[Preview] General: Meet Motiga's Gigantic - A Fusion of Casual and Hardcore

BMunchausen · July 2014

Since its inception, Indie online game developer Motiga has kept quiet about two things: its money and its first project. Smart, since keeping mum has allowed it to move forward with its first project without too much interference. At long last however, the Motiga team is ready to let us in on what's been percolating in its Pacific Northwest pressure-cooker, and last week I was one of the lucky few who got to see it. Although I'm not one to indulge in hyperbole, it's no exaggeration to say this game is going to be Gigantic.

Read more of Neilie Johnson's Meet Gigantic - A Fusion of Casual and Hardcore

TerminalDeity · July 2014

Wow! Great art direction. I am officially interested.

Slayblaze · July 2014

This looks awesome! Is it a MOBA?

I just subbed to everything they got, to get more info.

Kaneth · July 2014

This looks pretty sweet.

Dewulf · July 2014

Apply for the alpha on website, I got my spot on alpha already!

rensta · July 2014

Will give this a try for sure!

Torcip · July 2014

From reading the information on their website the most interesting aspect to me is the physics based combat. I really hope that means that what I think it means.

Orious · July 2014

This art direction is pretty cool. A turn on instead of a turn off like other cartoon-ish styles. Good skill level of the devs too.

VicDynamo · July 2014

Ok, I really like the look and style of this so far. Something I'm very interested in following now.

Solar_Prophet · July 2014

Love the art direction. Looks like a mix between a Dreamworks film and the Clone Wars cartoon (not the CGI) series.

Tripp looks like the long-lost sister of Asajj Ventress... which is awesome.

Hopefully this game will not make the mistake of the other MOBAs I've enjoyed but quit, and immediately establish that toxic behavior simply will not be tolerated. Smite, Sins of a Dark Age, Nosgoth (okay, not so much there yet), Strife... all enjoyable games, and all filled to the brim with some of the most immature, racist, unintelligent, homophobic, rude, and sad excuses for humanity ever to walk the Earth.

If anyone at Motiga reads this... please don't let this game's community degenerate. Take a strong stance against toxicity from the start, and never let up on it.

Warlyx · July 2014

looks like smite / nosgoth mixed up

and yeah the art direction is amazing

Trailer here

Lex_Knife · July 2014

Really like the art style, gonna keep my eye on this one. On a side note, when I read the name the Pixies' song "Gigantic" immediately got stuck in my head haha.

MO_Aether · July 2014

Apologies in advance for any formatting issues. A fellow Motigan texted me Solar_Phrophet's post, so I'm currently working from a bar over a celebratory drink, and posting this via phone. That said, Solar's (I can call you solar, right?) thought-provoking post was forwarded to me because it struck a collective nerve.

Motigans are gamers, and we play the same games you do. As a gaming group we have grown universally weary of suffering the toxic communities that grow up around online competitive games. It sucks all the fun out of it, and makes you want to throw your computing device of choice out the nearest window while in the grips of a rage stroke.

That said, we are doing everything in our power to combat the toxicity you speak of at the outset. Rules, expectations? Yeah, sure. But today's gaming communities need more than that. There needs to be real and lasting protections in place to keep those inclined towards misery-making from negatively impacting people who just want to enjoy gaming.

We are taking this very, very seriously. We have a metrics team that is using their incredible, if not inscrutable, powers of analytics (witchcraft I say!) to give the Gigantic community the tools they need to become more than just skilled players, but better, more sportsman-like opponents - win, or lose.

Our mantra right now is "Give the Gigantic community the tools they need to govern each other, improve and evolve community norms, and reward their peers for good play."

While we have an idea of where these tools begin, we are fully prepared to work on equal footing with our community to make those tools work right for you.

That, and some good old fashioned expectations around the kinds of things that basic human decency dictates.

Let's be clear, I'm not talking about draconian rules against lamenting a loss or celebrating a Victory.

And sure, we know it won't be a perfect system, but it will be a consistent effort that we will have in place and reinforce from day one.

Competition can bring out the worst in people, but it doesn't have to. We don't have to accept abuse as a part of our gaming experiences.

And frankly, Motiga just won't.

There is a lot more to say about this, but I'm on a phone, and my non-developer friends are giving me the stink-eye. So, all this is to say: We hear you, and we agree.

Once again, apologies for any formating errors. The posting field I'm working with is really, really small.

There is more to come, friends, and we will need your help to make it work.

Solar_Prophet · July 2014

Originally posted by MO_Aether
Apologies in advance for any formatting issues. A fellow Motigan texted me Solar_Phrophet's post, so I'm currently working from a bar over a celebratory drink, and posting this via phone. That said, Solar's (I can call you solar, right?) thought-provoking post was forwarded to me because it struck a collective nerve.

Motigans are gamers, and we play the same games you do. As a gaming group we have grown universally weary of suffering the toxic communities that grow up around online competitive games. It sucks all the fun out of it, and makes you want to throw your computing device of choice out the nearest window while in the grips of a rage stroke.

That said, we are doing everything in our power to combat the toxicity you speak of at the outset. Rules, expectations? Yeah, sure. But today's gaming communities need more than that. There needs to be real and lasting protections in place to keep those inclined towards misery-making from negatively impacting people who just want to enjoy gaming.

We are taking this very, very seriously. We have a metrics team that is using their incredible, if not inscrutable, powers of analytics (witchcraft I say!) to give the Gigantic community the tools they need to become more than just skilled players, but better, more sportsman-like opponents - win, or lose.

Our mantra right now is "Give the Gigantic community the tools they need to govern each other, improve and evolve community norms, and reward their peers for good play."

While we have an idea of where these tools begin, we are fully prepared to work on equal footing with our community to make those tools work right for you.

That, and some good old fashioned expectations around the kinds of things that basic human decency dictates.

Let's be clear, I'm not talking about draconian rules against lamenting a loss or celebrating a Victory.

And sure, we know it won't be a perfect system, but it will be a consistent effort that we will have in place and reinforce from day one.

Competition can bring out the worst in people, but it doesn't have to. We don't have to accept abuse as a part of our gaming experiences.

And frankly, Motiga just won't.

There is a lot more to say about this, but I'm on a phone, and my non-developer friends are giving me the stink-eye. So, all this is to say: We hear you, and we agree.

Once again, apologies for any formating errors. The posting field I'm working with is really, really small.

There is more to come, friends, and we will need your help to make it work.

Honestly a bit surprised it not only got read, but replied to. +1 reputation to Motiga!

Glad to see you're fully prepared and willing to tackle this head on, and hopefully prevent it from becoming too much of a problem in the first place. MOBA devs / pubs need to be proactive, not reactive, because once that kind of stuff takes hold you'll never be able to get rid of it.

Just look at Riot. They have the 'Summoner's Code', peer judging, robust reporting tools, etc. and to be fair, do the best they can, even banning some of the better known players not only from the game, but from tournament competition as well. Yet their community is still one of the worst in gaming, competitive or otherwise. They let things get out of hand, and because of it the community for that game will forevermore be terrible.

You don't wait for a wound to fester before cleaning and sanitizing it, you do so right away so it won't start festering in the first place.

Got my alpha spot, so I will see you when it starts! Very excited to get in on a game from the start. Enjoy your drink, and thanks for replying.

Scalpless · July 2014

The art style alone is worth checking out. A really good job on making the game stand out. There's plenty of slightly nonstandard MOBAs and this is the only one I'd bother checking out in additioon to SMITE, but that one got an unfair advantage because of my love for mythology.