Marvel Heroes Omega Dev on Design: Console Gamers Demand Ruthless Efficiency, PC Gamers More Forgiving

Lead designer also talks about the trade-offs that controllers provide.

Posted By | On 27th, Jul. 2017

Gazillion’s Marvel Heroes has been a fairly decent success on the PC, that too despite recent changes having revamped many of its core systems. With Marvel Heroes Omega releasing for Xbox One and PS4, the developer faces a hefty challenge ahead in trying to cater to a new crowd. It’s tougher than it looks, especially when trying to support the original game as well.

Gazillion lead designer Ben “TheArtofRawr” Gilbert discussed the pros and cons of working on consoles versus PC. Gilbert spoke purely from the design (noting that the engineering side was a whole different discussion) and said, “There are some trade-offs. Both platforms fundamentally share a love of the content, but have some subtle and not-so-subtle details to design around. The console market tends to demand ruthless efficiency, and very clear, succinct communication of mechanics. PC audiences tend to be more forgiving of those screen-smothering webs of tiny icons and walls of tooltip text.

Gilbert also noted that with regards to controls, there is some loss of cursor control that has to be accounted for. “A controller trades off fine-tuned cursor control and typing for viscerality and approachability. Designing abilities to function in both control configurations was an interesting hurdle, but I think we got it done nicely. This is just to name a few of the challenges we tackled in adapting a PC title to a consoles, not to mention while taking that opportunity to iterate on some of our core design patterns (I’m looking at you, Power Points system).”

Marvel Heroes Omega is currently available for Xbox One and PS4 as of June 30th. It’s an action RPG that features 38 heroes collected from the Marvel universe including Iron Man, Captain America, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Deadpool, the X-Men and much more. Players can customize these character with various outfits from the different Marvel properties and take part in a nine chapter story campaign.


Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out!



Share Your Thoughts Below  (Always follow our comments policy!)



Keep On Reading!

Pac-Man 99 is Being Delisted in October

Pac-Man 99 is Being Delisted in October

Online play will be shutting down and new users won't be able to download the game, though those who've previo...

Mortal Kombat 1 Announcement Being Teased for This Week

Mortal Kombat 1 Announcement Being Teased for This Week

On the back of plenty of teases and leaks, Mortal Kombat boss Ed Boon seems to be hinting at an imminent annou...

Overwatch 2 Developer Discusses Cancellation of Hero Mode, Future Plans for PvE

Overwatch 2 Developer Discusses Cancellation of Hero Mode, Future Plans for PvE

"It feels better to be on this path where we know we can consistently release updates to players," said execut...

The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is Out on September 19th for PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch

The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is Out on September 19th for PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch

The re-release of the 2012 action RPG features new illustrations, HD visuals, 60 FPS support, and English and ...

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Guide – All Dragon Locations and How to Get Their Parts

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Guide – All Dragon Locations and How to Get Their Parts

The dragons are invaluable due to their precious materials and involvement in the main quest. Here's how to fi...

Tin Hearts is a Puzzle Adventure Game With a Focus on Narrative and Adorable Toy Soldiers, Out Now on PC and Consoles

Tin Hearts is a Puzzle Adventure Game With a Focus on Narrative and Adorable Toy Soldiers, Out Now on PC and Consoles

Narrative-focused puzzle adventure game Tin Hearts is out now on PC, and just about every console you can get ...