Those points of reference didn’t just impact the graffiti splash mechanics in combat, but the look and feel of the game’s primary setting, Metro City, as well as being directly incorporated into characters like Kimberly, who utilizes spray paint in combat and her cinematics.ĭespite some similarities, there were no specific real-life models for the characters.Īlthough historically, there have been some allusions to real-life inspirations for the character roster (Hello, M. The art team, specifically, traveled to different skating events and skate parks to do hands-on training and experimentation with graffiti painting. For research, members of the team traveled to Los Angeles to meet with graffiti artists and view murals to understand the look and feel of the art form, stateside. When defining for themselves what “urban” culture entails, the developers were adamant about getting tangible points of reference. Research literally took the developers to the streets.

The motion and philosophy of dancing - specifically breakdancing - were also essential to individual characters and the game’s world at large. The duo felt that it was important to emphasize the “street” part of the game’s title, be it through the each character’s body language and personality or incorporating the “graffiti” aesthetic throughout the UI and combat. For Shuhei Matsumoto, he prefers a more mid-1990s and early-2000s era, with Dr. For Takayuki Nakayama, that meant growing up listening to Public Enemy and, eventually, branching off into different international takes on the genre, including German and Italian hip-hop. The tone was decided very early on and came from a genuine love of hip-hop.Īccording to the developers, the influence of a hip-hop or urban aesthetic was part of the game’s design from the very beginning, with a “unanimous decision” to go with something close to the game’s current style from the earliest concept phase of the game.īoth Nakayama-San and Mastumoto-San have been fans of hip-hop since childhood, dating back to their experiences in middle school and high school. The details below come directly from conversations with Takayuki-San and Matsumoto-San and were interpreted by a translator.

Here are 9 things we learned about Street Fighter 6 from the creators themselves.

Street fighter 6 official art