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This is going to be a review of the game. yes...
The Good
It's fun and easy to learn. It's free. It's well designed. There is a decent depth of strategy as well as fun for all levels. It's got warcraft lore. As a card game it's good.
The Bad
Social Dimension
I'll name some obvious things others have already mentioned. First is the lack of social interaction. Humans are literally unable to communicate with each other. We can't talk to each other, that's fucked up. There's no chat channels, no clans, nothing. Literally what the fuck happened here. Obviously a setting to enable or disable chatting would give the best of both worlds.
Money Dimension
Second, the game is a heavily commodified form of recreation. we have fun by spending money or time. You don't have to spend money but it gives significant benefit. Arena mode costs money. Getting cards for decent decks in constructed either takes lots of time or money. Is this a problem? Not really. It makes sense, for it to cost money. The game took quite a lot of money and effort to make therefore their effort should be rewarded. However their could have instead followed a Dota2 style version model where money only buys style and swagger. They could also shift the costs of cards / down / ways of making gold / arena entry so it's easier to access. This all of course depends on the actual profitability of the game. If the game isn't even breaking even then w/e.
Creativity Dimension
Third: creativity. We are playing a game where there are a lot of creative options available. Gameplay decision making and deck building are nice. But what if people could make their on alternate versions of the game by altering rules / creating new rules and gameplay mechanics. What if people could make their own cards / card sets and play with each other in these new and interesting ways. One of the great aspects of Blizzard games was the map editor. Moba was born in map editor. Yet hearthstone doesn't have anything similar. This critique of course applies to other card games and boardgames / card games in general. In reality this is more a problem of modern consumption and norms of consumption. Our freetime is commodofied as we spend money to have fun instead of making our own games/boardgames/card games, or making our own stories / books / movies. We are passive consumers instead of creative producers. Obviously this isn't the case for all of us, and sticking to one extreme is bad, but I think if people engaged more in the middle the world would be a better place. Anecdotally, I play lots of boardgames with friends, but we never make up our own game, we instead spend money on games and we also don't creatively adjust rules / gameplay.
Conclusion
Ideally I want to see someone ripoff the Hearthstone game design / engine and program a similar game except opensource and with a a huge variety of creative options. Ideally there will be the standard format with standardized rules and cards. And then fun modes / card sets that people can make on their own and play with people. The standard mode will require unlocking cards because that aspect is always fun in terms of "gamification principles" but it will be significantly easier to unlock new cards. something like 10 gold per win. 50 gold per pack. 100 gold per arena entry with adjusted prizes. Crafting costs / refunding scaled back. In a way it's sort of like private WoW servers with leveling scaled differently to reduce grinding time. Hopefully with greater social capabilities, people will be able to form communities and bonds with strangers and grow as individuals. Instead of individualistic competition for scarce resources, we will be communities within communities, playing together creatively and socially, having fun in a variety of different ways for the variety of different gamers out there.
  
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Definitely agree with you on the social aspect, playing Hearthstone can often be a relatively solitary experience, and I think the game would gain a lot by improving in this area. But I actually think that the monetization is quite fair, even though I don't dedicate a tremendous amount of time to the game, I feel I can create new decks often enough and play about as much arena as I want to. And I doubt only paying for cosmetics is a viable approach in this type of game if you want it to be profitable.
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This is going to my rant about hearthstone
The good
Here I've written one sentence to actually give some impression that im not completely biased, as well as some obvious one worders.
The bad
Social Dimension
Even without the chat function, the emotes are often used to bad manner players. From the early well played, to just spamming emotes or waiting for turns to run out. Cardgames attract bad manner. Ive assembled some sample messages that you would see frequently.
Hey man - can you leave the game, I just need one more win for legend. Wow, you are so fucking lucky, topdecking ragnaros. You only win because your a topdeck lucker. Get out you suck. Please leave. LOL. Thanks for game noob. OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING LOLOLOLOLOL.
Money dimension
The first sentence is mega complicated to appear smart. Ive decided to rewrite this part from the developers perspective.
we make our living by selling games. You don't have to spend money but it gives significant benefit. Developing games costs money. Getting cards for decent decks in constructed either takes lots of time or money. The game took quite a lot of money and effort to make therefore our effort should be rewarded. We could have followed a dota style payment system but that would be silly, this creates more revenue. We really wouldnt be satisfied with this game breaking even as were a company.
Creativity Dimension
In my opinion, a third dimension is too much for a card game - whatever. Im just going to point out that here its basically a long list of things that you would do better if you created the game. While the ideas arent terrible - I thought this is a review.
Conclusion
This isnt a good review.
As a bonus for reading - here are 100 of the strangest words in english
Abibliophobia - The fear of running out of reading material.
Absquatulate - To leave or abscond with something.
Allegator - Some who alleges.
Anencephalous - Lacking a brain.
Argle-bargle - A loud row or quarrel.
Batrachomyomachy - Making a mountain out of a molehill.
Billingsgate - Loud, raucous profanity.
Bloviate - To speak pompously or brag.
Blunderbuss - A gun with a flared muzzle or disorganized activity.
Borborygm - A rumbling of the stomach.
Boustrophedon - A back and forth pattern.
Bowyang - A strap that holds the pants legs in place.
Brouhaha - An uproar.
Bumbershoot - An umbrella.
Callipygian - Having an attractive rear end or nice buns.
Canoodle - To hug and kiss.
Cantankerous - Testy, grumpy.
Catercornered - Diagonal(ly).
Cockalorum - A small, haughty man.
Cockamamie - Absurd, outlandish.
Codswallop - Nonsense, balderdash.
Collop - A slice of meat or fold of flab.
Collywobbles - Butterflies in the stomach.
Comeuppance - Just reward, just deserts.
Crapulence - Discomfort from eating or drinking too much.
Crudivore - An eater of raw food.
Discombobulate - To confuse.
Donnybrook - An melee, a riot.
Doozy - Something really great.
Dudgeon - A bad mood, a huff.
Ecdysiast - An exotic dancer, a stripper.
Eructation - A burp, belch.
Fard - Face-paint, makeup.
Fartlek - An athletic training regime.
Fatuous - Unconsciously foolish.
Filibuster - Refusal to give up the floor in a debate to prevent a vote.
Firkin - A quarter barrel or small cask.
Flibbertigibbet - Nonsense, balderdash.
Flummox - To exasperate.
Folderol - Nonsense.
Formication - The sense of ants crawling on your skin.
Fuddy-duddy - An old-fashioned, mild-mannered person.
Furbelow - A fringe or ruffle.
Furphy - A portable water-container.
Gaberlunzie - A wandering beggar.
Gardyloo! - A warning shouted before throwing water from above.
Gastromancy - Telling fortune from the rumblings of the stomach.
Gazump - To buy something already promised to someone else.
Gobbledygook - Nonsense, balderdash.
Gobemouche - A highly gullible person.
Godwottery - Nonsense, balderdash.
Gongoozle - To stare at, kibitz.
Gonzo - Far-out journalism.
Goombah - An older friend who protects you.
Hemidemisemiquaver - A musical timing of 1/64.
Hobbledehoy - An awkward or ill-mannered young boy.
Hocus-pocus - Deceitful sleight of hand.
Hoosegow - A jail or prison.
Hootenanny - A country or folk music get-together.
Jackanapes - A rapscallion, hooligan.
Kerfuffle - Nonsense, balderdash.
Klutz - An awkward, stupid person.
La-di-da - An interjection indicating that something is pretentious.
Lagopodous - Like a rabbit's foot.
Lickety-split - As fast as possible.
Lickspittle - A servile person, a toady.
Logorrhea - Loquaciousness, talkativeness.
Lollygag - To move slowly, fall behind.
Malarkey - Nonsense, balderdash.
Maverick - A loner, someone outside the box.
Mollycoddle - To treat too leniently.
Mugwump - An independent politician who does not follow any party.
Mumpsimus - An outdated and unreasonable position on an issue.
Namby-pamby - Weak, with no backbone.
Nincompoop - A foolish person.
Oocephalus - An egghead.
Ornery - Mean, nasty, grumpy.
Pandiculation - A full body stretch.
Panjandrum - Someone who thinks himself high and mighty.
Pettifogger - A person who tries to befuddle others with his speech.
Pratfall - A fall on one's rear.
Quean - A disreputable woman.
Rambunctious - Aggressive, hard to control.
Ranivorous - Frog-eating
Rigmarole - Nonsense, unnecessary complexity.
Shenanigan - A prank, mischief.
Sialoquent - Spitting while speaking.
Skedaddle - To hurry somewhere.
Skullduggery - No good, underhanded dealing.
Slangwhanger - A loud abusive speaker or obnoxious writer.
Smellfungus - A perpetual pessimist.
Snickersnee - A long knife.
Snollygoster - A person who can't be trusted.
Snool - A servile person.
Tatterdemalion - A child in rags.
Troglodyte - Someone or something that lives in a cave.
Turdiform - Having the form of a lark.
Unremacadamized - Having not been repaved with macadam.
Vomitory - An exit or outlet.
Wabbit - Exhausted, tired, worn out.
Widdershins - In a contrary or counterclockwise direction.
Yahoo - A rube, a country bumpkin.
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It comes off kinda weird how long the con section is compared to the pros, I mean you could have went a little more in depth.
It's also funny how you have the cons sectioned off into specific things you didn't like about the game. IDK it just sends a message that you almost wanted to rush off to saying what you didn't like.
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United Kingdom10443 Posts
can you explain how it is heavily commodified.
I can play the game as many times as I want without paying a cent.
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Hmm, I guess you guys are right. The game doesn't excessively require money to play. Whether or not money matters depends on a person's level of patience. I personally just want to jump right in and start making high level decks without daily grind or playing in arena. But I guess that means the problem is me, not the game.
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Imagine how much more an actual card game would cost for a remotely competitive deck, too—and regardless of time spent playing it.
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If you want to play Hearthstone at the competitive level you have to pour heaps of cash at it unless you're pretty patient. Some plays and popular decks are impossible without certain cards. Sure if you play a lot you can get many legendaries and cool toys quickly but you won't have everything, you won't be able to experiment.
Lots of people like Hearthstone though and on the internet it's hard to criticize things that people like. It's funny but people seem to take offense. OP is not unfair in any way as far as I can tell. He obviously leans one way and that doesn't mean he's any less "objective" than any of you. He's giving an opinion after all.
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On November 29 2014 17:56 jodogohoo wrote:
In reality this is more a problem of modern consumption and norms of consumption. Our freetime is commodofied as we spend money to have fun instead of making our own games/boardgames/card games, or making our own stories / books / movies. We are passive consumers instead of creative producers. Obviously this isn't the case for all of us, and sticking to one extreme is bad, but I think if people engaged more in the middle the world would be a better place. [...]
Conclusion
Hopefully with greater social capabilities, people will be able to form communities and bonds with strangers and grow as individuals. Instead of individualistic competition for scarce resources, we will be communities within communities, playing together creatively and socially, having fun in a variety of different ways for the variety of different gamers out there.
yeah, definitely you brought game review down to the essence and then deconstructed it.
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United States10245 Posts
2/5 rating. while a review that does touch upon the massive cons of the game, you do nothing to support the pros of it or go indepth. had you elaborated more on whats good about the game, this would have been more of a "review" rather than a "bash on the game and this is what i would do better about it" aspect.
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I think you guys are all right. I think a review wasn't a good idea because I wasn't following a good review forumla / industry standards for good reviews. I really was just vomiting words lol.
My post should have been a reflection on games in general in today's society, the potential for a more creative future, and a case study on card games specifically hearthstone.
I came off as bashing hearthstone, but it's more card games in general and games in general in today's society that have these creative downsides. Also magic the gathering is hella more expensive than hearthstone with no possibility of earning cards with gameplay / patience.
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On November 30 2014 19:35 jodogohoo wrote:
My post should have been a reflection on games in general in today's society
Tell me about the duality of man
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One last thing: arena mode essentially turns fellow players in a community against each other by having them compete against each other for scarce resources. There could potentially be a "casual arena mode" where you gain nothing but it costs nothing. Or a "casual arena mode" where the prize are aesthetics upgrades with the regular entrance fee.
The way the game current is could have been different. Also, the current game also has potential for change. The current goal is to generate profit while making a respectable game. The creators have done that so at the end of the day they have already done their job. Also more choices such as "casual arena mode" may have it's own problems such as dividing the community or griefing or simple lower profits. Therefore my suggestion is not without fault, but hopefully it makes people think creatively about the current system and possible changes.
Personally for me the system would be nice. Some audience research is necessary to see if the community / market would appreciate these changes.
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My review of the game. It was wildly addictive at first. After you realize the whole pay or grind aspect it stagnates.
Basically I just log on now to reroll daily quests and complete them for gold, then when I have enough gold I buy naxx wings or play some arena, or let my friend play my arena. The single player mode is interesting for the hour or whatever you put into it.
You can't be competitive unless you have the best cards. Since there isn't much room for deck creation without the constant reinsertion of new cards, the meta is pretty well figured out and the best cards/decks are the most expensive.
This game is basically a dumbed down clone of Magic:TG with some changes and no card trading, but card creation via cards you don't like and a ladder/arena system. I never played MTGO so I can't compare to that.
The problem that magic has is that the top/richest players are really good about finding and getting the best cards asaply and dominating with them. It's the age old concept of needing money to make money.
Also, as cool as the Arena system is. I think pack drafting in MTG is much more fun. And generally the way those worked is that the winner got first pick on the rares/most expensive cards and 2nd got next and so on. Instead of this game where you just win gold, dust, and a random pack or two. It gave you more control of the RNG when you won. (arguably if you win often and a lot, you have more control of the cards you get but most people don't have that kind of consistency).
Overall, MTG is more fun and costs more money, however hearthstone is more casual and you can grind instead of using money. However, this might change depending on the rate at which they release new sets of cards, since you might never be able to grind all the cards you need to stay competitive without investing money.
Also, totally agree with this no chat client shit that games are doing these days. What the fuck is up with that? It really irks the fuck out of me. Games should be fully equipped with friends lists, chat rooms, party chats, in game chat, leaving notes/msgs for offline people, and nowadays even voice support for all of those. For some reason they are going backwards, and I have no idea what the fuck their reasoning is for doing that in the gaming industry in the last couple of years.
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A great invention would be a cardgame creator. something that let's you make your own card game / card sets / game rules. It gives all the joy of card games + exponential amounts of creativity.
I'm sure a lot of people have hidden brilliance waiting to be unleashed. Instead of just playing games, people can use their rich life experiences to craft an unique game.
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EPT
