Fight Night
A boxing game series from EA Sports.
Where Fight Night comes up1 episode or test
Fight Night, EA Sports' boxing series, replaced button presses with analog stick punches, so the input mirrors the physical action on screen. The sources give no sales or retention numbers. The lesson for app builders: remap standard inputs to mimic the real action, and break control conventions when a new input creates fresh fun, as Skate, Grow Home and Katamari Damacy also did.
- Punches mapped to buttons
- Follows control convention
- Punches thrown with the stick
- Thumb motion echoes the punch
- No special hardware needed
A standard pad feels inventive
From Game Maker's Toolkit
What was said about Fight Night
Fight Night maps punches to the analog stick to mimic the real motion. Fight Night throws punches with the analog stick instead of face buttons, so the motion of the player's thumb echoes the punch on screen. A standard pad can feel inventive this way without any special hardware.
Game Maker's Toolkit cites it with Skate, Grow Home, Katamari Damacy and Brothers as games that reinvent how a standard pad is used. The lesson is not to follow control conventions by default, because ignoring expectations can create fresh fun.
Controllers Control Everything
Throws punches with the analog stick, a control mapping that mimics the physical action on screen.
Fight Night maps punches to the analog stick to mimic the real motion. Fight Night throws punches with the analog stick instead of face buttons, so the motion of the player's thumb echoes the punch on screen. A standard pad can feel inventive this way without any special hardware.
Game Maker's Toolkit cites it with Skate, Grow Home, Katamari Damacy and Brothers as games that reinvent how a standard pad is used. The lesson is not to follow control conventions by default, because ignoring expectations can create fresh fun.
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