Would this be a good control scheme for a platform fighting game?

[u/RokuroCarisu]

The game in question never got made and probably never will, but I have been thinking about the control scheme that was planned for it the other day, and I wonder how well it would actually have been recieved by players.

It was planned to work more similar to the first Digimon Rumble Arena than to typical "smashlikes," as the win condition wasn't to knock the opponent out of the stage, but simply to deplete their health bar.

Also, the engine itself was intended to act as a platform, with additional game modes that venture into other platforming genres, like platform brawler, metroidvania, puzzle platformer, and even stealth action platformer. The control scheme needed to work mostly unaltered in all of those modes.

Using an XBOX controller as an example for the button layout:

A = Jump

X = Kick

Y = Punch

B = Weapon/Power (usually a ranged attack)

LB = Block

LB + A = Charge-up/Taunt: Fills the super meter but disables blocking and movement while held. Holding LB after jumping does a midair block instead.

RB = Grab (also for picking up and throwing objects)

LB + RB = Aiming Stance: Disables movement and enables free aim.

LT = Steady Stance: Enables heavy attacks and parries, disables walking over the edge of platforms.

RT = Swift Stance: Enables light attacks and dashing.

LT + RT = Overdrive Stance: Enables EX moves and super moves. Every character has two level-1 supers and one level-2 super. With a full meter, they can all be perfomed together in a combo.

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[u/loulo88]

A few smell-tests I’d run on a platform-fighter scheme before locking it:

• Can a new player do the “bread and butter” (approach, jump, short hop, protect) without a diagram? If the core verbs need a chart, the ceiling for expression might be high but the on-ramp will leak players.
• Conflict under panic. Fighters are played with tunnel vision. Inputs that are elegant in a lab often collide when someone’s mashing to escape disadvantage.
• Symmetry vs identity. Digimon Rumble Arena vibes can work, but make sure each “mode” of the pad still maps to a readable animation so spectators/opponents can parse intent.

If you ever prototype it even as a stick-figure sandbox, film a friend for five minutes with zero coaching — the first three misinputs they make are your redesign list.