Def Jam: Fight For NY - Production

Production

Josh Holmes, the producer from EA Canada wanted to improve on the already well received Def Jam Vendetta. The research they've done shows that veteran gamers were familiar with the game control system yet new players were intimidated by the complexity that's been used since "WCW/NWO World Tour" that first appeared on the N64. The team decided to simplify the controls and make them more intuitive. "We found that straight one-on-one fighting tended to get stale over time, no matter how polished the fighting engine was" said Holmes. The team added secondary elements like crowds, weapons and interactive environments for the player to use as a weapon. Lastly, Holmes went on to say that individual players prefer to use their own tactics, so different classes has been implemented in unique ways to achieve a KO. "The overall focus of the fighting system is fun, over-the-top action rather than a simulation of technical fighting" said Holmes.

Also the create a fighter mode, a feature lacking in Def Jam: Vendetta, has been incorporated into the sequel as a part of the Story Mode. Holmes explains that with other successful fighting games, the convention of a sequel is to add complexity to the control system, multiplayer focus to the exclusion of all else, shallow single player, limited character customization and having a gameplay that's skewed towards the hardcore gamer. Probably the most common that's typical in fighting games like the first game is that it's empty and devoid of people. Inevitably, there's nothing going on except it's just you and your opponent. So they turned the concept on its head by filling the gap to make the fighting game more interactive and less predictable in order to keep it fresh and accessible for beginners and veterans alike.