MMORPG: Players will be able to explore a lot of areas, what was it like creating the map? Was there a lot of world building done beforehand?
DL: If there’s one thing that we know players respond well to, it’s airships – so we always saw Skyrealm as a wide, vertically layered setting. And even though we rolled back some of the exploration elements of Heroes of Skyrealm, that feeling of altitude and freedom is still very important. Being able to come back to the airship and see how buildings (and ship-mounted weapons) change over time gives players a palpable feeling of advancement. So even before you get to the world map, you’re already immersed in a cool setting.
But back to the idea of layering – the single player campaign takes place on the ground, while our favorite late-game PvP mode takes place on floating islands that each player fortifies with a combination of towers, traps, and troops. Switching between layers really reinforces the airship-as-HQ feeling. The floating island mode is an action-RPG take on the user-generated content style of Clash of Clans, further inspired by Orcs Must Die – and it’s a lot of fun. So once you’ve worked your way through the campaign map, your adventure can continue in the sky.
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We know that a lot of ARPGs pile on extra systems and new grinding events to promote engagement and extend lifespan, but that can be really exhausting.
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We’ve seen the strength of user-generated content in some other titles, and we believe that Heroes of Skyrealm players will really enjoy challenging each other with their floating island designs. While we concentrate on balancing the single-player campaign, players are free to be as devious as they want to with their own challenges!
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Putting content creation tools in players’ hands, rather than keeping them to ourselves, is a great way to avoid fatigue – and these tactical challenges really set Heroes of Skyrealm apart from the competition. Take a look at some WIP screenshots of the mode:
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The Storm Isles
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The Nexan Republic
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Falcon's Landing
But back down on the surface, each of the Ten Nations has a theme that’s reflected by the enemies you fight there and the heroes you recruit. Kong, for example, comes from the Immortal Plains, a kind of idyllic mythical Chinese setting full of temples, warrior monks, and farmland. He’s joined by another melee hero who’s also inspired by Journey to the West, a big bruiser named Bor. You start the game in the Storm Isles, a tropical island chain with a strong pirate adventure focus, and you’ll work your way through steampunk cityscapes, desert ruins, a haunted Gothic countryside, and more before reaching Falcon’s Landing, the high-tech headquarters of the Unbroken invasion.
A lot of inspiration and work went into Heroes of Skyrealm’s characters, monsters, and level design – and even though accessibility is key, the closer you look, the richer Skyrealm becomes. So whether you’re racing to unlock every character or taking it more slowly by checking out conversations between heroes during the campaign, we think we’ve created a mobile game with unusually rewarding depth.
MMORPG: What is the scope of Skyrealm moving throughout 2016?
DL: Moving forward from the playable version we presented at GDC 2016, our first development priority is a more feature-complete Closed Beta build. As we get closer to our Summer 2016 launch date, Heroes of Skyrealm will expand in two major directions. First, Dynamite Entertainment will publish the first issue of a Heroes of Skyrealm comic series, and we’re really excited about the opportunity to show the versatility and potential of the game’s cast, setting, and backstory. Set years before the game begins, the comic shows how Skyrealm’s first contact with the starfaring Unbroken Consortium transforms into a world-spanning conflict. This is just a little taste of the comic’s style – and there’s a lot more to come:
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We’re also planning to follow up on our global English release with several localized versions, beginning with Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, Korean, and Japanese.
MMORPG: How can players get into the game and play?
DL: Once the game goes live, playing Heroes of Skyrealm will be as easy as opening the App Store or Google Play and installing it. We’re planning on running a Closed Beta test before that, and players can sign up for our newsletter to find out how to get in on that. Once players are in the game, a tutorial will guide them through everything they need to know to get started.
We’re constantly optimizing, but as there’s a lot going on in terms of animation and environmental effects, these are the recommended device specs:
iOS: iPhone 5C and above (5S recommended), iOS version 6.0 and above (8.0 recommended)
Android: 1GB or more of RAM with Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and above.
