would be exactly the same as they are now, with the same plusses and minuses, had I never been involved with Capcom," states Sirlin, adding that "there is no super secret motive."

"I was just pointing out things that disappoint me, like having to unlock basic functionality, experiencing input lag when we have the technology to avoid that, floaty air recoveries that don't feel right to me, and so on. [...] My points are straightforward and have mostly to do with things that are harder for the player than is necessary."

While upset at the amount of unnecessary controversy caused, he does add that "there's also been a lot of genuine discussion, so that's good to see."

Perhaps most interesting is that Sirlin "gave many of these points as feedback during SF4 development," but he suspects "the feedback was not passed on to the developers." He adds that he'd be happy to "assist with any further developments with [Street Fighter IV] if asked."

David Sirlin worked as lead designer on Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, and has a long history with one-on-one fighting games. His site, sirlin.net, contains a lot of information about games and game balance, and the nature of competitive play in games.

It's worth a look for anyone who's interested in how multiplayer games work or who seeks to improve their game.

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