Your theories on characters clone ?

[AznKhmerBoi]

Is it because of time constraints,laziness, or theres something else?
I think the purpose for character clones varies from game to game.

Whats your theory on this subject matter?

[Hobie-wan]

In the cartridge days it was to save memory space. Chips were expensive and a different color palette took a lot less space than new graphics.

[AznKhmerBoi]

^ That is very true for golden days of gaming. What about more modern games that have enough space such as the MK series when it was out on playstation. The cloning of the robots and ninjas were just plain ridiculous. I take it they were just plain lazy or just exhausted their creativity in character design.

[flojocabron]

from what I have read/heard, is that back in the day memory was more expensive. games and their consoles only had so much to be displayed/handled by the processor.

So to save on memory, programmers just made a color swap. It was way easier than buying more memory or adding another chip to the cart. It may have also saved on programming time as well.

Its a cost effective way to save money.

So in the beginning it was out of necessity.

[Flake]

It's also a necessary component for multiplayer. You have to have a default option that is available to all players if you are going to have any semblance of balance. That goes for pretty much all genres, and for games both modern and retro.

[CD AGES]

Memory limitations and trying to squeeze as much as possible within those limits! It's why shoto-cloning (SF series) Ninja Syndrome (MK series) and a whole lot of other examples in video gaming exist

[flex wood]

What about Ryu and Ken? At least the palate swaps in mk gave the characters different move sets.

[Hobie-wan]

What about Ryu and Ken? At least the palate swaps in mk gave the characters different move sets.

Actually Ken and Ryu are slightly different. Their signature moves tweaked a little differently, at least is some of the games.

[brunoafh]

What about Ryu and Ken? At least the palate swaps in mk gave the characters different move sets.

Ryu and Ken have different movesets, they just share the hadokuen/shoryuken/tatsumaki thing.

[BoringSupreez]

Some of the old character clones worked out quite well later on. Mario and Luigi, for example, have very different personalities now, plus Luigi tends to have floatier controls.