LOS ANGELES — Quitters never prosper. At least that’s the philosophy of Heroes of the Storm’s design team.
Blizzard’s free-to-play multiplayer battle arena (MOBA) is a competitive, team-based game where two teams of five heroes try to destroy the other players base, and destroying it is the only way to win. More important, having your base smashed is the only way to lose. This is a sore point for some players, since sometimes defeat can seem so inevitable that they’d rather just forfeit, a feature that is in Heroes of the Storm competitors League of Legends and Dota 2.
We asked Alan Dabiri, technical director of Heroes of the Storm, if Blizzard was budging on forfeits today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo industry tradeshow.
“That is one that we are still holding strong on, and honestly, the community has been agreeing with us,” Dabirisaid. “Every time we say it in an interview or we post it somewhere, the response has been fantastic. And although there are a lot of people who want it — I think people who come from other games, they’re not immediately used to how our game plays out, and the first thing they might think is, ‘The game is over.’ You lose that first team fight, and they’re like, ‘Forget it, it’s over.’ And the reality is the game’s not over. While that might have been a minor setback, it truly has no deep repercussions over the whole game. You’re going to be able to overcome from that.”
Comebacks are more likely in Heroes of the Storm than in League of Legends or Dota 2 thanks to some key differences. Teams level up together in Blizzard’s MOBA, while heroes gain experience separately in others. Also, each map has a special event, like a pirate ship that’ll shoot canons at enemy buildings if you give it enough coins, that can help turn a match around. Still, some players reach a point where they feel so far behind that they want to quit. Some will even just stand in their base motionless, waiting for the other team to win.
Heroes of the Storm is launching new heroes and maps in an event called The Eternal Conflict, which comes out on June 30.