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I was recently wondering why foot sliding is still a common problem in fighting games. Surely with Inverse Kinematics it should be possible to fix this problem

I was recently wondering why foot sliding is still a common problem in fighting games. Surely with Inverse Kinematics it should be possible to fix this problem by now. I have the suspicion that people who are accustomed to fighting games are so used to it that they don't notice it anymore, or view it as correct behavior.

snarfy 4d ago
Is it really a problem? Game mechanics and physics are not always meant or desired to be realistic.
- HappMacDonald 3d ago
  I would rate anything that is a sufficiently immersion-challenging distraction to be a problem. Would the game be more fun if we just chop off all the character's legs and make them float like apparitions instead? That needn't actually change the nuts and bolts game mechanics, but it would be less realistic and/or require big story changes like "it turns out all these characters are ghosts" or something. Same with having every character float through walls instead of walk to a door to enter/exit so that we can save on pathfinding logic. People are very accustomed to seeing other footed beings have their feet "locked" to the ground by the weight of their body as they stand, walk, or run. Having every character constantly look as though they are suspended by the waist with legs just dangling arbitrarily is something a lot of people are going to find immersion-breaking: and it's one of those issues where the more realistic detail you have in other areas the bigger this remaining issue stands out. Minecraft/Roblox/stick figure characters can probably get away with a lot less care on this detail than TF2-or-above realistic characters can.
- cubefox 4d ago
  It's a graphical problem. Inverse kinematics is purely a graphical technique. It has no effect on gameplay. That doesn't mean it's irrelevant, except insofar graphical fidelity is irrelevant in general.
- frnz 4d ago
  I imagine, that unsolved foot sliding is considered as a genuine part of the genre, but personally I really enjoy fixed feet in gameplay very much.

snarfy 4d ago

Is it really a problem? Game mechanics and physics are not always meant or desired to be realistic.

HappMacDonald 3d ago
I would rate anything that is a sufficiently immersion-challenging distraction to be a problem. Would the game be more fun if we just chop off all the character's legs and make them float like apparitions instead? That needn't actually change the nuts and bolts game mechanics, but it would be less realistic and/or require big story changes like "it turns out all these characters are ghosts" or something. Same with having every character float through walls instead of walk to a door to enter/exit so that we can save on pathfinding logic. People are very accustomed to seeing other footed beings have their feet "locked" to the ground by the weight of their body as they stand, walk, or run. Having every character constantly look as though they are suspended by the waist with legs just dangling arbitrarily is something a lot of people are going to find immersion-breaking: and it's one of those issues where the more realistic detail you have in other areas the bigger this remaining issue stands out. Minecraft/Roblox/stick figure characters can probably get away with a lot less care on this detail than TF2-or-above realistic characters can.
cubefox 4d ago
It's a graphical problem. Inverse kinematics is purely a graphical technique. It has no effect on gameplay. That doesn't mean it's irrelevant, except insofar graphical fidelity is irrelevant in general.
frnz 4d ago
I imagine, that unsolved foot sliding is considered as a genuine part of the genre, but personally I really enjoy fixed feet in gameplay very much.