EPT
Developer Group Interview
Last week at Heroes of the Dorm there was a short sit down with two of the developers (John Hodgson and Kent-Erik Hagman) where the group got to ask them questions. Mostly general media, I think me and GMarshal were the only esports people in the room, but they had decent questions.
I promptly forgot about it until that Developer Insight post came up. Here are the notes I took during it and the questions people asked—it was mostly normal Blizzard types of responses but there are a few nuggets (like knowing Lost Vikings are probably too strong but not wanting to axe their experience gain). There was a lag of 8 days in between when I took these notes and wrote this so don't take this as gospel.
I promptly forgot about it until that Developer Insight post came up. Here are the notes I took during it and the questions people asked—it was mostly normal Blizzard types of responses but there are a few nuggets (like knowing Lost Vikings are probably too strong but not wanting to axe their experience gain). There was a lag of 8 days in between when I took these notes and wrote this so don't take this as gospel.
Whats up with Hero release rates? They've gone down rather than up.
Blizzard is aware that people want Hero releases quicker and that instead of holding to the 1 a month it's actually been longer. They're looking at how to do it, with June 2nd coming up they view this as "Day 1" and will be attempting to adjust the frequency to more, though there's no telling on what that might look like.
June 2nd seems early for full release given it only recently went into beta and still isn't in open beta. Why that date?
Internally they consider their design goals to be met for release (I belive this refers to Hero and map battleground pool). The servers are doing well, they're happy with the state of the backend and so they are comfortable with it being ready structurally. They ended by saying "to not beat around the bush lets accept it that beta is basically released anyway".
Any plans for changes between now and release?
Big plans but we can't say what yet!
Will the map system grow?
They're entertaining ideas of a map rotation system, maybe with vetos and maybe not. They want maps to be very functional and polished and right now are looking to design the game (heroes/talents I guess) around the current set of maps.
Note that in past press conferences at Blizzcon 2013/14 they pimped a map rotation system highly so this marks a change in approach.
Note that in past press conferences at Blizzcon 2013/14 they pimped a map rotation system highly so this marks a change in approach.
Matchmaking wise, will there be any adjustments to quick match so you can play with team composition in any way?
They're willing to look at it and tinker with it but the playerbase is too small right now to realistically push out any major changes. As it gets bigger they will re-evaluate if there is more clear feedback on what players want there.
How many active players?
Can't talk about it.
Balance: how hard is it to bring characters up vs nerfing them to bring characters down? How does that process work?
They feel every hero should be viable in some ways, even if their niche is very narrow. Its difficult to make people better without risking fucking the meta. They're constantly watching events, reading forums, playing themselves to make sure everything feels "powerful". Winrates help make that decision, they want each hero to be distinct but also have viability and want all of them to be special. It's okay if some characters aren't good in all scenarios but are only workable in specific teams. Longterm they will try to stay careful with it.
What are plans for future events? Will Heroes have a WCS?
Blizzcon will have a finals, ideas are still being ironed out. They want Blizzcon to be an amazing event that's grand in scale.
There are a lot of maps to the table early, something other MOBAs don't do. Can we expect similar pace of map releases?
They feel there is still a lot of space to grow in hero design, and the same is true for maps. There are lots of mechanics they are testing internally and working out but nothing they're ready to talk about.
They have some guys that are mostly focused on maps, some that are focused on heroes. The team divides the design work that way.
(I wrote a big HEHEHEH here in my notes, and had I been doing this on real paper and not a laptop I would have doodled something obscene).
They have some guys that are mostly focused on maps, some that are focused on heroes. The team divides the design work that way.
(I wrote a big HEHEHEH here in my notes, and had I been doing this on real paper and not a laptop I would have doodled something obscene).
About skins, will we see more?
There will be more exclusive, limited release skins in the future. Maybe stuff for special events.
Will there be a StarCraft tank? Will there be a Diablo support hero?
Yes, "we apologize to all the players who cannot double dip on daily quests". They now realize how much people want to be able to clear multiple quests at once.
Can you talk about how you choose what next hero will be?
In the past this was very willy nilly, just sort of doing whatever seemed cool and fun. They're now in a position where they realize they (largely by accident) have 75% characters from Warcraft, and some franchises don't have certain roles. In the future they're going to try to plan it out more so that it's more balanced across those things.
(Keep in mind the next hero seems to be another Warcraft character so draw your own conclusions here).
(Keep in mind the next hero seems to be another Warcraft character so draw your own conclusions here).
Events like Heroes of the Dorm, what do the developers take away from this?
"I found a bug!"
They learn stuff all the time from competitive players. They admit they're not the best at the game so they look to competitions for feedback. Internally the team loves seeing lesser used heroes like Tyreal/Kerrigan getting played in HotD, wonder how much more they will see them in the future.
ETC is a good example of something they haven't touched on the design side, but went through a change where everyone picked Mosh Pit but now Stage Dive tends to be favored.
They learn stuff all the time from competitive players. They admit they're not the best at the game so they look to competitions for feedback. Internally the team loves seeing lesser used heroes like Tyreal/Kerrigan getting played in HotD, wonder how much more they will see them in the future.
ETC is a good example of something they haven't touched on the design side, but went through a change where everyone picked Mosh Pit but now Stage Dive tends to be favored.
How did the idea for Heroes of the Dorm come up?
"Esports team. We're terrible at all non-development things so its good they do it."
Whats it like for you seeing it on ESPN?
Makes tear motion.
Games have come a long way. Been a dream forever. Surreal seeing their creation on TV. Not sure where it's going. This is the seed, it's not done yet. It may go somewhere, it may not.
Games have come a long way. Been a dream forever. Surreal seeing their creation on TV. Not sure where it's going. This is the seed, it's not done yet. It may go somewhere, it may not.
Has twitch influenced your decisions in the dev cycle?
"It slowed down development because we watch it too much."
"We do try to design the game so that its fun to watch. Having a game that's clear and seems exciting and fun is something that gets people interested in it". They look at readability from art standpoint, clarity of purpose in mechanics from the design side. As an example, ETC is big. He looks like he can take a hit. It's good that his role is a tank, it fits him.
Blizzard design philosophy is to re-evaluate and do what helps make it a better experience. StarCraft II was really dictated by watch-ability but Heroes is less so.
"We do try to design the game so that its fun to watch. Having a game that's clear and seems exciting and fun is something that gets people interested in it". They look at readability from art standpoint, clarity of purpose in mechanics from the design side. As an example, ETC is big. He looks like he can take a hit. It's good that his role is a tank, it fits him.
Blizzard design philosophy is to re-evaluate and do what helps make it a better experience. StarCraft II was really dictated by watch-ability but Heroes is less so.
Are Lost Vikings too powerful for lane soaking etc?
They think Vikings might be too powerful, and suspected they were probably too strong from the start but they can't play them to the level to have been sure on it. They agree his lane soaking ability is probably too good.
There might be a way to allow that mechanic to stay but find a new way to approach it, but they don't know how to address yet. There are a lot of ideas on the table—they don't like the normal suggestion of lowering their experience percentage per viking because it's hard to understand as a viewer or player. Looking to change them in some other way.
There might be a way to allow that mechanic to stay but find a new way to approach it, but they don't know how to address yet. There are a lot of ideas on the table—they don't like the normal suggestion of lowering their experience percentage per viking because it's hard to understand as a viewer or player. Looking to change them in some other way.
How hard do you examine heroes that are first launched? How hard do you look at them?
"Haha, not hard enough, they still catch me off guard".
Internally they are working months ahead so sometimes thing slip through and they don't realize how powerful a character is. Additionally it might take players a long time to adjust to a new hero so it's hard to know immediately. They try to look at it holistically and let it cook in player's minds for a while.
Internally they are working months ahead so sometimes thing slip through and they don't realize how powerful a character is. Additionally it might take players a long time to adjust to a new hero so it's hard to know immediately. They try to look at it holistically and let it cook in player's minds for a while.
