We're Adam and Dave, creators of Divekick, the world's first two-button, no-joystick fighting game. AMA!

I've been stuck in The Lang Zone for over a year now. How do I get out? Can I?

Welcome to my hell.

Is it true that Keits lost to djWHEAT in Divekick in the first match that djWHEAT had ever played? If so, when is the runback and where will it be streamed?

It is true, and Keits totally wasn't sandbagging. To prove (or disprove) it, he welcomes a $500 two-man tournament between himself and this djWHEAT at EVO. First to 5 games.

Will this game save e-sports?

Its up to the cyber-athletes.

For a real question: Divekick seems to be a great way for people who don't understand fighting games or have little exposure to the genre to jump into the more subtle elements of fighting games, such as spacing and reading your opponent.

Do you think that those new players drawn into the genre and the FGC by Divekick can make a jump into more traditional fighting games? Or do you feel that, as accessible as Divekick is, there is still a gap that must be filled for those people to also play games like Street Fighter?

While learning how to play and control Divekick will help you greatly to understand spacing, reading, and the value of just one move, there is still a gap. Part of the reason people don't want to learn a traditional fighting game is because they don't see the value in it. If Divekick can show a few people how entertaining the mindgame part of fighting games can be, they might put a little more effort into learning a traditional fighting game, or at least have a deeper appreciation for them beyond viewing them as simple button mashing exercises.

Hope I made sense there.

Any update on producing those awesome 2 button controllers?

We're in talks with a number of people to make those a reality, but nothing official yet.

The prototype Kickboxes are made by Hit Box. Please check them out at http://www.hitboxarcade.com/

What exactly are the benefits and side effects of DAT PURP?

Its superstitious for me now. If I don't say "dat purp" I lose every time. :(

Why did Mr.N kill Guilty Gear?

Someone offered him four meals.

At what point along in development did the game become less of a joke/ satire and more of "hey, this is actually something pretty awesome?"

When do you decide a character is too strong or too weak, and what are the initial steps you take after that?

Thanks guys, full confidence this game is going to at the very least have people rethink the genre. We have such a ridiculous barrier to entry in fighting games, it's nice to see design on the opposite end.

As soon as the game was playable with placeholder art, completely in black and white, the first thing we did was add the ability to jump backwards. As soon as we did that, it was insanely fun and intense so we grew it from there. A lot of stuff was in the design document from night 1, including the center-line timeout mechanic, but a few things came organically as we developed it.

For character balance, at least in a game like this, it can be really hard to tell when a character is too strong or too weak. Early in development, I didn't fully understand what I had created and did dozens of extremely long test sessions with other fighting game players, making adjustments to the cast each time. Long term, we got things pretty close to "right", in that all five of the prototype characters could compete. Oddly enough, I deliberately made Kung Pao the worst in the game (because when she was obviously the best, the made the game not fun anymore). After 6 months of playing the prototype without making any balance changes, I came to realize that Kung might have been the 2nd strongest in that version!

Now that I feel I really know the game, making balance decisions isn't quite as random or difficult as it was at the start. I still have test sessions extremely often and keep an eye on how things interact, and what implications those interactions may have on overall balance. If you take a look at Dr Shoals, she seems really powerful on paper. Her advantages seem insane! But her weaknesses are really understated and as you play with better players, you'll find it harder and harder to win with her without making some really tricky moves. She breaks the rules in an interesting way, and quite a bit more of that is coming down the pipeline.

Sorry for the rambling, hope I answered your questions!

Will there be a comic tie-in setting up the story of divekick?

This sounds amazing!

Is Divekick supposed to be a gateway to making fighting games accessible? Or at least, a way for people to understand the mental part and strategy of the fighting game scene?

Hyped up.

While I didn't start with this goal in mind, I certainly hope it accomplishes that now.

If the game gets green lit on steam whats a estimated release date? will there be online play?

We are aiming for before EVO 2013, this Summer. It does include GGPO powered online play.

How long after DiveKick's release will the e-sports people completely forgot about silly MOBAs and get on the DiveKick Hype Train to Baller Town?

Day 9.

Do you think Infiltration will master Divekick?

I certainly hope so.

How does it feel to always be in the Lang Zone.

Only Lang knows. He lives in a mansion in the newly appointed capitol "Ballertown"

When can we expect Divekick to be a stable in Wednesday Night Fights? It would give me a reason to make the hour long drive up there more often.

We'll talk to Level|Up about it :)

What are your predictions on Floe raging at the game when found out to be a fraud?

Already happened against OMGitzAndre at UFGT8 in tournament. He said it felt a lot lot worse than losing in any other game.

We tend to agree. Losing in Divekick is always your fault and it feels terrible.

Do you have any "vague hints" to give out about characters yet to be released?

On that note, any chance of a Q-Bee tribute?

There might have been some "vague hints" at the booth at PAX East. Perhaps if you check out our weekly Divekick livestream (Starting next and every Monday until release) you'll get to see a new character....

Keits, do you fear any long term medical effects based on your prolonged exposure to the Lang Zone?

I worry about this every day.

What do you intend to do about the fact that Dave suffered a series of embarrassing losses at PAX to a well-known and devilishly charismatic Youtuber in his first time playing Divekick?

He loses to everyone. The part of you that makes you special is not "beating Dave Lang."

I also highly suggest a very public rematch.

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You can play On the 20th at Arcade Legacy in Cincinnati, or at NorCal Regionals, UFGT, or CEO!

This UFGT event, what are the dates and location of it? I assume it is being organized by supremely talented and handsome individuals, yes?

Check out http://ufgt.us/ to learn more about UFGT9, Chicago's biggest fighting game tournament.

If we make a papier-mache statue of Dave out of Whole Foods bags, should it be called Dive Lang or Davekick?

For sure it should be Davekick.

What's the story with "Redacted?" I swear I remember him having been named something else previously.

Her name has always been Redacted.

Will there be drama CDs to expand on the thoroughly deep, detailed and complex stories and interactions between the characters of Divekick?! I for one would sure love to hear that Dive guy talk about some mathematics.

Get a job, Andres!

3 of the most obvious questions I haven't seen mentioned yet. Oculus Rift support? Ouya launch title? Divekick Cereal?

I think Divekick breakfast cereal would be two bags of cereal in one box, so you can eat Dive or Kick separately, or mix them together to eat Dick.

Is Redacted going to have a new name come launch or are you going to keep him as is?

That's always been her name, what are you talking about :-)

Its the name we always dreamed of.

Are you guys worried that the two button fighting system will turn off fighting fans more accustomed to fighting games more in the style of street fighter?

Not at all. We've packed a lot of depth into the game and its been a big hit with traditional fighting game players (I myself am one). My personal hope is that this game will introduce more people to the joys of the fighting genre and gateway them in long term.

How do you properly pronounce Divekick?

Exactly as you just did.

Will this game have a live auction house?

It has a dead auction house, where you spend the souls you've earn from your opponents.

Do you guys like playing with headshots and concussions on or off?

I highly suggest you play with everything on. Thats how we play and the game is definitely balanced around these things. That said, feel free to enjoy the game however you like and turn off that stuff if you don't like it.

you have essentially created one of the first fighting games that doesn't frighten away the general audience that is too afraid to sit down and learn them properly, possibly bringing in many fans that were never into fighting games. Was this your master plan all along for divekick? btw I am the physical manifestation of hype for this game's release.

The honest, original plan for the game was "this will be fun and hilarious." The fact that it welcomes people into its arms is excellent, but the master plan was always "make people have a great time", which (at least in my opinion) should be the goal of every game.

What gave you the idea to simplify your game down to 2 controls?

Why those 2 actions? Did you think they were the most common actions in a fighting game?

Divekicks are dumb. Almost brutally stupid. Nearly every character in every game who has one can abuse it and is a top character.

So, it was late one night and I said to my friend Stephen, "What if there was a game called Divekick, and the characters were named Dive and Kick, and the only inputs were a Dive button and a Kick button?"

It wasn't about simplification of a genre. It was about making a really silly, fun game.

excluding youtube, has the response to this game been positive?

Overwhelmingly so.

What's Jeff gertsmann like in person? How often does he rap?

Yes

Dive or Kick?

Dive unless I'm fighting Shoals.

Why do you switch against Shoals? You are going to lose anyway, you know?

I was on the Dive side, then at UFGT8 and CEO and EVO everyone was playing Dive because he was easy mode. Even Dave Lang abandoned his favorite character in all of gaming, Kick, to play as easy-mode Dive. Mike O'Connor showed me the true power of Kick, so I switched back to Kick. Now everyone plays Kick in the new version because Party Starter is an insanely fun move, so I'm back onto Dive trying to show that he is very powerful too. (I hate playing the character everyone else plays!)

Any chance for some Chicago FGC location tests? I'm fiending to play pre-UFGT to learn the game!

This will probably happen at least once. Stay tuned, nothing official yet.

What are your favourite characters to play in Streetfighter and Mortal Kombat.....?

Love the game by the way......in fact the excitement of seeing the fun of divekick caused me and my friend to bust out Mortal Kombat for the first time in ages....

In Street Fighter, I love Cody. He suits my playstyle and personality. In Mortal Kombat, I don't have a personality favorite, but I do love the way Shao Khan points at you repeatedly while talking to you.

I have friends who are fairly new to fighters and dont fully understand things like spacing and such. How to you think players like my friends will take to divekick and why? Is the game developed for new fighting game players in mind and those that understand spacing fairly well also? (if that makes sence)

To be successful in Divekick, you'll need to learn a lot about spacing and human behavior. To have fun and compete in Divekick, however, you need about 2 minutes to get a feel for movement. PAX East was amazing, because tons of people who don't play or enjoy fighting games were lining up time and time again to play Divekick, and they were getting stronger each time. I really hope this game will help show more people why it is that I love fighting games so much.

In a lot of the footage I've seen, I see "Fraud detection" and all this. What does that mean?

If you get put into a position where you are 0-4 on rounds, fraud detection comes up. If you then lose your fifth round, you are found to be a fraud.

Generally, if you can't take at least one round from your opponent in a video game with only two giant buttons, you may be a fraud. Or maybe not! Run it back!

Isn't it awesome how an intentionally silly (yet technically sound) in-joke of a fighting game can be presented to a worldwide audience and get the support it needs to become a "real" game? The internet is awesome!

Can't wait for Divekick! That TNT from a few weeks ago was hilarious and really got me excited for the final release! Good luck!

Thank you for your support!

Will we get trailer announcements for the new characters?

Iron Galaxy will be live streaming Divekick every Monday, starting on the 15th of this month. Each stream will include something new! Please tune in! Follow @Divekickgame on twitter for announcements on when that goes live.

Hey, are there any plans at all to bring it out on the 360? If not, why not? Is it because it's just way easier on ps3 and Steam Greenlight?

Also, I lost £5 betting against you, Mr Dave Lang, when you were playing money games of DiveKick with the guys at Giant Bomb. Forgive me, for I was foolish.

Lang commented on the 360 here - http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1c3585/were_adam_and_dave_creators_of_divekick_the/c9ckrxm

Are there any unlockable characters on DK or is it more like an "Arcade Version"?

I'm a tournament player, but more importantly, I'm a tournament director. Asking a tournament director to unlock your characters is mean and archaic. We will not be doing that.

Did you try to play the game with a DDR pad yet? How about making gloves that respond to vibration, so the players can slap anything to play? Are you excited at the potentially stupid control schemes that could come from the community?

We are unreasonably excited about this.

I got a divekick shirt from Rick in MN. Will you sign it at UFGT? :)

I don't know why you'd want Lang's signature, but sure!

Can your signature be divekicking?

If you can figure out how to make that happen, yes.

If you were to make a wrestling spin-off game, what would the two buttons for that game be?

Easy one. "Face" and "Heel".