I was thinking about how Age of Booty is going to live or die based on whether it’s going to be as sticky as we think it is and whether we can convince a sizable audience to get them to try it with a couple friends (online or off).

We’re basically giving away a huge chunk of game for a brief period of time (48 hours or so) complete with online play in the demo (definitely a first for XBLA… not sure on PSN if there are demos with online play).  And this demo version hooks you straight into the paid playerbase, so you’ll have no problems finding games.

But I lose some sleep about whether our message has been quite as compelling for people who haven’t touched it or played with friends. After every guided demo we give to people (be it at shows, on media tours, etc.) people’s first impression of the game drastically changes.

So we know we have something special when we can get people to scratch beneath the surface and see a more complete picture than a few pirate ships sailing around. At times, people need references to things they already understand to grasp a concept and AoB doesn’t really have that. It’s sort of unique. But then I thought of something.

The DOTA Connection

It was something I had spent playing dozens of hours… and it’s something that’s keeping a six year old game, one of the most played titles even today according to Neilsen’s usage stats: Defense of the Ancients . 

 

DOTA is a mod for Warcraft 3 that is largely a one unit RPG/RTS (creeps notwithstanding). There are two teams, working in tandem toward a common goal, just like AoB. There are PVE critters and mobs to beat up for experience, gold and eventually character upgrades/items. Similarly, the villages, neutral towns and merchant ships provide the start of an upgrade system and consumable items. In both games, units are easy to navigate (just click) and auto attack enemies in range and there are special triggerable abilities (AoB’s curse cards). But mostly, DOTA and Age of Booty are about PVP… attacking other players in the name of securing resources, experience or strategic objectives.  

The beauty both DOTA and AoB is in the depth of coordination of attack, defense and managing resources and upgrades in such a wide variety of strategies to counter the other team. A difference is Age of Booty trades off the RPG elements for a layer of light team-based resource management.

Pirates not Spartans

And then there’s the Halo connection. Max Hoberman and the Bungie alums working on the game cut their teeth creating some of the best match making and multiplayer design decisions on the Halo series. Several of those design concepts have migrated into Age of Booty.

Like Halo, not everyone needs to have their own PC or console to play. One to four players on one box can have a great time, do comp-stomps by adding in AI players, play 2v2, or all four can go online and play any combination of up to 8 players.  Halo-like party-based match making lets you keep your team together (be they sitting next to you, or across the world) as you take on others.

Every variable, from the number of crates or merchant ships spawning in a level to starting resources to the number and type of AI players  you play with, the number of teams, which curse cards are actually in play (damn those whirlpools!) can be changed by players. Lastly, much like the Halo3 forge, players can create their own levels, tweak existing maps and more to give AoB  even more longevity. And the team will introduce more of their own new maps on an ongoing basis into the map rotation post-launch. 

 

It’s pick-up-and-play friendly where the basics are easy to learn and a couple friends could have fun casually goofing around on their couch. At the same time, there’s such a variety of strategies and counter strategies, Age of Booty is a game that could just as easily give rise to a vibrant community of teams, clans and competition.

So to sum up, I contend Age of Booty = DOTA bits + Halo bits + Pirates. All we’re missing are ninjas and robots. Got to save something for the sequel.