Heroes of the Storm is the latest MOBA to hit the internet, coming out of beta and being released in June, this Blizzard character mash knows how to get you into the game. Over at arstechina.com, Rowan Kaiser notices how this effect the game, saying it makes a less toxic play, which is great when you are trying to learn a new game. Saying:
The “MOBA” genre is a tough arena to break into—old and new game makers alike want in on the budding five-on-five online-battle genre, but they have to contend with deeply entrenched juggernauts Dota 2 and League of Legends. So when Blizzard Entertainment—the developers responsible for their fair share of juggernauts, including World of Warcraft, Diablo, Starcraft, and Hearthstone—decided to make a MOBA move with this summer’s Heroes of the Storm, the result seemed like a real immovable object and unstoppable force situation.
Blizzard’s greatest strength, for the last 20 years, has been its ability to move into a genre and dominate it using two consistent strategies. Its games have consistently high production values, and its games are accessible in every way possible. The former is certainly present in Heroes of the Storm—which looks and plays great— but the latter is more important. For Blizzard, “accessible” means easier interfaces, lower required technical specifications, and a design philosophy aimed at ensuring the player constantly has something fun to do.
I’ve long been interested in the MOBA genre, thanks to its combination of strategy game-style controls and sports-like positions and improvisation, but my previous attempts to get into the genre had been cut short by unfriendly players and game mechanics. It’s hard to enjoy a competitive game where people are screaming at you for not immediately having the skill to keep up, or where the game itself offers very little encouragement and teaching. But Blizzard’s history of making their games accessible instantly piqued my interest—and now I’m fully invested in Heroes of the Storm.
Here’s how Blizzard made this game more accessible—and why it has a chance against the two-headed monster that is Dota 2 and LoL.
It will be hard to go up against those 2 powerhouses, but if they are bringing in people the right way, it might be doable. There is a lot more in the full article, and you can read it all here.
