Reptile Evolve
Synopsis:
Reptile Evolve, which is a player vs. player empire builder where you can customize and adapt your armies through the evolution mechanic.
What is an Empire Builder? (In the Warcraft III mod space)
Empire Builder refers the the genre of Warcraft III map which is similar to the base game of Warcraft III and RTS in general. However, the key difference between the two is that empire builders tended to be slower in pacing and feature conflict on larger scales than normal RTSs of the time. In addition, the goal or objective for the empire builder genre was usually a bit different than the typical "total annihilation" objective typical in RTS. Rather they featured exotic objects like Regicide (kill the king) or economic objectives.
What did my mod bring to the Genre?
I think one contributing factor to the popularity of the mod was by no surprise the theming of the mod. In fact I ran with this theme when designing the mod. For one, the main method for spawning more reptiles and increase the strength of the empire, was the lay egg mechanic. Whereas other mods in the genre used structures to train units to build the empire, I instead thought laying eggs to proliferate your empire not only thematically fit but was also an intriguing mechanic. The mechanic was quite simple, all units whether it be for fighting or economy, were produced from eggs, laided by the previous generation, which hatch over time. This created a "protect the egg" mechanic which many players seemed to enjoy.
In addition to the lay egg mechanic, there was also the evolution mechanic that allowed to upgrade and essentially grow your reptiles from eggs to a multitude of different adaptations. In fact I believe another strong point for this mod was the sheer number of possible evolutions your reptiles could evolve into. This led to many different strategies being viable, increasing the replay ability.
What could have been improved?
I guess this kind of my Postmortem for the mod, since it was been a while since I reflected upon working on it. For one, it a common complaint I received from players was that some evolutions were way too powerful. Given more time and iterations I would have liked to tackle balancing the game, which would require quite a bit of time because of the many evolutions possible.
Orc RPG
Synopsis:
This is the last project that I worked on modding for Warcraft III. It is a cooperative multiplayer RPG where players control a unique character similar to an MMORPG. Players work together to complete quests as well as defeat bosses which was a focal point for me making the mod.
What Did my Mod Bring?
There were a few things that I wanted to focus on for this mod. The first was to design unique heroes for players to choose from that fit the archetypal roles that are typically seen in MMOs; the tank, the healer, the damage. Along with filling the roles I also tried to create hero abilities that matched the look and feel I wanted for the hero. For instance, for the Berserker tank hero I drew much of the inspiration off the the World of Warcraft tried and true Warrior Class. In game, the Berserker can charge at enemies and taunt enemies off of friendly units. I did however add my own interpretations to the class, for example the Berserker signature skill is Berserker Rage which is a passive ability which has a chance on hit to activate. When activated it increases the attack speed of the Berserker at the cost of taking more damage. This ability is special since it also stacks, starting off slow and getting progressively getting stronger as the passive ability activates more and more.
Another focus of the mod was to create unique and fun boss fights with mechanics. This was mostly inspired from boss fight mods that existed in WCIII. While the concept of fighting bosses is not new, this was the first time that I got designed boss fights and I think they turned out well above expectations.
What could have been improved?
Looking back, this project was way overscoped. If I were to go back I would cut a lot of the landmass of the map as well as cut down on the amount of content. I think that the mod would also benefit greatly from increased planning and layout similar to what I do now when planning features. Too bad I was too young and inexperienced then. :)