How to create character classes in mobile MMO Action
We continue to talk with the development team of the MMO action Pixel Wars from DatCroft Games. This time, representatives of the game design department Roman Davydov and Ekaterina Sterlikova tell how the new Druid character class was created, why it turned out that way and what is its uniqueness for the project.
What classes are already in the game?
The Pixel Wars project began with four base character classes. The developers started off from classic fantasy RPGs, and, of course, the first three available heroes included the Warrior, Mage and Archer. The fourth was the general favorite of the Gunners - the only girl at the time of the launch of the game who brought drive and a bit of steampunk style to the game.
The fifth one was added the Shaman - in the basic set of characters there was a free position of a buffer who could heal allies and weaken enemies. The shaman is one with nature, he puts totems on the battlefield, charged with the power of ancient spirits.
Which class will be next?
Sixth grade Druid is now at the final stage of development and will appear in the game in the foreseeable future. The main feature of the Druid is reincarnation. In the guise of a fragile girl, the Druid heals allies, and becoming a huge bear, crushes enemies.
With the choice of a new class, everything is simple. The new character should be unique both visually and gameplay, but at the same time harmoniously integrate with team tactics and the balance of the game as a whole. For example, at the time of the appearance of the druid in the game there is only one mile class, causing great damage in close combat (Warrior). This means that the Druid in the form of a wild beast will also be a formidable enemy in close combat. Is there only one character girl in the game? So, you need to add one more.
It is important to note that with the advent of the Druid, the team begins to practice a completely new approach to visual stylistics. If earlier the characters were similar to each other in proportion and size, then starting with the Druid, the situation will radically change. Soon new models will appear for the “old” classes: the warrior will be taller and more powerful than all, the wise magician will become lower and slimmer, and even on the mobile phone screen it will be impossible to mix them up.
We collect references
To understand how the Druid will look in Pixel Wars, game designers study examples of similar classes in other games and in mass culture in general, so that the image turns out to be special, but at the same time recognizable. Gathering references, the designer identifies common features and notes unusual options. For the Druid, a character who interacts with nature and is associated with it, several subgroups of pictures have been collected.
Child and protector
Nita, Brawl Stars
Nunu & Willump, Legue of Legends
Ashling, gigantic
Adult and assistant
Poloma, battlerite
Pagan, Allods Online
Recognizable Images
Princess Mononoke
Lira Belakva, The Golden Compass
Avatar and Arra
"My Neighbor Totoro"
Other
Sometimes ideas come from unexpected sources: while pondering the images of female warriors, the developers looked at Xena the warrior queen, and the image of the “northerner” was partly inspired by May from Overwatch.
Balance
When developing a new class, you need to understand how it will interact with all existing heroes. Of course, the players will make their own choices, but we are laying some strategy options at the very beginning. While there are not many classes, a table of this kind is obtained:
| Team strategy | goal | Druid function |
|---|---|---|
| Druid + Warrior | Destruction of the enemy, treatment | In the shape of a bear: wedge together with a warrior into a crowd of opponents. Druid form: Healing a tank warrior. In both forms: to finish off the enemies fleeing the warrior. |
| Druid + Mage | Finishing an adversary, protecting a mage from a mile, healing | Finish enemies who survive AoE damage. Cover the mage in the shape of a bear. To treat the magician. |
| Druid + Hunter | Primary damage, destruction of the enemy from a distance, healing. | In the shape of a bear: to provide the hunter with crippled prey for pursuit and finishing. In the form of a druid: the joint pursuit of weakened enemies from a distance, the treatment of the hunter as necessary. |
| Druid + Gunner | Dealing damage, killing immobilized opponents, healing. | In the shape of a bear: a jerk to the enemy and damage after the end of control by the gunner; cover up the gunner. In the form of a druid: Range attacks on immobilized enemies; canonir treatment as needed. |
From here follow the goals of the new class - achieving them, the druid player will bring victory to his team.
| goal | Strategy |
|---|---|
| Damage from a distance | Keeps himself away from the battle, tracking down targets, finishes off the weak at a distance and defends himself from attacks. |
| Support Allies | He monitors the health scales of allies, heals the weakest. |
| Melee Survival | Turns into a bear, in this guise catches up with weak targets and runs away from strong ones. |
What does a player need to be able to do?
So what will a good druid be in Pixel Wars? What should a player choosing this character be able to do?
| Strategy | Required skills |
|---|---|
| Dealing damage | Choose the best goals. In the form of a druid: follow the battlefield, do not let the enemy approach. Hold the scope for successful support allies. |
| Survival | In time, turn off the shape of the bear, so as not to be in a vulnerable position in the thick of the battle. Quickly decide to attack the enemy or run away from him. Combine survival skills. |
Abilities and skills
The next stage of development is the creation of abilities and skills, which the new class will most fully reveal. In addition, it is very important to enter these skills into the ENT and the style of the game and think over the visual component - even on the small screen of the smartphone, the player must clearly distinguish between the characters and understand which one is attacking. Therefore, the team immediately prescribes both mechanics and animation skills.
The developers decided that the Druid was born in the north of the Empire of the Faces, so the character received ice magic. By the way, several ice effects were originally attributed to the Shaman. To separate these classes visually and in meaning, all the “ice” is sent to the druid, plants and a “tropical” color remain to the Shaman.
The set of skills at the start of the class looks like this:
- The inner beast. The character turns into a bear for several seconds, being in this form consumes mana. As soon as mana ends, the druid turns into a man; you can get out of the bear’s uniform ahead of schedule.
- Protective sphere. A druid summons a phantom that restores health to himself or an ally within 5 seconds.
- Totem animal. The druid summons a phantom bird, which greatly enhances the druid himself or his ally.
- Ice armor. A druid creates an aura around himself or an ally that increases his armor.
- Exit from the body. The druid becomes a ghost phantom, invulnerable to attacks for 5 seconds. At the same time, it is impossible to damage enemies and use skills.
The druid in Pixel Wars is somewhat different from other classes - for him a special, additional set of skills has been created that is used when the character takes the form of an animal.
- Furious jerk. A powerful blow with two paws.
- Tremors of the earth. The bear rises to its hind legs and hits the ground with its front paws, dealing 35% AP damage to enemies within a radius of 1 m.
- Frantic roar. The bear growls at the enemy in front of him, causing damage to it.
What happened as a result
The druid, like the Shaman, is a natural class. In adolescence, Druid children go alone to Bear Island to bow to the animal protector and gain the ability to turn into a beast.
A druid is a long-range character, not the most tenacious, but can for a while become a strong melee.
A key class feature is the switching between faces (forms) in which the character has different abilities and types of attack.
The appearance of the girl is a weak unit with a weak range attack and point support (heal). Her weapon is a ritual tambourine and a short rod.
The bear’s shape is given for a while, it cannot be a full-fledged tank, therefore it performs the role of a bruser rather - it has high health, protection and good damage, wedges into the enemy’s defense line (along with the tank) and breaks it, but then leaves for recovery. The shape of the bear is tied to the hero’s mana scale.
Thus, the Druid is a class that combines two roles. If you like to fight in close combat, but at the same time monitor the state of your team and are ready to rush to help at any time, the Druid is just for you. And the character model of the druid is very pretty.
The developers hope that the new class will appeal to players, and are looking forward to the appearance of druids on the battlefields of the Pixel Wars MMO. Meanwhile, the team is already approaching the next hero.
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