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Additional Notes
Scope
One thing I cut out from the video was a section where I talked about scope. I usually frame my videos from the perspective of "How would I design this game mode if I was sitting right there in the game design meeting?".
Since I was on a very tight deadline to get this video out on time, I completely cut the section that talks about scope. Essentially my mind set was that for this game mode, we're introducing four brand new characters for a once a year event, and it would be nonsensical to create 4 characters with completely unique abilities. My mindset was that for the purpose of PvE it would make sense to reuse and alter existing abilities from characters already in the game. Doing so would save time and resources.
Since I was on a very tight deadline to get this video out on time, I completely cut the section that talks about scope. Essentially my mind set was that for this game mode, we're introducing four brand new characters for a once a year event, and it would be nonsensical to create 4 characters with completely unique abilities. My mindset was that for the purpose of PvE it would make sense to reuse and alter existing abilities from characters already in the game. Doing so would save time and resources.
Writing Character Dialogue
One thing I wanted to do was add little bits of dialogue between the characters. For some reason, my youtube videos style typically consist of character cut outs talking to one another via word bubbles. As a game designer, I don't just focus on the game mechanics, I think about how characters would interact, their motivations etc.
In order to write these little tidbits of dialogue, I made sure to find and read all available material on the characters. From the research I found that Casino was a Former F-1 driver. Whereas the rest of the squad were E-Sports athletes. From there I was able to come up with a basic idea of what their personalities would be.
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Casino - Confident and a little cocky. The only pilot without and E-sports background.
D.Mon - A more aggressive counterpart to D.va
King - A rivial to D.va during their pro-gaming career. He is serious and focused, always trying to stay one step ahead.
Overlord - Tech savvy, friendly and gentle. Cares deeply about his squad and helping others.
D.Mon - A more aggressive counterpart to D.va
King - A rivial to D.va during their pro-gaming career. He is serious and focused, always trying to stay one step ahead.
Overlord - Tech savvy, friendly and gentle. Cares deeply about his squad and helping others.
Ultimate Abilities
When designing the ultimates, It was important to keep in mind that not every ultimate is meant to do damage, there are some ultimates in the game that are defensive. With a PvE event as combat heavy as this one, I wanted to make sure two of the characters were defensive.
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D.va - Type: Defensive - Creates a large dome of defense matrix, destroying incoming projectiles. The dome would be twice as big as Winston's shield. This ultimate is last for 6 seconds.
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King - Type: DPS - King flies straight into the air and does a 360 degree spin at a moderate pace, he fires all of his weapons, while locking on to any exposed enemy. This ultimate will last 4 seconds and is effective at clearing out mobs of enemies.
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Casino - Type: Offensive DPS - This ultimate would be best for doing a lot of damage over a short amount of time. Perfect for destroying more powerful enemies in a pinch.
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D.mon - Type: Offensive - This ultimate is great for drawing attention away from the rest of the team. D.mon can also use this ability to easily knock away Octopus omnics. The damage reduction and shield passive allows D.mon to soak up insane amounts of damage. Don't be afraid to use this ultimate ability to jump into entrenched enemy positions, knocking them around and drawing their fire. Pairs very well with Overlord's ultimate ability.
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Overlord​ - Type: defensive - This ultimate is a great counter against the onslaught of missiles that one ore more squid omnics may use against the player. This is a great way to protect your entire team in one move, and counter attack with their charged up weapons. This ultimate boosts the damage output by 30% and for every bit of extra damage exceeding 100 points, it will add another 1%. This ultimate lasts 5 seconds.
Ability Cooldowns
I had a few people ask me what the specific cooldowns were for each ability. I cut this from the video because, it is something I thought about including, yet it seemed to be a bit of padding when there is no way to test and balance these abilities in a PvE setting. So I cut this segment from the video. However if you are curious I will post the tentative cooldowns for each of the new MEKA characters down below, as D.Va would be unchanged, aside from her ultimate.
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Casino
Slash and Dash - 5 seconds Big Blade - 8 seconds F1 Nitro - 12 seconds ​
D.mon
Jump Pack - 4 seconds Mega Punch - 8 seconds Tackle - 5 seconds ​
Overlord
Repair/Attack Drone - 2 seconds to return to Overlord after Line of sight is broken. They can be reassigned targets with no cooldown, as long as the target is in sight. This allows him to quickly heal/attack on the fly. ​Shield Charge - ​8 seconds |
King
Proximity Mine - 6 seconds
Lock-On Missiles - 8 seconds
Recon Dart - ​12 seconds
Proximity Mine - 6 seconds
Lock-On Missiles - 8 seconds
Recon Dart - ​12 seconds
Do you have questions, comments or concerns? Email me at dannylv100@gmail.com
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