14 DAY TRIAL // Video game developer Blizzard says that it might begin working on home console versions for its card-based Hearthstone as long as there is clear demand coming from the player community, even if some technical hurdles might need to be overcome first.
At the moment, the focus of the studio is on the PC version of the game, which is getting the final touches required before moving out of beta phase altogether.
Eric Dodds, the lead designer of Hearthstone, tells Eurogamer that, “Something that worked very well for us was that, fairly early on, we decided we wanted to make a very physical game. A game that always felt like you had a physical box, that you could touch the cards, that you could drag them into play.”
This core design means that it is easy for the company to create ports and to launch the game on various platforms as long as there is clear demand from players.
For the near future, Blizzard is aiming to put in a number of incentives for players to level up and play as many matches as possible.
Jason Chayes, the production director, says, “After 500 wins you'll get an awesome-looking version of Thrall or Jaina or Garrosh. For people who are very committed to their class it'll be awesome for them to show off this great version of their hero to their opponent.”
The company is also adding custom-card back designs for participating in a season of ranked play and more customization options are in the world.
Blizzard is also interested in making sure that gamers miss a smaller number of matches in Hearthstone via disconnects.
The card game is currently close to getting out of beta and there are plans to add more content to it in the coming months via solo Adventures.