14 DAY TRIAL // Video game developer Blizzard says that Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is such a complex title that the studio has a dedicated strike team that only deals with balance changes and evaluates which cards and strategies are overpowered.
But pure statistical analysis is not enough to deliver a good game and the company is also ready to listen to feedback that deals with the emotional impact of some cards.
Jason Chayes, a production director, tells VG247 that, “I take lots of feedback from the community telling them how cards make them feel, because for us emotional feedback is as important as the actual balance of the game. If it feels terrible to play against a certain card then we’re going to look at that.”
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft takes the game universe and turns it into a number of cards that can be collected and then used to build decks that can defeat other gamers.
The system is familiar to fans of the genre but also streamlined to make sure that all those interested can just jump in and play, without having to worry about the underlying mechanics.
Chayes adds, “within a few minutes your friends and family are playing the game, having a good time and they’re not worrying about all of the turn phases or complexities that are traditionally associated with these games.”
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is at the moment in beta stage and a full wipe of progress for all players was implemented as the team delivered a major new balance patch, based on feedback from the first few months of playtime.
The testing phase allows Blizzard to see how the infrastructure deals with the number of players and how the various mechanics are exploited by the community.
A full launch for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft will probably take place at some point in early 2014.