MOBA belongs on smartphones. This is the best platform for it, say the creators of Vainglory. Although they are still laughed at by many for this. However, success proves them right.
When we talk about eSports these days, next to the strong first-person shooters, there is mainly the genre of MOBAs, the Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas. The big money can especially be won in the PC titles League of Legends and Dota 2. The development studio Super Evil Megacorp, known for the mobile MOBA Vainglory, is convinced, however, that the genre belongs on smartphones.
Although almost everyone with a penchant for technology owns a smartphone nowadays, gaming on small screens has so far been limited to casual games. These are played in between while on the bus or train. Still, the eSports of the ‘Pocket PCs’ is a niche. It’s often laughed at even. If you ask players, you will get almost exclusively negative forecasts for the future.
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The American development studio Super Evil Megacorp fiercely defends against this opinion. The still young team is primarily responsible for the currently best mobile MOBA “Vainglory” and regularly organizes live finals in the regions of North America and Europe. These attract high interest via Twitch. Even now, they have managed to ensure that professional eSports organizations like SK Gaming, Team Secret, or Team SoloMid entered the game. Including numerous fans, their own merchandise, and considerable prize money.
What is Vainglory?
Vainglory came to life just over two years ago, initially exclusively for iOS, later also playable via Android.
With a clear focus on eSports, Vainglory quickly developed into a significant presence on Twitch and built its community with numerous rapid updates and a previously unknown playability for smartphones. The development studio consistently relies on close cooperation with the community, still hardly advertises the game, and prefers to use the funds to increase the prize pool within the tournaments.
Professional players from the organizations also have a significant voice when it comes to implementing innovations. Top priority is quality, followed by the balancing between the demands of eSports and acquiring new players.
At its core, Vainglory is a classic MOBA: Two teams compete against each other on a single available map. Players choose a hero for the match at the beginning, level him up as quickly as possible, and try together to destroy the opposing core, the main base.
Difference to PC
Although Vainglory sees itself as a fully-fledged MOBA, platform-related adjustments must be made. For the smaller screen, for instance, only one lane was chosen on the map instead of three like in its bigger brother. A team consists of only three heroes, and matches usually last no longer than 20 minutes – longer duels would contradict the mobile aspect.
A particular highlight in the game is provided by the so-called Kraken. This is by far the strongest monster on the entire map, located in the vast jungle of the map, and definitely requires all three team members to be defeated.
The team that can eliminate the Kraken wins the monster for themselves – as long as the Kraken is not killed again, it automatically attacks the opposing turrets. The tricky part: Who gains control of the monster is determined by who executes the Last Hit, or the killing blow. This has already turned numerous matches: Pure fighting power is not enough here; only a well-thought-out tactic promises success.
“Smartphones are the best platform for MOBAs”
At a tournament in Berlin, we had the opportunity to talk with one of the lead developers about Vainglory. Q Wang, nicknamed Q, told us that Vainglory was developed to leverage the seemingly unlimited potential of smartphones. There are far more people with smartphones than with PCs, so the market is definitely there and just needs to be tapped. While they know that this will take time, Super Evil Megacorp likes to see itself as a pioneer in this regard and does not want to rest on its laurels.
If the argument arises that smartphones are not meant for gaming, Q counters that the computer was not originally invented for play either. Society is slowly ripe for engaging in serious eSports on small screens – thanks to virtually unlimited Wi-Fi connections, the device can be used anywhere for a quick game, so the future picture suggests that this is already beginning. Once the infrastructure is at a higher global standard, with new generations of gaming finally reaching the core of society and smartphones generating another technical advance, the mobile market will be able to make a huge leap again.
More important than the availability of smartphones, in the developer’s view, is the fact that MOBAs are much better playable on smartphones. It is significantly easier to control the heroes on the mobile device, one can use the fingers for control more precisely, and ideally, one sits directly across from their teammates, which improves communication.
To every skeptic who is either a supporter of PC-MOBA or has generally refrained from the genre, Q recommends to simply give Vainglory a try. As is common in the genre, the game can be downloaded for free – only skins or heroes outside the free rotation need to be purchased.
Bold theses – success justifies it
As mentioned: mobile eSports are laughed at. The acceptance is relatively low; statements like those from Q are quickly dismissed as nonsense – and yet hard facts prove the development studio right and reward it for its courage. Last year, a multi-million dollar deal with Twitch was concluded. The game streaming platform sees great potential in the MOBA, which was among the fastest-growing titles on the website in 2016. In the live finals, where the eight best teams of a region compete for the season crown, thousands of fans watch – with a clearly rising tendency.
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In December of last year, the first world championship in Vainglory took place in Hollywood and generated significant attention. From now on, it will be held every year and thus generate additional promotion in the Asian countries.
2017 an important year
Despite all the positive aspects of the MOBA, not everything that glitters is gold: Professional players repeatedly express concern that Super Evil Megacorp must take another step and cannot stagnate; otherwise, the momentum of the early days will be lost. Important decisions must be made now; a clear direction for the coming years is still lacking. If the team achieves its goal, one can continue to expect a fresh, mobile breeze in the eSports scene.
Our opinion on Vainglory
As a MOBA fan, I really enjoy the game. Especially on the larger tablet, Vainglory becomes a fun alternative when I’m not in the mood for League of Legends and/or Dota 2. I admit that I am one of the few supporters of mobile eSports and almost hope that the genre will grow larger in the coming years.
However, whether the smartphone is truly the best platform for it is a really bold statement. It is still the case that the PC is significantly more accepted, and only computer MOBAs are considered “fully-fledged”. The future will show whether the developers’ vision can hold up.
