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Perfect Ten: Online collectible card games that will tap your heart
While it might be a stretch to put collectible (or trading) card games in the same family as MMORPGs, it's hard to deny that their audiences are pretty similar and quite open to a little crossover between genres. Massively has made mention of TCGs as their numbers and popularity seems to be on the rise online. That led up to the day that my editor came into my office, smacked an Elmer Fudd Pez dispenser out of my hand, and told me that I better do a top 10 list on card games "or else." "Or else what?" I chirped before thinking. "Or else you'll be our full-time Darkfall columnist," my editor said. So hey! We're talking about card games today! How about, I don't know, 10 of them?
War of Omens CCG strives to cross Kickstarter finish line
War of Omens, a deck-building CCG by Fifth Column Games, is making an attempt to meet its Kickstarter funding goal by January 13th. The game is set in a dark fantasy world and has three factions to which you can pledge loyalty and undying devotion. The devs describe War of Omens a hybrid between deck-building games like Dominion and traditional collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering. Players will purchase cards during play that will then be shuffled into their inventory for future rotation. There are also resources to collect and use during the course of a match. Fifth Column is asking for $30,000 in funding to finish the title. As added incentive to donate, all those who chip in $10 or more will be given an early access beta key. You can get a look at how a battle works after the break. [Thanks to Mike for the tip!]
Battle.net beefs up parental controls
Kiddies will find it tougher to spend money in Blizzard's games, as the studio is expanding its parental controls to include locks on in-game purchases. Blizzard is notifying relevant users of this change via email and on the forums. Starting January 7th, any Battle.net account with parental controls enabled will automatically prevent users from spending money in World of Warcraft's cash shop, Hearthstone's cash shop, or Diablo III's soon-to-be-closed real-money auction house. Account users will be able to enable those purchases by logging into their account and changing the settings.
Hearthstone open beta pushed into 2014
Despite Blizzard's hope of launching Hearthstone into open beta sometime this month, it appears as though bug-catching, card-tweaking, and fine-tuning have gotten the better of the team. The studio today announced that Hearthstone's open beta has been delayed to ensure the game is "ready for wider testing." According to Blizzard, Hearthstone's open beta is still "very close." Blizzard tempered the bad news with an announcement that it is expanding the closed beta substantially; everyone who opted in before December 16th, 2013, should have received an invite. If you haven't yet opted in, you have until January 7th, 2014, to sign up. No further card data wipes are planned as Hearthstone edges its way to launch.
Developers respond to Riot's streaming restrictions for pro players [Updated]
Riot Games' new contract with professional League of Legends players prevents those players from streaming certain games during the LCS (League Championship Series) season. Banned titles include Dota 2, Hearthstone, Awesomenauts, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and many, many more. News of the contract broke earlier this week. Since that time, a couple of developers associated with games on the banned list have responded to Riot's rules in letters to website OnGamers, which broke the original story. Here's a clip of the lengthy response from Awesomenauts co-creator Jasper Koning: We are disappointed to see Riot impose restrictions on the spare time of its LOL Championship Series players. It's understandable Riot as a company wants to protect its interests, but the way they're doing it now is decidedly unsportsmanlike, anti-competitive, and it sets a bad precedent. And here's S2's (Heroes of Newerth) Marc DeForest: We view eSports differently - it is a platform for competition, growth, and the collective celebration of video gaming passion. We do not view it as a leveraging tool for anti-competitive and monopolistic practices. S2 Games will continue to support the eSports idea as a whole, not just our own specific interests in it. Riot has confirmed the terms of the contract but has not responded to further updates or fan criticism. [Update: Riot has announced that it is changing LCS players' contracts due in part to community feedback. Under the new rules, players will be able to stream any games they want as long as they are not accepting sponsorship from other studios to promote those titles.]
BlizzCon 2013: Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone betas
At BlizzCon, Blizzard gave an update on two of its titles in beta: Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone. Heroes of the Storm will begin sign-ups for the MOBA's beta program today (opt-in is live right now on Battle.net accounts), while Hearthstone will go into open beta next month. Rob Pardo amended the timeline for the latter, saying, "In Blizzard-speak, that might be January." Mobile versions of Hearthstone for iOS and Android platforms will come out in the second half of 2014. You can follow these announcements and more on Massively's BlizzCon liveblog.
Massively's BlizzCon 2013 liveblog: Opening ceremony and WoW presentation
BlizzCon 2013 is now underway, and we're expecting big news from the folks at Blizzard, like more details on the Diablo III Reaper of Souls expansion. There's also the first ever Innkeeper's Invitational for Hearthstone, the white-knuckle gameplay of the StarCraft 2 tournaments, and the Hollywood insanity of the upcoming World of Warcraft movie. Most MMO gamers, however, are anxiously waiting to hear about World of Warcraft's fifth expansion. Is it happening? Whom are we fighting? Where are we going? Are there any new classes and races? If you want to be among the first to know but didn't snag a ticket, real or virtual, then join us in the comments below as we blog about all the juiciest news -- live! And don't forget that the opening ceremonies are being streamed for free!
Hacker reveals League of Legends collectible card game
Things got a bit weird in the League of Legends community last night when a hacker took over Riot Games president Marc Merrill's Twitter account. The intruder, working under the sinister alias, "Jason," used the opportunity to out League of Legends: Supremacy, a collectible card game built from the League of Legends universe. In a series of tweets from Merrill's account, the hacker posted images and files related to the project including card art and the main sign-in page for the game. According to "Jason," Supremacy was fully completed but never announced or revealed to the League community. Riot did trademark the Supremacy name last year, lending credence to the hacker's claims. Marc Merrill eventually recovered control of his account, noting, "We're always working on a variety of new ideas for League and beyond. Lots of experimentation that may never see the light of day." Make of that what you will. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip]
Hearthstone dev diary sets its sights on Rexxar the Hunter
Blizzard's latest entry into the money-printing franchise that is World of Warcraft, collectible card game Hearthstone, is currently chugging along through the closed beta stage of development, and many fans are clamoring for more information as the game nears launch. Well today you're in luck, especially if the animal-loving Hunter is your class of choice, because the devs have just released a new dev diary detailing Hearthstone's playable Hunter character, the legendary Rexxar. The dev diary dedicates the first half of its entry to the lore of Rexxar the beastmaster, a half-orc, half-ogre from Outland's Blade's Edge Mountains who eventually found himself in Azeroth becoming staunch allies with the Horde warchief Thrall. But let's be real here: We all want to know how he plays. Not to worry, the devs have that covered too. Rexxar's mechanics echo the playstyle of World of Warcraft's Hunter class. He has plenty of tricks and traps available to him, including classics such as Snake Trap and Misdirection. With his longbow in hand, Rexxar unleashes a barrage of ranged attacks while standing safely behind an army of his animal companions, making him a veritable force of nature on the battlefield. For more on Rexxar, click on through the link below.
A lively evening of Hearthstone
The first thing that hit me when I logged into Hearthstone after begging a beta invite off a friend was an overwhelming tsunami of nostalgia for World of Warcraft. It wasn't surprising, of course; this is the card battling spin-off of WoW by the folks who make WoW. But for a player who hasn't set foot in Azeroth for some time now, the audio and visual cues were like the hit of a powerful drug that opened the pathways to all sorts of memories. The chunky, goofy exterior that Blizzard slathers across the Warcraft franchise often belays a serious depth that number-crunchers and elite strategists attempt to plumb. Both are perfectly at home in Hearthstone, which is affable on the surface but, like many CCGs, has no end to the possibilities in builds and play sessions. So what's it like to sit down to an evening with Hearthstone? I'm glad you asked.
Hearthstone wipes beta progress and institutes patch
The day long feared/anticipated is here: Hearthstone is performing its one and only beta wipe while at the same time plugging in a new patch that includes a wide range of fixes and a new crafting interface. Included in the patch notes are notifications that the level cap has gone up to 60, the chat system has been "rejiggered," and many of the classes have received balance tweaks. Hearthstone players will earn more gold and more cards now, and they can unlock heroes in any of the game's three modes. Blizzard previously said that the game should not wipe from here on out and that more players will be invited into the beta.
Blizzard adjusting Rogues in upcoming Hearthstone patch
Hearthstone's upcoming patch is detailed in a new blog post on the game's official website. The update "covers a wealth of bug fixes and quality of life improvements," according to Blizzard. There's also a blurb about class balance, with particular attention paid to Rogues, who will be "adjusted to bring them more in line with the other classes." Crafting, golden cards, and social improvements make the cut too, but you'll need to click through to the links below for all the details.
MMObility: Perfect World's new mobile lineup
When I first heard that Perfect World was finally moving into the mobile space, I was excited and a bit worried. The gaming giant publishes a wide variety of games but tends to stick with classic, three-dimensional, client-based MMOs and has even rescued or bought out a few "Western" titles. If you want a publisher with a ton of different F2P games to play, Perfect World is a solid one. So how will it tackle the mobile world? Will it offer as much variety as it does with its other games? Will these mobile games be MMOs or pseudo-MMOs that are attached to social networks? I was able to snag some answers from Fabian Pierre Nicolas, General Manager of Mobile for Perfect World Entertainment.
Hearthstone makes three music tracks available
Blizzard wants to give you an earful -- of Hearthstone, that is. The studio's released a handful of music tracks from the upcoming digital card game, and you can get them for free right the heck now. If the score sounds a little familiar, that's on purpose. Lead Designer Eric Dodds commented on the soundtrack's aim, saying, "Ultimately, we wanted the music to convey three important things -- Warcraft, whimsy, and warmth -- to reflect the lighthearted nature of the game, and to make players feel as though they were sitting in their favorite tavern from Warcraft." The released tracks are Hearthstone Revealed, Bad Reputation, and Tabletop Battles.
Apocoplay unveils new digital CCG, Alteil: Horizons
Seems like everyone's getting into the digital card game business, with Blizzard's Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft and Cryptozoic's HEX leading a pack of big-budget, flashy releases due sooner rather than later. As of today, there's one more contender in the ring. Boston-based indie startup Apocoplay has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund Alteil: Horizons, a digital collectible card game that relies on "turn-based RPG-style tactics" and the introduction of a day and night cycle that changes the behavior of specific cards. Apocoplay is reaching out to notable artists for card designs; according to the studio, interest has been "secured" from the likes of Ctrl+Alt+Del's Tim Buckley and Saturday Morning Breakfast's Zach Weinersmith, along with artists who have worked on things like Pacific Rim and The Legend of Zelda. Here's head producer Sean Molyneaux (no relation to Peter Molyneux) on the announcement: I've been in this industry long enough to see collectible card games grow from a niche interest here in the US to a hugely popular mainstream genre. Fast growth like this means that new CCGs have to be very high-quality to get attention, and with the caliber of artists we've signed and our focus on deeper, tactical gameplay, Horizons can be the best out there. Apocoplay is seeking $100,000 for Alteil: Horizons' development and is offering decks and other bonuses to funders. [Source: Apocoplay press release]
HEX Kickstarter finishes strong
HEX: Shards of Fate is a trading card game and MMO hybrid created by Cryptozoic, the studio behind the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game. If that sounds like a thing you would like to play, you're not alone: HEX's Kickstarter campaign just coasted to success on the pledges of over 17,750 backers, raising over $2,277,000 and obliterating the team's original goal of $300,000. (And those numbers are still rising!) Thanks to HEX's massive cash haul, Cryptozoic will be able to add 17 of its 18 stretch goals, including a HEX-themed novel from a "premiere fantasy writer," tablet support, a motion comics game intro, playback support, more particle effects for cards, 10 extra dungeons, and five additional game boards. Cryptozoic is continuing to accept pledges through its official website -- there are 17 backer tiers available promising access to the game's beta and the usual special backer-type items. [Update: All backer tiers are now sold out except for the $50 "Slacker Backer." Thanks to Eamil for the tip.]
HEX: The MMO is in the cards
Massively was recently invited to meet with Cory Jones, president and chief creative officer of Cryptozoic, to get some greater insight into HEX, the studio's upcoming MMOTCG -- that is, massively multiplayer trading card game. At first, I had a difficult time associating a "massively multiplayer" aspect with a trading card game. My two-decade-old memories of very briefly playing Magic: The Gathering simply wouldn't let me get past my initial assumption about the head-to-head nature of these types of games. Even the online version of Magic used essentially the same structure as the offline version, with digital representations of Magic cards and an online challenge ladder. So imagine my surprise when a well-established box-and-trading-card-game company like Cryptozoic announced it was producing HEX, an MMOTCG using Kickstarter as a funding vehicle.
Kings and Legends Global melds the TCG with the MMO
Watch out: It's an unholy fusion of addictive trading card games with addictive massively multiplayer online roleplaying games! The clinics will be overrun and crime will run rampant as police will be too captivated by the bleeps and bloops of their computer boxes to do anything about it. That's the dire future that Kings and Legends Global could usher in. Or it could just be an interesting title that mixes CCGs with MMOs to create a novel experience. The cards themselves can be customized, crafted, and traded by players and then used to battle in PvP and PvE environments. Knights and Legends will have four classes, seven races, an auction house, guild halls, a crafting system, and plenty of deck building to keep folks interested. GameFuse is tempting potential fans into registering by promising a free starter pack to those who sign up. You can do so on the website and then check out the game trailer after the break. [Source: GameFuse press release]
Cryptozoic smashes funding goal for new Hex TCG
You've no doubt heard about Cryptozoic, who makes the World of Warcraft trading card game. But these days, Blizzard is focusing on its home-brewed digital TCG Hearthstone and Cryptozoic is working on a new project: Hex, which they call an MMO trading card game. Hex takes advantage of its all-digital nature to add some MMO elements like characters, gear, and guilds to a traditional TCG game. And, while it's not out yet -- Cryptozoic expects the beta to start this September -- the Kickstarter campaign to fund the game is happening now. With 21 days to go, Cryptozoic has already blown past their $300,000 funding goal with $567,000 raised at the time of this writing. Now they're working on stretch goals which will add new gameplay features for everyone -- and new bonuses for backers -- as they're reached. If you're interested in a different kind of TCG -- or a change of pace from World of Warcraft -- you might want to check out Cryptozoic's Kickstarter. Contributing $10 will get you into the beta this fall and $20 and up gets you beta access and cards once the game launches -- including some special cards you'll only ever be able to get through this Kickstarter campaign.
Magic 2014 coming soon with new campaign and cards, sealed deck play
For a long time, Wizards of the Coast would not release anything official on iOS, even though the biggest collectible card game -- Magic: The Gathering -- seemed perfect for Apple's touchscreen platforms. Then, last year, we finally got Magic 2013 on the iPad, and now Wizards of the Coast is preparing Magic 2014. When the update is released in about a month, it will offer lots of new features and content to the iPad and Android devices. That second platform may not matter much to us here at TUAW, but it's a sign that Wizards is continuing to rethink its mobile strategy. The company kindly showed us the latest version of Magic: The Gathering running on the iPad this week, and it's very impressive. It runs faster than ever, and while the campaign is similar (you undertake a series of single-player challenges, or can take on other players in multiplayer), Magic 2014 has a definite emphasis on story that the current version doesn't have. Magic 2014 was designed to attract new players, so the various missions serve as a tour of the game's lore and background, with each section culminating in a battle against a "Planeswalker," one of Magic's big heroes. In addition to the new campaign structure, there's also new content, including lots of new cards from the past year of Magic. There are even some new cards from the Magic 2014 Core Deck, which isn't set to release until after the iOS app has arrived. That means that playing with this game will be the first time some Magic players can officially sit down and play with the new cards. There will also be more of a newer card type called slivers, so even if you've played Magic 2013 completely, the new version should offer up some more twists and turns. One of the biggest problems fans have had with these Magic: The Gathering video games is that in the single-player campaign, you don't get to build your own decks. Rather, you get to unlock cards for a certain deck. While there is some choice in which cards you use, all of the cards are basically tied to specific decks, so building a custom deck is out. Wizards is aware of this concern, and has an answer in Magic 2014. Sort of. The game will introduce a new mode called Sealed Deck play, where players will get six booster packs, featuring random cards from a larger pool, and will then be allowed to build their own deck from those opened cards. It's not complete freedom, because you only get a certain number of booster packs to choose from, and you'll need to make decks from those. But it does allow for a very structured bit of deck-building, and Magic 2014 contains a whole campaign and a PvP option centered just around using these sealed decks. On the game's initial purchase, you can create two total decks in this way, and then you can buy more slots for these built decks via in-app purchase. If you want to play with a sealed deck, but don't know how to build a Magic deck, the game offers an "autobuild" option. There are plenty of tutorials and difficulty options, so no matter what your level of Magic experience, 2014 has plenty to offer. The biggest drawback might be that while there are lots of new options and content, the game itself hasn't changed. Stainless Games is the company that makes both the console and the iOS versions, and as a result, both versions use the same pacing, same graphics and same gameplay. There's no iOS-specific touchscreen moves or fun tablet-specific tricks or graphics. But that's fine. The point of this is to play Magic, and Wizards and Stainless both deserve a lot of credit for producing such a well-made game. Magic 2014 should be available on the iPad in the next few months or so. We'll keep an eye out for it, and let you know when it's finally arrived.
