Questions and Answers regarding Might & Magic: Heroes VII
http://heroescommunity.com/viewthread.php3?TID=40447Rough translation:
I am happy to present you with a Q&A with Gary Pawlini (game producer) and Stefan Winter (CEO of Limbic Entertainment), enjoy.
How long have you been working on Might & Magic Heroes VII?Gary: Discussions about the project began in late 2012. Around March 2013, we started pre-production for Might & Magic Heroes VII with Limbic Entertainment. We have been doing this for about 15 months now.
What was your main motivation for developing Heroes VII?Gary: Might & Magic Heroes VI was a good game, but not without its flaws. To create the kind of Heroes that fans of the game want, we decided to start fresh, with an experienced studio (Limbic Entertainment) and proven, refined technology (Unreal Engine 3).
Our main goal in this game is to provide the best same-series experience ever, and to do this, we felt that first and foremost we had to return to the very essence of Heroes. Now that we have a solid game architecture combined with the depth of the Might and Magic universe, we know that we can tell players compelling stories and deliver the game our fans truly deserve.
Can you tell us more about the studio responsible for developing Heroes VII?Stefan: In principle, our goal is to take the best from previous Heroes titles and build Heroes VII upon that. Of course, we are also introducing new features or new abilities without compromising the spirit of Heroes, such as more interactions on the adventure map, which allows for more strategies. We won't go into too much detail right now, but we have introduced hundreds of small improvements that will help refine the formula. Overall, we believe we have an ideal combination of proven solutions, adjusted ones, and new ones.
Another important change in development is that we are developing Heroes VII using Unreal Engine 3. This allows us to focus on game architecture, features, gameplay, and narrative instead of worrying about the underlying technology.
Additionally, one of the main parts of our vision for this new installment of Heroes is expanding the capabilities of our players wherever possible. To achieve this, we have developed powerful yet accessible tools to put everything at their disposal. Our fans have repeatedly asked for these features, and we view these tools as part of meeting their expectations.
Finally, to take this concept even further, we have developed a unique community platform (spoiler alert), allowing our fans to create avatars, access information, influence the game, create and share content, and earn rewards.
What did you learn from previous Heroes games developed by Ubisoft?Stefan: From a developer's perspective, Limbic Entertainment learned that Heroes are complex to produce. The nature of these games is that they are made of many layers of gameplay that must fit together. In Heroes, you must ensure at every stage of the production process that the adventure map and the combat map, along with the economic and RPG parts, form a monolithic structure. Such challenges make working on such a game very exciting!
Gary: We also learned (the hard way, let's be honest) that we must invest more time in content creation tools for our players, but also that our development teams must maintain an effective level of support after the game's release. With Heroes VII, we anticipated these needs and are ready to offer both players and developers the opportunity to bring their wildest ideas to life.
What is the story of Heroes VII about? What is your source of inspiration?Stefan: The story of Heroes VII depicts a civil war that changed the ruling dynasty of the Holy Empire. The murder of the Empress left a vacant throne, and too many hungry rivals intend to claim it. Our main character, Ivan, Duke of Griffin, is the only one who can restore peace and prosperity. On his path to claiming the throne, Ivan learns what it means to be a true leader, including difficult choices and the consequences that follow—with the help of the Council.
The Council consists of six advisors who have their own plans, their own backgrounds, and their own goals. Each advisor represents one of the game's Factions, and in each campaign Ivan learns about these Factions, their uniqueness, and ultimately how they can affect his own mission. We do not, of course, want to reveal the story of Heroes VII, but you will soon find out more!
You mentioned advisors. What is their role and how do they define the game experience?Stefan: Each advisor represents one of six unique Factions. Throughout the Heroes VII campaign, each of them will tell Ivan ancient stories that defined the fate of their people. Each advisor's story leads to an important lesson that Ivan learns, which will help him push toward the throne and meet his destiny. The interesting thing about the advisors is that the game campaign is built around centers of interest, allowing the player to play 6 different campaigns in an order of their choosing.
With the announcement of the game at GamesCon, we heard about the Shadow Council. What is the Shadow Council? And how does it differ from a regular council?Stefan: The concept of the Shadow Council is probably the largest expansion of community capabilities we have ever done. Starting today, we would like to invite fans, players, and people new to the Heroes franchise to join us and live a unique experience that will influence the development of the game.
There are decisions that will permanently set the game experience, and we are leaving some of these options in your hands. As an example, we have chosen 4 Factions that we want to have in the game, but we are giving you the opportunity to vote for the remaining two Factions. This is a huge decision that will deeply affect the development of the game, impacting everything from storyline conditions to available creatures and their abilities.
Beyond the voting feature, the Shadow Council is a unique platform where you will be given the opportunity to get the latest information about the game, interact with the community and the development team, play and improve to gain experience and unlock exclusive rewards. More information about the Shadow Council will be available soon!
Therefore, please do not miss the chance to join the Shadow Council and actively participate in the development of the game—ultimately, this will help you play the game of your dreams.
To join the Shadow Council, you simply need to visit the website mmh7.com and log in with your Uplay account.
Why did you choose a collaborative development process?Stefan: We are not developing in an ivory tower. We have many team members who are either active members of the community or have hidden it for many years. In 2012, while working on patches for Heroes VI, we followed all discussions within the Heroes community, including those regarding faction choice, random map generator, simultaneous turns, skill wheel, map editor, and many other topics.
All these discussions already had a huge impact on the pre-production of Heroes VII, but we wanted to take the concept to the next level. Eventually, we came up with the idea of the Shadow Council, a player-dedicated platform that receives feedback from the entire Heroes community. In this way, we get constant inspiration, which helps develop production.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a development process?Stefan: The main advantage of such a process is that we are constantly challenged by fans. We must always question ourselves regarding decisions and design choices that were made, iterating and inventing the path by which we conceive games. On our part, this pushes us to be as transparent as possible about current decisions and everything else we are working on.
The main disadvantage is that we must constantly expect the unexpected. Depending on the feedback we receive, we must adapt our development schedule. As a result, we need to be as flexible as possible to limit the impact on deadlines and budget.
Another frustrating aspect of this process is that, given the vast number of opinions we deal with, we simply cannot respond to every request. This is why we believe the voting feature is the most democratic way to take player opinions into account.
Will Heroes VII offer a multiplayer experience?Stefan: Of course! Skirmish and Duel modes are already present. Yes, by the way, hot-seat is still here! More information about multiplayer will be presented in the near future.