“A couple of us took up stage fencing during development.”
During my twenties, I decided that I would start fencing.
(I also foolishly approached it as something more instinctive than cerebral.)
You may not even have to move your legs during such a sequence.
En Garde!
I didn’t actually want to fence like this, though.
I wanted to use dramatic and flashy movements, the kind you might see in a pleasing cinematic duel.
He stopped and looked at me, a bit taken aback, and just offered an appreciative noise.
My body ached with the need to do more.
The Capoeira practitioners looked exactly like how I wanted to feel: relaxed, comfortable, and free.
There is more, though.
I wanted to know more.
They didn’t just draw from French influences.
Our animators also previously practised martial arts or worked on games featuring them (e.g.
:Sifu), which of course was a great perk too."
“Panache is at the heart of being a swashbuckling hero” the developers tell me.
“It’s about laughing in the face of danger, acting with daring and with style.
They want the game to leave players feeling uplifted, for them to laugh and smile.
Despite the research into real swordsmanship, En Garde!
isn’t really trying to pursue realism.
It’s pursuing the stylish kind of fun I always prized when I was fencing years ago.
