Recently, I accidently broke my PC controller and I was forced to play Skullgirls using the keyboard. Needless to say, it sucked. Fighting games are the kind of games where a controller is (almost objectively) better to use than a keyboard, just like how keyboard + mouse is better to use for FPS games than a controller. Keyboards just don't allow the same freedom a controller offers for fighting games, especially because of the analog stick.
So while I was getting my *** kicked and (of course) blaming only my keyboard instead of myself, I had an idea: why don't fighting games use the mouse, too? Couldn't the mouse movements be used as the directional input for the special moves instead of the arrow keys? Examples:
- Hadouken - quick flick with the mouse into the direction you're facing
- Shoryuken - a steep upward curve towards the direction you're facing
- Roundhouse kick - a quick circle motion
What are the advantages and limitations using the mouse in such a way? Are there any examples out there? Maybe there are some limitations I'm not seeing right now? To me, this looks like a way to give players the same freedom in fighting games with keyboard + mouse as a controller would provide, so I'm surprised I don't see more fighting games with that control option.