A game designer spills the beans about Overwatch: What will the payment model be? How does match-making work?
Knock at the Front Door
In just under a month, BlizzCon will take place, and the beta of Blizzard’s first first-person shooter Overwatch is coming close. Rockpapershotgun had the opportunity to conduct a detailed interview with game designer Geoff Goodman and ask many questions about the design of Overwatch. We have compiled the exciting statements for you.
Developers are looking forward to the beta
It is especially interesting that the developers of the Overwatch beta are just as eager as the fans. At Blizzard, the limits of what can be managed with an internal test group have now been reached. Fresh feedback from new players is essential, because that is the only way to find out which characters are too strong or too weak compared to others and whether a meta is established – as that was not the case internally.
Problem Child Matchmaking
In a team shooter like Overwatch, matchmaking is a central component to ensure the enjoyment of all players. However, Goodman still sees some issues here: Many friends will play Overwatch together, and the skill level of players in such groups is often very different.
If the game registers that in the first team there is a very good player and several less skilled players, it currently tries to find a similar opposing team. However, this is not working as well as the developers would like, because the less skilled players then have little fun in the game. However, Goodman has not found a solution to this problem yet – but that seems to be the case for the entire team-play industry.
The Business Model – Still Uncertain
A definitive business model for Overwatch has still not been established. Goodman emphasizes his good position here, as Blizzard has experience with almost all common models: World of Warcraft with subscription model, Diablo 3 as a classic box, Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone as free-to-play.
“Changing characters during an ongoing match is an important part of Overwatch, it says, “so we definitely want to ensure that we do not ruin that with a payment model.” While this is far from a clear statement, it probably rules out a free-to-play variant with individually purchasable heroes, otherwise the aforementioned problem would occur.
Into the Beta with the Gamepad?
A point that was surprisingly confirmed quickly was the question about the use of gamepads. Many of the current players felt that Overwatch would play even better with a gamepad, and Goodman confirmed that the game will fully support this. However, it was not discussed whether this would already be the case in the beta. Similarly, it remains unclear when exactly the beta will start, as there is still no official date: “Fall 2015” is still the plan – and that unfortunately takes a bit longer.
For more about the game, the different maps, and characters, visit our Overwatch topic page.
