Balancing Mortal Kombat 1's violence and enabling monetised streaming is a "dilemma", creator says
"I'm always trying to keep the spirit of the game but allow streamers to make content."
Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon has called the balance between delivering the violence fans want and the need to sanitise games in order to stream them a "dilemma".
Talking to IGN, Boon reflected on the importance of enabling influencers and content creators to monetise their Mortal Kombat 1-flavoured content, but acknowledged that if there was a mode that "turned off all the blood or something", it would "strip away an entire layer" of Mortal Kombat's very identity.
"Let's say we had a mode that turned off all the blood or something or didn't have fatalities or something like that," Boon said when asked if the NetherRealm team had ever considered a "streamer safe" mode.
"Part of the definition of Mortal Kombat is those things. And so to strip away an entire layer of it… do we really want that to be the main representation that is of the game online? It's not the whole presentation."
Interestingly, Boon has said that whilst keeping the violence is not "a deal breaker", he always has to "keep to the spirit of what the game is".
"I'm always trying to think what can we do to keep the spirit of what the game is, but also allow streamers to show the game and make content based on the game. I think that's the dilemma," Boon added.
As Ed (our Ed, not Ed Boon) explained for us, the first is Invasion mode, which turns the fighting game into a Mario Party-esque boardgame. Players will choose a character and explore an area through branching paths, with each node offering a new challenge to overcome before progressing.
These comprise a mixture of individual battles, minigames and treasures, with extra modifiers offering a twist on typical gameplay. Perhaps fire-shooting demons or a fiery vortex will interrupt battle, plus plenty more.
And did you know Mortal Kombat 1 includes audio descriptive fatalities?
Mortal Kombat 1 will be available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC when it launches on 19th September.