Mike Z

Skullgirls was developed by Reverge Labs and published by Autumn Games and Konami. It was released on April 11, 2012 for 1200 MSP. A copy was purchased by the reviewer.

What happens when a talented artist with tons of characters designs and a fighting game pro with a character-less fighting engine meet up? Skullgirls happens, that’s what! Skullgirls, a true labor of love, set out to defy expectations of fighting games and provide a solid engine. Fighting games have given birth to a number of strange mechanics over the years, and a lot of the games themselves are strange. For instance, Skullgirls lets you view hitbox and hitstun data in training mode, which you can access straight form versus mode! Variable team sizes are balanced, and it’s impossible to accidentally hit the pause button mid-fight.

Skullgirls takes place in The Canopy Kingdom which is home to the Skull Heart, and the tournament for its acquisition. There’s evidence of a very deep, rich story and environment, though only the surface is touched in the game. Each character has a different reason to go for the Skull Heart, which, if acquired, grants one wish. However, if the wish is even slightly impure, it comes out corrupted, and the wisher becomes the Skullgirl.

Suffice to say the story is actually pretty cool, and props to Reverge for actually telling one, but that’s not the focus. Skullgirls is all about the fighting, casual or competitive, so let’s see if it stands up to the greats.

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Gamers the world over exude opinions and complaints about the games they love, and lament at the fact that developers hardly ever seem to hear them. Mike “Mike Z” Zaimont, Project Lead and Designer on Reverge Labs’ upcoming fighting game, Skullgirls, is just such a gamer. A long time lover and competitive player of fighting games, Mike Z has used his programming expertise and fighting engine in combination with the art and characters of Alex “o_8” Ahad, Creative Director on the game, to create the game he’s always wanted to play. Skullgirls is many things, but at it’s heart it’s what happens when a gamer takes his expertise and makes a game out of it. Of course, that could mean anything, that could mean making another Marvel vs. Capcom 2 just because that’s one of the games Mike Z loves, but instead Reverge Labs has taken it one step further and is implementing a myriad of conveniences and thoughtful design changes that fighting game enthusiasts such as myself have been clamoring for, unwilling to be complacent with the traditional fighting game design and features. Check out the Q&A after the jump and find yourself exclaiming “That’s amazing! Why hasn’t anyone done that yet?” all the way through the interview. Read More