

Human Reaction Times and Fighting Games, or Why Blocking Isn’t Always Easy - DLay
http://shoryuken.com/2015/05/21/human-reaction-times-and-fighting-games-or-why-blocking-isnt-always-easy/

======
InclinedPlane
Here's a particularly famous example of an effective use of blocking in a
fighting game tournament:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA5RlZoHDds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA5RlZoHDds)

Some quick play by play explanation. This is the final round of the match
which is currently tied, whoever wins the round wins the match. The 1st player
(Daigo, using the character "Ken") has almost no health left as the round is
nearing the end (less than 30 seconds remaining). The 2nd player (Justin Wong,
playing "Chun-Li") then initiates a powerful combo sequence which should be a
guaranteed game winner, but Daigo blocks every single one of the dozen plus
hits perfectly then retaliates with a game wining comeback.

~~~
Rainymood
> then initiates a powerful combo sequence which should be a guaranteed game
> winner, but Daigo blocks every single one of the dozen plus hits perfectly
> then retaliates with a game wining comeback.

He actually ~ parries ~ the hits which require frame perfect block inputs on
EVERY hitframe (IIRC). Which makes his feat even more impressive. 30 or so
frame perfect inputs in the heat of the moment ... amazing ..

If you look really closely, you see Daigo (Ken) shuffling backwars/forwards,
he was waiting for it, he expected it ;)

~~~
dragontamer
Not frame perfect. It was somewhere around 5 to 10 frames.

I know that 5-frames is perfect blocking from GG / Blazblue. I forget the
exact number of frames for Street Fighter 3 Alpha.

However, unlike other games, it isn't a "perfect block". A parry in Street
Fighter 3 Alpha requires you to guess high/low correctly, and THEN press
_forward_ instead of back.

Which means a single mistake would have most certainly doomed the Ken player.

FYI: "Frame Perfect" has a very specific meaning in fighting game terms: it
means 1/60th of a second. 5/60th is actually very manageable with practice.
Tournament-level players can pull off 1/60th of a second timing fairly
regularly, but even 5/60ths seem to be out of reach of the casual player.

I play Blazblue, where the majority of combos are 5/60ths of a second precise.

------
GoldenStake
Using the FCG reaction speed test, I have a reaction time of about 30 frames;
thats pretty terrible compared to the average 16 frames.

