Vorkath, the draconic 30th KI Fighter, made by AI?! 🐉

[MasterZenek]

Hey everyone-

Just to have some fun, I asked an AI to create a potential 30th fighter for Killer Instinct, and it delivered… Read the introduction to Vorkath, the vengeful dragon warrior:

Name: Vorkath

Backstory: Vorkath was once a powerful dragon who ruled over a kingdom of fire and ice. But when his kingdom was invaded by a rival dragon clan, Vorkath was defeated and left to die. However, he was saved by an evil sorcerer (Kan-Ra) who saw the potential in him as a deadly warrior.

The sorcerer imbued Vorkath with dark magic, transforming him into a monstrous creature with a burning hatred for all other dragons. Vorkath now roams the land seeking revenge against those who wronged him, using his immense strength and magical abilities to crush his enemies.

Appearance: Vorkath stands over 8 feet tall and has dark red scales that are almost black in some areas. He has two large, curved horns on his head and his eyes glow a bright yellow. He has large wings that enable him to fly and he has long, sharp claws on his hands and feet.

Abilities: Vorkath has the ability to breathe fire and ice, allowing him to unleash devastating attacks on his opponents. He is also incredibly strong and can lift and throw opponents with ease. His wings allow him to fly and he can use them to create powerful gusts of wind that can knock opponents off their feet. Finally, he can use his dark magic to drain the life force from his opponents, making him nearly invincible.

Gameplay: Vorkath is a slow but powerful character, with strong attacks and high health. His fire and ice attacks can be used to control the battlefield, and his wing attacks can be used to push opponents back or off the stage. His dark magic drains the life of opponents and makes him more difficult to defeat. However, he is vulnerable to fast, agile opponents who can dodge his attacks and strike quickly.

I could certainly see Vorkath as a 30th fighter for the latest KI- especially since the bonus fighters near the end were awesome remixes of preexisting concepts, so taking a bit of Gargos and remixing it for the vengeful fire and ice dragon would work as it worked for Kilgore…

While you guys think about Vorkath’s potential, I took it one step further by presenting the AI’s draconic creation to the legendary artist who designed the classic KI crew, Kev Bayliss! (Stay tuned for his thoughts)

Vorkath- Awesome Victory, or Game Over?

-Zenek

[KombatLeaguer]

Eh… I could see it working but only with the whole gimmick of “an AI created this KI Fighter” thing. If he just happened and I didn’t have that context I would think he was really boring.

[MasterZenek]

I wasn’t 100% sold on a draconic fighter at first glance too, but after thinking about Vorkath for a little bit, he feels like a Rareware deep cut

(AI-generated Vorkath illustration)

As a veteran Rareware fan, Vorkath is a dragon, ousted from his kingdom of fire and ice by more powerful dragons- as though he lorded over Hailfire Peaks, as seen in Banjo-Tooie, which was taken by a fire and an ice dragon.

And Vorkath’s concept reminds me of one of the villains from Star Fox Adventures, Drakor:

On top of that, Vorkath feels like he’d play like a combo Gargos-Riptor, with a sprinkling or Cinder & Glacius for taste. I’d certainly prefer an all-new bestial fighter on par with Sabrewulf and Riptor, and maybe Vorkath would fit that mold.

The more I think about Vorkath, the more potential I see…

-Zenek

[Evolution]

The pics are cool.

In terms of a dragon fighter…I’m not sure tbh. I mean, on one hand, we kind of have that embodied with Kim Wu to an extent, but an actual dragon as a fighter? I don’t know, maybe as a secret boss or something. I think my hesitance with having a dragon for a fighter in KI is that it kind of has the effect of putting KI too much into the realm of fantasy, if not swords and sorcery, and takes away some of the slightly more grounded cyberpunk elements from it. I mean, granted KI has fantastical elements, but generally speaking it is a game situated in a dystopian cyberpunk future ala “Cyberpunk 2077”, with a lot the creatures being weapons created by Ultratech.

[KombatLeaguer]

KI has always been a little bit of everything. A bit like how DC and Marvel have some sci-fi leaning characters, some magic leaning characters, etc. But honestly, if we got a Dragon character in KI, I would want it to be like a big, quadrupedal monster along the lines of traditional dragons instead of the bipedal creature described by the AI.

[justathereptile]

Riptor also has the fire breath and is a dinosaur as well. Which is not a dragon but was one of the sources of inspiration for the dragon.

[Evolution]

@KombatLeaguer

KI has always been a little bit of everything. A bit like how DC and Marvel have some sci-fi leaning characters, some magic leaning characters, etc.

Eh, not quite the same thing. With DC and Marvel’s extended universe, a lot of those characters were the result of years upon years’ worth of work, a foundation that spans back decades. While it may be possible for something like Hisako or even Aganos to exist in some obscure corner somewhere, KI has always been defined as being cyberpunk, and to veer too far away from that can take away what made it unique. It’s one of the very few notable cyberpunk fighting games out there.

@KombatLeaguer

I would want it to be like a big, quadrupedal monster along the lines of traditional dragons instead of the bipedal creature described by the AI.

I wouldn’t mind if this were a secret boss or something, but as an actual playable character? Not crazy about that, tbh.

@justathereptile

was one of the sources of inspiration for the dragon.

Yeah, it was believed that dinosaur bones were actually the bones of dragons (and giants in England). Some of those were used for medicine back in the day.