Behind the Curtain: Saving NWC

Part 2: Making Money -- What I would do

For Heroes to succeed in today’s market, it must find new customers and this calls for changes to the game itself, not just an ad campaign. I think the key here is widening its appeal by incorporating the best features of Might and Magic. At the same time, the Heroes franchise needs to embrace the new realities of the PC games market and look beyond retail sales for sources of profits. This requires a Commercial Website, which I will outline.


Heroes V and beyond

Now let’s consider the evolution of the game itself.  Since the goal is more paying customers we are more concerned with expanding the appeal of the game to new players than to currying to the current fan base. So pardon me if your idea for Heroes V does not appear here–there will be plenty of opportunity to go over these later. What we need now are ways to attract new customers and sustain their interest from release to release.

Towns, Heroes, and armies

First, we need to further develop and integrate towns, heroes, and armies. Towns are probably the most underdeveloped aspect of the game—and in many ways the Heroes IV towns were a step back from those in Heroes III . Compared to other games, the number of structures is small, the structures themselves are uninteresting, and the visual presentation is poor.  I’m not suggesting a Civilization-style build tree, but there is far more that could be done to enliven Heroes towns. New towns could provide added value for expansion packs, as they have in the past. And towns can become more varied with unique structures and intrinsic powers.

Heroes have always been the centerpiece of the game, and though I really enjoy the new Heroes IV skill trees and the Heroes’ involvement in battle, I also miss the ‘personality’ of the individualized Heroes III heroes. Since part of our new marketing effort centers on heroes, we want to develop them even further, combining the intrinsic powers they had in Heroes III with more elaborate skills found in Heroes IV. Then we overhaul the magic system along the lines of Might and Magic and incorporate some of the M&M class skills and attributes. To all this we add some social aspects to be discussed below.

And since Heroes is fundamentally a game of armies, there needs to be more development in this area as well. Creature upgrades have become a popular part of the game, but the idea of replacing creatures by upgrading dwellings is all wrong. What’s supposed to be going on there anyway? Are Red Dragons being painted with black, magic-proof paint to make them into Black Dragons? (I don’t even want to think about how girl Genies become boy Master Genies.)  A simpler and more credible implementation would be to allow each army to have various add-ons that provide the enhancements. For instance, when Dwarves visit the Armory, the player buys them Battle Suits so they become Battle Dwarves. And maybe there’s another place to add a Lord’s Mace to make them into Dwarf Lords. The point is that these new powers would be additions and not transformations. If the Battle Dwarves lose their Battle Suits, or want to add some plain Dwarves to the army, they go back to being Dwarves. Each base creature would have several such add-ons and these would be reflected in their renderings. (Get out the black paint again.)  Provision for these various effects is already in the code.

Like towns, armies need a more striking graphical presentation. On the army management screen, players should be able to view their forces in ranks and in full battle regalia, with tools for configuring formations that display lines of sight and range of movement. It should be understood that on maps and tactical displays, each figure represents an entire ‘stack’ or corps. (Maybe there is some ‘Army Men’ code around that could be used for this. J )

There is already some integration of towns, heroes, and armies in that town-based Taverns favor the native hero types, town dwellings are (pretty much) limited to producing armies of native creatures, and the presence of heroes can greatly affect the fighting abilities of armies. I believe it is exactly this kind of integration that has made Heroes successful—so let’s take it further in future editions. Give heroes more things to do in town—such as visiting Prisoners or getting weapons enchanted. Provide buildings where armies can be improved, as described above—or allow certain heroes to do the same, like Gelu in Heroes III. Give some heroes an affinity with some creatures, like many heroes had in Heroes III.

Maps

Currently, the game is played on two or three scales. The main scale is the adventure map, which may contain one or two levels. The adventure map is populated with towns, armies, buildings, and various objects with which armies can interact. Inside the towns are windows representing buildings, many of which can also appear as objects on the adventure map, and slots for armies. The scrollable main display shows the portion of the adventure map where the player has selected a town or army. There is also a battle map, whose terrain is somewhat derived from the terrain on the adventure map where the battle takes place. Finally, there is sometimes a campaign structure that is represented through linkages between adventure maps with some provision for carry-overs from one map to another. Graphically, the arrangement of these objects looks like this.


Note that in the current game, towns are just glorified map objects. Armies form a garrison or wait at the gate, but town interaction is through a set of windows that open when the player selects a building. When appropriate, Heroes from the garrison and gate can be selected to ‘enter’ a building, but this is depicted only through the window system. This is an interface from the 1980s and badly needs updating.

Some map objects (like Prisons) can also contain armies and Heroes, but these are even less dynamic than towns. The game could be improved by the addition of more kinds of objects that would take players from the adventure map to other tactical displays, like the current game takes them to town screens or battlefields. Some ideas for these:

  • Monster lairs
  • Residences
  • Temples
  • Shops
  • Quest givers
  • Treasure hoards
  • Dungeons
  • Taverns
  • Castles

These don’t have to be done at once and represent a way to provide product upgrades without having to rewrite completed code.

Displays

The world map needs a full screen display that can depict roads, caravan routes, terrain types, town names, and otherwise become more map-like. It is not necessary to have animated objects, but various types of objects should be recognizable, as well as which player controls them.

The display of the selected army and its surroundings does not need to be changed. Both the Heroes III and Heroes IV layouts are OK, though the diagonal layout in Heroes IV can be confusing to new players. In either case, a decision must be made as to what this display is supposed to be! Currently, it’s not a map in that maps are generally 2D and static, while the display has 3D rendering and animation. On the other hand, it’s also a far cry from a virtual reality, due to the outlandish designs for the adventure objects--like the Scholars in Heroes III that are taller than trees. And are there really Treasure Chests just lying around for the taking? Whatever is done, the Candyland look needs to be toned down. Oversized and stylized objects are certainly appropriate for markers on a map--like the world map--but not in a virtual reality display. If objects are hard to spot, maybe they could be highlighted in some way when a Scout comes along.

Both the Heroes III and Heroes IV hero displays are OK, too. The paper-doll depiction of equipped objects is pretty much a standard and the mechanics of equipping/unequipping are fine. However, as Heroes are enhanced as described below, a more elaborate display may be in order and this is where we come back to Might and Magic.

Load on demand

The major change I would make in this area is linking maps through a load-on-demand mechanism. Other than memory constraints, I can see no reason why a map should be limited to two levels. Multiple levels have proven to be a popular feature in console gaming and in pencil-and-paper RPGs. By treating a town as a small map, it would be possible for armies and Heroes to move around in it, actually visiting its locations instead of clicking them to popup windows on a static layout. This would enable mapmakers to create in-town adventures, and would allow towns to have dungeons, towers, and other levels of their own.

Carried a step further, load-on-demand would allow campaigns to be structured as collections of maps strung together in interesting ways, even allowing players to return to previous maps. By linking to a personal ‘roster’ map, Heroes could even be saved and later transported to new arenas as they become available. The architect of the campaign could link in new sections (like ‘mods’ in Neverwinter Nights) or upgrade existing ones without impacting games in progress. With an Internet connection available, maps might even be obtained from a remote site, again transparently to the player. The potential here is for a community of players and mapmakers to put together a MUD-like world where Heroes carry over from adventure to adventure. The main work required here is to expand the carry-over interface to insure that Heroes enter at the right level (similar to the level caps in Heroes IV.) Heroes too strong for a map they wish to enter would have to have some of their abilities and possessions temporarily removed in order to scale down to the map.

Generated objects

The third major change to the game that I would propose is to provide for the generation of unique maps, locations, armies, Heroes, and artifacts. Providing a steady supply of unique objects would keep the game fresh and unpredictable, even more so if additional properties become available over time.

Map generator

Lack of a ‘random’ map generator is a frequent complaint heard about Heroes IV, and the unbridled randomness of the Heroes III generator has received similar gripes. What is need is a robust, coherent map generator like one finds in RPGs like nethack and Diablo. Again, much credit should go the WoG team for what they have accomplished in this area.

Location generator

If a game becomes a set of adventure maps nested inside a world map, then specialized generators can be employed for locations like towns, battlefields, dungeons, etc. Because these are modular and essentially self-contained objects, they can be introduced over time as part of the product’s evolution. The combination of hand-edited maps and random maps would give mapmakers the freedom to create fully customized maps or to let the generator fill in the less important details. Or on the other hand, some mapmakers might choose to create customized ‘mods’ that could be embedded in others’ maps. Either way, mapmakers could invest as much or as little time as they wish and still have a result to be proud of.

Army and hero generators

In addition to generators maps and locations, I would like to see generators for armies and Heroes. We can start with the primitive but serviceable random monster generators in the editor. These have some useful parameters that can be set by hand, but not much variation in what is generated. Battles would become much more interesting if there were more formations and better variety in composition than we have now. By defining ‘families’ of monsters, an extra measure of realism could be maintained while increasing the variety. This way a mapmaker could place a random monster token with settings for
‘Asylum’ and ‘Level 2’ and get a level-2 army composed of Asylum creatures and possibly Heroes.

Heroes can also be generated based on templates specifying classes, levels, skills, spells, and equipment items. This could provide more interesting starting Heroes, as well as a better variety of computer opponents.

Treasure and artifact generators

Finally here, I would like to see a far better selection of treasures and artifacts, and these could also be randomly generated based on a set of templates (which could in turn be randomly selected). This would allow a level-1 Treasure Chest to contain, for instance, a common artifact, two potions, a Life magic scroll, and 500-1000 gold. The exact artifact, potions, scroll, and amount of gold would be randomly generated. This comes right out of Might and Magic, along with other RPGs.

To take this a step further, it would also be possible to generate artifacts like in the Elder Scrolls games. All that is required is a list of artifact types (like wands) and a list of properties they might possess (like magic missile). This would insure a virtually endless assortment of treasures.

In sum, by providing all these generators, the customer becomes less dependent on the selection of maps shipped with game for ongoing enjoyment of the product. At the same time, we have opened up the possibility of adding new objects without having to overhaul the code base. Additional ‘seeds’ for the generators could be downloaded so that players would be constantly surprised.

Social features

A fourth major improvement to the came could come from the addition of more social features, which have been shown to increase customer loyalty and satisfaction. These also help attract players to the Commercial Website that I’ll describe next.

Diplomacy

In the game itself, we need to enrich the primitive diplomacy system beyond the current choice of allies and opponents. Creatures could have personalities developed further than compliant-friendly-etc. For instance, alignment and racial preferences and hatreds could affect negotiations. Heroes could acquire reputations based on their deeds. Computer Heroes would react to reputation as well as setting and inventory. Heroes would accumulate legacies—essentially scrapbooks recounting prior adventures that could be searched for keywords to employ in conversations, making each hero truly distinctive based on the player’s own actions. The record also allows the AI to adjust to the player’s personality and history.

Headquarters

Players will acquire a roster of Heroes, centered around a headquarters of sort. When a game is launched, the roster will be scanned and any Heroes qualifying for predefined roles will be loaded. For instance, if a map calls for a midlevel Noble, a level 5 Cardinal may be chosen and the name of his town matched to one he has previously governed. Taverns might be stocked with other Heroes drawn from the roster, again possibly adjusted to fit the parameters of the map. Of course, the random hero generator can also utilize these methods to provide opponents and allies whose backstories make sense in the context of the map.  The other way to acquire Heroes is to download them from the Commercial website.

As the player progresses, we can offer more splendid headquarters as a reward, including character editing capabilities that improve with upgrades, such as a lab for potions, and different atmospheres, such as the haunted castle or elvish crypt. In network play, the headquarters serves as the player’s home, from which hosts will be able to invite others to play by connecting their headquarters – load on demand again. Persistent aggregations of these dynamically linkable headquarters would become online communities with status based on play, mapmaking, and other contributions to the game. ’Heroes town’ for short.

Commercial Website

The last of three main marketing moves for Heroes is the creation of a Commercial Website integrated with the game. Inspired by the good work at Celestial Heavens and other popular Heroes sites, the site will offer a variety of activities for Heroes gamers.

We’ll start with the staples, like you see on Celestial Heavens today:

  • Game and industry news
  • Searchable archive of contributed maps, reviews, articles, and stories
  • Moderated forums on topics of interest
  • Occasional polls and contests
In fact, we could just make Celestial Heavens the official fan website.

To this we will add the following:

  • Developer program
  • Store
  • Hosting service
These will all be accessible through the Commercial Website, though they will almost certainly be hosted elsewhere.

Developer program

The Developer Program would be chartered to encourage and support development efforts outside the company. This is where the map editor and other authoring tools would be provided under freeware-type licenses, perhaps at some small charge that could be refunded when the developer produces something for the website. This would facilitate the distribution of patches and upgrades.

This program would also be responsible for distributing prerelease copies and patches that need verification. A third function would be coordinating translation work for international markets. And a fourth would be coordinating volunteer testing. The development staff would communicate through a group blog with limited access to others outside the company.

Company Store

The Company Store would become a second profit center, as important to success as retail boxes.

  • Packaged games:  New releases available for preorder to be shipped on the first day.
  • Expansion packs: Though major releases would be sold only as boxed products, expansion packages would also be sold like shareware. These might ship with an updated version of the game engine, but customers would see the value in new collections of maps, Heroes, monsters, treasures, and locations.
  • Mega-maps: Major campaigns of quality and scope comparable to those in the heyday of the Might and Magic series should command good money apart from the expansion packs. These would employ objects not available in the current release in a single, extended adventure, playable standalone without the main product.
  • Free add-ons: Soundtracks (mpegs), command shells (skins), tavern talk (dialog files).
  • Merchandise: All the usual crap we fritter our money away on.

Hosting service

The Hosting Service is the third major profit center, offering several premium services at whatever prices the market will bear:

  • Hero hall: This is the administrative arm of the hosting services. Players will come here for rankings, results, and announcements of upcoming events. It is where the Hero Hall of Fame can be visited, where distinguished Heroes and their legacies are available for viewing. Players will be able to import famous Heroes to take part in their games.
  • Matches, tournaments, leagues, and contests: Charge for bandwidth plus administration fees. Or sell ads.
  • Unseen worlds: Manage as a premium hosting service featuring high quality, unreleased maps, including those based on properties requiring royalty fees. These may return some small compensation to the author and become company property for possible distribution in retail products. These also help publicize upcoming releases.
  • Moderated play: Moderated hosting service in the tradition of Dungeons and Dragons where an experienced ‘dungeon master’ crafts a unique experience tailored to a party of adventurers. This will involve production of custom maps and participation in online play, even intervening in the game by taking control of Heroes that the players may encounter.

Personal interface

Hosted play can be accessed through either the regular PC-based engine or from a wireless, handheld, or game console module with single player functionality. Partly this is because console software needs to be held static, while PC-based programs can be more easily be patched and upgraded. Essentially, the console player gets only the multiuser client interface—enough to operate a single army headed by a single hero, one location at a time. Though they may be rendered differently console maps will contain the same objects as on the PC.


Legends of Might and Magic attempted to reach console audience,
but lacked the playability of Heroes.

Console gamers may be less attracted to Heroes for lack of an arcade-style interface and the high frame rates the consoles offer are largely wasted on Heroes--although there may be people who would like to see a Behemoth dance the hula. (Give me Extreme Beach Volleyball anytime.) But as technology marches on, new territories for gaming open up and it seems plain to this observer that the new generation of handhelds, soon becoming wireless handhelds, are going to be adequate platforms for Heroes in some form. The modest graphics requirements are suited to the 200 MHz class processors, and the turn based nature of the game makes good use of wireless bandwidth.

Conclusion

So there you have it. Heroes still has plenty going for it but needs to be handled correctly in order to succeed. A new business plan is just a start. The effort will also take the same level of inspiration and commitment from the developers that gave us the wonderful games we have enjoyed so much. It will mean doing some new things, adopting some new ways.

The legacy of Might and Magic needs to be reinvested in the Heroes franchise, gaining a larger combined market. At the same time, Heroes needs to reach out to customers in related markets—popular fiction, social gaming, and emergent technologies. It can succeed by offering extended value in both its packaged products and its commercial website.

If my thoughts here should happen to be read by someone in a position to act on them, and some of my ideas may seem worthy of further consideration, then please accept them as my gift, a small repayment for all the fun I’ve had with Heroes over the years. If reading this helps confirm you are headed the right way on some issue or alerts you to some factor you may have overlooked, then I’ve done all I could have hoped.

Want to discuss this some more? Meet me in the Forums.


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