Have you ever wondered what it would have been like if The Rock, Hulk Hogan, John Cena and Shawn Michaels had teamed up to put on an epic show for their fans? We have. (No, our game isn’t a WWE game).
In The Hexadome: Aristeia Showdown, you control four champions and have them engage in brutal fights in an arena, the Hexadome, in front of a screaming crowd. From the movie star and hero of the nation (imagine a mix between Jean-Claude Van Damme and Captain America), to the austere soldier in search for revenge, to the man who’s zest in life is to get genetically modified to look like a panda wearing flowery shorts…: Each champion is a real star, with sponsors who support them financially, and their fans who show them unlimited admiration. Touching the fans’ hearts is what drives our champions. The crowd reacts to the characters' good moves, they encourage them, and they are there to see some action!
We were looking to introduce a currency mechanic that made sense and was aligned with the game’s lore. Building something around the crowd was the obvious answer.
We have linked the crowd to “Cheers”, which is our currency in-game. Each of your actions during a match will have a direct influence on the Cheer Gauge, which will fill up or empty down depending on your choices. Regain control of a scoring zone at the last moment, annihilate an opponent in single blow, be a team player and help a downed ally… or epically fail an attack that could have changed the course of the game: everything you do will have an impact on the crowd’s Cheers.
Accumulating Cheers serves three purposes:
- Improve your character's statistics during a game. All attributes can be improved: you can strengthen a character's attack, increase the success rate of an action, strengthen defense, etc. The idea here is to be able to shape your team for the upcoming match and have a feeling of progression. The more we progress in the match, the more Cheers we accumulate, the more we can increase our characters’ power in a personalized way. There is no predetermined path, and each new game has the potential to be different.
- Buy consumables. They will have a direct impact on the course of the game. They can increase characters’ statistics, but they can also allow you to perform actions that will disrupt the course of the game: immobilize all the players around you, inflict a negative status on all your opponents in the Hexadome, or on the contrary give a bonus to all your allies, etc.
- Trigger your characters' ultimate skill. By reaching the last level of the Cheer gauge, you get access to the ultimate attacks of your champions. These attacks are impressive and drastically change the course of the game, hence their high cost.
The crowd and their “Cheers” are therefore a central element of our gameplay, a real lever which fuels the tactical aspect of the game.
In our next blog, we will tell you about Sponsors and the influence they can have on the game.
