Game Maker: Starting by Healing the Players

It's safe to say that Dota is definitely an IP that's no weaker than World of Warcraft, and its longevity might even be greater.

In the past life, every year Dota players would say Dota was dying, that it was a dead game.

But every year, it bounced back and thrived, outliving countless other games, like an unkillable cockroach.

So for Lucas, Dota is clearly a long-term project. The project studio being formed now, just like the previous World of Warcraft project, will be a dedicated team working solely for Dota.

At the same time, regarding the characters and world, in the past life, because Dota started as a map for Warcraft and mainly used in-game models, many players linked it to the Warcraft background, adding their own interpretations.

For example, the models for Anti-Mage and Phantom Assassin were very similar, both using the Demon Hunter model. Especially Phantom Assassin's ultimate form, the giant demon, was the Demon Hunter's level 6 ultimate skill. So many players crudely assumed Anti-Mage and Phantom Assassin were twin brothers, but one fell to the dark side due to some disagreement.

It wasn't until the release of Dota 2 that proper lore about the Radiant, Dire, and the Mad Moon was established.

Of course, Valve, being known for a constant stream of money, always gives its games a rather laid-back feel.

Let alone Dota, which they sort of adopted, even their own "son," Half-Life, and Counter-Strike, which originated as a mod, take ages to produce anything new.

Compared to League of Legends, Dota's promotional efforts, even if just a little bit, would have made some difference.

For Lucas, using comics and animation to help players understand Dota's background and capture the widest possible player base is very important.

For this, Lucas plans to start with "Dragon's Blood," Netflix's animated series, using the dragon knight Davion as the first entry point.

On one hand, the "Dragon's Blood" animation, while not a masterpiece, can be considered excellent. The only notable criticism is that some parts clearly show a lack of budget.

But this is the easiest issue to solve. For Nebula Games, problems that can be solved with money aren't a problem. The animation is mainly for game promotion, so there's no need to consider profit margins. They can easily make up for it with future game sales and merchandise.

Secondly, the characters appearing in the "Dragon's Blood" story are generally quite suitable for new players and are quite interesting heroes.

Dragon Knight, Mirana, Luna, Phantom Assassin.

As for Marci and Invoker, well... let's skip that topic for now.

Of course, there are also some details that need changing, like the Secret Shop.

In the past life, the Secret Shop in Dota 2 was inspired by Gabe Newell.

Now, Lucas intends to personally play the role of this "shady merchant."

Haven't met Boss Lucas's smile yet?

Whether you're an Ancient Apparition, existing before the universe was born, or a Nature's Prophet whose origins are tied to ancient ruins, you'll have to come see Boss Lucas's kind smile to get your items. You'll empty your pockets of your life savings, and after you buy something, if you've used it for just ten seconds, it's considered second-hand. How about a 50% trade-in?

...

With the overall framework of Dota finalized, the team and main creators have begun intensive development.

Unlike previous games, a large portion of Dota's development workload is in numerical balance and art.

Furthermore, the version Lucas finally settled on is the Town Portal Scroll (TP) will be sold for 135 gold, just like in the earliest version. There will be an independent item slot, and upon death, the player will be gifted a TP scroll. Additionally, the TP scroll vendor will not buy them back at half price.

Talents and neutral items will not be included. The game will still use the "yellow dot" attribute point system.

As for the tower defense mechanism, it will also use the earlier version. That is, each tower will have its own invincibility cooldown. When a hero uses a TP scroll to teleport to the tower itself (not a range around the tower), it will trigger the tower's invincibility period.

In addition, there will be adjustments to map resources, jungle creep experience, creep bounty, and assist gold.

Of course, there will be gradual testing later on.

As for heroes, many have had their abilities reworked. For example, in the earliest days of Faceless Void, he was a completely different hero depending on luck. A lucky Faceless Void was practically invincible; he could tank five ultimates and take no damage. A unlucky Faceless Void, on the other hand, was effectively missing two abilities.

However, for this part, Lucas and the team plan to test it bit by bit, and they can make adjustments based on player feedback later.

...

The hype for "Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice" has gradually died down.

After all, it's a purely single-player game. And as a Souls-like game, while its combat system, compared to Bloodborne and Dark Souls, did allow players to enjoy intense sword fighting, many players don't engage in multiple consecutive playthroughs, New Game Plus, or despair modes.

Most players beat the game once, watched videos to learn about other story paths, or admired expert gameplay, and then considered their journey complete.

However, after Sekiro, new games released by many game developers have attracted a lot of player attention.

First among them is FOW's new title, "Glory Warrior." They continue to focus on medieval themes, and their previous sequel, "Wasteland 1981," also received good reviews, though slightly lower than the first installment.

Clearly, it's because of this that even though continuing with sequels would still be very profitable, FOW hit the brakes and didn't rush to release another Wasteland sequel. Instead, they returned to medieval themes.

However, it's not a single-player game. It's a multiplayer game primarily focused on PvP, with a more complex combat system. But clearly influenced by Sekiro, the promotional trailers heavily feature the clashing of swords and parrying, making it a main selling point.

Next, Atari has also released a new title called "Battleground." It's also a multiplayer PvP game. However, unlike FOW's "Glory Warrior," Atari's focus is on the battlefield, with 30v30 multiplayer battles as its selling point.

In addition, other game developers focusing on the VR platform have also released their games, most of which are action-oriented.

Players are discussing these games extensively. Whether they're fun or not is still unclear, but at least the promotional hooks are quite appealing.

Then, at this critical juncture, an official Weibo post sent shockwaves through the player base and the industry.

Lucas: "Nebula Games presents: Dragon's Blood, Season 1. Co-produced by Nebula Games and WIS Studio. Coming soon to all online platforms, free of charge. Stay tuned."

Attached to the Weibo post were images of several main characters from the animation: Princess of the Moon, White Tiger Mirana; Dragon Knight Davion; Fire Dragon Slaverique; Invoker; Terrorblade.

As soon as this Weibo post went out, the onlookers and players were stunned.

What the heck? Animation?

An animation co-produced with WIS Studio?

Many players had guessed that since Nebula Games had been quiet after Sekiro's Despair Mode, they might have been working on a secret project.

But what is this animation thing?!

It's always been said that Nebula Games are filmmakers and animators held back by their gaming careers, but are they actually making animation now?

And co-producing it with WIS Studio, the rising star in the animation world in recent years?

Countless players were utterly bewildered.

(End of this chapter)

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