"It was an eye-opening experience," he admitted. "I mean, back then we didn't have live streams, so I didn't know there was this whole hardcore community around [fighting games]. After that tournament, I knew I was hooked."

Today, Esquivel keeps his talents alive through game development, the upcoming release of his album Super Square, and his job as a lead developer with Knack.it. And he has plenty more plans for Senor Footsies. For one, he wants to move from the hand-drawn, 2D version to a 3D version reminiscent of Street Fighter IV. This means tapping the talents of friend and artist Gordon Henson. "[Gordon] can do everything. He taught himself how to draw, and later model, and it has been really cool watching him develop over the years."

3D models will also allow for more complex animations, including a Matrix-style dodge when a pistol shot misses. Other ideas for the game include an X-Factor-style mechanic dubbed "JalapenYOLO." If you hold both buttons at the start of a round, your character will turn red and become faster for that round. The more rounds you have previously lost in the set, the faster you become. But this technique only has one use, so if you don't get the kill then, well, you've just wasted it.

Additional characters are also in the works. "When I eventually add new characters, I want them all to have different weapons," Esquivel said. One example is a female character who fires a projectile that can be dodged by timing your low kick to duck beneath it. Another is a fighter using a mechanical arm that targets a specific area of the screen.

"That's the funny thing. In the beginning this game wasn't going to be a serious project, but now it has turned into a full-fledged project. And now that the game is in the Unity game engine, I can port it to iPhone, iPad, Android, Xbox 360, or PS3 if I want to. It would be cool to make some money off of it, but honestly this is just for fun."

A 3D model for Diego, the first of many characters for Senor Footsies.

BACK TO BASICS

Senor Footsies, as well as Divekick, arrives in response to an increasingly complex fighting genre. Initially, Esquivel did not enjoy Street Fighter IV's return to basics (a design strategy seemingly ignored by its competitors), but he has since grown to appreciate it. "At first I hated Street Fighter IV, and there are still some things I don't agree with, but they stripped out a lot of the unnecessary [mechanics] and went back to roots. The give-and-take is what's really important. I like that."

A lot of developers [include] attacks with no downsides. I think downsides are what make things beautiful as they allow for interesting interaction."A lot of developers will [include] attacks with no downsides. I think the downsides are what make things beautiful because they allow for interesting interaction. If an attack is super good, you will just use that attack all the time. You saw this a lot in the first Marvel vs. Capcom 3. That game had a lot of really powerful attacks with no downsides, and those made the game less interesting."

With every sequel, Esquivel feels that "feature creep" is taking hold. As new mechanics create larger, deadlier combos, many fighting games are losing one of their most exciting aspects: mind games.

Longer, flashier combos are not the answer. What interests Esquivel are the split-second situations that precede long combos. Those do-or-die moments, when one fighter breaks past the opponent's defenses, are the real entertainment. "Finding the window [for a combo] is the most exciting part, and the simpler your game is, the easier it is to see that happen."

"I think [some developers] are trying to take a step back, but their execution is off. Persona 4 Arena does a good job of this. You can perform extended combos in that game, but you have to pay a lot of meter. It doesn't feel like a sit-and-wait combo game. I don't like the trend toward touch-of-death combos. I like short combos that lead into interesting situations."

Of course, he is quick to acknowledge the merits of technical proficiency in fighting games, just within reason. "In Marvel you get hit by a combo and then you just have to sit there and wait. I've seen guys stop and check their phones during long combos, at tournaments."

Early version of Senor Footsies' HUD; health bar will be divided into three sections, representing rounds.

Esquivel still has a long way to go with his game, and the end is certainly not in sight. A few days before this post, he had just finished polishing off the game's shiny new HUD, seen above. He also teased another major update that he wasn't quite ready to reveal. As his project grows in size and scope, it is exciting to see how Senor Footsies will resonate within the fighting community, and what lessons other developers will take away from this less-is-more approach.

Thanks to Haunts at IPLAYWINNER for supplying A-Rival's contact information. You can follow A-Rival on Twitter via @8bitpimp or on his personal blog.