Understanding Fighting Game Resources and Variables Through SFV

Fighting games have a lot going on under the hood. This video aims to break down these different moving parts and how they interact with each other. I recommend first watching the video before reading on.

The first thing I hope people get from this video is that it’s really useful to recognize all of the different variables at play. By taking something like health and looking at it through the lens of “this is a thing that I can spend,” it opens your eyes to more of the game. If things aren’t making sense to you in a fighting game, it might mean there’s some variable in play that you haven’t considered, and simply recognizing that it’s there could be all you need to get past that roadblock. 

I also recommend thinking through these resources and variables ahead of time. Things will change moment-to-moment during the course of a match, so there will be times when different resources and the things you can spend them on are more or less valuable, but a lot of it is baked in. For example, Rashid’s EX whirlwind shot leaves him at +9 right next to you. Since blocking EX whirlwind shot puts you in a really tough situation, you might decide, “I will always v-reversal when I block this move and therefore I will never plan to use my v-trigger in this match-up.” That might be a completely valid choice, and making it before the match even starts frees up more of your brain to problem-solve other stuff mid-match.

If you make a decision like that, it also starts a domino effect on how you think about all of your other decisions. If you’re going to spend v-meter on v-reversals (and never use your v-trigger), maybe that means it’s better to pick your three bar v-trigger, since you can store more v-reversals. It might also mean you prioritize going for crush counters, since they grant you v-meter to use for v-reversals more often. Once you recognize and isolate a resource or variable that defines a match-up, everything can flow from there and other decisions can almost make themselves.

It can also help to introspect and think about your own strengths and weaknesses and what aspects of fighting games you enjoy the most. I really like examining a fighting game through the whole resources/variables angle, so I play games and the characters within those game who emphasize and reward that sort of thinking. If you aren't that kind of person, make sure your playing the games and characters  that focus on other things.

Lastly, this advice goes beyond this specific video, but if you're struggling, try and get feedback on your matches from stronger players. For a whole host of reasons, it can be difficult to know which resources and variables you're ignoring— sometimes you need an outside perspective.