--- key: mechanic/melee-combat--t012 type: mechanic id: melee-combat--t012 lang: en title: Fighting games and duels summary: >- A duel turns range, startup and recovery into exchanges of advantage: the player provokes an action and selects a response. updatedAt: '2026-10-22' status: active url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/melee-combat--t012/' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/melee-combat--t012.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/melee-combat--t012.md' aliases: [] tags: - Melee and combat systems - Mechanics and variants sourceIds: - source-3817d420df0baa92 - source-e7703f0b61e1f579 - source-b67a8fdac5557e73 sources: - id: source-3817d420df0baa92 title: 'Robert Nystrom: State' url: >- https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown verifiedAt: null - id: source-e7703f0b61e1f579 title: 'Godot: AnimationTree' url: >- https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/animation/animation_tree.html verifiedAt: null - id: source-b67a8fdac5557e73 title: Street Fighter™ 6 url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1364780/' verifiedAt: null relations: - type: uses direction: outgoing label: Sources in the selection key: resource/state-pattern title: 'State: Game Programming Patterns' url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.md' placements: - catalogId: melee-combat id: t012 title: Melee and combat systems url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/melee-combat/#t012' categoryIds: - mechanics supersededBy: [] attributes: preview: updatedAt: '2026-10-22' title: Fighting games and duels description: >- A duel turns range, startup and recovery into exchanges of advantage: the player provokes an action and selects a response. image: src: images/mechanics/priority-street-fighter6-09.webp width: 1440 height: 810 game: Street Fighter™ 6 sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1364780/' originalUrl: >- https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1364780/ss_201488fc9f1aa5e29e2fc6d96ef2b66e41ddf32e.1920x1080.jpg?t=1791866175 credit: 'CAPCOM Co., Ltd.' rights: >- Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. caption: An airborne attack meets a low opponent position alt: An airborne attack meets a low opponent position markers: - x: 53 'y': 50 label: Attacking fighter in the air - x: 77 'y': 74 label: Second fighter’s low position tips: - 'Make range, startup and recovery distinguishable.' examples: - title: Street Fighter™ 6 url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1364780/' endsAt: null provenance: >- Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant. license: CC-BY-4.0 codeLicense: MIT attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors catalogKey: catalog/melee-combat --- # Fighting games and duels id: melee-combat--t012 type: mechanic key: mechanic/melee-combat--t012 lang: en status: active url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/melee-combat--t012/ A duel turns range, startup and recovery into exchanges of advantage: the player provokes an action and selects a response. ## At a glance ![An airborne attack meets a low opponent position](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/priority-street-fighter6-09.webp) [Street Fighter™ 6](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1364780/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. 1. Attacking fighter in the air 2. Second fighter’s low position - Make range, startup and recovery distinguishable. - [Street Fighter™ 6](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1364780/) ## How it works A duel turns range, startup and recovery into exchanges of advantage: the player provokes an action and selects a response. ## Variants ### Mechanic variants - Attack height: different target zones require different defenses or stance changes. - Whiff punishment: leaving an attack's reach opens a response during recovery. - Move canceling: a permitted transition reduces commitment at a resource or condition cost. - Defense breaking: passive blocking loses to throws, accumulated pressure or a changed angle. ## Design example In a training duel, a long lunge catches retreating movement but lets the opponent approach and answer with a short sequence after a miss. Prototype check: Test a hit, a block and a miss for each move separately; resulting advantages should follow the permitted state transitions. ## Context and limits Melee combat revolves around distance and the moment of commitment. Starting an action can temporarily remove the ability to defend, so opponents need readable preparation, reach and contact results. These overviews separate decisions about targets, continuing a sequence, choosing a defense and escaping a bad position. Start by testing one attack and one response without decorative effects. The dedicated boss reference remains available in the direction map; this catalog covers the other contact-combat topics. Sources illustrate state and animation-transition models rather than prescribing a universal combat formula. ## Connected materials - Sources in the selection: [State: Game Programming Patterns](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern) (key: resource/state-pattern) ## Sources and provenance Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant. - [Robert Nystrom: State](https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown) (id: source-3817d420df0baa92) - [Godot: AnimationTree](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/animation/animation_tree.html) (id: source-e7703f0b61e1f579) - [Street Fighter™ 6](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1364780/) (id: source-b67a8fdac5557e73) CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors