Ed Boon on 30 Years of Mortal Kombat – PlayStation.Blog

Ed Boon is in fact gaming royalties. He’s been a designer working since the late 80’s, starting with pinball and quickly moving into arcade games. And then he and three others created Mortal Kombat, and the rest is history.

The legendary fighting series hits the big 3-0 tomorrow, a day that marks the launch of the original Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet on October 8, 1992. And Boon worked on Mortal Kombat for those 30 years, a very unusual feat in video game design.

To commemorate the event, I spoke with the esteemed creator, now Creative Director of Mortal Kombat & NetherRealm Studios, to talk about his deep roots with the series, reminiscing about his career. develop his MK and try to understand where it goes from here.

PlayStation.Blog: 2022 Where to find Mortal Kombat?

Ed Boon: Well, it’s celebrating 30 years of existence and being in the public eye. Obviously… we haven’t created the final one yet. I guess that’s probably the closest thing I can say without revealing too much.

The biggest surprise for me is that the players have come and stayed with us for so long. And so the fact that they’ve stuck with us all this time really energizes us with each iteration of the game.

PSB: With Mortal Kombat turning 30, are you thinking about your life and how it intersects with the series?

EB: Not so much in my life, but definitely my gaming career. Mortal Kombat is like different forms of school to me now. The days of video games were like middle school, and 3D games were, you know, middle school or high school.

And now the most recent games – Mortal Kombat 9, MKX and MK11 – are like college or graduate school. I think of my career as different chapters because it’s been so long. And we’ve been making games pretty consistently, for those 30 years, haven’t we? We don’t stop and take a 10 year break and then come back.

PSB: Are there any other anniversaries you celebrate, other than the original arcade release date of the first game?

EB: I’m definitely celebrating the release of the arcade game. But there are different anniversaries. For example, 1991 was when we started working on the game, when it was the Van Damme game and all that.

And next year will be the 30th anniversary of Mortal Monday, the marketing campaign Acclaim created. They did an incredible job, really taking Mortal Kombat to the next level. And I think it’s been 20 years since Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, right? I think in the next couple of years we will have a round number celebration for some version or another version of Mortal Kombat.

PSB: If you could travel back in time and give yourself one piece of advice while working on the original Mortal Kombat, what would it be?

EB: Not working that many hours? When you’re in your twenties, you have virtually limitless energy. But at the same time, I don’t think I would listen to myself back then. We were very motivated. We are very motivated to do something special. And for every new thing we’ve seen, we’ve put in the game, and seen people react to it… it just costs us more than that so no, there’s nothing stopping us. at that time. We encouraged ourselves. We’re just on a mission.

PSB: And that original Mortal Kombat video game came out together in less than a year, right?

EB: Yeah, about eight months in total. YES.

PSB: Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias recently shared a look at the creation of the game’s famous dragon symbol. Is there a story about the series that you’d like to tell, but somehow none of the interviews mention it?

EB: Definitely yes. And I tried to tell those stories on social media, showing some film that we did get the actors to do the moves. And yes, you know… I definitely enjoyed the idea of ​​writing some kind of book or something like that when I had the time. Because there are hundreds of stories that happened over the years. Every once in a while, you remember one of them and you’ll say, “Oh, that’s right!” You know? Because it’s been 30 years.

PSB: That sounds like a great book! What about Mortal Kombat, in your mind, has it maintained it for 30 years? What is the secret?

EB: I believe secrecy is just the hard work and consistent new releases we make. We didn’t take a break for 10 years and then came back to it. And we tried to do something new with each game. If you look at Mortal Kombat 1 or Deadly Alliance, or Mortal Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat 9, Mortal Kombat X… they don’t play the same, they don’t look the same. They all bring something new to the table, to the mechanic to fight like no other game has ever done. And so there’s always something new to the gameplay.

The graphics have clearly made incredible leaps and bounds. So I think a new version that’s constantly coming out on a regular basis has really contributed to it. There are also things outside of the game that have really broadened its horizons: movies, animation, all kinds of merchandising… People really just have an eye on the public.

PSB: You probably can’t say much, but how will the sequel of the movie unfold? I see it as report On the news…

EB: Good, I’ll say. [chuckles] I guess I shouldn’t say too much. But I’m happy to be involved with it. And Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind is also a great entry, and so we really have a lot to cook with.

PSB: If you travel back to 1991 and tell your former self that, in the future, there will be three or four movies and TV shows and animations based on Mortal Kombat… what do you think? about your reaction?

EB: Don’t believe it. I… that’s funny. With every one of the hit Mortal Kombat events expanding its reach, two things come to mind when Acclaim decides to put $10 million into an advertising campaign and create Mortal Monday and you. You know, kids screaming “Mortal Kombat! “On the way. I remember them showing me that video and saying to them, “You’ve gone too far, this isn’t going to be that big of a deal.” And I couldn’t be more wrong.

And the same thing when they decide to make a movie based on it. You know, I said as if “you’re putting too many eggs in one basket.” … So I’m always a little more cautious or maybe pessimistic. But I never [assume] “Oh, that would be the biggest thing in the world.” It’s always been a surprise to me, to everyone who’s been working on the game, that it’s gotten so big.

PSB: Do you have many opportunities to catch up with others like your peers in the fighting game development world?

EB: Not very often. I am a big fan of the game. I love Tekken, I love Street Fighter and play those games every new release. You know, obviously Guilty Gears and Samurai Showdowns and all the great stuff, I love them.

But a lot of them live and develop their games in Japan, and I’m not often in Japan. So every now and then, we’ll cross paths that could be E3 or something like that. But I don’t get that opportunity too often.

PSB: What are your thoughts on the fighting game scene right now? Is it good for health?

EB: I’m very positive. For example, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Tekken, I think are very mainstream games, right? They are not niche games that some people play. They have broad appeal and are very distinct.

I think they all realize that you can’t be too complicated, or you need to have some class that is accessible to the public without framing…. they were aware of that but maintained the kind of deeper element that real hardcore players would devour. So I’m very excited, especially for the next few years. We will have a lot of great giants appear.

PSB: What do you think has driven evolution in the fighting genre?

EB: Obviously there is technology. Every game release comes with new, better graphics. Playing online is also a big game. As the game gets better online, it naturally creates a wider audience, a larger range of opponents to play against. And then, exposure: Events like EVO are definitely growing in popularity and demonstrate what you can do with these games. So a lot of players become inspired watching the pros compete.

PSB: Street Fighter also has an anniversary this year, it turns 35. Step back in time, again to 1991. First time seeing Street Fighter II?

EB: What struck me about Street Fighter II was how big the characters were. For their time, they were huge on screen. And that was very exciting, and really inspired us to make our characters bigger on screen.

It can be said that Karate Champ has really started this genre. Street Fighter II made it a phenomenon. Some people appreciate Street Fighter II and the fighting games that follow as rescue games while they’re really taking a dip.

PSB: Have you played any good games lately?

EB: No…. My day is fully booked. There are a number of games that I would love to play and have definitely taken a look at. So I have a ton of games that I’m definitely going to try, but I haven’t played something in a long time.

I always look forward to the new God of War game. That would also be interesting to test.