With extreme violence and combo-centered brawls at the forefront, the Mortal Kombat franchise is currently enjoying its 29th year of success following the record-breaking run of Mortal Kombat 11. As speculation mounts regarding the future prospects of developer NetherRealm Studios, series co-creator Ed Boon appears to be looking back at the series genesis as the iconic franchise slowly counts down to its upcoming 30th anniversary.

As revealed in a recent Twitter thread, Boon showed off a behind-the-scenes clip focused on the character of Scorpion, showing how the fighting game’s creatives came up with the the iconic “get over here” spear attack. Featuring Ed Boon and fellow Mortal Kombat creator John Tobias, a costumed martial arts actor can be seen taking various approaches in throwing the imaginary projectile, ranging from different speeds to lining up the proper height for the spear to “pass over a ducking opponent.”

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/3f1tdvjG9R

— Ed Boon (@noobde) October 12, 2021

Recalled as starting with the question, “You know what would be a cool ass move?,” the Mortal Kombat team is seen making several suggestions throughout the video, from Boon’s excited idea-forming to Tobias’ likening the rope to a hissing snake, history is indeed taking place during the video’s 2-minute duration. Boon also mentioned the technical challenges of bringing the move to life, as the surprise maneuver was required to contain “very few frames” and adhere to the memory constraints of 1991.

“We were so tight on memory, that we didn’t even capture any motions for the victim reactions. Instead we borrowed from their existing animation frames. You can hear us talk about reusing one of the victim’s ‘knockdown’ animations when they initially get hit by the spear,” Ed Boon explained. “We also borrowed the victim’s ‘fatality dizzy’ frames to show they were stunned after being pulled in. Reusing existing animations was one of the many tricks we used to save memory, which was so much more limited in 1991.”

Of course, as the years progressed, the brawls of the Mortal Kombat games have only grown more complex across a variety of capable fighters. However, Scorpion’s spear move has always endured for its unique strategy in battle and for the character’s grizzled bellow of “Get over here!” While it’s currently unknown what the fighting franchise may have in store for the future, Boon expressed he’s keeping his “fingers krossed” to release more “fly on the wall” videos as the series settles into its 30-year anniversary.

What do you think? Are you impressed by the staying power of Scorpion’s spear attack, or is the entirety of the first Mortal Kombat a “classic” in your eyes? Which Mortal Kombat game is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day!​

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