EB: It’s a huge focus. You know, the reality is that most people aren’t really great fighting game players, like people who want to go to these tournaments, and EVO. But they are the most vocal players who champion your games, so we really want to accommodate what they want to see in a fighting game while also keeping it as accessible as possible, so anyone walking up to the game can start playing and have fun right off the bat. Within our team, we’re in a constant balancing act of putting in features that fighting game people can dissect and really get into that aren’t necessarily accessible to all players.
CGM: How is it making games in the Twitter era? Anyone can mouth off at you, or on the other hand, give you props? EB: You have to develop a thick skin, a sense of humour, and not take things too seriously. I think there’s a ton of great feedback that you get, but y’know - the bigger the size of the audience, the bigger chance that there’s going to be troublemakers in there! So you just take it in stride, that’s all.
CGM: The continued longevity of Mortal Kombat is rare in this industry. Why do you think it endures 22 years later? 32 | C&G MAGAZINE
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CGM: The fighting game community has really improved its visibility and influence in recent years – how much of a focus is appealing to this powerful niche?
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more! I used to be the only programmer, but there’s no time for that now. It’s still fun though – we get to do big launch events like this where people make a big deal out of new games, so it’s always fun.
EB: My feeling is that one of the things that’s helped us stay in the limelight is that we’re not afraid to add new things to the game. Mortal Kombat 5 plays nothing like MK 1 or MK 9. Each one of them has been a dramatically different thing. Injustice plays completely different - we’re just not afraid to dramatically change things.
CGM: You’ve voiced Scorpion in every single game. Do you ever consider that generations of gamers have been imitating your vocals? EB: It’s funny, I guess! I certainly don’t take it seriously, it’s just a few lines, and it’s, y’know - funny that people point it out to me too. They ask me to say it in interviews and I never do - it’s always embarrassing to yell it out loud, but I never do!
CGM: Is it more gratifying building your own characters, or working with properties? EB: I don’t know if any one of them is more gratifying. I grew up reading these comic books. Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash. These things were a huge part of my growing up, I remember as a kid seeing the first Superman movie, the first Batman movies. Those are huge parts of my life. That’s a dream come true in that respect. On the other side, making characters in games that people grew up with, like Mortal Kombat is also very satisfying. I don’t think any one of them is better than the other, but making Injustice is a dream come true for me.