heroes
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'Overwatch' turns one with another event and free weekend
Developer Blizzard keeps making frequent, regular updates to its popular team-shooter video game Overwatch. Players have gotten new battle arena maps, interesting new characters and various time-limited events to keep them coming back for more of what is, essentially, the same game over and over. To keep interest high, Blizzard is launching a one-year anniversary event from May 23rd to June 12th. You'll also be able to buy a new Game of the Year Edition when the event launches, which will include 10 bonus Loot Boxes, extra Hero skins, and various virtual trinkets for other Blizzard games.
WoW Moviewatch: Sylvanas' Legacy
It's always fun to see different interpretations and visualizations of well-known events in lore. Today's Moviewatch is the story of Sylvanas' fall, put together by Youtuber Jaley Muffinz. The story is pretty straightforward, and one that we've seen told before in a variety of different books, short stories and novels: Sylvanas Windrunner defends the forests of Quel'thelas from Arthas as long as she can, and isn't allowed the mercy of death, instead transformed into the banshee who eventually reclaimed her body and became leader of the Forsaken. Sylvanas' Legacy isn't really covering new content here, it's simply retelling one of Warcraft's classic tales. This seems to be the first large-scale project for Jaley Muffinz, and it's a pretty ambitious hunk of history to tackle, but Jaley does a good job for a fledgling effort. The models are awkward at times, but the film does use the older models, and there's a limit to what those models are capable of doing. Jaley also rounded up a variety of voice actors for the various roles in the film, and they do a decent enough job for people that don't do this on any kind of professional level. It's a little rough around the edges, but for a first effort on something of this scale, it works well enough, and shows plenty of potential for future projects down the road. I'm hoping we'll see more of Jaley Muffinz as time goes on here -- it's going to be fun to watch those skills develop and progress. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: This is Halloween
It's that time of year again! With Hallow's End starting today, it only seemed appropriate to pay homage to the holiday with a machinima that was actually a joint effort between two creators -- Drascier and KillerCookie. This is Halloween was actually put together last year, but it still has all the charm and flavor of the holiday, and features an instantly-familiar soundtrack. The visual effects are appealing, the costumes and characters are cool, and it's difficult to see where the two artists switched off in production -- Drascier and KillerCookie work really well together as a team here. I have to admit, though, after a week of looking at all the pretty new models, it's almost jarring to see the old ones again. I kind of want to see an updated version of this now! Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Top 5 Heroes in World of Warcraft
Sure, the World of Warcraft has plenty of villains, but there are plenty of heroes, too. And since without heroes, we probably wouldn't have much of an Azeroth at this point, I'm sure we're all pretty glad that Warcraft's heroic figures have stuck around. So to balance out his earlier video on villains, Doronsmovies has put together a list of the top 5 heroes in World of Warcraft. The list itself is debatable -- we've all got our favorite heroes, and a top 5 list doesn't have room for everyone -- but it does offer a nice look at some of the heroes of Azeroth and their lore. Have favorite heroes that didn't make the cut? Let us know about them in the comments! Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
Barely Related: The Millennium Falcon's Batmobile baby
A happy weekend tip from us, your pals: Take a walk. Enjoy the sun, the shade and the way your new iPhone screen looks in both of those lighting situations. Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
Heroes of the Storm: New hero Murky and other changes coming soon
The Heroes of the Storm team held their fifth Developer Q&A on Twitch.tv today. The developers discussed sweeping future changes coming to the game's alpha including a complete overhaul of the game's UI. Other major additions and changes include: New hero Murky. This week is Murky Week, so a great deal of information about him is on the horizon. Many heroes will be receiving a talent overhaul based on data collected on talent usage. Not only talents chosen most often across the board, but talents chosen most often in winning and losing games. Arthas, Illidan, and Tyrael are receiving complete redesigns and are unlikely to be the only ones. Their current iteration doesn't fit the vision of the hero and were early designs, too bland/generic to be such iconic characters. Players tend to consider these three underwhelming at best. Personal achievements are being added so you can better gauge your personal performance in-game. Currently, in-game achievements only display team efforts. In addition, themed maps from all of Blizzard's IPs will be coming eventually. The current Haunted Mines is being reworked. So, too, is the Cursed Hollow, which has a tendency to snowball in favor of who gets the first round of idols.
Heroes of the Storm heads to Southeast Asia
We already knew Heroes of the Storm was heading to China, but now Blizzard has inked a deal to bring Heroes -- and possibly other games -- to more of Southeast Asia. Expanding on Blizzard's existing agreement with Asiasoft -- which currently distributes Diablo 3, StarCraft 2, and World of Warcraft in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore -- the deal now includes Heroes of the Storm and features distribution to the Philippines as well. Marketing and operation for the game in the Philippines will be handled by Asiasoft subsidiary Level Up! Inc. No launch date has been set for Heroes of the Storm -- currently in technical alpha -- domestically or internationally, but we assume it will arrive on the traditional Blizzard schedule of "when it's ready."
Breakfast Topic: Help us help you with Heroes of the Storm
While we're waiting for Warlords of Draenor, Heroes of the Storm is the new hotness. For a great number of you, anyway! I'm going to use today's Breakfast Topic as an opportunity to ask all of you what you want to know about Heroes. What's your level of knowledge with games of its genre? What do you know? What would you like to know? So far, we've covered some of the basics with our Heroes of the Storm glossary and gone a little more in-depth with our series of hero guides which will be kept updated for the game's launch. We know we can do more, though. Tell us what you want. Tell us what you need. We're listening. You World of Warcraft diehards out there, don't be afraid -- when Warlords of Draenor arrives on our doorstep, we'll be full steam ahead on that.
WRUP: Impressions on the Heroes of the Storm
It's time for another weekend, and the news is still dry as a desert. Unfortunately, we've already made up fake news. We've made up haikus. But not all is lost: we're seeing news and experiences from Heroes of the Storm. So while it's a tiny diversion from WoW, we asked your intrepid WoW Insider staff about their feelings on HotS at this point. It's looking pretty sexy and I can't wait to play it for reals. What about you, dear reader? Are the heroes keeping you afloat while we all wait patiently for WoD?
Latest Heroes of the Storm blog post details heroes, mounts, and more
Want more information on Blizzard's upcoming MOBA Heroes of the Storm while waiting for your technical alpha invite? The latest blog post dishes details on the availability of heroes, a try-before-you-buy feature, leveling, earning in-game currency, acquiring new skins, and mounts. Every player starts with a basic horse mount. For the free-to-play crowd, five heroes will be available to play each week, with the list rotating every Tuesday. Players can buy other heroes at any time using cash or with in-game gold that is earned after reaching level 5. Various skins with tint slots can also be bought. For more info or to apply for alpha, check out the official site. We've got the video first look of the alpha after the break.
The Road to Mordor: How LotRO explores what it means to be a hero
Developers, journalists, and bloggers alike have spent gobs of time chewing on the concept of heroism in MMOs: what makes us heroes, how these games can be tailored to make us feel heroic, whether games should force us to be heroes, and whether heroism is a desirable trait for a gamer. What we can agree on is that, if nothing else, the term has been so widely used and abused that we don't even think about the fact that "hero" is often used synonymously with the term "player character." It's just accepted that we're all heroes in MMOs as a base characteristic. But am I a hero? At the start of an MMO, no, I am not. I am a blank slate. My character has no backstory inside of the game, no accolades under her belt, and no past adventures in which she showed herself to be anything out of the ordinary. That's another thing about heroes, apparently: They can't be ordinary. They have to become uber-elite and save the world, preferably on a weekly basis by beating something to death with an axe or immolating it with a fireball spell. Lord of the Rings Online and its dev team may not be innocent of trying to shove us into the roles of heroes and play to that allegedly universal fantasy, but what I do appreciate is that this game has made me truly consider what it is to be a hero and how most MMOs get it wrong.
Heroes of the Storm Developer Q&A highlights
Yesterday, Senior Community Development Manager Kevin Johnson sat down with Game Director Dustin Browder and Senior 3D artist Phil Gonzales to answer the community's questions on Blizzard's upcoming Hero Brawler. They covered several key topics, and provided some nuggets of new information. If you'd like to watch the interview in full, you can check out the video on WoW Insider. But let's go through and summarize the key points they covered. This isn't in the order it happened in the video, because it seemed more logical to categorize it by topic. Overall Design and Philosophy It is going to be free-to-play! Beta is not ready yet, they're working to get it out as soon as they can. There isn't an exact date yet. Internal testing is ongoing. One of the biggest defining qualities for Heroes is the importance of the different maps. This is something that separates it from other MOBAs, you'll want to take different heroes and different strategies and so on. Also, there's heroes with extensive lore behind them, that's a hugely important element, and they aren't afraid to challenge any aspect of the design to make it fun.
Prime World introduces two witchy heroes with new videos
Just in time for Halloween, Prime World has introduced two new heroes to the MOBA that fit right into the witching-hour theme: Witch and Moira. While both ride a broom and are accompanied by an iconic black cat familiar, the two couldn't have more different beginnings; Witch had a life of privilege in a castle, whereas Moira had it rough from day one in a small Andornian village. How do these two enchantresses play? Watch these two gameplay videos for a look at each hero's various talents and skills in battle and to glean some hints and tips for playing these newest additions. [Source: Prime World press release]
Heroes of the Storm trademark conflict
The recently renamed Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard's upcoming MOBA title, is running into a little conflict at the EU trademark offices. Myrskyn Sankarit (English translation: Heroes of the Storm) is a pen-and-paper role-playing game for children, first published in Finland in July 2013. It was originally crowd funded on indiegogo in 2012. The game's creator, Mike Pohjola, is concerned about the two games co-existing peacefully, and even suggests that Blizzard could change the game's name once more. For those not keeping track, Blizzard's game was originally known as Blizzard DOTA, then Blizzard All-Stars, and finally Heroes of the Storm. Blizzard originally trademarked Heroes of the Storm on September 24, 2013 in the United States and September 25, 2013 in Europe. Mike Pohjola applied for a Finnish trademark for his table-top game on October 4, 2013. This is all public knowledge available by searching the US and EU trademark databases. At the time of Pohjola's application, we didn't know what Heroes of the Storm was exactly. On the surface, Pohjola's application seems to be in response to that original leak. Myrskyn Sankarit may have existed earlier, but the name was never registered with any trademark office until after Blizzard registered their own. Any potential issues in Finland, where the game has already been published, is a question for someone who knows more about trademark law.
Marvel Heroes makes it easier to earn new superheroes
While it's always been possible to gain new superheroes in Marvel Heroes via loot drops, Gazillion CEO David Brevik says that the current system is less than ideal. "The best loot should be challenging to acquire," he writes, "but we don't want players to be overly frustrated with the process of acquiring heroes." To address this, Gazillion is preparing to scrap the current hero token drops and institute Eternity Splinters instead. Splinters are a new type of currency that will drop from mobs more frequently than hero tokens did and can be saved up to purchase the hero of the player's choice. They'll also be used to purchase ultimate power upgrades and hero respecs. Brevik says that the team is committed to adding new heroes to the game so that players will always have something new to earn. He also posted a FAQ regarding the upcoming system for those who have specific questions.
SMITE unveils Hun Batz, the new monkey god
The most recent SMITE patch did not add a new god so much as it monkeyed around with an existing one. Sun Wukong has been removed from the game for the time being and replaced with the Mayan monkey god Hun Batz. While Hun Batz has a similar overall set of abilities, he's undergone some tweaks, so even veteran Sun Wukong players will still have to take the simian out for a stroll to understand how he works. Hun Batz features several abilities to close range and deal area damage, while his passive ability ensures that each strike after an ability is more vicious. He also inherits any skins owned by players for Sun Wukong, so you don't need to go bananas over lost cash. Whether you were a big Sun Wukong fan or are just happy to get that monkey off your back, you can try out Hun Batz now with the latest patch. [Source: Hi-Rez Studios press release]
Daily iPhone App: Solstice Arena is Zynga's shot at multiplayer online battle arenas
I first got to see Solstice Arena, Zynga's latest iOS entry, at GDC earlier this year, and then had a short meeting again last week with the publisher at E3. But you no longer have to take my word on what it's like: The game arrived on iOS worldwide last week, so you can grab the free-to-download title at your leisure. And I recommend you do. Zynga has a reputation for pushy freemium elements in goofy casual titles, but I can confirm this game has none of that. This is a true mobile MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) title, similar to League of Legends, but very iOS-centric in its delivery. The game has been simplified in a lot of very smart ways, producing a high-quality title that's very impressive. In my own play, I've found some minor balance issues (the healer character, for example, seems awfully overpowered, especially when teamed up with a burly bruiser), but I am sure those will get evened out as the game gets periodic updates and tweaks. And while yes, this is a freemium title, that part is also done very intelligently. The freemium elements are mostly confined to customization and convenience. Just like League of Legends, the game opens up a number of free heroes to play every week, so there's ongoing variety even if you never spend a dime. And if you do, real money can only buy you custom skins for the heroes you own, or can pay for boosts in your own XP, so spending money doesn't affect the gameplay at all. Prices are a bit high (which is something else I expect will likely be tweaked in a future update), but all in all, the freemium elements almost never get in the way of the gameplay, which is very respectable on Zynga's part. In short, Solstice Arena is exactly the kind of game Zynga needs to help cleanse its reputation as a money-grabbing casual publisher. I would hesitate to call it truly hardcore (I think the game needs about double the heroes and maybe another map or mode to really start comparing its depth to a standard PC MOBA), but it's definitely a "mid-core" experience that delivers a lot of fun. If you're a MOBA fan or just want to see what Zynga is doing right lately, give it a download and a try on iPhone or iPad.
OpenFeint developer aims for a hardcore audience with Fates Forever MOBA
Jason Citron is a true veteran of iOS gaming. He was one of the two developers behind Aurora Feint, and later vaulted it up to the huge social network that OpenFeint became. Now, Citron is back to making games with a new company called Hammer & Chisel (formerly Phoenix Guild), and he's just announced today that his upcoming game is called Fates Forever. It'll be a multiplayer online battle arena title, similar to the extremely popular League of Legends, but built from the ground up for iOS and a touchscreen interface. "If you look at games," Citron told TUAW recently, "very rarely do you find one that's generally new, and usually when you do, it's because of the UI change." Citron believes that even hardcore games "could be made materially better by changing them to use a large format touchscreen," and so he's decided to take on the MOBA gametype. Fates Forever will have battling heroes, just like League of Legends, but with a simplified format... at least at first. The map Citron is working on features just two lanes (it will pit three players against an opposing team of three, and matches should take around 15 minutes), and he says a lot of the mechanics around itemization and balance have yet to be determined. His focus right now is building standard touchscreen gestures for the heroes' various abilities. "The skillshots are all these fun little gesture things that you can pull off," says Citron. One champion will do a dash move that's controlled by dragging him around the screen with your finger, for example. "You hit the button on the left, you get a little ring around him and then you can drag the indicator away from him. When you draw out a path from him, he shoots flames on the ground." Citron says the goal is to take gesture mechanics that users know and love, and use those to match the precision and controls that you'd usually need a mouse and a keyboard on a PC for. When Citron began this project, the MOBA genre was very much PC-based. But in the last few months, several companies have thought to bring it to tablets. For example, Gameloft's Heroes of Order and Chaos, and Zynga's forthcoming Solstice Arena. "I figured [MOBAs] would be a trend," says Citron, but adds that "I can't say that I would have expected as much action to be going on tablets." Still, Citron says Zynga's entry will likely be tied down by in-app monetization efforts, and he thinks he can do the game better than Gameloft has. "I think ours looks better, has more innovative controls and it's generally fun to play." The plan for Fates Forever is to have "the core battle game out this summer, with a very light metagame around it." Once the core app is out, Citron and his company (currently about five full-timers and about the same number of contractors) plan to tweak and upgrade it according to the community, and will even build a tool called The Forge, where players will be able to suggest and build their own heroes, with that content possibly even reaching the game. "I very much see this as a marathon, not a sprint," says Citron. "I see this as a long-term thing. I'm starting with a nugget of something, and we're evolving it with the community." Citron's goal with Fates Forever is to "blend deep traditional game design with respectful game mechanics," he says. "It's obviously going to be free-to-play," and supported by in-app purchases for options and customization. But "our game will never force you to stop playing," he adds. "And you can't pay to win." Currently, the project is being put together in Unity, and while it will initially appear on the iPad only, the title may come to Android or other platforms later on. Fates Forever sounds interesting. We'll get a chance to play it later this year. Plenty of other companies have aimed and will continue to target this growing "hardcore" audience on Apple's tablet platform, but that specific audience is finicky to say the least. In the end, Fates Forever will have to stand on its own quality. If it can find the League of Legends-sized audience on tablets that Citron is looking for, then we could be playing this one for a long time to come.
Daily iPhone App: Solara stands out from the clash of clones
Clash of Clans is one of the freemium sim titles making lots of money on the App Store, and so it's no surprise that the market has been flooded with clones lately; games where you build up a town Farmville-style, and then send troops from that town out into the world to complete quests. Solara is one of these: You use gold earned by building shops in town to create more buildings and unlock heroes, and then you can use those heroes to defeat monsters and earn more gold. But what sets Solara off from the rest of games like this on the App Store is its design and charm. This isn't just a generic freemium title. First time iOS developer Esper Labs has put plenty of heart into the different facilities you build and the heroes you level up, and that extra effort makes the game's familiar cycle shine. Unfortunately, Solara still leans a bit too much towards the casual side for some hardcore fans -- personally, I'd like a little more action in the battles. As it is now, they essentially just play out without any input from the player, which can be frustrating when you've made a mistake lining up your team. Most of the depth comes from choosing your heroes to fight, which all have different skills and strengths. But it'd be nice to see a developer try to really make the periodic fights in these games actual tests of skill or game knowledge, rather than just animations (which are skippable, even) playing out as they go. Still, Esper Labs is looking for that huge Clash of Clans audience, and that audience is completely fine with just letting the game play itself. If you haven't tried one of these games yet, or maybe have gotten tired of just playing CoC all the time, Solara's worth a look. It's a well-made game with a cycle that's just as addictive as always, and of course it's free to play. I do wish, however, that instead of just adding its design talent to the standard formula, Esper Labs had tried to add a little bit more.
Heroes and Castles updated to version 3.0
Foursaken Media's Heroes and Castles has been updated yet again, with lots of new content to play. The game, which allows you to level up a hero by defending a town and its various resources against an army of invading minions, has been popular for Foursaken already, and the team told me during GDC that they were planning on adding plenty of extras to the game this year. They've reached version 3.0 now, and the latest update adds three new heroes: an Assassin, a Barbarian, and a Druid, each with their own abilities and weapons. There's also a brand new campaign for the game that must be unlocked to play, with new maps to fight over, and new allied units to join you in battle. You can upgrade buildings and units even further, the graphics now boast real-time shadows, and the game's performance has been upgraded overall. Finally, there are new achievements to earn in the game, which the best players can go after for Game Center glory. That's a sizable update that adds even more value to this excellent $1.99 game. Heroes and Castles can be downloaded right now. [via Touch Arcade]
