Bloodline Champions Interview

MMORPG.com:

Tell us about the Bloodline Champions launch. What has been the fan response?

Peter Ilves:

With the launch of Bloodline Champions we introduced new features and a lot of updates not seen in the beta such as Achievements, VoIP, updates to the GUI, new graphical effects, gamemode updates and more. We also launched the in-game store holding a wide variety of unlock able items. We’ve received very good feedback from our community as well as new players and they all seem very happy with the launch and all the new updates.

MMORPG.com:

Talk about the game play in Bloodline Champions, the battles move very quickly but maintain a fun pace.

Peter Ilves:

The gameplay of Bloodline Champions is quite unique; the battles are very hectic and the game runs at a high pace, it rewards both individual skill as well as team play. A good team is aware of their surroundings and is able to quickly adjust their strategy to overcome the other team. It’s all about skill, finding the right opportunity to attack and to skillfully land all your abilities.

With 20 different bloodlines to choose from and with more coming along the way the game has a wide tactical depth with almost endless possibilities of different team setups where the bloodlines complement each other.

MMORPG.com:

The artistic style in Bloodline Champions is amazing and crosses a lot of genres can you tell us how the style came about?

Johan Aronsson (art director):

When we first decided to make a fantasy-themed game, we knew from the start that we wanted to do something different from the standard type of fantasy. We chose to use a mix of African and Asian influences as the main source of inspiration to make sure that what we came up with was something fresh. Over time we also incorporated influences from other parts of the world, especially throughout the environments. We made sure not to copy straight off the reference material but rather use it as inspiration - we wanted everything to feel like 'Bloodline Champions', not 'ah, that's an African tribal warrior and that's an ancient Chinese soldier'.

The overall style of the game was on the other hand something that evolved over time. We initially aimed for a more brightly lit, de-saturated look but progressed more and more towards stronger colors and more diverse color palettes. More colors allowed us to create a lot more variation in the different maps.

Ultimately, the goal of the art style has been to enhance the gameplay; essentially making it easy to discern the different characters and spells amidst the frantic action.

MMORPG.com:

How can players use the rewards and shop to advance in the game? This of this as a tutorial for new users.

Peter Ilves:

Players can unlock a wide variety of items in the in-game store; all of these are purely cosmetic and won’t increase the strength of your characters. The game aims to be highly competitive and therefore everyone starts out at equal footing once a new game starts. Advancing in the game is all about learning the different bloodlines, learning how to carefully aim your abilities and coordinating your attacks together with your team.

The game supports an in-game league system; you can play either solo together with other players or you can form a team together with your friends. As you become increasingly better you will advance in divisions and leagues, from the iron league up to the diamond league.

MMORPG.com:

What class is your personal favorite? Why is that class appealing?

Peter Ilves:

My personal favorite is currently the Ravener, a hot girl wielding two giant maces. I really enjoy the offensive play style of this bloodline, she is a very agile champion and can quickly move across the field, she can reflect enemy projectiles back towards her attackers with her spinning strike, knock them into the air with her crude strike or just bash them with her maces. Mace to the Face!

MMORPG.com:

Game balance is critical and Bloodline Champions seems to do a good job with it, how long did it take you to balance the character classes?

Peter Ilves:

The balance process has taken a long long time and we continue to work on it; balance is one of the most important aspects of Bloodline Champions since the game is so competitive. We are carefully analyzing statistics, reading the forums and talking to the top players of the community so that we can further improve and refine the balance.

MMORPG.com:

Even after launch are the fixes and tweaks that you would like to make in the game?

Peter Ilves:

There’s always things that can get better, as previously said we will further improve the balance, we are also looking into updating the graphical effects, the GUI, releasing new content to the shop, new bloodlines and more.

MMORPG.com:

What is next for Bloodline Champions?

Peter Ilves:

The next big thing that is underway is probably the in-game tournament system. This will let players of all skill level compete and get a chance to play Bloodline Champions the way it’s meant to be played. At the same time you will get the chance to win special in-game prizes!

We also have a lot other planned updates and content that we will announce in a near future.