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[MadWatch]

I'm trying to figure out how the fighting style of a game must influence its storyline. Many games are based on fighting and killing and that's great because fighting and killing is a lot of fun (in games at least). In these games the fighting is the meat of the gameplay and I think we all agree that a game is better when the gameplay and the storyline match. But there are different way to conduct a fight. So far there are three I can think of.



Efficient fighting

If you're a soldier, a commando, a ninja or an assassin, then your fighting style is driven only by logic. Whenever you're given a goal or face an enemy you choose the solution with the highest success rate. Only the end matters, no feelings are to be taken into account (at least they shouldn't be taken into account). When fighting you try to keep casualties low but only because you know too many casualties would cause trouble to your superiors, and if you have to make casualties then so be it. If you have to let an innocent die for the sake of the mission, so be it. The end justify the mean and, after all, you're just following orders. You're always fighting with the most appropriate equipment you can get for your mission, no attachment to your weapons.



Honorable fighting

If you're a samurai or a hero of light chosen by the Goddess then your fighting style is more constrained. While an assassin wouldn't hesitate to kill his target by bombing his car or poisoning his food, this is not an option to you. If you did so then you might succeed but you would loose your self esteem, the esteem your peers and the approval of the Goddess. Sure you can be violent, tricky, merciless, but your fighting options are limited to what is acceptable by your standards. So feelings are being taken into account into this kind of fight. You're always fighting with the same gears. Your blade probably have a name and a legend on its own.



Berserk fighting

The end always justify the mean, even the most atrocious means. No matter how many innocent you must kill, no matter how much blood you spill. Anything standing between you and your goal must be crushed and you're fighting with about anything you can get your hands on, as long at it hurts.

Now this third fighting style is the one I'm having the most trouble to understand. I just can't find out what characterizes those who use it. They are obviously different between this style and the soldier style but I can't pinpoint them. Nobody could say Kratos (he's the obvious example) is fighting like a soldier or an assassin, but what makes their fighting style different ? Or actually why are they different ? What can drive someone to fight that way ?

Is there feelings involved ? Have you ever seen a game where the main character is obviously enjoying his killings ? Sure the player does but what of the character ?

Is it simply the necessity ? Is the character forced to fight the way he does because there is no other way to kill the creatures he's facing ?

Madness ? I don't remember seeing a game where the main character is killing everybody only because he's nut.



So, as you all guessed by now, the game I'm making is going for this third fighting style. We're trying to make a game where killing and powering up will be highly joyful and now I have to tie this to some kind of storyline. I'm very interested in any good and bad example of games using this kind of fighting style and why you think their storyline was good or bad.

Kind regards, and thanks.

[Schoq]

Berserk fighting
[...]
What can drive someone to fight that way ?

I imagine a vast superiority to most things they're fighting, combined with regular warrior psychology.

[albinoechidna]

Well Berserk Fighting would be the most passionate out of the three.  You fight this way for that one goal.   You could maybe go into this style because of some sort of trigger (maybe someone you're supposed to protect ends up hurt).  I doubt that someone that fights in a berserking way will do it all the time, unless they have some sort of psychosis. 

I'm reminded of your Kratos example.  There are two reasons that I can think of that would make him brutal in his fighting.   He fights (at least in the first game) because he lost his family and is seeking the ultimate revenge and his drive is towards avenging their deaths.  Another reason is because he is committing deicide a huge world changing event.  Think of it this way, what type of fighting would best suit the act of killing a god for revenge.  It could only be the third way, the brutal way.

[clockwrk_routine]

maybe its to send a message, to frighten other enemies which would also weaken their morale and fighting capabilities.  that style of tactics could be part of psychological warfare that the character learned from his peers/superiors, painting the walls in blood, and displaying heads of your kill.

[Musenik]

I think you're limiting yourself. You can do much more with each of those styles. How you define the game character can import huge twists to stories.

For example, consider a humble berserker. (David Banner/Hulk type)

[Muz]

You'll only get cliches with this, there's always a way out of the box if you think long enough about it. These are just a really obvious type.

Heck, read the actual Conan the Cimmerian stories. They're good fun, and describe the combat beautifully. Conan is not even really a berserker type when it comes to fighting, but that doesn't change how people view him.

You can get an honorable berserker too. Or a calm one.

[SundownKid]

You can easily mix and match these with any storyline. An efficient fighter can be a trained soldier or a total sociopath who shows no emotion when killing. A berserker could be a psycho, or they could be a "normal" in a world that is insane. Of course, they could also think themselves above the enemies they're tearing through, especially if they are a god-like figure.

In your game, you can potentially change the world instead of the character - think of games like Borderlands or No More Heroes where killing seems perfectly normal since everyone there is a bit psychotic.

[shig]

Show us your characters and we can think of stuff like body language and backstories and movesets and all. I doubt anything particularly useful will come up if you don't give us anything solid to hang on to.

[MadWatch]

Show us your characters and we can think of stuff like body language and backstories and movesets and all. I doubt anything particularly useful will come up if you don't give us anything solid to hang on to.

It was just an open question about how other games manage to match their character backstory and their fighting style.

About my own game... well I've finally given up any hope of writing the storyline myself. I don't have the skill for that and I must concentrate on programming. I plan to hire a writer to help.

Thanks anyway.