When I played Sealost Interactive’s The Thrill of the Fight for the first time, I felt that it was the closest I had ever come to boxing on a videogame medium. Thrill Of The Fight allows me to use real footwork, rather than using analog sticks and shoulders buttons like I did with EA Fight Night. In VR, I can jab, weave, and hook my computer opponent. The Thrill of the Fight 2 is a game that allows players to battle real opponents online. It’s currently available in Early Access. Ian Fitz, the game’s developer has a lot of questions. He invites me to battle him first in his virtual world. Sue Swinburne, head of entertainment and marketing at Halfbrick Studios, watches from outside the ring in spectator mode. Halfbrick Studios are crucial to the game. Fitz was struggling with his work on Thrill 2 ‘
‘ until he began working for Halfbrick in 2023. Both of us are waiting, watching and moving a little while. He immediately responds with a three punch combination; the first shot lands flush, the latter two I block using a high guard. The first punch lands on the ground, and the second two are blocked with high guard. He doesn’t throw too many punches (which could require excessive stamina) and is almost always precise. At one point, he stuns my with the white screen and I hide behind a high-guard. It’s clear that he’s not going to
hold back too much
because he begins throwing punches when I am vulnerable. Unconsciously, I start bouncing and spin away. I go back to my corner, trying not to breathe too loudly. The moment in between the rounds can be crucial, as it is during a match. The one minute break is used to relax and plan your next move. This also has a psychological aspect; the other player can see you in the corner and you can see them for the entire minute. This can be a little unnerving. It can be unnerving. Even though it’s not the most ideal thing to do, I will occasionally kneel down and rest. Your opponent will then adjust his strategy if they see you are tired. Tony Jeffries, a former boxer, had a rocky start, tried bluffing in order to look energetic and ready to start the next round. I am too tired to do this. It’s important to weigh up how you feel about your opponent knowing that you are tired versus how you want to relax. The Thrill of the Fight 2, Halfbrick Studios
Rounds two and three are more interesting. Even though I still win, I throw more, step to the side and duck more. At the end of round two, I did something I would never do in real life. I put down my hands and dodged punches. I twisted side to side and snapped back and forth, mimicking Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker. Fitz, who is as accurate as ever, makes me
try dodge. While my dodging is flashy, there are places where I hear punches landing, even though they may not be all on the same side. Fitz is landing the better, harder punches and I decide to try and clinch – a classic grappling maneuver in boxing to buy time – but I can’t quite pull it off. He chuckles. Fitz is landing the better, harder punches, and I decide to try and clinch – a classic grappling maneuver in boxing to buy time – but I can’t quite pull it off, and he chuckles.“There is one
– you have to stay on top of each other for a bit,” he says.
We’re both carrying our hands lower than chin level at times, which Swinburne picks up on. “Ian, if Tony points out was here, he’d be talking to you about your blocking.”
“I’d never watched a boxing match in my life,” Fitz says. I didn’t even know what boxing was.
Ian Fitz blocked during our match.When VR headsets such as the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift were released, Fitz became excited. Fitz quit his job and made the first game himself, with “zero” budget. He was barely able to pay the mortgage with the proceeds from the game. But if he wasn’t a boxing fan…why boxing?“You’ve got a headset, and you’ve got controllers, and they know where you’re at within a space, and the way that space works, games can get a rectangular area. What kind of game would care about the head, hands and rectangle you’re moving around? “That sounds like boxing!” The feedback from the players told him that they did not want an arcade-style boxing game but wanted something realistic. Fitz then used a “physics based approach”, and researched research about the “biomechanics of Boxing”, while The Thrill of the Fight 1 in Early Access. “Everything that happens in real life and boxing is based on physics,” he smiles. He was surprised when people told him that they didn’t expect a particular thing to be in his game. But he said that because he built the foundation for realism and physics, these things were there without any of his knowledge. I see it all the time. People say why would you want to play a VR table tennis game when you could just go and play table tennis? The author in the Fitz match.
“I think these games have a magic that is unique. They replicate things you can do
now[a clinch in the game] in real-life, but there may be disadvantages in doing them
now[Jeffries] or in real-life. That might prevent you from actually wanting to do it.”
Because I’m afraid of getting hit in the head! Halfbrick Studios, The Thrill of the Fight 2.
He laughs but he is also addressing something more serious. Even big boxing fans have been divided over the issue of long-term neurologic injuries
that come with this sport. It’s intriguing to play a little boxing, without getting hit on the head. This is not the same as boxing, because there’s no contact and no damage. This type of person is likely to be hit with a hard punch that will knock them down or make them stop. Fitz, I wonder, will be able to emulate this when there is no damage involved? How, I wonder, is Fitz going to find a way to emulate this when there is no damage involved?
“You got stunned while we were fighting – and it’s like you can’t miss it, the screen flashes white – and we’ve seen in a few playtests, that some people just ignore it. I think that when you’re in it, and your adrenalin is pumping, some people just ignore the white flash, keep going.” I think that when you’re in it, your adrenalin is pumping and you wanna win, some people just ignore that white flash and keep going.”
“There is this physical disconnect here,” he acknowledges.
An opponent in The Thrill of the Fight 2, Halfbrick Studios.[his]He’s interested in addressing the damage value of punches, enhancing the stun system, and also introducing a form of guided training. The single-player version is coming soon. Thrill of the Fight 2 is fascinating to me, but it could be improved, particularly in the way the game measures the force of a punch. Fitz asks me to imagine a scenario where I go to the boxing gym and’spar’ using VR, without contact, and thus, without damage. Fitz asks me to consider a scenario where I go to the boxing gym and ‘spar’ using VR, without contact, and thus without damage.
“That’s the future we’re trying to get to.”
The Thrill of the Fight 2 is available now in early access on the
platform, and the full release window remains unconfirmed.[of]