
The curious case of the mobile MOBA - bruizar
http://www.bartverschoor.com/#!The-curious-case-of-the-mobile-MOBA/c1ld3/4770C7CC-7074-4466-B6E8-6C356055CECA
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nugget
I think the most competitive RTS games require a mouse (or other peripheral
device) to achieve the desired level of immersion. I'm not sure how to best
explain the difference between finger-tapping on a screen and using a mouse,
but having spent lots of time on both platforms, it's definitely there.

~~~
XMPPwocky
Another issue: lag. I have yet to see a wi-fi connection without occasional
periods of enormous latency, packet loss, or both. Cellular data is even
worse.

RTSs and MOBAs both seriously suffer under those conditions.

Who's going to plug an Ethernet cable into their tablet just for one game?

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bruizar
One of the nice aspects of tablet gaming (Hearthstone, Vainglory), is that
bringing your tablet with you to a friend is a frictionless way of setting up
a 'lan party'. Vainglory is best played with team members sitting in the same
room. Gone are the days that you'd have to carry with you bulky laptops or
worst, transport your tower/desktop to a friend.

On wifi: The privilege I enjoy of living in a country that has historically
had among the fastest internet connections in the world biases my view on
this. I've been called an LPB (Low Ping Bastard) since 1997 :-). From the
games of Vainglory I played I found it feels very responsive. Many places
don't have fast internet connections, so you do make a fair point, but I doubt
that wifi is the bottleneck here.

On cellphone data: The cellphone contract I use has an unlimited data plan
fast enough to stream youtube videos; but it is not yet reliable enough to
play Vainglory from the passenger seat. It is essentially unplayable even
though I have an above average data plan. I realize that until more providers
switch to a flat fee structure and upgrade their infrastructure, 'true mobile'
gaming for RTSs and FPSs isn't going to happen. However, these type of games
require so much cognitive attention that the situations where you'd play this
on-the-go is very limited (e.g. domestic trips via train, car: passenger seat
and plane (international trips are too expensive due to roaming fees)). You
don't really want to be playing Vainglory when you are out camping in the
woods, I hope :-).

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bribri
Vainglory is an incredibly fun MOBA. I could see it getting really popular,
especially as the larger gain adoption

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bruizar
Hi Bribri,

I wrote this article a year ago and I decided to submit it because the take
aways are still very relevant today. When I wrote the article, Vainglory
wasn't released yet. I've played a fair amount of Vainglory and they did
indeed crack the code for a mobile MOBA. The Halcyon Fold map from Vainglory
is a derivative of Twisted Treeline which offers enough strategic depth to be
played at the competitive level, unlike Zynga's Solstice Arena. This, and the
fluidity of the game sets it apart from the others imo. I still believe Super
Evil Megacorp would have been better served with a more tongue-in-cheek visual
style / IP if they want to address the entirety of the iPad install-base. This
would have lowered the entry barrier for those who do not particularly enjoy
the high fantasy style and would allow them to piggy-back off of successful
mobile predecessors such as Rovio's Angry Birds and Halfbrick's Fruit Ninja by
means of profit sharing on guest appearances. I'm very optimistic about
Vainglory's future.

