Lost Strategy Series: The Role of Execution by James Chen

by kineda on July 16th, 2012 at 3:39 pm

Buried deep within the SRK servers are lost strategy articles written by the likes of Valle, Choi and many other fighting game greats. We’ll be republishing these must-read gems as we find them.

View all Lost Strategy Series

The Role of Execution by James Chen

Original published March 11, 2010 by James Chen (@jchensor)

When you look at top players like Daigo and Choi, it can seem like execution is no longer a concern for them. As a result, some people feel that the execution barrier is simply an unnecessary hurdle to trip up beginners and intermediate players. Believe me, that’s absolutely not true at all.

Execution is ALWAYS a factor at high levels of play. You’re just not looking at it from the proper view.
Expert players know what codes are harder to do and what takes longer to react and things of that nature. For example, if you see Fei Long running at you, you know you’re way better off at poking at him than if Ken was running at you. Why? Because when walking forward, Fei Long is at a total disadvantage. He can’t Rekka NOR Flame Kick from that position well, so you are aware of when he opens himself up. With Ken, he can easily Jab DP you hoping to score a lucky hit. So you’re more likely to try and fake out a Ken than a Fei Long.

That’s a simple example, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg. For instance, if Zangief’s SPD was an Uppercut motion, you would see WAY more walk-up SPDs. A lot of experts know they can play Zangief a certain way because walk-up SPDs aren’t a foregone conclusion, so they can afford to let their guard down from the front against a grounded Gief player because they know if they let Gief jump in, they are more screwed. It’s SUPER easy to get an SPD off of a Jump-in compared to walk-up, because SPD from the air is easier to perform.

If Gief could walk up and SPD via a DP motion, you would have to play the match entirely differently, even at the highest levels where execution starts to become less of a factor. With Guile, I’d rather NOT throw a Sonic Boom at Zangief if he gets too close because I know I can keep him out on reaction easier from the front than if he manages to Jump at me over my Sonic Boom. In other words, I’m preserving my anti-air options because they are more important than anti-ground options BECAUSE I know the SPD is tougher to do from the ground.

It’s like watching those Kung Fu movies where two people are fighting with swords and they get kicked all the time, but no one ever lands a sword strike. Why is that? Because if you get hit with the sword, you die. But a kick lets you live, so you’ll be more willing to pay attention to the sword rather than the foot. When you’re playing against a Gief, you KNOW the SPD takes a while to perform, so you are willing to be more lenient against the footsie game with Gief and be more ready to stop his Jump.

Here’s another perfect example. Let’s look at Anti-Air Custom Combos in CvS2 and Alpha 3. Basically, when playing Alpha 3, you HAVE to pick V-Ism Gief against V-Sakura because you can’t win unless you do. She can anti-air CC you to death so easily that you HAVE to base your whole game on that idea. So you have to pick V-Gief because he’s the only vesion that can stop that tactic by anti CC’ing her back.

But now let’s try something. Let’s make CC Activation QCF x2 + Fierce. Now what happens? I can TOTALLY play A-Gief against a V-Sak. It’s a WORLD of difference because of the change in execution of the move. So if Sakura had to do that code for her CC anti-air, I would jump at her WAY more often because there is a VERY good chance she’s not ready to get her free anti-air on me. I jump KNOWING that the code is hard to do. But that’s fantasy… In reality, because it’s just hitting two buttons and it’s so easy to do, I know I CANNOT Jump at her ever and so the only way I can win is if I have a counter to that one specific anti-air.

Execution isn’t just about performing your combos. It’s also largely about knowing what your opponent CAN perform in given time frames. That ADDS to the mind games and the gameplay, not detracting from it.

Stop thinking of execution as some kind of curse that affects only you and start thinking of it as a legitimate consideration when measuring up your opponent’s options. Sometimes making it physically difficult for an opponent to execute a counter is just as good as baiting one.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Almeson-Hoku-James/100000479628267 Almeson Hoku James

I can’t stop reading this in his voice
GamesPlayerJKD

good article
http://www.facebook.com/people/João-Grassini/100003044683998 João Grassini

these are wonderful but you can post it with a certain time distance between them so more people can see them or just make a recap of all the series later
- http://www.kineda.com Kineda
  
  Will be creating a new link to all of them and releasing about one every couple days. Today was just a bit special since I just discovered them, and am excited to let everyone know they’ll be coming back!
  - http://twitter.com/TravisEpic Travis Lynn
    
    Maybe these could be part of the strategy section among the game specific ones? Characters and Game mechanics are one thing but these articles seem to be just or even more so useful.
http://www.facebook.com/justyce.rose Justyce Rose

reading as james lol
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jon-Klimas/764085001 Jon Klimas

Keep these coming these are amazing.
http://twitter.com/roknin Jelani-Akin

These are great. Already have me re-thinking how I uh… think. :-p
RunningWild1984

Get out of my head James!
Calvin Cyr

I know a lot of people that complain that the moves in most Fighters are too hard to do, so they always give up. I’m gonna have to show them this article.
KubikiriTurkojin

since when is doing walk up 360′s hard?
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Almeson-Hoku-James/100000479628267 Almeson Hoku James
  
  when you see Infiltration bulldozing the top 8 and you’re next
  - heatEXTEND
    
    this guy gets it lol
- http://twitter.com/guilhermefickel Guilherme Fickel
  
  Since SF4 where 360′s became 270′s
  - Fernando Simancas Ortiz de Zár
    
    360s have been 270s for a very long time.
    - http://www.facebook.com/caiooa Caio Alzred
      
      by what i know, since alpha you don’t have to imput the diagonals for 360, and sice sf3 you can imput the 4 directions in any order (like foward-back-down-up). In sfIV during the activation of a 360, if you imput another 360 a 720 comes out.
    - http://www.facebook.com/people/Edacero-Pedazo/100002009120666 Edacero Pedazo
      
      Yes, but in SF4 is really, but really easy do this move.
      
      Its easier than SFA and SF3
  - KubikiriTurkojin
    
    no, its been 270 since the sf2ww days. and it was even easy to do back then, and sf had a way higher execution barrier back then as well, that was prety much one of the few moves where you could use a shortcut.
  - http://handsomefatman.com/ Carlos Alexandre
    
    Dude you can do HCF, UF piledrivers in vanilla SF2.
    - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_AFJDBNFMXC3CCRYNSN3V3ZTWZE James
      
      (snootty english voice) Welll actuallly …….
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-P-Morco/1759082461 Andrew P. Morco

I’m walking up to you as ryu, and you’re walking up to me as akuma. We both know we have 1 bar to spend, and we got low health. Both do an EX DP. Conclusion? Infiltration wins.
Duck Strong

I really hate that this comes as some sort of revelation to some of you.

God how I hate SF4 and what it’s done to fighters.
- http://twitter.com/ITATTRACTS JMCCARTHY
  
  Oh stop. This is a good read for ANY fighters, new and old. A younger player can’t help it if his/her introduction to fighting games is SFIV and there’s nothing wrong with helping educate them along the way. No need for the eye rolling, high horse comments.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Edacero-Pedazo/100002009120666 Edacero Pedazo
  
  I think this article is oriented mainly to new players who thinks SF4 is the most technically (add chit chat) fighter game.
  
  I agree, SF4/AE are only making slack players.
http://www.facebook.com/JoseArgao Jose Emmanuel Argao

I agree with the points in this article, but with the following caveats:

* The point where execution adds rather than detracts from the gameplay occurs at a fairly high level of play that the majority of players will never experience (ie. forget about picking V-Gief against V-Sak, because most players don’t have the execution to play V-ism anyway). So basically, if you endorse high execution in fighting games you are saying that it’s OK to diminish the play experience of millions of intermediate players so that a few hundred high level players can enjoy an extra level of mind games.

* With the advent of lag-inducing factors like online play and video post-processing in HD television sets and computer monitors, high-execution gameplay starts to become more of a hindrance. 1-frame links are tough, but they get tougher with different monitors lagging different amounts of time. Even for the few who can find a lagless display, high-execution gameplay and online gaming don’t mix. So basically, if you endorse high execution in fighting games you are saying that it’s OK to diminish the play experience of millions of people stuck with laggy displays or stuck playing online so that a few hundred players with really good internet or an excellent local FG scene with a lagless setup can enjoy an extra level of mind games.

Harada makes a similar point about lag here – http://www.computerandvideogames.com/353874/tekken-director-hints-at-the-future-of-fighting-games/ where he says that future games might be less fast-paced to account for lag.

* High-execution gameplay is a significant barrier to entry. Seth Killian talks about how quickly the FG environment can get saturated because of the large time investment required from their players – http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/7/2/3131017/capcoms-seth-killian-joins-sony-santa-monica-playstation-all-stars. I personally think that high-execution gameplay not only dissuades FG players from trying out a large variety of games, but it also dissuades gamers in general from playing fighting games at all. So basically, if you endorse high execution in fighting games you are saying that it’s more important that a few hundred high level players can enjoy an extra level of mind games than for the FG community to grow.

Note that I am NOT saying high-execution is bad. James Chen is right that execution adds to the mind games and the gameplay, but only at high levels of play. Chen’s mistake is in thinking that this means it does not act as a hurdle to trip up beginners and intermediate players. It does both at the same time. The two are not mutually exclusive.
- heatEXTEND
  
  Lmfao
  - http://www.facebook.com/JoseArgao Jose Emmanuel Argao
    
    ROFL
  - http://handsomefatman.com/ Carlos Alexandre
    
    Laugh all you like, but Jose backed up his caveats. If you have a counter, I suggest posting that instead.
http://handsomefatman.com/ Carlos Alexandre

David Sirlin wrote up a counter-post to this that I think should be read:
http://www.sirlin.net/blog/2012/7/16/execution-in-fighting-games.html
- http://twitter.com/roknin Jelani-Akin
  
  Have to say I agree with his points as well.
- http://www.facebook.com/JoseArgao Jose Emmanuel Argao
  
  Thanks for the info. That was an excellent read. Everyone who read this article should read that post too.
http://twitter.com/spamb0tb william

never thought of execution this way. been watching ultrachen tv. James has been blowing my mind all day
Minibok

I know that you need both Execution AND Mindgames but what if you knew how and when to do something? Then Execution becomes the most important part.

Execution is doing what you want, when you want, not just being able to do some fancy 15-hit combo. To me, it is the single most important aspect of fighting games. It’s not the “only” thing to consider but it is the “most important” thing to consider. This is why I dislike those people that say that Execution is the last thing people should consider and that Mindgames are more important. Idiots. How you gonna utilize Mindgames when your Execution is shit? You NEED Execution in order for Mindgames to be effective. Same goes for reactions too.

If your opponent’s Execution is shit, that means that he will have to fewer tools (ie – setups, damaging combos, traps, unblockables, etc.) Like if he couldn’t do AHVB to punish certain things? Sure, he knows how and when to do it but he CAN’T ACTUALLLY FUCKING DO IT! You see where I’m going with this? So now what? He’s fucked against Sentinel’s HSF via chip damage. Maybe if his Execution wasn’t such shit he could AHVB during HSF and possible kill Sentinel.

What about dropping combos? Dropping combos is HUGE! You CANNOT afford to drop combos when it comes to tournaments. It can mean the difference between winning and losing.

Execution is like the sun – everything revolves around it. It’s always going to be a factor if you want to win – regardless of whether if players are beginners or experts.
- http://www.facebook.com/JoseArgao Jose Emmanuel Argao
  
  It’s the other way around. All the execution in the world is nothing compared to simple strategy, tactics and mindgames. If your strategy and tactics are good you can get by on less execution, just like Viscant. Just pick characters, strategies and combos that don’t require as much dexterity.
  
  By contrast, if your decision-making is crappy you can’t actually decide to go for “less strategic” decisions. You’re stuck playing like a flowchart because every time you diverge from it your decisions are sub-par and you wind up losing the match.
  
  Also: note that mindgames, strategy and tactics are intrinsic to the game. Execution is just a side-effect of the control scheme. Games can be made to require less execution (ie. MVC2 transition to MVC3) but mind games are built into the game itself.
  - Minibok
    
    You don’t get it. You cannot win in fighting games if you don’t press buttons at the right time, in order to deplete your opponent’s life bar. Press buttons at the wrong time and you get hit. This is known as an “Executional Error”. Remember what I said about Execution being the difference winning and losing. It’s true. There have been countless matches where this has happened.
    
    Marn vs. Combofiend (Vanilla MvC3)
    This is the perfect example of why I said people CANNOT afford to drop combos. Marn has so many chances to win but he kept dropping his combos.
    
    JWong vs. Yipes (MvC2 at EVO2K7)
    Yipes made a crucial mistake by dropping Psylocke’s super at the end of his combo. It would have won him the match but it ended up costing him the match instead. Imagine, one Executional Error could cost you the entire match. Yipes had a full team vs. Justin’s solo Cyclops, FFS.
    
    Afrolegends vs. Daigo (ST at EVO2K6)
    Afro drops a GUARANTEED kill combo and Daigo reverses the entire match for the win.
    
    Like I said, Strategy, Tactics and Mindgames are all useless without Execution. There’s a difference between knowing how/when to do something and actually doing it. It doesn’t matter how much dexterity is needed to play a certain character. If you want to play at a high level then high Execution is necessary. If you notice, top players drop combos less than most people .
    
    Look at Infiltration’s AE run at EVO2K12. His Execution (ie – combos, spacing, footsies, yomi, reactions, etc.) was so fucking on point this year and it shows. He fuckin’ steamrolled through everybody.
    
    “By contrast, if your decision-making is crappy you can’t actually decide to go for “less strategic” decisions.”
    ============================
    And what if you have excellent decision-making skills but don’t have the Execution necessary to pull it off?
    
    Games can be made to require less execution (ie. MVC2 transition to MVC3) but mind games are built into the game itself.
    ============================
    You fail to realize that High Execution can be seen as another form of Mindgames.
    - http://www.facebook.com/JoseArgao Jose Emmanuel Argao
      
      It’s the other way around, execution is useless without strategy and mind games. The best players have both, but in the overall picture execution is nowhere near as important as strategy. The simple fact of the matter is that you can use strategy to work around a lack of execution skills, but you can’t use execution to cover up crappy decisions. Viscant is a living, breathing example of this. He himself admits that his execution is sub-par, but he can use strategy and tactics to create a team and develop tactics that work around those limitations. By contrast, executional gods like Desk readily admit that in a tournament setting their ability to press buttons does not guarantee them the win. All the execution in the world is nothing when faced with an opponent making good decisions.
      
      You keep talking about “What if you decide to do X, but you don’t have the execution to pull it off?” when the answer is obvious -> if you can’t do X then don’t decide to do it. If I decide to go for Doom TAC swag combos even when I know I’m gonna drop them, that’s a bad decision right there. If I decide to try lightning loops when I can’t do that that’s a bad decision right there. A better decision is to go for something easier that I know I won’t drop, which is exactly what Viscant does and what I’m talking about. By contrast, can you name a single player who became champion of Evo on the back of pure execution? The answer is you can’t, because it’s impossible to win a major tournament on the back of pure execution. You can win a few matches by getting a lucky hit and doing a TOD combo, and you can lose a few matches by dropping a combo and paying dearly for it, but over the course of time making better decisions will win more games than doing longer combos.
      
      Now look at someone like Marlinpie, who has some of the best execution in the business. His main problem is that he’s not so good at blocking (it’s become something of a joke, actually). Now how can he execute his way out of that one? The answer is that he can’t. He can only get out of that rut by adopting better strategy and tactics, so that he makes the right decisions when he needs to make them.
      
      I’m also gonna call you out on this particular tidbit:
      
      ============================
      Look at Infiltration’s AE run at EVO2K12. His Execution (ie – combos,
      spacing, footsies, yomi, reactions, etc.) was so fucking on point this
      year and it shows. He fuckin’ steamrolled through everybody.
      ============================
      
      Combos rely on execution, since once you get a hit the only thing that matters is your ability to press buttons with tight timing. Spacing, footsies, and yomi are all strategy, however. It’s all about the decisions you make. Where you position your character, when you decide to poke, how you read your opponent and use that information to get an advantage. That’s all strategy and mind games. That’s why Infiltration is the champ and not Sakonoko, who has better execution than him.
      - Minibok
        
        You fail to realize that Strategy and Mindgames NEED Execution in order to to work. Fighting games are 50% Strategy and 50% Execution. Or 50% Mental and 50% Physical Dexterity.
        
        Strategy helps you to form a plan and Execution allows you to do it. I will repeat this again – if you know how and when to execute something, doing it becomes the most important part.
        
        Concerning Viscant… when comparing Viscant to other top players, yeah Viscant’s Execution isn’t the best but his level of Execution is high enough that he is able to compete with top players.. Like say if you wanted to be a top player in MvC2. The level of Execution needed to play MvC2 at a high level is ridiculous. Sure, you don’t have to have the best Execution but it needs to be pretty fuckin’ high.
        
        ============================
        “You keep talking about “What if you decide to do X, but you don’t have the execution to pull it off?” when the answer is obvious -> if you can’t do X then don’t decide to do it. ”
        ============================
        OK then, explain to me how Cable is supposed to escape chip death via Sentinel’s HSF super in MvC2? AHVB is the only way to escape AND kill Sentinel (if Cable has enough meter).
        
        ============================
        …but over the course of time making better decisions will win more games than doing longer combos.
        ============================
        Here’s the thing, you have to EXECUTE these decisions. Decisions are useless if can’t make them a reality.
        
        ============================
        Spacing, footsies, and yomi are all strategy, however. It’s all about the decisions you make. Where you position your character, when you decide to poke, how you read your opponent and use that information to get an advantage.
        ============================
        Remember Execution is doing what you want, when you want, not just being able to do some fancy combo. Something as simple as movement (going from Point A to Point B) requires execution (moving the joystick left or right).
        
        Yomi requires you to make reads AND counterattack. What good is a read if the counterattack fails?
        
        Knowing when/how to do something and actually doing it are two completely different things. I cannot stress this enough.
      - http://www.facebook.com/JoseArgao Jose Emmanuel Argao
        
        ==============
        OK then, explain to me how Cable is supposed to escape chip death via Sentinel’s HSF super in MvC2?
        ==============
        
        The same way you escape getting chipped to death by storm -> Don’t get into that situation. In any case, Cable has such an advantage over Sentinel that if you’re in danger of getting chipped to death you have bigger problems than an inability to get out of HSF.
        
        ==============
        Sure, you don’t have to have the best Execution but it needs to be pretty fuckin’ high.
        ==============
        
        By comparison, you can’t win Evo on just “pretty fuckin’ high” strategy. Your strategy does have to be the best. Just watch the breakdown Chen and David did on Evo 2012. How many times did they pause the game to talk about the strategies being implemented by Daigo, Gamerbee, Champ, Infrit and Infiltration? Almost the whole video was spent discussing it. Now compare it to the times they talked about execution. Aside from a missed link from Gamerbee that Daigo beat with shoryu mashing and Infrit’s failure to do hard drive against chip from Doom lasers, I can’t remember much.
        
        FChamp didn’t win Evo because he could do things no other Dorm could do. Infiltration didn’t win Evo because he could do things no other Akuma could do. They won because they chose to do things nobody else chose to do.
        
        ==============
        Something as simple as movement (going from Point A to Point B) requires execution (moving the joystick left or right).
        ==============
        
        I’ll let Sirlin handle this:
        “The problem is that that’s not really what people mean when they talk
        about execution in fighting games. It’s a very narrow, cherry picked
        kind of thing that doesn’t fairly represent the topic.”
      - Minibok
        
        *I am posting this here because there is no reply button on your most recent comment.*
        
        “I’ll let Sirlin handle this:”The problem is that that’s not really what people mean when they talk about execution in fighting games. It’s a very narrow, cherry picked kind of thing that doesn’t fairly represent the topic.”
        ===========================
        You’re not one to talk since it is apparent that you’ve been cherry-picking my shit from the start. OK, here it is – this is what I mean by Execution:
        
        ****Strategy and Mindgames NEED Execution in order to to work. Fighting games are 50% Strategy and 50% Execution. Or 50% Mental and 50% Physical Dexterity
        .
        Strategy helps you to form a plan and Execution allows you to do it. I will repeat this again – if you know how and when to execute something, doing it becomes the most important part
        I REPEAT - - if you know how and when to execute something, doing it becomes the most important part.***
        Somehow you’ve managed to conveniently ignore this point and cherry-pick other shit to support your position. I would LOVE it if you could prove me wrong about Strategies needing Execution in order to work. However, I don’t think you can since you seem to always avoid quoting it.
        If you can prove me wrong, I will admit that I was wrong and that will be the end of this discussion but I know that you can’t.
        “The same way you escape getting chipped to death by storm -> Don’t get into that situation.”===========================That’s easier said than done. It’s not like you can control how the match goes. Good players will put you in that situation sooner or later. You have to be prepared for ANY situation, no matter how disadvantageous it is. Execution can get you out of HSF chip death. I see no problem being put into this situation if I know that my Execution will save my ass and possibly kill Sentinel.”FChamp didn’t win Evo because he could do things no other Dorm could do. Infiltration didn’t win Evo because he could do things no other Akuma could do. They won because they chose to do things nobody else chose to do.”=========================== It blows my fuckin’ mind that you cannot grasp such as simple concept. There are two main factors when it comes to fighting games:1) Strategy – Forming a plan in your head2) Execution – Putting that plan into action.You need Execution in order for Strategies to work. You have to input the commands for it to work. If you can’t execute that plan in your head then Strategies are fucking useless.Remember those 3 examples that I gave you?1 – Combofiend vs. Marn (MvC3)2 – JWong vs. Yipes (MvC2)3 – Daigo vs. Afrolegends (ST)All 3 of these example involve one player making the correct decision. All 3 examples were sure-fire kills. And in all 3 examples they fucked up their sure-fire kill combo and lost the match.So they all made the right decisions but their Execution is what cost them the match.
      - http://www.facebook.com/people/Edacero-Pedazo/100002009120666 Edacero Pedazo
        
        SSF4 unfortunately is not more yet a game oriented to execution, is more
        oriented to “strategy”. UMVC3 is not a good example to show, in
        both games, you can left execution in 2nd plane, for focus in strategy.
        
        The best example is take EVO KOFXIII finals, if you never has played
        this game, KOF is execution strictly (like old SF games), any execution
        error and you are died man. There are a lot new slacky players who thinks can do the same playing this game and mostly returns disappointed to play SSF4, the same occurs when plays ST.
        
        Execution, like strategy must be in the same level, unfortunately Capcom has lowered the level to this games for be most affordable to new players, HDR is the same, all execution are simplified.
mtbrandao

This text is so 2011.
We have SF X Tekken now.
It allow us “direction+button” special moves and “press 2 buttons” custom combos.
- http://handsomefatman.com/ Carlos Alexandre
  
  If those were the height of SFxT’s problems, it would likely have been a great game. SFxT isn’t flawed for easing up execution requirements, it’s flawed for a great many other, much more worrisome issues.
http://profile.yahoo.com/KZOXSSN45GX46D5E4ZNDPWOX6U Youtube Google

It’s a funny coincidence that this article popped up at this time, because recently I’ve been thinking-

What if the input motion for dragon punch was similar to (Soul Calibur 5′s) Alpha Patroklos’ sakura twister? (FC df:a:b)

Or if the hadoken input is like (Virtua Fighter) Akira’s knee? (Okay, maybe that’s too hard, perhaps an EWGF-esque motion like d,df,f:lp?)

I got inspired when someone mentioned that shotos need to have an execution barrier like Akira or Mishimas from Tekken.

Just a thought.
- http://www.facebook.com/JoseArgao Jose Emmanuel Argao
  
  Since when are execution barriers a good thing? All they do is force people to spend a couple more weeks in training mode before they do the exact same things they would have done without the barrier.
  
  TLDR: Executions barriers are to fighting games as grinding is to role-playing games.
  - http://profile.yahoo.com/KZOXSSN45GX46D5E4ZNDPWOX6U Youtube Google
    
    Understood. But it also filters out spam-happy newbies and can clearly separate the skill levels of players.
    - http://www.facebook.com/JoseArgao Jose Emmanuel Argao
      
      You know what best separates the skill level of players? Actual skill. I can confidently say that I would body any spam-happy newbie on any game I play. This holds whether he has good execution or not (unless it’s a laggy online game or something). If the only thing separating you from a spam-happy noob is the fact that you can consistently press a couple of buttons with a pre-determined timing, you’re gonna have a bad time.
      - http://profile.yahoo.com/KZOXSSN45GX46D5E4ZNDPWOX6U Youtube Google
        
        Agree. But I don’t think we’re on the same page.
        
        The point I was trying to make was, it would be more rewarding to the player if the shotos’ moves have JF input. (i.e. Doesn’t it feel awesome when you hit someone with an EWGF?)
      - OmegaNITRO
        
        So you want to introduce artificial difficulty to make games harder to learn and give players that learn it a false sense of accomplishment?
        
        Giving Shoto’s JF inputs would do nothing more than detract from the importance of players fighting their opponent by making decisions that should come naturally a constant test in execution.
        
        It would also make the characters less viable by giving the execution of simple special moves a higher failure rate for even the highest level players; as nobody’s perfect.
        
        In short, no, it’d be a terrible idea that would add nothing to the game. Nothing Shotos do is so advantageous that it warrants an artificial execution barrier like EWGF has.
      - John E.
        
        I agree completely. As someone who got into fighters at a relatively older age, I’ve beaten
        plenty of people who have better execution than me, who are worse players. Not because I took
        advantage of input lenience, but because I beat them mentally.
  - Bavo Bruylandt
    
    no, execution is a reward for training well and keeping composure onder stress
    - http://handsomefatman.com/ Carlos Alexandre
      
      Misleading. Execution is, in fact, rewarding to master, including under stress, but Jose is talking about barriers. Big difference.
    - http://www.facebook.com/people/Edacero-Pedazo/100002009120666 Edacero Pedazo
      
      Finally a person knows importance of execution.
  - Minibok
    
    Yes because instead of practicing Execution, game devs. can just make it easier. Execution weeds out the scrubs from the pros. The problem is that (Capcom) has chosen to try and lessen the gap between scrubs and pros by making execution/inputs easier, plus other scrub shit like comeback mechanics.
    
    Just because a simple move like a Hadouken “should be” easy to do, that isn’t the case for everybody. FFS, some people are still having trouble executing fireballs or Shoryuken’s in SF4. It blows my fuckin’ mind. Just mash that shit out. This just shows that no matter how easy you make a game, there will ALWAYS be people who will have difficulty.
    - John E.
      
      Execution does not weed out the scrubs from pros. Pros weed out the scrubs from the pros.
      - Minibok
        
        You have to realize that pros have a certain level of Execution. When comparing Execution between other pros, sure some have better than others but as a whole, pros have better execution than say intermediate or beginner players.
        
        It’s not just fighting games, look at sports. Generally speaking Pros have better Execution than say High School or College athletes. Pros are the elite after all.
    - OmegaNITRO
      
      If you honestly think making special moves easier to accomplish somehow narrows the gap between a scrub and someone like Daigo, then I can say with confidence that you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.
      - Minibok
        
        I never said it did, I just said that that was what Capom was “trying” to do. Capcom wants to “try” and level the playing field. That’s why you have scrub shit like comeback mechanics and move shortcuts.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Col-Mustafa-Bubba-Holmes/100003387634705 Col Mustafa Bubba Holmes

Execution barriers are cool, just as long as they aren’t there to mask a lack of options. VF, especially Final Showdown, is the most forgiving on execution compared to other fighters, but it makes up for it in many options you have during a fight, and how to read those situations to make the right moves.

I see reviews and talk of the HitBox in negative light, but as long as the game has options it’s just another controller.
- http://twitter.com/cuesta_javier Javier Cuesta
  
  I’d take yomi over execution always
  
  Itazan is the man
Bavo Bruylandt

Execution is a good thing to have as it is just another stat you can level up while playign the game. It should be made so that you have easy options to start with and can slowly migrate to harder things, that reap higher awards.
Simply put: you should be able to do jump/sweep, then learn to do jump/medium kick/special and then learn to do hit-conforms and/or fancy FADC/juggles etc. This keeps you on a path to self-improvement.
http://www.facebook.com/Syxx573 Daniel Jones

“In a recent stream, Chen himself said that in SF4, if you can’t do Sakura’s 1-frame link combo, you shouldn’t be playing Sakura. I agree!”

lol
http://www.facebook.com/Syxx573 Daniel Jones

This is a good article and also explains why back in the olden days you could destroy the scrubs out there before sf4 came along. Because back before that shit game came out it was actually difficult to perform reversals in between block strings almost to the point where most players aren’t going to DP out of anything ever, or maybe a small percentage of the time. Now anyone who can tap down-forward twice and mash any punch button without having to time it can do this.
- http://handsomefatman.com/ Carlos Alexandre
  
  I think you missed the point of the article. Completely.
- John E.
  
  Maybe learn when to pressure with a block string and when to bait a DP? Easier execution for your opponent is no excuse for you to lose because your execution is exactly the same. If you get DP’d out of a block string or some other form of pressure, YOU created the gap for them to do it.
petran79

Breakers Revenge anyone?
4r5

Glad to see content from within SRK getting floated to the front page, finally.
John E.

Dat Chen-quality writing. Are YOU smarter than a fifth grader?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Edacero-Pedazo/100002009120666 Edacero Pedazo

If execution is not important, why not compete casuals athletes in Olympics???
Rik Newman

My take on this: http://www.agoners.com/index.php/complexity-depth-and-skill-good-games/
“Which is more complex and deep & requires more skill to play, Chess
or Street Fighter 2? Clearly the idea that execution skill is the major
component in determining the overall depth of a game is not always true.”
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