Talent Digital Art (TDA), a new game developer from South Africa, is launching a new live-service fighting game on April 26 titled Super Dragon Punch Force 3. Despite having a “3” in the title, SDPF3 is the first playable installment in this indie franchise. The game is a direct sequel to the fictional fighting game, Super Dragon Punch Force 2, which plays an important role in the forthcoming Bill Skarsgard film, Boy Kills World.
Rather than viewing SDPF3 as a promotional vehicle for Boy Kills World, TDA sees the game’s links to the film as a sort of mutual cross promotion for two separate IPs. Game Rant recently spoke with TDA’s CEO Tanya Brits and creative director Judd Fitzjohn about the new fighting game‘s ties to Boy Kills World and its inspirations.
A Real Sequel to a Fictional Game (Animated Trailer for SDPF3)
In Boy Kills World, the eponymous hero (played by Skarsgard) is rendered deaf-mute via a traumatic event, eventually developing an inner voice based on his favorite fighting game: Super Dragon Punch Force 2. Tanya Brit stated that TDA seized on this plot point as an opportunity to kick off an entirely distinct, but related IP:
“…we really wanted to give the team the creative freedom to produce something that’s linked to the film and the franchise on the one part, but also on the other part, we wanted to maintain enough creative freedom to create our own characters and our own world.”
Coming up with a fresh angle for promotion that gives developers as much creative freedom as possible is a smart play. Save for a few notable exceptions like Nintendo 64’s Golden Eye, video game adaptations of films have resulted in some notorious tie-in games. Games that develop the universe of one property, while maintaining their own artistic identity and expression, tend to fair better with both moviegoers and gamers.
Vehicles for Joy
While the look and feel SDPF3 is proudly comic book and manga-inspired, as clearly displayed by the game’s animated trailer, Fitzjohn stated that TDA was more inspired by the comic medium as a whole rather than specific titles:
“For us, the idea of a comic book or manga is really powerful because they are vehicles of joy and a means of escaping whatever might be happening, so we really wanted to carry that over.”
Even though SDPF3 does not follow the events of the movie that inspired it, the two properties are lockstep in terms of theme. Both feature over-the-top fights, but they also leverage fiction and games as a means of coping with hardship. When designing their characters, Fitzjohn emphasized that TDA did not draw any inspiration for its characters from “big data,” but rather poured their hearts into making video game characters who could star in their own comic books.
Other significant influences include classic arcade fighting games, such as Street Fighter 2, Tekken, and Mortal Kombat. Both Brit and Fitzjohn stated that they were fans of fighting games and consider themselves part of the fighting game community. It is a responsibility that Fitzjohn takes seriously, as he noted fighting game fans are extremely appreciative—and critical—of the nuances that go into building a fighting game.
An Approachable Debut
Fighting games live and die by the appeal of their rosters, and SDPF3 is launching with eight characters out of the gate. Two characters are featured in the game from the film, and two characters have been incorporated from Boy Kills World‘s “real” universe into the game. The remaining four characters are original creations by TDA, rounding out the roster with a number of distinct fighting styles.
Although Fitzjohn emphasized that SDPF3 has enough technical depth to satisfy players who like to delve into frame-by-frame data, accessibility was a major goal for TDA when designing the title. Brits elaborated that TDA’s reason for choosing a mobile-first, live-service model was to lower the barrier of entry for new players. Similarly, TDA decided to launch the game in an open beta, to collaborate with the game’s community, and develop it in tandem with player feedback.
Super Dragon Punch Force 3 enters open beta for mobile and PC on April 26.
