The abuse IG had to take from fans was gross, to say the least. If I were to think of a theme for a new KI, it would be redemption.
Redemption for the characters and their chose paths in the previous KI story. And redemption for the fan base and its overall behavior.
Agree 100%
Yeah I think some forget all the drama and issues that people had during the first season. I was on the DH board back then (along with you) and the while there was a largely positive vibe from what I can recall, there were also a lot of complaints. Stuff like:
“They changed Glacius too much, he looks like trash.”
“Sadira looks like a Mileena clone.”
“Why isn’t Orchid sexy anymore?”
“Why doesn’t Orchid look like she did in her trailer”
“They whitewashed Orchid.”
“Why doesn’t this play exactly like the 20 year old games?”
Not to mention the usual litany of gameplay gripes pertaining to balance and what not.
Of course, my personal “favorite” was the endless, nonstop “The retro outfits look horrible, is there any chance those can be changed or updated?”
So while I know some look to DH as this shining example of how to create a fighting game and want to give them all the credit in the world for what this game became years later, let’s not forget that there were a ton of detractors back then, just as there were a ton of detractors during the IG years. Just as the grass grows and the sun shines in the sky, there will also be detractors for any other company that works on any future KI game and they’ll talk about the glory days when IG was making this game.
Having said all of that…
This. 100% this. No question. This game had no right to be as good as it was. DH had a very short window to put something together for KI’s launch, they had this odd approach to content delivery that people didn’t really understand at the time, it got boo’d out of EVO (as I said earlier) before the counter breaker was added and it didn’t appear to be much more than a budget title. IG took over a game they had nothing to do with, which hardly ever happens after content has been released, and to many of us, they were virtual unknowns, just as DH were originally.
This game had so many thing working against it, and yet through it all, both DH and IG delivered quality characters, fun gameplay, beautiful stages, different methods of storytelling and cool new modes that are entirely unique to the genre. I don’t think that enough people give these teams credit for doing what they did. I really don’t.
When this game was announced as a “platform,” I was really disappointed. Six characters at launch? What happens if it doesn’t sell? Will they just quit on it? I was apprehensive to say the least. Five years later and I don’t know that there exists another video game that I’ve played more and enjoyed more than this one. From @TempusChaoti @KRAKENJIMMY and Ken Lobb to @TheKeits and the many talented people at IG as well as DH, this game had exceedingly talented people doing some amazing things and innovating in a genre that many outsiders (and insiders) don’t see as all that innovative anymore.
I know I probably sound hyperbolic, but this game was so well conceived and so well executed in so many different areas that it honestly made me enjoy other fighting games a bit less because I kept wanting to come back to it. For all the time, money and manpower NRS had for MKX, I played that game for about a month, practically forcing myself to get in to it before finally going back to KI and MK has always been my favorite video game series. For me personally, that speaks volumes.
Sure, we all have gripes about this issue or that issue or ultimates or bugs or whatever, but I think it’s important to keep a firm view of the big picture, especially when we allow those smaller issues to annoy us a bit more than they should. To me, the big picture is that this game is a triumph. It’s fast paced, unique, and an absolute blast to play offline, online, or to watch.
I really do hope they’re working on a sequel. I love that Adam threw out that ear emoji on that thread. I saw that thread and commented (a few times lol), so hopefully that means he’s interested in working on a new game or that it’s already in development. I hope that KI is “the beloved title” getting a second game in 2020 because I wholeheartedly believe it deserves to build on what they created with this first game.
I also hope that fans surprised by how this game turned out will come back for a sequel with expanded ideas and all the improvements, bells and whistles that a sequel gets from a dev that learns from their past successes and setbacks and can really build something special from the ground up, the way they want to build it.
I’d love to see this 2013 iteration of KI become a staple franchise for Microsoft the way Halo, Gears and Forza are. Those games are high quality, and based on KI’s metacritic scores as well as my own personal experience, I fully believe KI should be up there with the best of what Xbox has to offer again and again in the future.
It was gross, and it really sucked watching Adam Heart basically go from enthusiastic about the work he was doing to not wanting to talk about the game and seemingly almost grateful that he was done and over with it at the end. Fans did that, and I don’t think many of them really comprehend that or worse, simply don’t care.
We talk about entitlement in relatively abstract terms or as simply a term to communicate a level of distaste for the way people go about wanting things, but at the real, base level here, we’re talking about people that somehow felt justified in behaving in such a way as to practically ruin the experience for some of the developers and I don’t see how that can be remotely justifiable. It’s immature, pathetic, and yeah, flat out gross (I think your word was perfect there).
For the next game, I’d love to see KI’s theme be redemption as well. I think it’d be great to start off with a post-apocalyptic aesthetic (featuring a rusted, blood-tinged KI logo and everything). I know that motif is overused, but KI has always reflected popular motifs and in this situation, I think it’s even more appropriate because Gargos just nearly destroyed the world.
I’d like to see some evil powers rise up, from Ultratech and perhaps a competitor, vying for control of what’s left, while the good guys try to stop them. I think it can be a lot more complex than that, but the basic theme would be redemption, as you said. Trying to put what’s broken back together and become something stronger, better, even as other forces act to indirectly finish the job that Gargos started. I think that could make sense for a variety of reasons. 
It is a viscous cycle when it come s to people giving one developer flack than praising them when the next isn’t upto those standards. I guess they start getting that whole taking things for granted moral.
But I also agree with you on the while issue with i’ll treatment by some fans. It’s okay to be disappointed or not get excited about something, but don’t outright bash the developer for it. But at the same time disappointments should be expressed in a tasteful manner and done in a way where the person can be approachable. Getting angry and posting an offensive post in the heat of the moment is not an excuse.
Heck I was dissapointed that Aeon didn’t make SC-VI’s base roster and we don’t even know if he’s going to be in Season 1, but I’m not blaming Okubo or Bamco for it.
But I digress, I think the moral is to have foresight and consider how it could effect someone when we make a conciouse decision on how we handle it. a little emotional control goes a long way.
Still, I’m grateful they added in all these characters from KI-1 and KI-2. So it’s all dandy to me. I only hope to see my three mains Riptor, Glacius, and Sabrewulf in the future games form here on out.
I’d still love to see one day, in maybe a documentary or a book or something, what DH would have done with the game as far as characters and stages and stuff and what it all would have looked like. Don’t get me wrong I love what IG did , and still consider it one of the greatest fighting games of all time, but I still think that DH had something special going on with their character designs and stuff like that. The season 1 characters will always look the best to me and be a few notches higher than season 2 and 3 deisigns. Again , I’m not saying I don’t like those , just saying it’d be really cool to see what the game could have or would have looked like had DH still been in charge.
Let’s all remember this before and after a new Killer Instince sequel is released, okay? Okay.
Maximillian Dood was talking about the future of Street Fighter and how SFVI might be on the horizon. If that is the case, it is certainly a sign that the next gen consoles are on their way. That being the case, it would be smart of MS to have Killer Instinct waiting in the wings for the announcement of their next gen XBox. And really, it just makes sense.
Eh? Is that not correct and I missed something?
I think he’s saying he’s glad Adam hasn’t been around in the sacred language of meme. 
Lol. Yeah, not super up on my memery 
Adam hasn’t been around because he’s busy working on the new KI 
If developers aren’t saying anything about a new KI you know a new KI game is in the works
