Since the reveal of Vergil in DMC4SE, I thought this was a good opportunity to take a look back and dissect why Vergil is one of the most celebrated rivals in gaming history from a design standpoint:
Vergil is often considered one of the greatest rivals in gaming, and I don't think this was an accident. A great deal of meticulous thought went into the Dante/Vergil relationship.
Key features of a good rivalry:
*Visual juxtaposition
*Rival acts as impetus/barometer for growth
*Regular, evenly paced encounters with proper escalation
*Rival shares similar, but distinct moves/gameplay
Obviously, this post will contain DMC3 spoilers.
I consider Dante/Vergil to be a paradigm of a videogame rivalry. Vergil is executed so well because he works as a development mechanism for both Dante and the player.
VISUAL JUXTAPOSITION:
-http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/SubtractiveColor.svg/400px-SubtractiveColor.svg.png
-Body Language: Aloof vs. Stoic
-Clothing: Casual vs. Formal
-Speech: Loudmouth vs. Reserved
-Weapon: Broadsword vs. Katana
Some of these are admittedly obvious, but the dichotomy is one that works well on a very superficial and transparent level. There is no mistaking the clash of ideals between the two just by looking at them together. And this is important in establishing things early, in release and marketing, and in brand recognition and mascot establishment.
Also, each character's signature weapon name stands in opposition to each other. Rebellion vs. Yamato, which means "large, great" and "harmony" in kanji.
RIVAL ACTS AS IMPETUS/BAROMETER FOR GROWTH:
When we are first introduced to Dante, he lacks motivation and shares no reverence for his family. Although half demon, he is in denial of this side of him and spends his days devil hunting. However, Vergil from the outset is obsessed with his demonic side, his father's power, and struggles with the desire for more. It is his interactions with Vergil (and partially due to Lady's influence as well. You are meant to draw parallels to Lady's disfunctional family) throughout the game that pushes Dante to grow as a person. By the end, Dante accepts Vergil as his brother, accepts Sparda as his father, and understands that he has to take responsibility for both of their actions because that's what being part of a family is. And part of being human is accepting that demonic side of himself.
And so, Itsuno establishes the development of Dante's character through this rivalry. This runs concurrent to Dante's development in combat.
Vergil acts as a gauge by which you measure your skill, both as Dante and the player. Vergil is way better than you from the outset. The intro of the game shows Dante's defeat at the hands of Vergil. The remainder of the game has you chasing after him. During the first duel, Dante loses. The second fight is interrupted and ends in a draw. By the third battle, Dante finally wins. It cements that Dante has finally trumped Vergil is strength and you have grown as a player.
These fights frame the development of Dante's combat ability, and act as a testing ground for what you have learned.
REGULAR, EVENLY PLACED ENCOUNTERS WITH PROPER ESCALATION:
Each duel with Vergil is spaced 6-7 missions apart (with a total of 20 missions):
Mission 7
Mission 13
Mission 20
This proper pacing allows each fight to sink in. You don't get tired of facing Vergil, not only because he's vastly different in each battle, but also because the encounters are spaced apart properly. And they're not spaced so far apart that you lose sight of him as your end goal. He's constantly on your radar. It's a perfect balance. Three also feels like the optimal number of fights to establish the central character's growth. In Mission 19, they further have a special Dramatic Battle segment where Dante and Vergil fight side by side, setting up the final duel in Mission 20.
Each Vergil encounter also escalates appropriately, and in tandem with Dante's growth. Vergil matches you and Dante every step of the way:
Mission 7- No Devil Trigger for either character. Vergil has one weapon, Dante has three.
RIVAL SHARES SIMILAR BUT DISTINCT MOVES/GAMEPLAY:
Though similar, each character's movesets are completely distinct, with only a few shared moves: Stinger, Killerbee/Starfall, Helm Breaker.
Even when both characters use the same weapon, Beowulf, the weapon behaves differently.
-Different ground combo
-Different speed KillerBee/Starfall
-Dante can charge attacks for additional damage
-Different base strength
Other similarities between Dante (player) and Vergil (boss):
-Both share Devil Trigger (armor/health regen)
-Dante has guns for long range, Vergil uses Summon Swords
-Vergil can realtime weapon switch
-Vergil can defeat Devils to obtain Devil Arms
-Vergil can teleport like Dante's Airtrick
-Vergil can parry like Dante's Royal Guard
-Vergil and Dante can clash when certain attacks meet
-Vergil is also the only enemy/boss that can put Dante in a juggle combo with Upper Slash or Summon Swords.
-Vergil taunts you upon player death
But even with these similarities, the way that each brother fights further crystallizes the differences between them. Whereas Dante has extravagant movesets with endless variety and utility, Vergil has a smaller and less flamboyant movset, with raw strength and range focused on efficiency. Itsuno and co. were very mindful of each character, and how their personality shows through their combat style. They play against each other, and each complete a half of a whole.
A good rival isn't a simple clone of the protagonist, but one that has their own strengths, weaknesses, and tendecies that show clearly in battle.
So what are your thoughts? What makes a strong rival?
DMC4 GIVEAWAY:
In celebration of the announcement of DMC4SE, I am giving away the following PC Steam copies of DMC4. Just follow the simple instructions and PM Modbot:
You can enter as many of these as you want, but you'll only win one of them. Good luck!
Vergil is often considered one of the greatest rivals in gaming, and I don't think this was an accident. A great deal of meticulous thought went into the Dante/Vergil relationship.
Key features of a good rivalry:
*Visual juxtaposition
*Rival acts as impetus/barometer for growth
*Regular, evenly paced encounters with proper escalation
*Rival shares similar, but distinct moves/gameplay
Obviously, this post will contain DMC3 spoilers.
I consider Dante/Vergil to be a paradigm of a videogame rivalry. Vergil is executed so well because he works as a development mechanism for both Dante and the player.
VISUAL JUXTAPOSITION:
-Complementary/opposite color pairs in CMYK color model: Red vs. Cyan
-http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/SubtractiveColor.svg/400px-SubtractiveColor.svg.png
-Body Language: Aloof vs. Stoic
-Clothing: Casual vs. Formal
-Speech: Loudmouth vs. Reserved
-Weapon: Broadsword vs. Katana
Some of these are admittedly obvious, but the dichotomy is one that works well on a very superficial and transparent level. There is no mistaking the clash of ideals between the two just by looking at them together. And this is important in establishing things early, in release and marketing, and in brand recognition and mascot establishment.
Also, each character's signature weapon name stands in opposition to each other. Rebellion vs. Yamato, which means "large, great" and "harmony" in kanji.
RIVAL ACTS AS IMPETUS/BAROMETER FOR GROWTH:
When we are first introduced to Dante, he lacks motivation and shares no reverence for his family. Although half demon, he is in denial of this side of him and spends his days devil hunting. However, Vergil from the outset is obsessed with his demonic side, his father's power, and struggles with the desire for more. It is his interactions with Vergil (and partially due to Lady's influence as well. You are meant to draw parallels to Lady's disfunctional family) throughout the game that pushes Dante to grow as a person. By the end, Dante accepts Vergil as his brother, accepts Sparda as his father, and understands that he has to take responsibility for both of their actions because that's what being part of a family is. And part of being human is accepting that demonic side of himself.
And so, Itsuno establishes the development of Dante's character through this rivalry. This runs concurrent to Dante's development in combat.
Vergil acts as a gauge by which you measure your skill, both as Dante and the player. Vergil is way better than you from the outset. The intro of the game shows Dante's defeat at the hands of Vergil. The remainder of the game has you chasing after him. During the first duel, Dante loses. The second fight is interrupted and ends in a draw. By the third battle, Dante finally wins. It cements that Dante has finally trumped Vergil is strength and you have grown as a player.
These fights frame the development of Dante's combat ability, and act as a testing ground for what you have learned.
REGULAR, EVENLY PLACED ENCOUNTERS WITH PROPER ESCALATION:
Each duel with Vergil is spaced 6-7 missions apart (with a total of 20 missions):
Mission 7
Mission 13
Mission 20
This proper pacing allows each fight to sink in. You don't get tired of facing Vergil, not only because he's vastly different in each battle, but also because the encounters are spaced apart properly. And they're not spaced so far apart that you lose sight of him as your end goal. He's constantly on your radar. It's a perfect balance. Three also feels like the optimal number of fights to establish the central character's growth. In Mission 19, they further have a special Dramatic Battle segment where Dante and Vergil fight side by side, setting up the final duel in Mission 20.
Each Vergil encounter also escalates appropriately, and in tandem with Dante's growth. Vergil matches you and Dante every step of the way:
Mission 7- No Devil Trigger for either character. Vergil has one weapon, Dante has three.
Mission 13- Vergil & Dante both have Devil Trigger (gains health regen/armor in DT). Vergil shows that he can unlock new Devil Arms. Vergil performs weapon switching towards the last half of the fight.
Mission 20- Vergil realtime weapon switches mid combo constantly. Vergil has super Devil Trigger moves.
RIVAL SHARES SIMILAR BUT DISTINCT MOVES/GAMEPLAY:
Though similar, each character's movesets are completely distinct, with only a few shared moves: Stinger, Killerbee/Starfall, Helm Breaker.
Even when both characters use the same weapon, Beowulf, the weapon behaves differently.
-Different ground combo
-Different speed KillerBee/Starfall
-Dante can charge attacks for additional damage
-Different base strength
Other similarities between Dante (player) and Vergil (boss):
-Both share Devil Trigger (armor/health regen)
-Dante has guns for long range, Vergil uses Summon Swords
-Vergil can realtime weapon switch
-Vergil can defeat Devils to obtain Devil Arms
-Vergil can teleport like Dante's Airtrick
-Vergil can parry like Dante's Royal Guard
-Vergil and Dante can clash when certain attacks meet
-Vergil is also the only enemy/boss that can put Dante in a juggle combo with Upper Slash or Summon Swords.
-Vergil taunts you upon player death
But even with these similarities, the way that each brother fights further crystallizes the differences between them. Whereas Dante has extravagant movesets with endless variety and utility, Vergil has a smaller and less flamboyant movset, with raw strength and range focused on efficiency. Itsuno and co. were very mindful of each character, and how their personality shows through their combat style. They play against each other, and each complete a half of a whole.
A good rival isn't a simple clone of the protagonist, but one that has their own strengths, weaknesses, and tendecies that show clearly in battle.
So what are your thoughts? What makes a strong rival?
DMC4 GIVEAWAY:
In celebration of the announcement of DMC4SE, I am giving away the following PC Steam copies of DMC4. Just follow the simple instructions and PM Modbot:
ModBot said:Instructions for participants:
I am giving away 15 Steam keys. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line from the message below that corresponds to the game you want. (if you include more than one game, you will be blocked from entering). Confused? Watch this GIF tutorial or ask for help.
ModBot Basics:
- This is a giveaway for the thread url: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=952993.
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- I really appreciate thank you messages, but please send them to me (GuardianE, not ModBot!) via PM instead of in thread.
- Do not trade keys you win off-site to enrich yourself. Don't try to claim games you have no interest in collecting or playing. Don't claim games to give them to friends off-site.
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Devil May Cry 4 #10 --MB-C0FBD8C7D1C8BD4E- Taken by Mengy. 147 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 --MB-6C59B9C8F869576D- Taken by skLaFarebear. 131 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 #11 --MB-48BE748672B216DF- Taken by chronomac. 128 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 #14 --MB-D089EEFDDFA994F9- Taken by Revas. 121 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 #4 --MB-94E9C071AF581E1A- Taken by Alfebit. 124 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 #5 --MB-A068F534526D7153- Taken by Atraveller. 122 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 #6 --MB-FA39100C9282C736- Taken by efyu_lemonardo. 135 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 #7 --MB-8FAC151A856C7B9D- Taken by Maragidyne. 137 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 #12 --MB-A9821BD908087066- Taken by -MD-. 131 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 #13 --MB-75F7AB0053E02808- Taken by Jadax. 133 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 #2 --MB-D26D56055A5897BF- Taken by Accoun. 127 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 #3 --MB-3E1D1609DF9F412D- Taken by swx. 114 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 #8 --MB-918954623C34F94C- Taken by Elija2. 136 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 #9 --MB-6397BF9297AFADEE- Taken by Kyou. 115 entrants total.
Devil May Cry 4 #15 --MB-9A6D7DE0B836A394- Taken by Kuroyume. 120 entrants total.
You can enter as many of these as you want, but you'll only win one of them. Good luck!
