9 Video Game Innovations That Happened Earlier Than You Think
4. Motion Capture - NOT Metal Gear Solid Or Uncharted
Actually: Virtua Fighter 2
Over the years of gaming's evolution, the 2000s really amped up the idea of chasing Hollywood. With studios like Kojima Productions and Naughty Dog striving to replicate cinematic sensibilities as much as possible, it's around here where we started seeing "mocap suits with ping-pong balls" in every behind-the-scenes "making of" video.
While the practice is simply standard when it comes to digitising a performance, some of the first titles to use the tech were actually fighting games. The immaculate Tekken 3's sublime animations were mo-capped, but the real originator was Virtua Fighter 2.
Sega's landmark fighting game became a staple of the arcades (shout outs to Jeffry and Kage), but as a franchise, over the years it's struggled to stay at the top.