I'm working on a new DCG. What I want to know is if you were building a new DCG from scratch, what things would you change about hearthstone and which things you would keep?
Here is what I see are problematic about hearthstone right now:
Steep learning curve. Over time Hearthstone has become increasingly complex with a large number of mechanics.
Lacks any good PvP draft format for guaranteed even play. Players with a larger collection of cards have an enormous advantage.
No stats. For a game that has an opportunity to be very feature rich in stats, Hearthstone is severely lacking.
Artwork has no impact on game play. The cards look cool, but they don’t figure in to the mechanics.
Long animations that negatively impact UX.
Organization of cards around heroes means fewer possible deck combinations and creativity of construction.
RNG is way out of control. There are too many OP cards with massive amounts of RNG that can (randomly) swing the game in your favor. Players are leaving the game mostly due to this coin flip nature the game has become.
Doesn’t target the younger 7-16 year old demographic due to its complex nature and in part due to its artwork.
Toxic players who purposely abuse the timer system
And here are some of my ideas on how to address them:
Play vs friend mode that allows two players to compete equally regardless of collection size.
Simple learning curve to get people playing faster without mastering so many cards.
Extensive stats that keep older players engaged and interested in their performance over time.
The artwork of the units will affect mechanics. Example: Deal 5 damage to all bearded mojis.
No hero classes or association between heroes and cards. Players will get to choose their hero power (Mojo). Mojos are more varied allowing for more extensive combinations and creativity of deck creation.
Turn based daily games that allow players to play lots of games simultaneously. Players may start as many games as they want, and will be notified on their device when it is their turn to move. This allows players to spend more time thinking on each move without the opponent waiting in real time. This also solves the critical mass issue since players don’t need to both be online at the same time to play against one another.
Sorry, but everything about this makes me not want to play.
These are all negatives in my eyes:
Less complex than Hearthstone, which honestly isn't that complex.
Removing random effects? No thanks. Booooooriiiiiing. People who complain about RNG are actually failing to detect the underlying issues that are the real cause of the problems. (Mana-cheating is usually one of the real problems.)
I do not want to play with 7-16 year olds. Adult Hearthstone players are immature enough as it is.
The time system in Hearthstone is just right imo. I do not consider it toxic at all. If you want to see toxic timers, look at MTG:Arena.
Every game has add-ons to track stats, so I don't think it's that important in the game itself.
I do not want to have to memorize which guys have beards when I'm building a deck, and I don't want to have to squint at the art on my phone in order to play effectively. The art is there as a way to quickly identify the cards in play, and that is all it should be.
Effectively, all cards in your game are neutral. That is going to lead to a terrible lack of diversity in the meta.
I would never participate in a play-by-mail game. That just sounds very dull and frustrating to me.
Maybe it's just not the game for me, but good luck to you nevertheless!
I have 2 major issues with the game that made me lose more and more interest. As everyone can guess, the first one is the game is too expensive. If you are a f2p player, then you are forced to wait for the meta to settle down and net-deck the favorite one or two you choose. I think this is the main reason why the standard format is boring. Fun requires diversity but diversity is expensive for people to afford. There were tones of times that I wanted to craft a deck I wanted to play for a few days but I couldn't. Because if I switch decks every week, then I wouldn't be able to exist in the next expansion.
The other issue is that the game has very few play modes. So many people are asking for tournament mode but no. We asked for co-op mode, again no. Instead, we get Brawliseum for more money-grabbing and occasionally the same co-up Tavernbrawls and paid Solo Adventures that used to be free.
In addition, Blizzard should create more incentives to play the game. For example, why not more Hero Portraits? 1000 wins diamond + a emote award? Or win another hero entrance sentence at the start of the game? There are a lot of options that can be done easily.
As for your list:
I don't think the game is hard to figure it out for a beginner if you don't play Wild format. It is not easy either but that's a good thing as it would mean the game is boring. I made my cousins try the game and they didn't have any trouble learning it.
Agreed on PvP and card advantage as mentioned with the game being too expensive.
Agreed on stats. Deck Tracker does exist but it should have been integrated into the game a long time ago
I highly disagree with your artwork idea. People play the game with mobile phones too. There are tribes that match with artworks and that is enough.
I think you can now skip some of the animations or at least fasten it. Nozdormu abuse was a thing back then. I like cool animations and turns are long enough for me.
No hero classes or association between heroes and cards. That would turn heroes into skins and kill diversity. Just no.
Agreed on too much RNG. Just add cards like Defile and cards that make positioning matter such as Meteor, Crushing Walls or Betrayal. Discover cards are also welcomed.
Doesn't target 7-16 year olds due to artwork and complexity? Haven't they just censored some of the artworks to target 7-16 Chinese kids? I don't want to play a card game for 7yo. The game is easy enough for a 13+ to understand.
I should be lucky because I got very few matches with a toxic player. Seen a few emote spammers and rage quits but that's it.
I'm working on a new DCG. What I want to know is if you were building a new DCG from scratch, what things would you change about hearthstone and which things you would keep?
Here is what I see are problematic about hearthstone right now:
And here are some of my ideas on how to address them:
Sorry, but everything about this makes me not want to play.
These are all negatives in my eyes:
Maybe it's just not the game for me, but good luck to you nevertheless!
"Why, you never expected justice from a company, did you? They have neither a soul to lose nor a body to kick." -- Lady Saba Holland
I have 2 major issues with the game that made me lose more and more interest. As everyone can guess, the first one is the game is too expensive. If you are a f2p player, then you are forced to wait for the meta to settle down and net-deck the favorite one or two you choose. I think this is the main reason why the standard format is boring. Fun requires diversity but diversity is expensive for people to afford. There were tones of times that I wanted to craft a deck I wanted to play for a few days but I couldn't. Because if I switch decks every week, then I wouldn't be able to exist in the next expansion.
The other issue is that the game has very few play modes. So many people are asking for tournament mode but no. We asked for co-op mode, again no. Instead, we get Brawliseum for more money-grabbing and occasionally the same co-up Tavernbrawls and paid Solo Adventures that used to be free.
In addition, Blizzard should create more incentives to play the game. For example, why not more Hero Portraits? 1000 wins diamond + a emote award? Or win another hero entrance sentence at the start of the game? There are a lot of options that can be done easily.
As for your list:
I hope I was helpful and good luck.