As Heroes of the Storm readies for beta, Blizzard is eyeing Elite Tauren Chieftain, Raynor, and more for major talent changes in a future update, Game Director Dustin Browder told IGN.
“Quite frankly, I would say any of that first 18 Heroes that we did are probably in a zone where they have some kind of crosshairs on them for some kind of improvement,” Browder said. “We’re identifying heroes now and we’re like, ‘wow, this hero can be way cooler. What can we do for him or her to make them a cooler hero?’”
18 Hero changes is an enormous number for a game Blizzard is preparing for beta release, but Browder is excited about it. Heroes of the Storm support won’t stop now, and it won’t stop soon. Blizzard isn’t “afraid to make talent changes two years from now” if its action-RTS needs it.
There'€™s a good chance in a year or two [that] all these maps that you're playing on are all gone.
“That’s what I love about the free-to-play space is we’re allowed to keep working on the game and releasing small changes as opposed to the more traditional model,” Browder said. “In this kind of environment we can just keep releasing things as long as people are liking what we’re doing, they’ll keep paying us to do it and we can keep making it, which is very cool from a developer perspective.”
Heroes of the Storm is an atypically forward-facing game for Blizzard, a developer that’s traditionally protective of its projects. Browder, having changed “some really bad ideas” the Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm team cooked up, felt confident about releasing a technical alpha to the player-base. The hardcore fans’ distress weighs on the team a bit, however, with Blizzard only able to allow so many players in while locking out everyone else. “The cost has been the mental health of our most passionate players. We’re not able to just sort of figure out how to get in millions of passionate players in all at once.”
The benefits Blizzard’s gained during the technical alpha, however, will make Heroes of the Storm a more usable, approachable, and enjoyable experience for those who access the beta. Browder cited the Artifact system as a failure. The community rejected the notion of smaller in-game purchases “was no good, it died in a fire, and I could not be happier. I could not be happier that the community helped us come to that conclusion.”
As Heroes of the Storm enters beta down the line, Browder is bracing for the onslaught of even more feedback as more players explore the Battlegrounds. “Much like StarCraft, we will probably rotate things in and out of matchmaker. An old battleground will be available to you in custom games if you want to play it, but the matchmaker only supports so many.”
He continued, “We’re going to keep adding battlegrounds and we’re going to start rotating them out when it feels like too much. Honestly, there’s a good chance in a year or two…all these maps that you’re playing on are all gone.”
Older Battlgrounds “will be available to you in custom games if you want to play it, but the matchmaker only supports so many.”
For more news, discussions and strategy regarding Heroes of the Storm, head over to IGN Arena to check out and subscribe to our MOBA podcast.
kotaku.com
joystiq.com
No comments:
Post a Comment