The twist to this game is that instead of choosing a champion and learning the predefined abilities, you will become the champion and pick whatever abilities and weapon that suits your playstyle which opens up a massive number of different ways to play.
Every player would start with a few abilities for each slot (Q, E, and R, the ultimate).
My question that I am pondering is:
Should I have players accumulate currency from playing to purchase new abilities between games or should I have the base abilities âevolveâ into variants of themselves from being used? e.g. a fireball evolves into an exploding aoe fireball, it evolves again to burn the target doing more damage over time, etc. So now the player can pick any of the variants they unlocked (similar to diablo 3)
Any other suggestions would be appreciated. The overall theme of the game is fun, fast, and geared at a younger audience to ease them into the MOBA experience and learning curve.
So what you mean it have the players earn currency and then using that currency to purchases new abilities or the other choice of upgrading abilities to better versions. I would say this is more down to personal preference or what the people playing the game would prefer. Some people prefer to buy and unlock new abilities as they progress through the game, and some like upgrading abilites and weapons. Personally, I would say probably using a currency to purchase new abilites, simple because there is more variety, as for some it may be slightly more âboringâ or just less fun to evolve and upgrade the same ability, in comparison to having a wide range of weapons and abilites to purchase with the currency and unlock and fight with, cuz there is a wider range. But, again, all down to personal preference and what you feel is best
Good luck with the game and hope it goes all well!
Thanks for the replies, and yes MOBA such as league of legends or smite.
I also worried that it wouldnât be as obvious to the player to evolve the skills and players would feel more natural or in control when selecting them from the shop.
This idea for a MOBA game sounds pretty fun! I really like some of your ideas, but maybe the âevolutionsâ like you stated would be a hard part of the game to grasp so maybe just have the abilities be separate all together like a fireball would be one power. Then the exploding fireball would be a different power but more rare or such.
Youâve already listed some ways of doing it, each has their own use and it doesnât matter which method or system you use. The only huge caveat of that design is that players who spent time getting better abilities than everyone else will dominate. Separating players based on how much currency they spent upgrading a single character will split a player base. A single character with pre-defined movesets are tried and tested to have the least amount of design problems. I understand you are trying to create a niche from this mechanic but the consequences of this design might be tough to tackle. Well, if you plan on having currency to be used on something else other than abilities-- it might make sense to design abilities to be acquired using currency. Personally, I would prefer it this way. I might grind some cash to upgrade a different character I would use. Using a character that starts from the bottom fighting against others with upgraded skills wouldnât be a fun experience.
Personally I feel that picking the abilities at the start and having them change/upgrade throughout the game is a good approach. It will make for more strategic and thought out play, instead of everyone constantly changing abilities to counter each other. Maybe you can allow for 1 ability swap per player after a certain amount of time has passed, to encourage some adaptive gameplay.
For abilities, consider mixing elements from different professions and games, maximizing the amount of classes you can have and how creative you can be.
For example, letâs think about the role of a chef. A chefâs defining traits are the ability to cook, and use sharp tools, and the ability to make some killer sushi (and yes, I love sushi). Using these defining traits, I can come up with some abilities like so:
Cook - Sets up a giant pot and the player can take ten to twenty seconds to create a meal. The meal could give boosts, like health, attack defense, etc.
Throwing Knife - Will throw a large knife with about a five second cool down.
Killer Sushi - Will grab different sea creatures and through them in a huge radius.
I left these all open for interpretation, and just wanted to coney the message that it isnât too hard to make an ability yourself. Just think of a profession or thing, and list traits. Then convert that from paper to functioning abilities.
