A Battle on All Fronts #1

One of the most common questions asked to the design team is whether we primarily balance for competitive play or for casual play. What complicates this question is the general perception from casual players that we balance only for competitors, thereby ruining casual play; meanwhile and concurrently, competitors infamously accuse us of balancing and designing for casual play, thereby ruining competitive play. The truthful answer is that we will always balance for competitive play, but we design for all tiers of skill. This series will be devoted to exploring this sensibility.

Place yourself into the shoes of a neophyte to the genre. Entering the full hero selection screen is nothing short of daunting, but is only a taste of the challenge to come. Many of our new players have never played DotA before; they come to us through word of mouth (to our fans, we are eternally grateful) or via media coverage (to publishers; I am available for photoshoots M-F 10-6 EST). What is common, and unfortunate, is that the newbie experience in HoN is nothing short of horrible, and the core game design is certainly a big part of it. While some have charged that we have been moving the gameplay towards a more casual audience–an accusation that is mislead, as I will explain later–it would be foolish for us to not address the shortcomings that plague the genre. Our loyal playerbase should not be alarmed, however–this is not indicative of a gameplay direction shift. Rather, there are ways to tackle the problem through the interface. To continue, I’d like to present HoN as a game that requires three player attributes:

1. Knowledge: rote knowledge is the greatest barrier to entry. Knowledge of what every hero and item does, how different heroes and items interact, and the ability to synthesize all of this knowledge and quickly access it in the heat of battle is incredibly taxing.
2. Experience: experience is the most difficult skill to obtain, as it can only be obtained through time and practice. Experience is recognizing and responding to certain situations–when to engage, when to retreat. It is experience that is responsible for calculated risks and extraordinary plays.
3. Finesse: finesse is the final component, and is something that comes naturally to some, while others may never obtain it. Proper usage of heroes like Ophelia require that the player hold perhaps an inborn set of skills. Anyone can play basketball for years, but they may never be Michael Jordan.

The problem with DotA and HoN is that knowledge is not presented in an orderly, accessible fashion–it is acquired through experience. Valve has announced that they will be integrating a mentoring program–which is by all means a valiant effort, but is undeniably dependent on good will and good advice. Part of what we wish to do with HoN moving forward is to streamline the way knowledge is presented to the player such that it is integrated and delivered through the interface in a useful, enjoyable manner. What HoN has done successfully thus far is take much of the information in the game, organize it, and present it to the end user in an easily parse-able manner. Persistent stats, in-game gold breakdown, the observer interface, and replay features all serve this end. However, gameplay knowledge itself still must be acquired through either personal experience or external means such as the forums. Vital to the game moving forward is a fully integrated solution for learning as you go along. As the patches go by, expect to see the fruits of this effort trickle their way in.