Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon has revealed the behind-the-scenes video of a truly historic moment in video game history: the conception of Scorpion's classic "get over here!" spear move.
The prolific Mortal Kombat series' undeniable mascot is the undead ninja Scorpion, and his long-reaching Spear move - and its accompanying catchphrase - is one of the most iconic moments in gaming. And now, thanks to a two-minute clip shared by series creator Ed Boon to celebrate Mortal Kombat's upcoming 30th anniversary, we get to see how it came to life. Check it out:
Mortal Kombat will be 30 years old in 2022. But 2021 marks 30 years since we actually BEGAN working on the game. To celebrate, it seemed like a fun idea to share some behind-the-scenes stuff. This clip shows how we created Scorpion’s iconic (GET OVER HERE!) spear move. (1 of 9) pic.twitter.com/3f1tdvjG9ROctober 12, 2021
In a reply thread, Boon gives some useful context as to what's being discussed in the above video, which includes a conversation between Boon and co-creator John Tobias. At one point, you can clearly hear Boon ask rhetorically, "You know what would be a cool ass move?", and it's just really cool to witness the very germ of what would eventually become such A Thing.
You even get to see the moment Boon and Tobias decide to give the move its pullback effect that almost always leads the attacker into an uppercut. Boon further explains that the performing actor needed to keep their movements simple so as to minimize frames for 1991 hardware constraints, and you can see Boon and Tobias ask the actor to reposition the spear throw to chest height so that ducking opponents could dodge it.
As we inch closer to Mortal Kombat's big birthday next year, Boon says he's hoping to release more "fly on the wall" videos from the series' history, and like, yes. Please do.
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