First look | Fighters Uncaged Q&A

Fighters Uncaged is being developed by a team of more than “30 industry vets” at Belgium-based AMA Studios.

The illegal street fighter includes three tournament leagues and a dozen opponents, each with their own “tactics and weak points.” Combat is inspired by Thai boxing, and there are over 70 moves to perform, including “super strikes” that require use of your voice to activate them. It’s an “accessible” yet difficult to master product, and features a pro mode for advanced players.

Luc Verdier, Project Manager at AMA says in an interview document, “Kinect bring us a fantastic and innovative opportunity to make players feel that they are actually fighting, and replicate the exact motions of a real life brawl. The Kinect can accurately detect full body movement, meaning each player can put themselves in the body of a real fighter and be able to unleash hooks, uppercuts, jump kicks, dodges, knock out blows, etc…. Moreover, it gives a fighting game a second layer of game play depth: The player needs to, of course, understand fighting techniques and strategy, but also really needs to manage their own physical skills. Being able to control these two layers provides an unprecedented level of depth that has never been possible before in a fighting game.”

Could you introduce yourself and explain your role in the project?

My name is Luc Verdier. I’m the Project Manager for “Fighters Uncaged”. I’m in charge of managing the entire team at AMA Studios (designers, programmers, graphic artists…) and responsible for the production of the game. My goal is to keep an eye on every feature in order to deliver a fantastic game to your retailers very soon!

Who is in charge of the development?

Our AMA Studios team is based in the beautiful town of Charleroi (Belgium). The studio was founded by Yves Grolet (creative director of awarded Outcast) and Christian Guillemot (CIO of AMA Publishing) to create this game. More than 30 industry veterans are working on “Fighters Uncaged”.

On which platform will “Fighters Uncaged” be available?

“Fighters Uncaged” will be exclusively released on Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect at launch date available in November 2010.

Can you explain to what extent the Kinect technology is a real plus for a fighting game?

Kinect bring us a fantastic and innovative opportunity to make players feel that they are actually fighting, and replicate the exact motions of a real life brawl. The Kinect can accurately detect full body movement, meaning  each player can put themselves in the body of a real fighter and be able to unleash hooks, uppercuts, jump kicks, dodges, knock out blows, etc…. Moreover, it gives a fighting game a second layer of game play depth: The player needs to, of course, understand fighting techniques and strategy, but also really needs to manage their own physical skills. Being able to control these two layers provides an unprecedented level of depth that has never been possible before in a fighting game.

How many fighters do you battle with? Can you explain the basic structure of the game?

You will fight against 12 different opponents. Each of them has their own tactics and weak points.  You will need to strategize and use different techniques in order to beat them.

To get through the three leagues of “Fighters Uncaged”, you need to acquire crown achievements by beating your own battle records for each opponent.

How many different moves do you have in the game?

Basically, there are more than 20 fighting moves in the game, inspired by Thaï Boxing. They are separated into punches, kicks and special moves. Additionally, if you take the super strikes (you need to shout while unleashing your strike) and the combos into account, there are actually 70 fighting moves available.

So tell us about the combos? How many are there? How do you trigger combos? What competitive edge does it bring?

Player will have 10 combos to viciously deploy. Our goal was to make them difficult to execute, require players to master the skills but very rewarding if done correctly.  You will need to find the right opportunity to trigger them. But this game will be accessible to everyone, all players will be able to use some of the combos, but the best players will be able to trigger all of them.

Tell us about your favorite features in the game?

If I had to give you the three key features of this game, I would say that, first, you won’t find any other game with this level of depth of fight techniques. Second, there are many ways to beat an opponent depending of your personality (you can be defensive, offensive, try to use chain damages or focus on the weak points). Last but not least, “Fighters Uncaged” is a thrilling opportunity for any player to understand how fun motion gaming is on Kinect, and to fulfill the dream of having a go at a fighting game using full body movement and without the distraction of a controller.

Who would be the ideal consumer for “Fighters Uncaged”?

We wanted the game to be accessible for every player. Those who are playing a fighting game for the first time will have tutorials and advice about fight techniques and a smooth progression curve. Players who have fighting backgrounds will be pushed with “pro mode” (Kinect will detect your guard position and adapt the difficulty mode). I think that more than a fighting game, “Fighters Uncaged” is an immersive experience where each player will have an absolute blast playing.