We got four major announcements this morning in the opening ceremonies that just closed.
In brief:
Diablo:
Diablo IV is coming, and looks to be super Grimdark, with the release of Lilith, the demoness who, with the Angel Inarius, birthed the first Nephalem and is thus the mother of humanity. Three classes are known: the Barbarian, Sorceress, and Druid. Other than just being another Diablo game, I don't know if we know much about the gameplay.
Overwatch:
Overwatch 2 is coming, and with it, there will be more single-player and PvE content to tell the game's story. In a bit of welcome news, players who are still playing Overwatch 1 will be able to play with players in 2 on the same maps, and any cosmetic rewards you've earned in the first game carry over to the second - this is a pretty great way not to divide the playerbase and to make people feel more excited for the new game.
Hearthstone:
Descent of Dragons is going to be the finale to the E.V.I.L. vs Adventurer's League story they've been doing, with a major dragon theme as well as a new multiplayer mode called Battlegrounds.
Warcraft:
The next WoW expansion is Shadowlands, and while details are still filtering in from various angles, there will apparently be a level squish (players currently at 120 will go to 50, with a new cap of 60) and there will be a roguelike-style thing called the Tower of the Damned where players can progress through a shifting dungeon. Additionally, there will apparently be four different Covenants that players can choose between to get new campaigns and even abilities, based on the different factions within the Shadowlands.
Showing posts with label Overwatch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Overwatch. Show all posts
Friday, November 1, 2019
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Blizzcon Schedule: Four "Coming Soon" Panels that are Free to Watch
Blizzard released the schedule for the convention coming in a week and a half, and there's some curious stuff there.
On the main stage, after the opening ceremonies, there will be four panels. None of these have been given names, but they will be free to watch, which is usually only allowed for those opening ceremonies when they do the very initial announcements - playing announcement trailers and such.
There have been rumors coming from Blizzard employees that this is going to be a very big Blizzcon, and this does seem to play into that rumor.
Here are my general predictions:
We're obviously getting a new WoW expansion, though I also wonder if it's going to be a bigger one than usual. With the conclusion of the faction war, we might see a fundamental shift to the way that the game handles its two rival sides. Indeed, if 8.3 is supposed to see the longterm (though I would never say permanent) defeat of the Old Gods, it would mean that the background villain that has been there for all of WoW (though only retroactively through all of Warcraft) has been dealt with. I don't think we're ever going to get a WoW 2 (or rather, I'd argue that we got it back in 2007 and it was called Burning Crusade) but I wouldn't be surprised if we get an expansion with a more radical redesign of the game - possibly as big as Cataclysm.
Next, I think Diablo IV is looking more and more likely, especially after a German magazine seemed to spoil that announcement. Diablo players have been waiting for a new game for a long time, and I think part of the reason Blizzard was caught off guard by the uproar over Diablo Immortal was that they would never have thought of it as "replacing" a true sequel because they already knew the real sequel was in the works. What Diablo IV is going to be like, however, remains to be seen - Reaper of Souls ended on a scary note - is Tyrael going to turn on humanity, or perhaps are the Nephalem going to be the new villains?
Another big speculation/rumor is that we could get a sequel to Overwatch. The real hope for that would be one that has a single-player mode. Overwatch has a deep well of lore that, frustratingly, is almost entirely absent from the game itself. Having a game where we could play through the story and also allow said story to evolve would be pretty exciting.
Now, the fourth panel could be for another one of Blizzard's major franchises. Or, it could be for a new IP. Blizzard is of course very conservative in creating new franchises - Hearthstone is really part of the Warcraft brand and Heroes of the Storm is just a Smash Bros.-like mishmash of their brands. That means the gap between their two most recent IPs, Overwatch and Diablo, was over a decade. Meanwhile, their most iconic one (except perhaps if you live in South Korea) is 25 years old this year.
Anyway, the rumor mill should be kicking into high gear.
On the main stage, after the opening ceremonies, there will be four panels. None of these have been given names, but they will be free to watch, which is usually only allowed for those opening ceremonies when they do the very initial announcements - playing announcement trailers and such.
There have been rumors coming from Blizzard employees that this is going to be a very big Blizzcon, and this does seem to play into that rumor.
Here are my general predictions:
We're obviously getting a new WoW expansion, though I also wonder if it's going to be a bigger one than usual. With the conclusion of the faction war, we might see a fundamental shift to the way that the game handles its two rival sides. Indeed, if 8.3 is supposed to see the longterm (though I would never say permanent) defeat of the Old Gods, it would mean that the background villain that has been there for all of WoW (though only retroactively through all of Warcraft) has been dealt with. I don't think we're ever going to get a WoW 2 (or rather, I'd argue that we got it back in 2007 and it was called Burning Crusade) but I wouldn't be surprised if we get an expansion with a more radical redesign of the game - possibly as big as Cataclysm.
Next, I think Diablo IV is looking more and more likely, especially after a German magazine seemed to spoil that announcement. Diablo players have been waiting for a new game for a long time, and I think part of the reason Blizzard was caught off guard by the uproar over Diablo Immortal was that they would never have thought of it as "replacing" a true sequel because they already knew the real sequel was in the works. What Diablo IV is going to be like, however, remains to be seen - Reaper of Souls ended on a scary note - is Tyrael going to turn on humanity, or perhaps are the Nephalem going to be the new villains?
Another big speculation/rumor is that we could get a sequel to Overwatch. The real hope for that would be one that has a single-player mode. Overwatch has a deep well of lore that, frustratingly, is almost entirely absent from the game itself. Having a game where we could play through the story and also allow said story to evolve would be pretty exciting.
Now, the fourth panel could be for another one of Blizzard's major franchises. Or, it could be for a new IP. Blizzard is of course very conservative in creating new franchises - Hearthstone is really part of the Warcraft brand and Heroes of the Storm is just a Smash Bros.-like mishmash of their brands. That means the gap between their two most recent IPs, Overwatch and Diablo, was over a decade. Meanwhile, their most iconic one (except perhaps if you live in South Korea) is 25 years old this year.
Anyway, the rumor mill should be kicking into high gear.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Two Weeks Until Blizzcon: Hopes and Thoughts
Blizzcon this year is going to be a big one for WoW players, though to be fair, you can say that for most Blizzcons that come in odd-numbered years, as we typically get the announcement of the expansion to come the following year.
First off, let's talk briefly about what is sure to be a very large elephant in the room:
Blizzard has walked back some of its punishments of Blitzchung for speaking out in favor of the Hong Kong protestors after winning a Hearthstone tournament, giving his prize money back and cutting his ban to six months rather than a year.
Still, there is still a punishment. While I'm certainly more sympathetic to Blitzchung's stance and Hong Kong's desires for democratic autonomy than China's ruthless oppression of free speech and free thought, I can understand a general attitude of wanting to keep gaming tournaments a realm that is free of divisive politics. As someone with grandparents who survived the holocaust (though I hope having a personal history with this wouldn't be the only thing qualifying me to have this view,) I'd totally understand and laud Blizzard banning a player who used their platform to advance an ideology of white supremacy or some other horrific political stance.
That being said, I think one of the big challenges we face as a liberal democracy is the balance between political even-handedness and identifying those core political ideas that define us, you know, as a liberal democracy.
International capitalism, however, straddles countries that have different core political values. There was hope, when we established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, that opening them to Western markets would also open them to liberalism (small L, to be clear, though big L Liberalism is one facet of that.) That clearly hasn't worked out as well as we hoped.
So Blizzard, being a big company with some immensely popular brands, has enjoyed profits gained by doing business in China, and are thus disincentivized to do things that would get on the Chinese government's bad side. Blizzard claims that their harsh actions toward Blitzchung were not based on a desire to bow to pressures from China, but that assertion has been met with some healthy skepticism from public.
It's sad, because the game designers and community managers that we gamers interact with had nothing to do with the decision, and it's their work that we're eager to find out about and celebrate at Blizzard's annual convention.
So, putting that massive elephant to the side, let's talk a bit about what I'm hoping to see.
I'm not going to go franchise-by-franchise here, because I honestly don't really know if all of them are going to get a major focus.
But we will go with franchises I am very curious about.
Diablo: The unveiling of Diablo Immortal was basically a marketing nightmare - you don't usually get new entries in a beloved franchise booed on stage. Of course, the upset over it (expressed in not really the most mature way) was based on a fear that there would be no more Diablo as we knew it - PC-based with all the complexity one expects of the franchise.
Reaper of Souls was a fantastic release that basically fixed Diablo III, but that came out a good long time ago, and players have wanted more. If Blizzard announces Diablo IV, and it looks enough like Diablo as we know it, people will be very happy.
WoW: Given that this blog is mostly a World of Warcraft one (admittedly with a whole lot more D&D in the past few years) I won't go into full detail here. We're almost certainly getting a new expansion announcement - and frankly if we don't, you're going to see an even worse reaction than Diablo Immortal got. That being said, what that expansion is going to be remains to be seen.
With 8.3 put on the PTR just weeks before Blizzcon, it's clear that they wanted not to have to spend too much time on the final patch of Battle for Azeroth, and so I think we're going to get a fair amount of info on the new expansion. Major features, like a new level cap, new zones, and any sort of new class or race are going to be the big headliners here.
If there is to be some revolutionary change to the game, my big suspicion is some fundamental shake-up to the breakdown of the two factions. I'll admit this is partially wishful thinking, but I suspect we're going to see a relaxation of the division between the factions, likely allowing cross-faction grouping at the very least. A "level squish" is also a possibility.
Overwatch: Overwatch is still quite popular. That being said, I could imagine, given that popularity, that they might finally release the single-player game that it could have been - whether that will be as add-on content for Overwatch itself or a new release (I would think the latter) is unknown.
We could easily see new heroes announced (likewise in Heroes of the Storm,) but it would be fun to get a bigger story.
A New IP: I haven't heard anything about a new IP. Overwatch, back when it was Titan, was in the works for many years (a guild member claimed to have done some concept art for it back during Wrath) but we haven't really been hearing about anything like that. Could be cool, but I'm not holding my breath.
First off, let's talk briefly about what is sure to be a very large elephant in the room:
Blizzard has walked back some of its punishments of Blitzchung for speaking out in favor of the Hong Kong protestors after winning a Hearthstone tournament, giving his prize money back and cutting his ban to six months rather than a year.
Still, there is still a punishment. While I'm certainly more sympathetic to Blitzchung's stance and Hong Kong's desires for democratic autonomy than China's ruthless oppression of free speech and free thought, I can understand a general attitude of wanting to keep gaming tournaments a realm that is free of divisive politics. As someone with grandparents who survived the holocaust (though I hope having a personal history with this wouldn't be the only thing qualifying me to have this view,) I'd totally understand and laud Blizzard banning a player who used their platform to advance an ideology of white supremacy or some other horrific political stance.
That being said, I think one of the big challenges we face as a liberal democracy is the balance between political even-handedness and identifying those core political ideas that define us, you know, as a liberal democracy.
International capitalism, however, straddles countries that have different core political values. There was hope, when we established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, that opening them to Western markets would also open them to liberalism (small L, to be clear, though big L Liberalism is one facet of that.) That clearly hasn't worked out as well as we hoped.
So Blizzard, being a big company with some immensely popular brands, has enjoyed profits gained by doing business in China, and are thus disincentivized to do things that would get on the Chinese government's bad side. Blizzard claims that their harsh actions toward Blitzchung were not based on a desire to bow to pressures from China, but that assertion has been met with some healthy skepticism from public.
It's sad, because the game designers and community managers that we gamers interact with had nothing to do with the decision, and it's their work that we're eager to find out about and celebrate at Blizzard's annual convention.
So, putting that massive elephant to the side, let's talk a bit about what I'm hoping to see.
I'm not going to go franchise-by-franchise here, because I honestly don't really know if all of them are going to get a major focus.
But we will go with franchises I am very curious about.
Diablo: The unveiling of Diablo Immortal was basically a marketing nightmare - you don't usually get new entries in a beloved franchise booed on stage. Of course, the upset over it (expressed in not really the most mature way) was based on a fear that there would be no more Diablo as we knew it - PC-based with all the complexity one expects of the franchise.
Reaper of Souls was a fantastic release that basically fixed Diablo III, but that came out a good long time ago, and players have wanted more. If Blizzard announces Diablo IV, and it looks enough like Diablo as we know it, people will be very happy.
WoW: Given that this blog is mostly a World of Warcraft one (admittedly with a whole lot more D&D in the past few years) I won't go into full detail here. We're almost certainly getting a new expansion announcement - and frankly if we don't, you're going to see an even worse reaction than Diablo Immortal got. That being said, what that expansion is going to be remains to be seen.
With 8.3 put on the PTR just weeks before Blizzcon, it's clear that they wanted not to have to spend too much time on the final patch of Battle for Azeroth, and so I think we're going to get a fair amount of info on the new expansion. Major features, like a new level cap, new zones, and any sort of new class or race are going to be the big headliners here.
If there is to be some revolutionary change to the game, my big suspicion is some fundamental shake-up to the breakdown of the two factions. I'll admit this is partially wishful thinking, but I suspect we're going to see a relaxation of the division between the factions, likely allowing cross-faction grouping at the very least. A "level squish" is also a possibility.
Overwatch: Overwatch is still quite popular. That being said, I could imagine, given that popularity, that they might finally release the single-player game that it could have been - whether that will be as add-on content for Overwatch itself or a new release (I would think the latter) is unknown.
We could easily see new heroes announced (likewise in Heroes of the Storm,) but it would be fun to get a bigger story.
A New IP: I haven't heard anything about a new IP. Overwatch, back when it was Titan, was in the works for many years (a guild member claimed to have done some concept art for it back during Wrath) but we haven't really been hearing about anything like that. Could be cool, but I'm not holding my breath.
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Overwatch is Fun, Engaging, Pretty, and Kind of Empty
Perfect Dark was a spiritual sequel to GoldenEye 007 - ditching the James Bond IP for something owned by Rareware. Goldeneye had revolutionized the first person shooter, bringing a genre that had once been simply called "Doom Clones" to consoles and letting you play with your friends. The multiplayer mode was a big deal, and Perfect Dark added to it, allowing you to play with AI-controlled opponents.
There was a period around 2000, 2001, when I was a freshman in high school, and I'd sit in my dad's third floor attic with the N64, listening to Pennywise and endlessly blasting through Perfect Dark's multiplayer mode as a single player.
That kind of repetitive gameplay is something Blizzard, as a company, has mastered. All of their games have some repetition built into the premise - many are multiplayer games, where you engage in discrete matches that end after an objective is fulfilled, and some are built around repeating content to get loot that drops rarely - WoW and Diablo are built on these kinds of gameplay loops.
To a large extent, I think Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm are similar games, just within different genres. Heroes, as a MOBA, is built more around strategy - you have a talent build for your character you'll need to work out and carefully figure out your positioning. Overwatch is a high-speed FPS, where positioning is important, yes, but fast reflexes and accurate aim are the ultimate arbiters of success (and knowing how to get away from D.Va.'s ultimate, which I swear is freaking OP.)
The thing is, Heroes of the Storm is, with one exception I know of, all based around other Blizzard properties. Most of its heroes (again, save one) are from other games, and it tells you very clearly up front that you don't need to worry about the story. Yes, Y'rel and Arthas can fight side-by-side, even if the universe she's from didn't even exist when he was alive, not to mention that even if they could be in the same place at the same time, they'd be diametrically opposed enemies.
But Overwatch actually has a story - indeed, it's got relatively deep lore. But you discover practically none of it in-game. Sure, there are skins that reveal, for example, that Reaper used to be a good guy. But the story is just fluff for the gameplay.
And indeed, Blizzard's attitude has always been gameplay first, which is a valid choice for a game company, but it's also one that I think has sometimes steered them wrong. Take Garrisons in WoW from Warlords of Draenor - their desire to make it a gameplay feature rather than an RP-focused, flavor one, turned them from something potentially cool to one of the worst failures of game design WoW has ever had.
When it comes to Overwatch, the game is certainly fun, but there's a feeling of empty calories there. There's no sense of progression, and the narrative of a given place is subsumed into whether it's a base capture or escort map.
I mean, why the hell are we fighting in what is effectively Blizzard Disneyland? (Sidenote: the fact that Blizzard is headquartered in Anaheim and the degree to which Blizzardworld feels extremely like the Blizzard equivalent of Disneyland suggests to me that the level designers got to take a lot of trips to the park on the company dime. It shows, and I really love that map.)
Anyway, there are rumors of an Overwatch 2 getting announced at Blizzcon this year, that will have a single-player campaign. I'd love that to be the case, though I'm also very curious to see how it would work out. The game is currently balanced toward very quick fights - sometimes you can one-shot a fellow player, and if not, you can often take them down in a couple seconds if you're well positioned. One imagines that for a single-player game you'd want to slow things down a bit. (Actually, frankly I wouldn't mind the multiplayer game to slow down a bit - I actually started to enjoy PvP in WoW a bit once they nerfed damage and healing more than player health.)
I'm still probably going to be playing it a bit more - I have yet to get any of the skins I really want. But I do feel a bit like I'm munching on potato chips rather than having a balanced meal when I play it.
There was a period around 2000, 2001, when I was a freshman in high school, and I'd sit in my dad's third floor attic with the N64, listening to Pennywise and endlessly blasting through Perfect Dark's multiplayer mode as a single player.
That kind of repetitive gameplay is something Blizzard, as a company, has mastered. All of their games have some repetition built into the premise - many are multiplayer games, where you engage in discrete matches that end after an objective is fulfilled, and some are built around repeating content to get loot that drops rarely - WoW and Diablo are built on these kinds of gameplay loops.
To a large extent, I think Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm are similar games, just within different genres. Heroes, as a MOBA, is built more around strategy - you have a talent build for your character you'll need to work out and carefully figure out your positioning. Overwatch is a high-speed FPS, where positioning is important, yes, but fast reflexes and accurate aim are the ultimate arbiters of success (and knowing how to get away from D.Va.'s ultimate, which I swear is freaking OP.)
The thing is, Heroes of the Storm is, with one exception I know of, all based around other Blizzard properties. Most of its heroes (again, save one) are from other games, and it tells you very clearly up front that you don't need to worry about the story. Yes, Y'rel and Arthas can fight side-by-side, even if the universe she's from didn't even exist when he was alive, not to mention that even if they could be in the same place at the same time, they'd be diametrically opposed enemies.
But Overwatch actually has a story - indeed, it's got relatively deep lore. But you discover practically none of it in-game. Sure, there are skins that reveal, for example, that Reaper used to be a good guy. But the story is just fluff for the gameplay.
And indeed, Blizzard's attitude has always been gameplay first, which is a valid choice for a game company, but it's also one that I think has sometimes steered them wrong. Take Garrisons in WoW from Warlords of Draenor - their desire to make it a gameplay feature rather than an RP-focused, flavor one, turned them from something potentially cool to one of the worst failures of game design WoW has ever had.
When it comes to Overwatch, the game is certainly fun, but there's a feeling of empty calories there. There's no sense of progression, and the narrative of a given place is subsumed into whether it's a base capture or escort map.
I mean, why the hell are we fighting in what is effectively Blizzard Disneyland? (Sidenote: the fact that Blizzard is headquartered in Anaheim and the degree to which Blizzardworld feels extremely like the Blizzard equivalent of Disneyland suggests to me that the level designers got to take a lot of trips to the park on the company dime. It shows, and I really love that map.)
Anyway, there are rumors of an Overwatch 2 getting announced at Blizzcon this year, that will have a single-player campaign. I'd love that to be the case, though I'm also very curious to see how it would work out. The game is currently balanced toward very quick fights - sometimes you can one-shot a fellow player, and if not, you can often take them down in a couple seconds if you're well positioned. One imagines that for a single-player game you'd want to slow things down a bit. (Actually, frankly I wouldn't mind the multiplayer game to slow down a bit - I actually started to enjoy PvP in WoW a bit once they nerfed damage and healing more than player health.)
I'm still probably going to be playing it a bit more - I have yet to get any of the skins I really want. But I do feel a bit like I'm munching on potato chips rather than having a balanced meal when I play it.
Monday, June 10, 2019
My Favorite Overwatch Characters So Far
I'm very new to this now several-year-old game, but hey.
Anyway, I'm starting to get a feel for a few characters I like.
Top is Bastion - which I know had a reputation for being overpowered for a while (and maybe still is.) Like Sgt. Hammer in Heroes of the Storm, Bastion is all about sacrificing mobility in the name of profound power. Once in turret form, your minigun does massive damage with tight precision, and when you get lucky and see a bunch of enemy heroes grouped up, you can sometimes get a real kill-streak. You can also burn through shields made by various tank characters relatively quickly. Naturally, the downside is that the second or so it takes to transform is an eternity in a game where you can go from full health to dead in moments.
Junkrat is another favorite. I never quite pull off his trap and remote bombs as effectively as I'd like, but when it works, it's really satisfying. In one match, I managed to flank the enemy team's Orisa and its shield and tossed a bomb into a group, taking two of them out at once and then giving the third too little time to react.
Tank-wise, I haven't really gotten a favorite yet. Reinhardt can be pretty fun, and his shield can help if the party is smart enough to actually use it.
For healers, the only one I've played much of is Mercy. While she does have her pistol, you can basically play her as a dedicated healer, which I find a little easier to wrap my head around in a game like this.
Anyway, I'm working on figuring out Soldier 76 and McCree (as a Critical Role fan, I feel like I've got to play the Matt Mercer character at least a bit, right?)
Anyway, I'm starting to get a feel for a few characters I like.
Top is Bastion - which I know had a reputation for being overpowered for a while (and maybe still is.) Like Sgt. Hammer in Heroes of the Storm, Bastion is all about sacrificing mobility in the name of profound power. Once in turret form, your minigun does massive damage with tight precision, and when you get lucky and see a bunch of enemy heroes grouped up, you can sometimes get a real kill-streak. You can also burn through shields made by various tank characters relatively quickly. Naturally, the downside is that the second or so it takes to transform is an eternity in a game where you can go from full health to dead in moments.
Junkrat is another favorite. I never quite pull off his trap and remote bombs as effectively as I'd like, but when it works, it's really satisfying. In one match, I managed to flank the enemy team's Orisa and its shield and tossed a bomb into a group, taking two of them out at once and then giving the third too little time to react.
Tank-wise, I haven't really gotten a favorite yet. Reinhardt can be pretty fun, and his shield can help if the party is smart enough to actually use it.
For healers, the only one I've played much of is Mercy. While she does have her pistol, you can basically play her as a dedicated healer, which I find a little easier to wrap my head around in a game like this.
Anyway, I'm working on figuring out Soldier 76 and McCree (as a Critical Role fan, I feel like I've got to play the Matt Mercer character at least a bit, right?)
Friday, June 7, 2019
Overwatch - Yes, I'm Finally Playing
As an early birthday present to myself, I decided to get a Playstation Plus membership. I got the Borderlands Handsome Collection for free, but I also tossed in twenty bucks to finally check out Overwatch - a game I'd probably have played a lot earlier if they had it for Macs.
Anyway, I have very little sense of what I'm doing, but I can only assume I suck at this point.
So far, I've enjoyed playing Junkrat and actually Mercy - the latter largely because she can focus primarily on healing, and thus I have a real sense that I'm actually helping when I play her.
I've also gotten some sense of Roadhog, whose suite of abilities is relatively simple (though I can almost never seem to land his hook attack.)
Rumor has it that an Overwatch 2 is in the works, which will actually have a single-player, or at least PvE aspect to it, which is something I'd really like to see. Overwatch has pretty deep lore (which I know about primarily thanks to Blizzard Watch) but there's no chance to experience it in-game, as everything's just a multiplayer PvP fight.
Still, Blizzard has a well-earned reputation for tight balance, and the aesthetic and character design in the game is top-notch. I'll be curious to check out the online modes for Bloodborne and Dark Souls.
Anyway, I have very little sense of what I'm doing, but I can only assume I suck at this point.
So far, I've enjoyed playing Junkrat and actually Mercy - the latter largely because she can focus primarily on healing, and thus I have a real sense that I'm actually helping when I play her.
I've also gotten some sense of Roadhog, whose suite of abilities is relatively simple (though I can almost never seem to land his hook attack.)
Rumor has it that an Overwatch 2 is in the works, which will actually have a single-player, or at least PvE aspect to it, which is something I'd really like to see. Overwatch has pretty deep lore (which I know about primarily thanks to Blizzard Watch) but there's no chance to experience it in-game, as everything's just a multiplayer PvP fight.
Still, Blizzard has a well-earned reputation for tight balance, and the aesthetic and character design in the game is top-notch. I'll be curious to check out the online modes for Bloodborne and Dark Souls.
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Blizzcon 2019: November 1st and 2nd
Blizzard has just announced the dates of this year's Blizzcon, and it'll be the first two days of November.
So, what do we expect, announcement-wise? Let's go franchise by franchise. Obviously, they could start a new one - Overwatch was a big expansion of their brand (and weirdly inspired a whole genre of animated porn, which... congrats? Maybe?) But Blizzard is fairly conservative with its IPs, and so I'm going to assume we'll see updates by existing franchises.
Warcraft:
This will be the main event - it's an odd-numbered year, meaning that we're due to get the announcement of a new WoW expansion to be released about a year later. By then 8.2 will have been out for a while, and we'll either be in the middle of 8.3 or it'll be coming soon. I think it's hard to judge BFA given how overwhelmingly popular (and in this player's opinion, superlative) Legion was, but it's pretty clear that WoW is holding to its pattern of kind of alternating between really good expansions and not so good ones. If that pattern holds, the next expansion will join the ranks of Wrath, Mists, and Legion. Where it stands among those (and again, if it does fit that pattern) remains to be seen, and its announcement is not going to tell us that. Legion was announced at Gamescom to a stereotypically dispassionate German crowd, and enthusiasm was probably tempered by the real disappointment of Warlords of Draenor, but wound up being what I think a lot of people consider WoW's best expansion.
An expansion announcement is coming - the question is what we think it will be about - I'm crossing fingers for a Death/Shadowlands expansion, but we'll see. Could be anything from Dragon Isles to a risen Black Empire.
Outside of WoW, if WCIII Reforged isn't out yet, we'll probably get updates on that, and possibly hear about similar treatments to the earlier games.
Overwatch:
Overwatch is one of the games they have that has pretty regular updates, so I'd expect more heroes and maps and events, probably with a new animated short. We'll also probably get more of the eSports angle with Overwatch League (to be honest, I'm about as interested in eSports as I am in regular sports, which is not very much.)
Heroes of the Storm:
While it's slowed down, HotS will, like Overwatch, probably get some continuing updates. New heroes, new map, maybe.
Hearthstone:
Again, a game that gets regular updates, so I'd expect a new expansion announcement.
Starcraft:
Big shrug here. I think this franchise, despite being one of its most historically popular, is kind of in stasis. The story was finished pretty emphatically in Starcraft II, or at least seems that way. I really don't follow this one, so apologies if I've forgotten something.
Diablo:
Ok, here's the interesting one: I've never seen such a negative reaction to a game announcement as Diablo Immortal, the anger over it seeming to shock the developers who announced it. I get that it wasn't the game people wanted, but it's especially bizarre that, according to Kotaku, Blizzard has actually been working on a Diablo IV, yet did not announce it.
Announcing that it's in development - even if it's a super-early stage - would probably be a good move and give players something to look forward to. I think Blizzard underestimated how skeptical old-school gamers are of the microtransaction-fueled mobile gaming market. Anyway, if there is to be a new main-series Diablo game, giving players something to look forward to would probably be good. Hell, I'm still feeling the high of hearing Elder Scrolls VI announced and I don't think we've gotten a single detail about that game in over a year.
So, what do we expect, announcement-wise? Let's go franchise by franchise. Obviously, they could start a new one - Overwatch was a big expansion of their brand (and weirdly inspired a whole genre of animated porn, which... congrats? Maybe?) But Blizzard is fairly conservative with its IPs, and so I'm going to assume we'll see updates by existing franchises.
Warcraft:
This will be the main event - it's an odd-numbered year, meaning that we're due to get the announcement of a new WoW expansion to be released about a year later. By then 8.2 will have been out for a while, and we'll either be in the middle of 8.3 or it'll be coming soon. I think it's hard to judge BFA given how overwhelmingly popular (and in this player's opinion, superlative) Legion was, but it's pretty clear that WoW is holding to its pattern of kind of alternating between really good expansions and not so good ones. If that pattern holds, the next expansion will join the ranks of Wrath, Mists, and Legion. Where it stands among those (and again, if it does fit that pattern) remains to be seen, and its announcement is not going to tell us that. Legion was announced at Gamescom to a stereotypically dispassionate German crowd, and enthusiasm was probably tempered by the real disappointment of Warlords of Draenor, but wound up being what I think a lot of people consider WoW's best expansion.
An expansion announcement is coming - the question is what we think it will be about - I'm crossing fingers for a Death/Shadowlands expansion, but we'll see. Could be anything from Dragon Isles to a risen Black Empire.
Outside of WoW, if WCIII Reforged isn't out yet, we'll probably get updates on that, and possibly hear about similar treatments to the earlier games.
Overwatch:
Overwatch is one of the games they have that has pretty regular updates, so I'd expect more heroes and maps and events, probably with a new animated short. We'll also probably get more of the eSports angle with Overwatch League (to be honest, I'm about as interested in eSports as I am in regular sports, which is not very much.)
Heroes of the Storm:
While it's slowed down, HotS will, like Overwatch, probably get some continuing updates. New heroes, new map, maybe.
Hearthstone:
Again, a game that gets regular updates, so I'd expect a new expansion announcement.
Starcraft:
Big shrug here. I think this franchise, despite being one of its most historically popular, is kind of in stasis. The story was finished pretty emphatically in Starcraft II, or at least seems that way. I really don't follow this one, so apologies if I've forgotten something.
Diablo:
Ok, here's the interesting one: I've never seen such a negative reaction to a game announcement as Diablo Immortal, the anger over it seeming to shock the developers who announced it. I get that it wasn't the game people wanted, but it's especially bizarre that, according to Kotaku, Blizzard has actually been working on a Diablo IV, yet did not announce it.
Announcing that it's in development - even if it's a super-early stage - would probably be a good move and give players something to look forward to. I think Blizzard underestimated how skeptical old-school gamers are of the microtransaction-fueled mobile gaming market. Anyway, if there is to be a new main-series Diablo game, giving players something to look forward to would probably be good. Hell, I'm still feeling the high of hearing Elder Scrolls VI announced and I don't think we've gotten a single detail about that game in over a year.
Friday, November 2, 2018
Blizzcon 2018 Opening Ceremony Roundup
Ok, let's get a quick and dirty list of announcements!
WoW: Classic is going to come with your normal WoW subscription and releases next summer! More 8.2 and beyond news coming this afternoon.
Warcraft: WCIII will be remastered in Warcraft III Reforged. Models and terrain are getting ground-up rebuilds, giving us pretty gorgeous looking units.
Starcraft II: Zeratul will be a new co-op commander.
Diablo: Diablo Immortal will be a new mobile game that they claim will be a full action-RPG set between Diablo II and III.
Overwatch: New McCree-focused cinematic introducing Ashe, the leader of the Deadlock gang as a new hero for the game (plus a new Omnic character who is likely to come later.)
Hearthstone: Rastakhan' Rumble will be the next expansion, based around Trolls, Loa, and fighting at the Gurubashi Arena.
Heroes of the Storm: The first HOTS-original character is getting added: Orphea, the daughter of the Raven Lord, will use a bunch of spooky gooey shadow magic (with teeth!) and walks around with a massive coffin on her back.
I'll go into more details as we get them.
WoW: Classic is going to come with your normal WoW subscription and releases next summer! More 8.2 and beyond news coming this afternoon.
Warcraft: WCIII will be remastered in Warcraft III Reforged. Models and terrain are getting ground-up rebuilds, giving us pretty gorgeous looking units.
Starcraft II: Zeratul will be a new co-op commander.
Diablo: Diablo Immortal will be a new mobile game that they claim will be a full action-RPG set between Diablo II and III.
Overwatch: New McCree-focused cinematic introducing Ashe, the leader of the Deadlock gang as a new hero for the game (plus a new Omnic character who is likely to come later.)
Hearthstone: Rastakhan' Rumble will be the next expansion, based around Trolls, Loa, and fighting at the Gurubashi Arena.
Heroes of the Storm: The first HOTS-original character is getting added: Orphea, the daughter of the Raven Lord, will use a bunch of spooky gooey shadow magic (with teeth!) and walks around with a massive coffin on her back.
I'll go into more details as we get them.
Saturday, October 20, 2018
Blizzcon Expectations
Blizzcon 2018 is coming in less than a month. What might we expect to see?
I'll put this caveat here that I'm less of a Blizzard omnivore than I used to be - I haven't played much Diablo or Heroes of the Storm in a while. But I can speculate!
Overwatch: While perhaps not as steady a stream as it had when the game was newer, Overwatch does tend to get new characters over time. I suspect that we'll get some new reveal, probably another one of their gorgeous story cinematics, and likely updates on how the Overwatch League is going. They might also announce a new character.
Heroes of the Storm: HotS gets a pretty steady stream of characters, so I'd expect two or three to be announced at Blizzcon. New events and maps would also be welcome. Given their experiments in Nexus-specific stories, we might see that expanded with perhaps fully original characters, though that's pretty broad speculation.
Hearthstone: A new expansion's announcement would be pretty well-timed, given that the Dr. Boom cards have been out for a while.
Starcraft: I don't really know what the plans for the future of the Starcraft franchise are. I suspect that they'll focus primarily on new multiplayer options, but this franchise has shuffled its way to the back a bit.
Warcraft: With 8.1 likely coming either right before or right after Blizzcon, it's time for us to find out more about where the expansion is going. Two years ago, we got a big preview of the Broken Shore and Tomb of Sargeras, with a last-second cliffhanger-offhand-comment being that in the patch to follow, we'd go to Argus. I suspect we'll get a big preview for 8.2 and possibly a similar hint to 8.3, which I'd assume is BFA's capstone patch. The Blizzcon to follow will presumably be to announce the next expansion, so this is when we can expect a big focus on BFA.
Diablo: A week ago I might have said that there's something massive, like Diablo 4 or a second Diablo 3 expansion. But Blizzard has attempted to calm the hype after building it up, so what I suspect is that we're going to get more of a promise than a preview - I would bet that they don't really have the project in a state that's ready to show off, but that we might get a title or basic announcement and then a promise that we'll get a big preview to follow. We might also get word on a rumored Diablo Netflix show, which would be a pretty big deal.
I'll put this caveat here that I'm less of a Blizzard omnivore than I used to be - I haven't played much Diablo or Heroes of the Storm in a while. But I can speculate!
Overwatch: While perhaps not as steady a stream as it had when the game was newer, Overwatch does tend to get new characters over time. I suspect that we'll get some new reveal, probably another one of their gorgeous story cinematics, and likely updates on how the Overwatch League is going. They might also announce a new character.
Heroes of the Storm: HotS gets a pretty steady stream of characters, so I'd expect two or three to be announced at Blizzcon. New events and maps would also be welcome. Given their experiments in Nexus-specific stories, we might see that expanded with perhaps fully original characters, though that's pretty broad speculation.
Hearthstone: A new expansion's announcement would be pretty well-timed, given that the Dr. Boom cards have been out for a while.
Starcraft: I don't really know what the plans for the future of the Starcraft franchise are. I suspect that they'll focus primarily on new multiplayer options, but this franchise has shuffled its way to the back a bit.
Warcraft: With 8.1 likely coming either right before or right after Blizzcon, it's time for us to find out more about where the expansion is going. Two years ago, we got a big preview of the Broken Shore and Tomb of Sargeras, with a last-second cliffhanger-offhand-comment being that in the patch to follow, we'd go to Argus. I suspect we'll get a big preview for 8.2 and possibly a similar hint to 8.3, which I'd assume is BFA's capstone patch. The Blizzcon to follow will presumably be to announce the next expansion, so this is when we can expect a big focus on BFA.
Diablo: A week ago I might have said that there's something massive, like Diablo 4 or a second Diablo 3 expansion. But Blizzard has attempted to calm the hype after building it up, so what I suspect is that we're going to get more of a promise than a preview - I would bet that they don't really have the project in a state that's ready to show off, but that we might get a title or basic announcement and then a promise that we'll get a big preview to follow. We might also get word on a rumored Diablo Netflix show, which would be a pretty big deal.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Blizzcon 2016 Schedule Released
Blizzard's mostly annual proprietary convention is coming next month, and they have just released the schedule. Of course, these schedules can sometimes give you a good clue to where their various games are going and if there's something exciting to anticipate.
There are several "What's Next" panels, which frequently imply expansions, though I've learned to take that with a grain of salt after being very confident in a new Diablo III expansion for previous Blizzcons. Also, the World of Warcraft "What's Next" panel specifically refers to World of Warcraft: Legion, and given that the company has made it clear that they're going to focus on really ensuring that Legion has legs, I honestly think even hinting at the expansion to follow Legion would not be met by a good response - something that they're aware of.
So let's break it down by franchise.
Hearthstone:
Hearthstone gets updates at a pretty good rate and is a huge cash cow for Blizzard. We just got a new adventure, so I'd expect to hear about a new expansion this time around. No hints as to what that will be so far, as far as I know.
Heroes of the Storm:
Heroes just added new maps (which I haven't actually played yet) and new characters. Much like Hearthstone, though, additions to the game come at a pretty regular pace, rather than big bursts. So I'd expect them to announce a couple of new heroes and possibly a map, as well as new skins of course.
Diablo:
Diablo's 20th anniversary is coming up. Diablo III is also very much ready for a new expansion, or perhaps we're ready for Diablo IV. I don't see a ton of Diablo panels, though, so I'll remain skeptical.
Starcraft:
Starcraft has a "Foundations for the Future" panel. Obviously the grand Starcraft II trilogy has come to a conclusion (and frankly, the plot really seems tied up in a definitive way) so I am curious about what their plan for the future of the franchise is. Granted, the original Starcraft persisted as a popular multiplayer game basically until Starcraft II came out (and may even still be played) so I would bet that Blizzard's focus is going to be on tending to the multiplayer side of things.
Overwatch:
Like Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone, Overwatch is a game that gets frequent updates, and so I wouldn't expect to see a huge thing like an expansion or sequel yet. Instead I'd expect to maybe hear about new game modes, maps, and characters that will filter in over time.
Warcraft:
Legion just came out a month and a half ago, and they're also making it clear that they're going to stick with this expansion for the long haul (fingers crossed they succeed at that) and so the idea of hearing about the next expansion is basically a 0% probability. In fact, I'm not even sure that we're going to hear about the second raid tier, as I imagine that the Nighthold raid won't even be open yet at that point, given that we'll be getting Trial of Valor in between Emerald Nightmare and Nighthold. 7.1 will probably come out some time before the end of the year, but not necessarily before Blizzcon. Still, if they wanted to reassure players, announcing content to follow the release of Nighthold would be very welcome.
There are several "What's Next" panels, which frequently imply expansions, though I've learned to take that with a grain of salt after being very confident in a new Diablo III expansion for previous Blizzcons. Also, the World of Warcraft "What's Next" panel specifically refers to World of Warcraft: Legion, and given that the company has made it clear that they're going to focus on really ensuring that Legion has legs, I honestly think even hinting at the expansion to follow Legion would not be met by a good response - something that they're aware of.
So let's break it down by franchise.
Hearthstone:
Hearthstone gets updates at a pretty good rate and is a huge cash cow for Blizzard. We just got a new adventure, so I'd expect to hear about a new expansion this time around. No hints as to what that will be so far, as far as I know.
Heroes of the Storm:
Heroes just added new maps (which I haven't actually played yet) and new characters. Much like Hearthstone, though, additions to the game come at a pretty regular pace, rather than big bursts. So I'd expect them to announce a couple of new heroes and possibly a map, as well as new skins of course.
Diablo:
Diablo's 20th anniversary is coming up. Diablo III is also very much ready for a new expansion, or perhaps we're ready for Diablo IV. I don't see a ton of Diablo panels, though, so I'll remain skeptical.
Starcraft:
Starcraft has a "Foundations for the Future" panel. Obviously the grand Starcraft II trilogy has come to a conclusion (and frankly, the plot really seems tied up in a definitive way) so I am curious about what their plan for the future of the franchise is. Granted, the original Starcraft persisted as a popular multiplayer game basically until Starcraft II came out (and may even still be played) so I would bet that Blizzard's focus is going to be on tending to the multiplayer side of things.
Overwatch:
Like Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone, Overwatch is a game that gets frequent updates, and so I wouldn't expect to see a huge thing like an expansion or sequel yet. Instead I'd expect to maybe hear about new game modes, maps, and characters that will filter in over time.
Warcraft:
Legion just came out a month and a half ago, and they're also making it clear that they're going to stick with this expansion for the long haul (fingers crossed they succeed at that) and so the idea of hearing about the next expansion is basically a 0% probability. In fact, I'm not even sure that we're going to hear about the second raid tier, as I imagine that the Nighthold raid won't even be open yet at that point, given that we'll be getting Trial of Valor in between Emerald Nightmare and Nighthold. 7.1 will probably come out some time before the end of the year, but not necessarily before Blizzcon. Still, if they wanted to reassure players, announcing content to follow the release of Nighthold would be very welcome.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Blizzcon Announcement Leak - Nov. 4th and 5th
Blizzard briefly put up an announcement of this year's Blizzcon, but quickly took the announcement down. However, it's no shock that the company would have it this year. So what kind of predictions should we expect?
World of Warcraft:
Legion is going to launch some time in the middle of the year - my guess is mid-to-late June, so at that point we will have been on the Broken Isles for a few months. At most I think we might be getting ready for whatever Legion's second raiding tier will be. Assuming that they're continuing with the Warlords model (as disastrous as that might be, it's possible they started planning Legion before they realized what a bad idea a two-tier expansion is) that's probably going to be the Tomb of Sargeras, but I'm hoping that it will be a middle-tier - though given what we've seen of the Legion alpha, I don't know what that middle tier would entail.
Anyway, it's extremely unlikely we'll start hearing about the expansion that comes after Legion until 2017.
Starcraft:
Starcraft just completed its Starcraft II trilogy. I honestly don't know what's in store for the series. The ending of Legacy of the Void really closed off the vast majority of the storyline. There's still room for conflict, certainly, and new characters might arise to carry forward, but I think after the long rollout of Starcraft II, we're probably going to see the series take a breather at the very least.
Diablo:
There was apparently some hiring call for people to work on a new Diablo game. The question then is whether it's a new expansion or Diablo IV. I'd wager more on the former, as Diablo III has gotten fairly popular, especially with the console version. A new class and a new act would work pretty well, and perhaps a bunch of new ideas brought into the seasonal system or the bounties/exploration mode. There's also a few story hooks that would carry directly from what's happened in DIII so far. I just hope they don't turn the Nephalem evil or something.
Hearthstone:
Hearthstone has been getting pretty regular periodic updates, so I don't expect to see anything terribly radical. Probably a new solo adventure and maybe a new expansion announced (by then, Whispers of the Old Gods will have been out for several months.)
Heroes of the Storm:
Like Hearthstone, Heroes is built for periodic small updates - throwing in a hero or map every now and then, and of course skins and mounts. I'm hoping we see more unusual maps like Towers of Doom (both the unique tile set and objectives.) Still, major shifts are probably going to be rare, so I'd simply look for these periodic update announcements.
Overwatch:
Overwatch will have officially been out for a while by then. Given that it's a general-admission type game, we won't see individual new characters introduced. We might see a big chunk brought in as DLC, though. It'll be way too early to announced a full sequel though.
Something New:
Blizzard has been expanding its franchises recently, so I wouldn't be shocked to hear them coming up with another major project to work on. Personally I hope we get something a little more solo/story-driven. As enjoyable as I'm finding Heroes of the Storm, I tend to prefer games with a solid solo campaign, and finding that "Project Titan" was scrapped in favor of making Overwatch a multiplayer-only shooter was pretty disappointing.
Friday, November 6, 2015
Tomorrow - Game Systems and Q&A Panel. For now: Other news from Blizzcon!
Tomorrow we'll be getting a panel dedicated to game systems. Given the massive work that they'll be doing for level scaling in Legion, I think there's a good chance that that will be the main focus.
Still, we could find out some stuff about class changes and maybe even professions. We also need some more info on how the artifact weapons will work.
The Beta is supposed to launch within weeks (which could mean mid or late December for all we know) so I wonder if they don't really want to bother getting into the nitty-gritty of class details until the Beta patch notes are up.
We'll get some tidbits out of the Q&A, but to be honest, we usually don't learn a ton of big info from those, as they generally like to announce that stuff on their own terms.
Still, I'd say that this Blizzcon had some pretty big surprises up its sleeves, so I'm not disappointed. I really did not expect to see the cinematic this early.
While I'm 99.99% certain I'm going to be getting Legion at this point, I still can't really bring myself to pre-order a game until it has a release date. I can't imagine Demon Hunters will be available until the 7.0 patch, and I'm sure there will be a date by then. And then, well, Futurama Fry money meme etc.
Also, I still have a level 90 boost. Wonder if that will stack with a 100 one?
Oh man, there's a ton of other stuff from other games.
Heroes of the Storm is getting three warcraft characters. These are Genn Greymane, who transforms from wolf form to human in combat (that might be a real-money purchase for me,) a Dryad whose name I can't remember, and Cho'gall, who's the weirdest hero yet. See, one player plays as Cho while the other plays as Gall. Also, Cho'gall will be gained not through money or gold, but through playing with people playing Cho'gall. (Guess I should play a bunch tonight to try to get that.)
There's also a new battleground called Towers of Doom, some cool new skins (including an Arthas as Castlevania-style Dracula one) and also a hint that the Headless Horseman might be coming as well (though he could be a map feature for the new battleground.)
There's also a new Arena mode, which I assume is more of a deathmatch.
Hearthstone is getting a new expansion/adventure set called League of Explorers, which seems to be, well, Adventure-Movie-themed.
SCII is getting Legacy of the Void in a few days, so not a lot of news there.
Diablo III doesn't have an expansion to announce, but there is a new patch with new areas coming.
And Overwatch will be buy-to-play, with all 21 heroes available from the start and all maps. There's a special addition with cosmetic rewards. It'll also be available for Xbox One and PS4. Also some new heroes were announced.
And that's about it, as far as I know. Phew.
Still, we could find out some stuff about class changes and maybe even professions. We also need some more info on how the artifact weapons will work.
The Beta is supposed to launch within weeks (which could mean mid or late December for all we know) so I wonder if they don't really want to bother getting into the nitty-gritty of class details until the Beta patch notes are up.
We'll get some tidbits out of the Q&A, but to be honest, we usually don't learn a ton of big info from those, as they generally like to announce that stuff on their own terms.
Still, I'd say that this Blizzcon had some pretty big surprises up its sleeves, so I'm not disappointed. I really did not expect to see the cinematic this early.
While I'm 99.99% certain I'm going to be getting Legion at this point, I still can't really bring myself to pre-order a game until it has a release date. I can't imagine Demon Hunters will be available until the 7.0 patch, and I'm sure there will be a date by then. And then, well, Futurama Fry money meme etc.
Also, I still have a level 90 boost. Wonder if that will stack with a 100 one?
Oh man, there's a ton of other stuff from other games.
Heroes of the Storm is getting three warcraft characters. These are Genn Greymane, who transforms from wolf form to human in combat (that might be a real-money purchase for me,) a Dryad whose name I can't remember, and Cho'gall, who's the weirdest hero yet. See, one player plays as Cho while the other plays as Gall. Also, Cho'gall will be gained not through money or gold, but through playing with people playing Cho'gall. (Guess I should play a bunch tonight to try to get that.)
There's also a new battleground called Towers of Doom, some cool new skins (including an Arthas as Castlevania-style Dracula one) and also a hint that the Headless Horseman might be coming as well (though he could be a map feature for the new battleground.)
There's also a new Arena mode, which I assume is more of a deathmatch.
Hearthstone is getting a new expansion/adventure set called League of Explorers, which seems to be, well, Adventure-Movie-themed.
SCII is getting Legacy of the Void in a few days, so not a lot of news there.
Diablo III doesn't have an expansion to announce, but there is a new patch with new areas coming.
And Overwatch will be buy-to-play, with all 21 heroes available from the start and all maps. There's a special addition with cosmetic rewards. It'll also be available for Xbox One and PS4. Also some new heroes were announced.
And that's about it, as far as I know. Phew.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Overwatch Going to be on Consoles
Another leak before Blizzcon: Overwatch, Blizzard's new team-based First-person-shooter will be available for the PS4 and Xbox One. This suggests that all versions of the game will be buy-to-play, rather than free-to-play. That means a bigger investment at the start, but you should have access to all the heroes (hopefully) out of the box.
Presumably they'll be releasing patches and possibly DLC, which in this modern era is feasible on consoles as well as PCs. It's nice to hear, especially for those of us who play our other Blizzard games on Mac (myself included) which will apparently not run Overwatch (which might be a first for Blizzard, as the company began its life, if I recall correctly, as specifically a Mac game producer.)
Blizzard has been trying out the console waters of late, with Diablo III apparently better on console than computers (though part of that might have been that the original console release for the game incorporated the Reaper of Souls changes that profoundly improved the game.)
Still, there's nothing to indicate that there will be anything like a solo campaign for the game, especially given that it's already in beta (given that it's in beta on PC but also launching for the consoles, this perhaps allows for a slight glimmer of hope for us Mac users.)
The question, though, is whether a game of this ilk - based entirely around competitive multiplayer (though I imagine there might be a VS AI option like in Heroes of the Storm) - will get people to drop the typical 60 bucks for a game that most new releases on console get.
I'm much more a fan of long games with tons of content, rather than fast-paced competition with other players, so it's still not really in my wheelhouse. I have enjoyed Heroes of the Storm, even dropping a bit of real money on a couple of heroes, but it's not compelling to me the way that an RPG is.
I would have loved to see what their original plan was for "Titan," which really seems to be the pile of ashes that Overwatch flew out of. If the game's successful, perhaps Blizzard will take another look at it.
Presumably they'll be releasing patches and possibly DLC, which in this modern era is feasible on consoles as well as PCs. It's nice to hear, especially for those of us who play our other Blizzard games on Mac (myself included) which will apparently not run Overwatch (which might be a first for Blizzard, as the company began its life, if I recall correctly, as specifically a Mac game producer.)
Blizzard has been trying out the console waters of late, with Diablo III apparently better on console than computers (though part of that might have been that the original console release for the game incorporated the Reaper of Souls changes that profoundly improved the game.)
Still, there's nothing to indicate that there will be anything like a solo campaign for the game, especially given that it's already in beta (given that it's in beta on PC but also launching for the consoles, this perhaps allows for a slight glimmer of hope for us Mac users.)
The question, though, is whether a game of this ilk - based entirely around competitive multiplayer (though I imagine there might be a VS AI option like in Heroes of the Storm) - will get people to drop the typical 60 bucks for a game that most new releases on console get.
I'm much more a fan of long games with tons of content, rather than fast-paced competition with other players, so it's still not really in my wheelhouse. I have enjoyed Heroes of the Storm, even dropping a bit of real money on a couple of heroes, but it's not compelling to me the way that an RPG is.
I would have loved to see what their original plan was for "Titan," which really seems to be the pile of ashes that Overwatch flew out of. If the game's successful, perhaps Blizzard will take another look at it.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Blizzard Taking Another Crack at Voice Chat
Until the unnamed 6.1 patch, the gold standard for patches that players totally forgot even happened was Burning Crusade's 2.2. 2.1 had brought the Black Temple, the Battle for Mount Hyjal, and the Netherwing daily quests, while 2.3 would later bring Zul'Aman, the Engineering Flying Machine and Turbo-Charged Flying Machine mounts as well as the first awesome epic goggle armor, and the town of Mudsprocket in Dustwallow Marsh, complete with several new quests in the zone.
2.2 brought Voice Chat. Yep, WoW's had an in-game Voice chat since Burning Crusade. Have you used it? I actually did, I think twice.
Players have instead typically opted to use other programs like TeamSpeak, Ventrillo, Mumble, or whatever the kids are using these days.
Well, guess what?
Blizzard is at it again.
This time, Blizz is trying to create a pan-Battle.net voice chat system. They'll start testing it with the Overwatch beta, which starts next Tuesday.
Good luck Blizzard!
2.2 brought Voice Chat. Yep, WoW's had an in-game Voice chat since Burning Crusade. Have you used it? I actually did, I think twice.
Players have instead typically opted to use other programs like TeamSpeak, Ventrillo, Mumble, or whatever the kids are using these days.
Well, guess what?
Blizzard is at it again.
This time, Blizz is trying to create a pan-Battle.net voice chat system. They'll start testing it with the Overwatch beta, which starts next Tuesday.
Good luck Blizzard!
Friday, October 16, 2015
Overwatch Beta Coming Oct. 27th
This is actually somewhat old news, but I hadn't mentioned it, making it new!
Overwatch, Blizzard's upcoming competetive FPS is going into its beta on October 27th, which is pretty darn soon.
Now, I'm a bit ambivalent about Overwatch. The aesthetics of the game look fantastic - they're basically ripped right out of a hypothetical Pixar superhero movie (one in which guns are ok) - and I do enjoy shooters (I played a ton of Goldeneye back in the day.)
But I really don't go in for PvP games much. When it comes to FPSs, I really prefer the campaign mode, or, if possible, I go for single-player shooters, like Bioshock or Half-Life. Actually, a dream-game of mine would be an open-world FPS - a bit like Fallout, but balanced around the absence of the VATS system and less inventory-management. (Actually, to elaborate further, I'd love a game with the upcoming No-Man's Sky's space exploration and planet-hopping, though with a finite number of designed planets with real stories, rather than a procedurally-generated infinitude.)
I hope there will at least be a vs. Bots mode for Overwatch, because I would like to try to game out. I've actually never played an FPS on my computer, as opposed to a console, so I'm sure that it will feel pretty weird to control. Given Diablo III's successful console release, I wouldn't be all to surprised if we wind up with Overwatch on consoles as well.
Overwatch, Blizzard's upcoming competetive FPS is going into its beta on October 27th, which is pretty darn soon.
Now, I'm a bit ambivalent about Overwatch. The aesthetics of the game look fantastic - they're basically ripped right out of a hypothetical Pixar superhero movie (one in which guns are ok) - and I do enjoy shooters (I played a ton of Goldeneye back in the day.)
But I really don't go in for PvP games much. When it comes to FPSs, I really prefer the campaign mode, or, if possible, I go for single-player shooters, like Bioshock or Half-Life. Actually, a dream-game of mine would be an open-world FPS - a bit like Fallout, but balanced around the absence of the VATS system and less inventory-management. (Actually, to elaborate further, I'd love a game with the upcoming No-Man's Sky's space exploration and planet-hopping, though with a finite number of designed planets with real stories, rather than a procedurally-generated infinitude.)
I hope there will at least be a vs. Bots mode for Overwatch, because I would like to try to game out. I've actually never played an FPS on my computer, as opposed to a console, so I'm sure that it will feel pretty weird to control. Given Diablo III's successful console release, I wouldn't be all to surprised if we wind up with Overwatch on consoles as well.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Blizzcon Schedule
Well, Blizzard has now officially (as opposed to earlier leaks) released the schedule for Blizzcon next month. As it stands, World of Warcraft: Legion could really be the headliner, with four panels. Likely, because of the Gamescom announcement, we aren't going to have the same comprehensive set of panels we've gotten in previous odd-year Blizzcons, as we already know the headlining features.
WoW will have a "World and Content Overview" panel, a cinematic panel, a Game Systems panel, and a Q&A. My hope for the first of these is that we'll get a better sense of the patch release cycle for Legion. I don't think it's a terribly controversial statement to say that Mists of Pandaria handled patches a whole lot better than Warlords. Giving us a roadmap for the future of the expansion (preferably a big one you've got to unfold a bunch) would do wonders to mitigate fears that the future of "short expansion cycles" means anemic expansions. The cinematic panel should be fun, though not really about in-game stuff. Game Systems, on the other hand, could extend to a ton of features. I expect we'll be learning about how the Demon Hunter will function as a class, and also what's going to happen with the various class revamps, like Survival Hunters going melee. Personally, I'm very interested in seeing how Demonology adjusts to the loss of Metamorphosis (which is currently the heart of the spec) and also how much they'll lean into the "pirate swashbuckler" archetype for Combat Rogues, as that might actually get me interested in playing the spec.
There is no specific class panel, though, so it's possible this panel will focus more on larger systems, and we'll just have to wait for the beta patch notes to see what's in store. Given that Blizzard announced Legion will go into beta this year, I'm hoping we'll get a beta start date, though if it has to start in January, I won't be terribly surprised (no later than January though, I hope.)
On the Diablo III front, there's not much. I actually expected there to be a new expansion at least announced by now, but it really doesn't seem like there's enough to support that this time around, with just one panel called, generically enough "Dev Talk." Reaper of Souls did a ton of good for Diablo III's systems (and Westmarch is a really cool setting) but I think it's time for a new story/setting and hopefully class.
Starcraft II has a couple panels, but the intriguing one is "The Future of Starcraft II." The SCII model was to basically have oversized campaigns, but effectively really only cycle of campaigns between the three releases. The Future might simply be to talk about Legacy of the Void, but I imagine they want to keep the SC train rolling, given how big an esport it is.
Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone are both on a much faster cycle, so I suspect we'll just get a preview of what the next few months will bring us. New card expansions, new heroes, and new battlegrounds are what we'll see. I don't know if we're going to be getting any world-shaking announcements.
The Overwatch beta is coming relatively soon, I think, but I wonder what we'll be seeing for that. There are two panels, one that's just "What's New" which I think is basically "the whole game." The other is the "World of Overwatch," meaning I think we'll be seeing more of the lore behind the game.
Personally, what would attract me to Overwatch is some kind of single-player or at least PvE content. I'm ok with Heroes of the Storm given that it's kind of in that Smash Bros. category - it's all about smashing your toys together. Given that Overwatch is this whole new intellectual property, I'd be much more interested in exploring it through a campaign, rather than reading stuff outside of the game that kind of contradicts my having Tracer fight alongside Reaper.
Obviously the thing I'm most excited about is WoW news, and hopefully the imminent start of the Legion beta. We've still got over three weeks to wait, though, so sit tight.
WoW will have a "World and Content Overview" panel, a cinematic panel, a Game Systems panel, and a Q&A. My hope for the first of these is that we'll get a better sense of the patch release cycle for Legion. I don't think it's a terribly controversial statement to say that Mists of Pandaria handled patches a whole lot better than Warlords. Giving us a roadmap for the future of the expansion (preferably a big one you've got to unfold a bunch) would do wonders to mitigate fears that the future of "short expansion cycles" means anemic expansions. The cinematic panel should be fun, though not really about in-game stuff. Game Systems, on the other hand, could extend to a ton of features. I expect we'll be learning about how the Demon Hunter will function as a class, and also what's going to happen with the various class revamps, like Survival Hunters going melee. Personally, I'm very interested in seeing how Demonology adjusts to the loss of Metamorphosis (which is currently the heart of the spec) and also how much they'll lean into the "pirate swashbuckler" archetype for Combat Rogues, as that might actually get me interested in playing the spec.
There is no specific class panel, though, so it's possible this panel will focus more on larger systems, and we'll just have to wait for the beta patch notes to see what's in store. Given that Blizzard announced Legion will go into beta this year, I'm hoping we'll get a beta start date, though if it has to start in January, I won't be terribly surprised (no later than January though, I hope.)
On the Diablo III front, there's not much. I actually expected there to be a new expansion at least announced by now, but it really doesn't seem like there's enough to support that this time around, with just one panel called, generically enough "Dev Talk." Reaper of Souls did a ton of good for Diablo III's systems (and Westmarch is a really cool setting) but I think it's time for a new story/setting and hopefully class.
Starcraft II has a couple panels, but the intriguing one is "The Future of Starcraft II." The SCII model was to basically have oversized campaigns, but effectively really only cycle of campaigns between the three releases. The Future might simply be to talk about Legacy of the Void, but I imagine they want to keep the SC train rolling, given how big an esport it is.
Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone are both on a much faster cycle, so I suspect we'll just get a preview of what the next few months will bring us. New card expansions, new heroes, and new battlegrounds are what we'll see. I don't know if we're going to be getting any world-shaking announcements.
The Overwatch beta is coming relatively soon, I think, but I wonder what we'll be seeing for that. There are two panels, one that's just "What's New" which I think is basically "the whole game." The other is the "World of Overwatch," meaning I think we'll be seeing more of the lore behind the game.
Personally, what would attract me to Overwatch is some kind of single-player or at least PvE content. I'm ok with Heroes of the Storm given that it's kind of in that Smash Bros. category - it's all about smashing your toys together. Given that Overwatch is this whole new intellectual property, I'd be much more interested in exploring it through a campaign, rather than reading stuff outside of the game that kind of contradicts my having Tracer fight alongside Reaper.
Obviously the thing I'm most excited about is WoW news, and hopefully the imminent start of the Legion beta. We've still got over three weeks to wait, though, so sit tight.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
The Thing About PvP (A PvEer's Perspective)
Overwatch was the biggest story at Blizzcon this year. The cinematic trailer for it looked straight out of a Pixar movie, and it's Blizzard's first foray into the world of first person shooters. It has really clear characters and a great aesthetic, and a lot of the gameplay options look really fun.
The thing is, I'm probably not going to play it.
The main problem: It's a totally PvP-oriented game.
Several years ago, I got the Orange Box - the pretty phenomenal bundle of Half Life 2, parts 1 and 2 of its episodic sequels, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. I was really excited to play Team Fortress 2, but then I discovered that the game was 100% PvP content in small arenas. There was no story to speak of, and nothing one could play on one's own.
Overwatch will very much be in the vein of Team Fortress 2. Heroes of the Storm, and Hearthstone, come to think of it, are competitive games - to be played against others.
And honestly, that's not my type of gaming.
It's not multiplayer that I'm against. The absurd number of posts on this very blog prove that I'm a huge fan of World of Warcraft. But as you can probably tell, my WoW experience is 99.99% in the realm of PvE. And ultimately, the main reason why is just... that I don't like playing against other people. I prefer coming together as a team to vanquish some giant obstacle. The primary reason is that I don't like that my success requires someone else's failure (or vice versa, of course.) But there are other reasons.
Defeating another player does not provide me with the same satisfaction as defeating a raid boss. When it's another player, you never know if it was just luck or some flaw in their play or a simple lag spike that allowed you to get the upper hand. When you down a boss, you know it's because your raid pulled together and executed the fight correctly - your coordination and dedication result in success.
Other players are certainly more difficult to kill given their unpredictability, but they're also more boring. When I fight the Lich King, he can shatter the icy platform I'm standing on and draw my soul into Frostmourne. When I fight Garrosh Hellscream, he can draw me into weird visions of various temples in Pandaria filled with Sha. When I fight that Undead Mage sitting somewhere in Chicago, he can... Blink? Ice Block? There will be minor tweaks and a few new talents or what have you with each expansion, but fundamentally, he's the same Mage I've been fighting since vanilla.
Another problem - and this might be just one that the gaming industry has yet to solve - is that PvP games are historically, and perhaps inherently, less story-driven. As we're seeing with Overwatch - there will apparently be no real in-game lore. Every game is just a fight against other players. If Winston and Reaper team up, despite being enemies, there's no justification beyond "that's what the players on that team chose." So things will remain static, and what lore they come up with will be entirely outside the game itself.
People seek out video games for different reasons, certainly, and I absolutely don't mean to disparage anyone who prefers PvP-style games. But given my tastes, Overwatch just doesn't look like it's aimed at a gamer like me.
The thing is, I'm probably not going to play it.
The main problem: It's a totally PvP-oriented game.
Several years ago, I got the Orange Box - the pretty phenomenal bundle of Half Life 2, parts 1 and 2 of its episodic sequels, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. I was really excited to play Team Fortress 2, but then I discovered that the game was 100% PvP content in small arenas. There was no story to speak of, and nothing one could play on one's own.
Overwatch will very much be in the vein of Team Fortress 2. Heroes of the Storm, and Hearthstone, come to think of it, are competitive games - to be played against others.
And honestly, that's not my type of gaming.
It's not multiplayer that I'm against. The absurd number of posts on this very blog prove that I'm a huge fan of World of Warcraft. But as you can probably tell, my WoW experience is 99.99% in the realm of PvE. And ultimately, the main reason why is just... that I don't like playing against other people. I prefer coming together as a team to vanquish some giant obstacle. The primary reason is that I don't like that my success requires someone else's failure (or vice versa, of course.) But there are other reasons.
Defeating another player does not provide me with the same satisfaction as defeating a raid boss. When it's another player, you never know if it was just luck or some flaw in their play or a simple lag spike that allowed you to get the upper hand. When you down a boss, you know it's because your raid pulled together and executed the fight correctly - your coordination and dedication result in success.
Other players are certainly more difficult to kill given their unpredictability, but they're also more boring. When I fight the Lich King, he can shatter the icy platform I'm standing on and draw my soul into Frostmourne. When I fight Garrosh Hellscream, he can draw me into weird visions of various temples in Pandaria filled with Sha. When I fight that Undead Mage sitting somewhere in Chicago, he can... Blink? Ice Block? There will be minor tweaks and a few new talents or what have you with each expansion, but fundamentally, he's the same Mage I've been fighting since vanilla.
Another problem - and this might be just one that the gaming industry has yet to solve - is that PvP games are historically, and perhaps inherently, less story-driven. As we're seeing with Overwatch - there will apparently be no real in-game lore. Every game is just a fight against other players. If Winston and Reaper team up, despite being enemies, there's no justification beyond "that's what the players on that team chose." So things will remain static, and what lore they come up with will be entirely outside the game itself.
People seek out video games for different reasons, certainly, and I absolutely don't mean to disparage anyone who prefers PvP-style games. But given my tastes, Overwatch just doesn't look like it's aimed at a gamer like me.
Friday, November 7, 2014
Overwatch and Other Blizzcon Announcements
Well, there's no new WoW expansion announced this year at Blizzcon, and surprisingly nothing about Diablo III (unless they decide for some reason to announce it after the opening ceremonies.)
The biggest news is Overwatch, which really looks like what all the rumors about Titan had suggested - I honestly think the "cancellation" was just a "let's not make it an MMO" decision. So what is Overwatch?
Set on Earth in a relatively near future (about sixty years is what they're saying,) Overwatch is a team-based PvP shooter that has a sort of superhero aesthetic (honestly it looks very similar in style to Disney's Big Hero Six.) The background is that robots went crazy about thirty years ago and the Overwatch was founded to fight them off. With the crisis handled, the Overwatch has been disbanded, but the former members becoming mercenaries and, well, basically superheroes.
There are several heroes to choose from who all have different abilities, and you'll pick one to fight in 6v6 multiplayer combat. It looks to be very much in the vein of Team Fortress 2. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anything of a single-player campaign, and it looks like any real story content is going to be outside of gameplay. Still, given the popularity of multiplayer shooter games, it's not surprising to see Blizzard step into that arena. The game looks really cool, but as pretty devout PvEer, I don't know if it's for me.
The other major announcements were Legacy of the Void, the long-ago announced, but now confirmed and with a trailer Protoss installment of Starcraft II. The other is an expansion for Hearthstone called Gnomes vs Goblins. I don't really have much in the way of details on that yet, but I think we can expect a big influx of cards and probably some new mechanical shifts.
Heroes of the Storm now has a date for the beginning of its closed Beta, which is January 3rd. They also unveiled some new maps, as well as new heroes Jaina, Thrall, and the Lost Vikings (who will naturally work as a team.)
So that leaves WoW and Diablo. I'll post more as the weekend goes on.
The biggest news is Overwatch, which really looks like what all the rumors about Titan had suggested - I honestly think the "cancellation" was just a "let's not make it an MMO" decision. So what is Overwatch?
Set on Earth in a relatively near future (about sixty years is what they're saying,) Overwatch is a team-based PvP shooter that has a sort of superhero aesthetic (honestly it looks very similar in style to Disney's Big Hero Six.) The background is that robots went crazy about thirty years ago and the Overwatch was founded to fight them off. With the crisis handled, the Overwatch has been disbanded, but the former members becoming mercenaries and, well, basically superheroes.
There are several heroes to choose from who all have different abilities, and you'll pick one to fight in 6v6 multiplayer combat. It looks to be very much in the vein of Team Fortress 2. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anything of a single-player campaign, and it looks like any real story content is going to be outside of gameplay. Still, given the popularity of multiplayer shooter games, it's not surprising to see Blizzard step into that arena. The game looks really cool, but as pretty devout PvEer, I don't know if it's for me.
The other major announcements were Legacy of the Void, the long-ago announced, but now confirmed and with a trailer Protoss installment of Starcraft II. The other is an expansion for Hearthstone called Gnomes vs Goblins. I don't really have much in the way of details on that yet, but I think we can expect a big influx of cards and probably some new mechanical shifts.
Heroes of the Storm now has a date for the beginning of its closed Beta, which is January 3rd. They also unveiled some new maps, as well as new heroes Jaina, Thrall, and the Lost Vikings (who will naturally work as a team.)
So that leaves WoW and Diablo. I'll post more as the weekend goes on.
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