So what’s the future business model for games? It depends on the individual company and the product they’re producing. A single-player RPG seems like fixed price is the right model, but considering the popularity of online multiplayer, we’re seeing fewer and fewer of them. As time goes on, the purely single-player experience may fall by the wayside—already, we’re seeing more games implement multiplayer modes in previously single-player ga
At this year’s Heroes of the Dorm tournament, DualShockers spoke to one of the casters of the event, Albert “Halorin” Haily III, to discuss his personal journey on becoming a caster, his dream opportunity, and his prediction for the winner of Blizzard’s collegiate eSports tournam
The world of competitive gaming known as eSports is still in its infancy and has a ton of room to grow. Its popularity is climbing every year with seemingly larger production budgets, being held in arenas that seat thousands of people. A big component in creating such an excited and dedicated environment are the casters; they not only help hype people up for the event but also inform those who are watch
I looked back at the screen. 1-1. What is this?! How did they score? Why? What on Earth is going on?! Half-time came, and I was invited to rearrange my team. I didn’t know what to do — as already mentioned, the game’s stats are incredibly confusing, and I was still reeling from having conceded a goal. I changed the team’s play style to ‘aggressive’, and started the second h
Albert Hailey III : Heroes of the Dorm is unique. In the HGC (Heroes Global Championship), they have that competitive mindset; they want to play at the highest level and for the prize pool. In Heroes of the Dorm , they are people who just love the game while they are also going to coll
AHIII: Growing up, I was a very quiet, introverted person; by nature, I am. I wanted to try to get past that because it wasn’t leading to the kind of happiness in life that I wanted. I decided to try to use casting as an avenue to find a more honest expression of myself. My goal in casting is to be myself, crack myself up, and have fun. So, if I make a joke that no one else laughs at but I think is hilarious and I’m having a good time, I went into it knowing I can fit into it. People can not like my talents but it would be okay. I would be fine with my own performance because I was mys
On the other side with Kentucky, RogerThat — one of the players — has a six-month-old. Winning this — taking the burden of college tuition off your shoulders at that point in your life — would be incredi
But then, as I played the game, I realized something — something that made me re-evaluate my outlook on the sport. As you take control of the manager, you really are being that individual sportsman. You are the guy that works hard and has to make the tough decisions. You are the guy whom, if you mess up, your whole team will lose. Without you, your team is noth
Almost immediately, we lost another goal. 1-2. I just didn’t understand what I was doing wrong — why was the game punishing me for taking control of what was clearly the worst team in the league? Eventually, after many failed shots at goal, we lost the game. I was kicked back to the training menu, and I began to contemplate my next mo
I’ve never really liked soccer. Unfortunately, here in the UK, it’s a mainstay of our society — when two men meet for the first time, a usual topic of small talk would be something along the lines of ‘So, which team do you support?’ Usually I grit my teeth and mutter something popular: ‘Oh, Chelsea for sure. That Abramovich did some great things. Anyway, how about that swimming competition the other day
While Dota 2 expands its heroes through voice lines, League expands its characters through design. League takes a core concept (falconer ranger, ice witch, fat fishman) and builds the champion’s skills, lore, and visual design around sharpening the focus on that concept. League ‘s champions end up looking cohesive (albeit a bit shallow). This is in direct contrast to Dota 2 ‘s heroes that end up looking like they were made haphazardly for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. At the very least, Riot now claims that it’s trying to move away from making hourglass wo
Following on from the previous point, you should setup Item Kits to quickly buy items at the start and during the match. Being able to click on your items within a second can save a teammate’s live if they’re in need of assistance. You used to easily be able to setup Item Sets, but that feature wasn’t used enough and was ditched, but can still be accessed if you use the earlier launcher. If you don’t want to use Item Kits, you should still keep a mental note of different k
Dota 2 ‘s lore is a little more complete. Heroes are called forth in the eternal war between the Dire and the Radiant. The game fills each hero with vocal cues to further expand their character. A player can witness Rylai’s crush on Sven in-game if they are allied together. Dota 2 would bring comics to the fray. Meanwhile, League continues to experiment with various interactive (over-produced) promos. I miss the now-discarded ‘League Judgment’ where champions earned entrance into the League through a trial. Little did either MOBA game patch notes realize, was that all the fans wanted was a little more continu
