Character Design

Akoni
Akoni Posts: 790 Critical Contributor
in MPQ General Discussion
A little background info before I jump into it...
I am a game designer. More specifically, I am a hobby game designer as I have a day job that I am very good at. Though I plan to publish some of my work in the future, I do not plan on becoming a game designer full time. I have spent more hours than I ever thought I would on game theory, design analysis, etc. Though I am considered passable in most areas, my strengths as a game designer include character design and world building. I have enjoyed submitting suggestions for characters since joining the forum. If your curiosity is peaked, check out a couple of the design challenges I have hosted:
https://forums.d3go.com/discussion/84315/character-creation-challenge-star#latest
https://forums.d3go.com/discussion/84488/character-creation-challenge-vlad-dracula#latest

The goal of this post...
The purpose of this post is to take something I learned about character design and share it with players (and devs if they wish) as it applies to MPQ. It is not my goal to point out flaws or degrade anyone's work. In management, we use the sandwich approach which is the layering of statements with the least palatable statements squeezed in-between more palatable statements. So, I will start by saying that I think the developers are doing a pretty good job. They have been hit with some strong criticism recently from players over 5-star characters like Adam Warlock, Yellowjacket, Magneto, and Cyclops. I am a member in that criticism camp, but less as a player and more as a game designer. I have to say that, overall, they have done some good work.

Considering how long the game has been going and the amount of material that has been produced, I expect some hits and misses. It is impossible for every single character to be perfect and amazing. Some characters are considered a hit if they are single-handedly game-breaking/changing. Other characters can be considered a hit if they lead to some amazing combo/team. Whether a character is a hit depends largely on how well they do what they do in relation to their costs. I will not be addressing cost-benefit here. Instead, I would like to focus primarily on character type.

There are two character types in MPQ
The two character types in MPQ are Solo characters (SC) and Team characters (TC). Any names can be used here, but I will be using Solo and Team, for the following reasons:
  1. Solo refers to characters whose power set is self-serving or self-centered. These characters require no assistance from any other character, ally or enemy, for their powers to be utilized in their entirety. Though they can provide benefits to others, they benefit from the abilities of their own power set. 
  2. Team refers to characters whose power set specifically supports another character(s) or requires assistance from another character, ally or enemy, for their powers to be utilized in their entirety. These characters often provide a benefit to other characters and will not benefit from one or more abilities within their own power set.
Character type as outlined here is determined by a character's power set. This is appropriate, because the power set is what devs use to give players the sense that they are interacting with the Marvel characters they are familiar with. Since the newly released Cyclops has been a topic of criticism, he will be the example here. To provide a quick summary, Cyclops' power set is as follows:
  • Phoenix Blast deals damage and creates 3 repeater tiles that destroy 1 basic green tile, dealing damage and generating AP.
  • Savior of Mutantkind increases teammates' match damage and swaps tiles according to the amount of Team-Up AP you have. (Passive) changes this power to Dark Phoenix Unleashed if Cyclops has no active teammates.
  • Dark Phoenix Unleashed drains Team-Up AP, dealing damage, plus more damage for each Team-Up AP drained. (Passive) Cyclops cannot be stunned.
  • Disarming Gaze stuns a random enemy and converts tiles to red basic tiles targeting certain enemy special tiles first.
According to this power set, Cyclops would be considered a TC since Savior of Mutantkind provides a benefit to others, but no benefit to Cyclops. To make him a SC, Savior of Mutantkind would need to also provide a boost to Cyclops' match damage. Understanding these character types becomes more important as the game matures to have more resources.

Presence in game design
In trading card games (TCGs) like Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Pokemon, booster sets are populated by team-focused (TC) characters. These characters all utilize similar mechanics. A MPQ example includes 4-star Black Panther and Shuri. These characters have power sets that center around fortified tiles. When placed on the same team, there is a synergy that contributes to a higher likelihood of winning the game. You will also find singularly-focused (SC) characters sprinkled throughout. These characters often provide shock and awe or a unique flavor that entices players to center an entire team around them. A MPQ example includes 3-star or 5-star Thanos. Thanos's power set is that of a one-man army. There is no synchronicity with other characters, but the player is enticed to surround Thanos with characters that will support his power set.

SC character types get much more attention upon release from players due to the shock and awe of their abilities, however, the meta-game values the synchronized game-play of TC character types due to their consistency and stability. For developers, however, TC character types provide a cushion when it comes to game design. If 10 characters are designed to be interchanged on a 3 person team, and one of those characters is considered sub-par by players, there are still 9 remaining characters to be utilized. A MPQ example includes Drax, the Destroyer. Among all of the Guardians of the Galaxy, I use Drax the least. I just don't think Drax is that great, but that's ok, because the other 3 Guardians form a good team in my eyes. 

Application in game design
Going back to our previous example of Cyclops, we can take a character that many consider bad and make him very good without changing the character himself. Since Cyclops is a TC character type, other characters can be designed around him in order to support him and receive support from him. Fortunately, there is already a pool of information to pull from to achieve this. Since this 5-star release is a version of Cyclops from the Phoenix Five, the other four members can be provided in future releases. Below is an example outline of synchronous power sets for the Phoenix Five:
1. Cyclops
  • deals damage and generates green AP
  • #1 increases teammates match damage and swaps tiles / #2 deals damage and prevents stuns
  • stuns a random enemy and creates red tiles
2. Emma Frost
  • fortifies friendly countdown and repeater tiles
  • creates a repeater tile that stuns a random enemy
  • turns selected character invisible
3. Namor
  • converts enemy special tiles to basic green tiles
  • destroys columns, dealing added damage for each red tile and gaining health for each blue tile
  • generate AP in a selected color among friendly members of the phoenix five 
4. Colossus
  • jumps in front to take power damage and dampen damage
  • deals damage according to number of red tiles
  • creates a countdown tile that increases teammates' power damage while present
5. Magik
  • sends herself and selected enemy or ally airborne
  • destroys black tiles, dealing damage and generating AP
  • create countdown tile that generates Team-Up AP when same color tile is matched
Please note that the above are examples of how multiple characters can be introduced to increase Cyclops' utility. No research or extensive effort went into the construction and cross-referencing of these abilities with other MPQ characters.

Many in the forum have noted how poorly Cyclops teams up with other characters, but as you can see in the example above, any combination of the Phoenix Five paired with Cyclops would make him more playable. In addition, if any particular member of the Phoenix Five was determined to be less than worthwhile by players, there are still 3 others that could be teamed with Cyclops. There is an added bonus to designing characters in groups like this.

One of my early ventures into game design was a challenge to design a TCG. Before shelving that project, I was able to create 3 booster sets of 150-200 cards each. This was possible by either a) taking a single mechanic and applying it in as many ways as I possibly could, and b) taking a single character and creating as much support for that single character as possible. The first approach was simply the manipulation of TC. Let's say we wanted to take all of the fire-based characters in the Marvel universe and add them to MPQ. We could give them all that sense of wielding fire by giving them all different takes on Red tile or Red AP manipulation. Over many releases, players would begin to notice the running theme and possibly build teams based on it. The second approach I used when creating the booster sets was the manipulation of SC. Let's say we want to add a particular character to the game, because this character is a bonafide bad-asset. Similar to the Phoenix Five suggestion above, we could add a plethora of characters and supports that would make it easier to use this character. Over time, as they are released, players would begin experimenting with various supports and characters to find the combinations they like the most.

In conclusion
As I scan over the number of characters and supports in the game, I can't help but notice the tremendous potential there is in future releases to provide synchronicity and support. The game is still missing many of Kingpin's subordinates, spider-verse characters, galactic heroes and villains, gadgets, vehicles, etc. In addition, there are many variations of characters to explore. Yes, I am aware that many are tired of seeing multiple copies of some of the same characters, but I would argue that in the world of MPQ, there is a massive difference between Colossus, Unstoppable Colossus and Horseman Colossus. I digress. 

It is my opinion that developers have been doing a decent job, thus far. Could they arguably do better? Yes, and I'm sure they are very aware of their faults and strengths. Designing hundreds of characters and thousands of powers while trying to maintain some level of relevance for the player base is hard work. That work can be made easier by manipulating SC and TC, though.

Shameless plug
Come on over to Speculations and Concepts and participate in the monthly Character Creation Challenge.
Will devs use any of the suggestions provided? Probably not.
Is it good brain exercise that may allow you to see the game from a different perspective? Yep, I think so. 
Is it fun? Of course, duh. 

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