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How would you innovate on stagnant genres - MOBAs
Aeander
Member LegendaryPosts: 7,836
So, I thought it would be fun to throw around ideas and desires for genres that have arguably stagnated - such as MMORPGs, MOBAs, ARPGs, etc. Each thread will be focused around a specific genre.
This one is focused around the MOBA - League of Legends, DotA, Smite, etc. This is a genre that essentially reached saturation point within a few years, before much major innovation could happen. The only successful shift being the creation of a third person subgenre.
If you were given full creative freedom and unlimited funding for a new game in this specific genre, what would you do?
My entry would focus on character creation
I would make the first real MOBA to use custom characters rather than preset ones. This game would take place in the third person perspective in order to fully capitalize on this.
Your character will be fully visually customizable, with race, gender, body type, hair, etc. options akin to a full RPG. It would also have multiple stages of visually customizable gear, but we'll get to that later. While cosmetics would be the main source of monetization, there would also be a substantial assortment of starting options and in game rewards.
Players would be able to slot any passive of their choice alongside any four active skills, with the following stipulations:
1) Skills are grouped into ultimate and regular skills. Only one ultimate per build.
2) Skills are grouped into categories such as Damage, Control, Survival, Mobility, and Support, and no more than two skills from any given category may be slotted.
3) Skills are grouped into families such as Water, Lightning, Earth, Psychic, etc. No more than two different families may be equipped on a single build.
Your build will also include an upgradeable weapon and an upgradeable armor that must be enhanced from its most basic form to its ultimate form every match. You will get to choose what the various stages of your weapon and armor look like as part of your character creation.
Builds can be swapped at will, for free, when you are not in a match. No part of building a character's abilities would ever be monetized, but unlocking more than a handful of character slots could be. You would also have multiple build template slots per character, and those not interested in buildcrafting would be able to import entire builds directly from an ingame library of player made and player rated meta builds.
The game would offer not only PvP modes, but also a substantial cooperative PvE component, with the main PvE mode being a tower defense horde mode. There would also be an ongoing story mode with central heroes and villains, with the potential for expansion packs that expand the story and offer new modes and PvE maps.
The PvE mode would add in long term character progression in the form of an expansive passive skill tree. It would work very much like Path of Exile's one.
This one is focused around the MOBA - League of Legends, DotA, Smite, etc. This is a genre that essentially reached saturation point within a few years, before much major innovation could happen. The only successful shift being the creation of a third person subgenre.
If you were given full creative freedom and unlimited funding for a new game in this specific genre, what would you do?
My entry would focus on character creation
I would make the first real MOBA to use custom characters rather than preset ones. This game would take place in the third person perspective in order to fully capitalize on this.
Your character will be fully visually customizable, with race, gender, body type, hair, etc. options akin to a full RPG. It would also have multiple stages of visually customizable gear, but we'll get to that later. While cosmetics would be the main source of monetization, there would also be a substantial assortment of starting options and in game rewards.
Players would be able to slot any passive of their choice alongside any four active skills, with the following stipulations:
1) Skills are grouped into ultimate and regular skills. Only one ultimate per build.
2) Skills are grouped into categories such as Damage, Control, Survival, Mobility, and Support, and no more than two skills from any given category may be slotted.
3) Skills are grouped into families such as Water, Lightning, Earth, Psychic, etc. No more than two different families may be equipped on a single build.
Your build will also include an upgradeable weapon and an upgradeable armor that must be enhanced from its most basic form to its ultimate form every match. You will get to choose what the various stages of your weapon and armor look like as part of your character creation.
Builds can be swapped at will, for free, when you are not in a match. No part of building a character's abilities would ever be monetized, but unlocking more than a handful of character slots could be. You would also have multiple build template slots per character, and those not interested in buildcrafting would be able to import entire builds directly from an ingame library of player made and player rated meta builds.
The game would offer not only PvP modes, but also a substantial cooperative PvE component, with the main PvE mode being a tower defense horde mode. There would also be an ongoing story mode with central heroes and villains, with the potential for expansion packs that expand the story and offer new modes and PvE maps.
The PvE mode would add in long term character progression in the form of an expansive passive skill tree. It would work very much like Path of Exile's one.
Post edited by Aeander on
Comments
/Cheers,
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
As for moba's,well just like an arpg we need to add more effort into the design and to be frank,that could go in many directions but basically ,show me a MUCH better effort.
I feel with the tech we have right now any and all forms of rpg's should have housing,exploration,secrets to uncover,open world not instances.
What all games using characters should have is in depth character customization.This does NOT mean visual sliders and it does NOT mean point spending or any idea revolving around gear,such as gem sockets.It should be strictly about the character/race.
I need to see SKILLS and skill levels not player levels.
NO ladders or bragging platforms because they give a FALSE impression as to why people are playing the game.I want games to be luring people in for the game play,not the ranking systems.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Not unlike MMORPGs. But don't worry. They'll get a thread too.
I don't know as I don't play MOBAs.
I thought MOBAs were perfect. Quick matches, little wait time, fast action, and cosmetic cash shop.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
Infinite Crisis and Paragon had very minor changes, but later patches actively moved them closer to the LoL model.
Dawngate did indeed innovate. IMO, it was the best of its genre. But ultimately, League of Legends took a few of its innovations to improve its own warding and gold farming mechanics in Season 4. While Dawngate was shuttered by everyone's favorite publisher.
Smite/Paragon have a bit of this with third person shooting for ranged heroes.
Melee heroes could do with a rudimentary combo system combining light and strong attacks in order to achieve different attacks with different functions. Like Dynasty Warriors, but with combos that start with Strong Attacks as well, not just Light Attack openers.
If you've never played league or dota, just do it, i'd even recomment dota 2 cause there are lots of slow boomers on this site so it's ideal, dota 2 is harder to master but it's gameplay is very slow indeed whit mostly point click abilites, so ideal for slower reflexes unlike league where you need to be actually very quick and precise with so many skillshots