I’m a lucky guy! I got a chance to participate in BlizzCon this weekend, which was my dream for six years. These two days tournament were full of surprising, happiness and excitement. The happiest thing was that I saw the first release of a brand new Blizzard game. Yes, I’m going to talk about Overwatch today.
As a First Person Shooter, you can see some similar things from other games, such as Team Fortress, Left 4 dead, Borderland, Halo and so on. At first I have same concern: what new things could Blizzard bring us? Then I played the DEMO for four times. The answer is: totally different.
It is essentially a MOBA instead of FPS. Shooting is basically how you make damage, but it’s not the key to win. Hero selecting, skill using and team work are the key to win. In the interview, Blizzard also mentioned that they preferred making a series of heroes instead of creating classes. This made Overwatch more like a MOBA.
Easy to learn, hard to master
This is Blizzard’s basic principle in game design. It worked very well in Overwatch. I tried 11 of 12 heroes, and knowing how to use them cost less than one and a half minutes, which was the length of preparation phase. But if you wanted to handle each hero, you still need a lot of practice.
Three-dimensional battle
In this game, battle could happen everywhere. At least half of 12 heroes in the DEMO could reach higher places with ropes, jetpack or other ways. It means that we have more strategies to use, such as attack the enemies from higher place.
Dynamic strategy
In one game, players can switch hero when they got killed. It means that you could change your strategy based on your enemies’. It makes game more dynamic, and more fun.
As a First Person Shooter, you can see some similar things from other games, such as Team Fortress, Left 4 dead, Borderland, Halo and so on. At first I have same concern: what new things could Blizzard bring us? Then I played the DEMO for four times. The answer is: totally different.
It is essentially a MOBA instead of FPS. Shooting is basically how you make damage, but it’s not the key to win. Hero selecting, skill using and team work are the key to win. In the interview, Blizzard also mentioned that they preferred making a series of heroes instead of creating classes. This made Overwatch more like a MOBA.
Easy to learn, hard to master
This is Blizzard’s basic principle in game design. It worked very well in Overwatch. I tried 11 of 12 heroes, and knowing how to use them cost less than one and a half minutes, which was the length of preparation phase. But if you wanted to handle each hero, you still need a lot of practice.
Three-dimensional battle
In this game, battle could happen everywhere. At least half of 12 heroes in the DEMO could reach higher places with ropes, jetpack or other ways. It means that we have more strategies to use, such as attack the enemies from higher place.
Dynamic strategy
In one game, players can switch hero when they got killed. It means that you could change your strategy based on your enemies’. It makes game more dynamic, and more fun.