I don’t believe it’s absurd or particuarly outrageous to say that fighting games are a relatively niche genre. Yes games like Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6 sell millions of copies, but compared to bigger hitters out there like the various FPS and MMO titles that dominate the industry, these games don’t warrant a king’s portion. Indie fighting games, made by smaller teams of nontheless talented and passionate people, are selling to an even smaller consumer base. These games have historically had to be fantastic from day one to garner a sizable community.
So how do you place your metaphorical hands on the popularity scale and increase the odds of such a success? Well, for the team behind Shot One Fighters the solution lands in the lap of one Justin Wong. You may recognise that name, even if you’re not a fighting game afficionado. Legendary pro player, influencer, content creator, father, and occasional trash talker. He’s been brought on as a sort of consultant for the game, a fact the Shot One Fighters team has been keen to publicise.
“They’re like ‘Go at it, break it, check it out and give us feedback on everything.’ This includes characters, how they feel, how they should move, what they think we should add […] I think that’s pretty cool because they obviously put their hearts out there online, and I have to basically tell them what it is,” states Wong over a Discord call. The sort of feedback he’s giving ranges from firsthand impressions, to offering successful solutions to problems the team may be having. For example, one character in One Shot Fighters has a low-hitting projectile. Wong can then point to a similar move that Kung Lao from Mortal Kombat uses, why it works, how to keep it from being overly frustrating, etc. A well of knowledge for a team hoping to nail the eventual release of the game.
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