Feedback from the community is important to keep things balanced

May 24, 2014 13:49 GMT  ·  By

The new Unreal Tournament title from Epic Games that will be released with the help of the community of developers and players can certainly become a great eSport, according to the studio, although a lot of work is needed in regards to balancing.

The Unreal Tournament franchise turned Epic Games from a small independent studio into one of the most profitable and popular companies worldwide, thanks not just to actual games but also to the Unreal Engine, which has just seen its fourth installment be released recently.

After first saying that it was not working on a new Unreal Tournament using Unreal Engine 4, the studio revealed earlier this month that it was, in fact, preparing a new shooter in the series.

However, there's a big catch, as while Epic is making the actual shooter, it wants help from other Unreal Engine 4 game developers as well as from fans of the series who can share their feedback and desires for the new title.

Now, while talking with PC Gamer, Epic's Steve Polge, who's the senior programmer and project lead for the shooter, believes that it can work as a competitive experience and even as an eSport.

"In the near term, aspiring to be a competitive FPS means making sure we have balanced gameplay mechanics that reward a variety of play styles so that success is primarily determined by skill," he said.

"Longer term, we'd love to support UT as an eSport game, and we'll need the community's help in designing and implementing many of the features that implies, like advanced match spectating, broadcasting and livestreaming."

Polge then emphasized that this open development model, in which fans can take part in the alpha and game developers can pitch their own ideas, will ensure that the balance between weapons and the map design work really well.

"I believe this development model gives us the opportunity to build a much better balanced and finely tuned game, which is vital to the long-term success of a competitive shooter. It’s already evident that there are many players contributing to our design discussions that have a thorough understanding of game mechanics and balance issues," he added.

"Their contributions will help make Unreal Tournament’s gameplay deeper and more balanced than any past title. In addition, having a large audience of developers and fans continuously playtesting the game and providing feedback will have a massive impact on our ability to make sure all elements of the game are well-balanced for a wide range of skill levels."

The new Unreal Tournament is still in the early stages of development, but it will be released as a free-to-play game in the near future, at least in the form of an alpha.