cheyenneixxi
New member
Hello! I'm in love with Deadlock so far, and I'm aware that right now all of the focus is going into game-play, and I'm really happy to see that Valve's developers are taking everyone's feedback to heart. This little community right now is special, and it deserves to last as long as possible.
With that being said, today I'd like to give some ideas for the future, which aren't game-play related but rather customization related. I understand this is a far-off topic and not a priority for the game's current state, especially as hero designs themselves are seemingly not even set in stone yet, but if you'll allow me some brief time to share these ideas, I think they're worth planting in people's heads.
Who doesn't like customization? It allows people to express themselves and how they see the character they're playing in an interesting, unique and personal way. It is pretty much a given that at one point or another, this game is going to feature player customization in some form. Ignoring the monetization aspect of all this - which I'm sure we all hope by the time things are said and done will end up executed in a more pro-consumer way than a lot of other games handle this sort of thing nowadays - there are a few things I find interesting about Deadlock that make me believe it is super suitable for unique forms of personalization not commonly seen in other games.
Let's start with the cast:
This game is decently unique as it doesn't allow duplicate heroes in the same game - not only within your team, but within the other team as well. As such, there will largely never be a moment where you have to guess or worry about whether or not a character you're seeing is on your team or not. Other games usually have duplicates as an option, and resort to color coding outfits.
With Deadlock, this is not an issue. The characters have very distinctive silhouettes (shout out to the character designers and whoever else is responsible for those types of things), and as long as they retain the bulk of their silhouette or their looks are otherwise complimented by customization, this opens the door to a realm of possibility. So many colors and little things are on the table here. The only things that need to be so strictly color coded are the minions, really, and they've already got that locked down.
Now there's the question of how these things are implemented. There are various roads this can go down:
Cosmetic-based is something akin to TF2. Characters have cosmetics made for them to equip that change their design, and sometimes items are even possible to put on multiple characters. This allows for a lot more dynamic customization. It is my (personal) preferred method.
Finally, the combination. This could really be anything. For instance, one path is that perhaps each character is defined into a few rigid groupings of customizable aspects. Let's say each character has a head equipment and a body equipment and a weapon skin equipment. This is, in essence, a skin system with a bit more freedom.
The pros of the skin system are that it is always possible to ensure cohesive designs, but the price is paid at the lack of freedom for player expression.
The pros of the cosmetic system are that it has that freedom, but is inherently a bit more chaotic and unpredictable in nature. Nevertheless, I actually feel like Deadlock, due to the varying colors and designs of the heroes, alongside not allowing duplicate characters in matches, is an even better fit for this system than TF2, at least on paper.
On top of this comes secondary customization:
Due to the lack of concrete team colors visible on heroes, some form of color customization for each skin seems feasible and gives even more potential for player expression. Although the weapons do not play as big of a role in Deadlock as something like CS2, small things akin to the sticker system or even gun keychain items in TF2 and other shooters are interesting and do show the potential for smaller tidbits to play a role in player expression that gets people talking.
There are even things like effects for dashing, ziplines, killstreaks, whatever else, that could all be really fun if implemented in good ways. This is just the visual side of things. Emote systems are almost always universally beloved, and sprays are cool too, and let you leave more of a personal mark on a match's map. Other games even have voiceline customization, or rewards for the player's mastery of specific heroes.
And this brings me to another idea: Creep customization!
Afterall, with a MOBA, the players aren't the only thing that matters. I'm aware that DOTA already has this, actually. Imagine, if you will, that you can customize the creeps in a variety of ways. Maybe for the stronger ones with the banners you could even customize the banners in some way. Now, whenever you're in a game, your designated lane will be bestowed by creeps wearing those very customizations. A cute little idea for sure, I think! When you're sharing a lane with someone else, it could randomly choose which player's customizations the new creeps will spawn with.
This could even be applied in some way to guardians and walkers. Even if it's slight - as it probably should be for these elements, so that fluid gameplay is always retained - I think just having them at all really would go a long way to help foster positive interaction between the community during matches in the future. Small little things like this add up and result in really special moments between players in time.
Why this all matters:
Above all else, I find that I think of these sorts of things as extensions of the playerbase's passion. If given the potential to spread a bit of themselves in unique ways, as Deadlock will undoubtedly find ways to implement in the future, it can very much so impact how people see the game, keep it fresh for longer, and help it grow a strong and good community.
Right now the players are in an early era of discovery and love for this game alongside the developers. It's a special thing, but it's possible that it won't last forever. As the game grows more complete, we will reach a point where optimization and competition begins to take more of a hold. The worst case scenario is that this fun game we're enjoying eventually grows stale and gains a more cynical community.
Deadlock's reputation shouldn't end up like League's, which in ways even taints the entirety of the perception of MOBAs as a genre. I think we can all agree that it's for the best for the game to try it's best to stay as enjoyable and friendly as it is right now. While customization might seem like it doesn't have all too great of an impact on community morale, that couldn't be farther from the case.
Just look at games like TF2 - the cosmetic system, while flawed in it's own right in a lot of ways, has continued to breathe life into the game for it's entire existence. It became part of the game's identity, part of it's community's identity, and fit right in with what was already there. I don't think anyone would ever argue that customization being implemented the ways they were in TF2 aren't responsible in a lot of ways for the games' longevity and overall fun and positive player-base. Infact, in games with a bit more of a focus on allowing for the freedom for good player self-expression, that seems to be a noticeable trend.
I'm not saying Deadlock has or really should go full goofy mode and become something like Fortnite. Bu things like this only further lay the path down for an even more fulfilling game down the road. There is something special here - at least right now - and anything that could help keep that special, lighthearted and enjoyable nature of the present moment alive in any capacity is more than welcome in my book.
If you've read this far, thanks! I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on this sort of thing.
For now, I'll leave you with an Ivy, drawn by me:
With that being said, today I'd like to give some ideas for the future, which aren't game-play related but rather customization related. I understand this is a far-off topic and not a priority for the game's current state, especially as hero designs themselves are seemingly not even set in stone yet, but if you'll allow me some brief time to share these ideas, I think they're worth planting in people's heads.
Who doesn't like customization? It allows people to express themselves and how they see the character they're playing in an interesting, unique and personal way. It is pretty much a given that at one point or another, this game is going to feature player customization in some form. Ignoring the monetization aspect of all this - which I'm sure we all hope by the time things are said and done will end up executed in a more pro-consumer way than a lot of other games handle this sort of thing nowadays - there are a few things I find interesting about Deadlock that make me believe it is super suitable for unique forms of personalization not commonly seen in other games.
Let's start with the cast:
This game is decently unique as it doesn't allow duplicate heroes in the same game - not only within your team, but within the other team as well. As such, there will largely never be a moment where you have to guess or worry about whether or not a character you're seeing is on your team or not. Other games usually have duplicates as an option, and resort to color coding outfits.
With Deadlock, this is not an issue. The characters have very distinctive silhouettes (shout out to the character designers and whoever else is responsible for those types of things), and as long as they retain the bulk of their silhouette or their looks are otherwise complimented by customization, this opens the door to a realm of possibility. So many colors and little things are on the table here. The only things that need to be so strictly color coded are the minions, really, and they've already got that locked down.
Now there's the question of how these things are implemented. There are various roads this can go down:
- Skin-based customization
- Cosmetic-based customization
- Some sort of combination of the two, in it's own ways
Cosmetic-based is something akin to TF2. Characters have cosmetics made for them to equip that change their design, and sometimes items are even possible to put on multiple characters. This allows for a lot more dynamic customization. It is my (personal) preferred method.
Finally, the combination. This could really be anything. For instance, one path is that perhaps each character is defined into a few rigid groupings of customizable aspects. Let's say each character has a head equipment and a body equipment and a weapon skin equipment. This is, in essence, a skin system with a bit more freedom.
The pros of the skin system are that it is always possible to ensure cohesive designs, but the price is paid at the lack of freedom for player expression.
The pros of the cosmetic system are that it has that freedom, but is inherently a bit more chaotic and unpredictable in nature. Nevertheless, I actually feel like Deadlock, due to the varying colors and designs of the heroes, alongside not allowing duplicate characters in matches, is an even better fit for this system than TF2, at least on paper.
On top of this comes secondary customization:
Due to the lack of concrete team colors visible on heroes, some form of color customization for each skin seems feasible and gives even more potential for player expression. Although the weapons do not play as big of a role in Deadlock as something like CS2, small things akin to the sticker system or even gun keychain items in TF2 and other shooters are interesting and do show the potential for smaller tidbits to play a role in player expression that gets people talking.
There are even things like effects for dashing, ziplines, killstreaks, whatever else, that could all be really fun if implemented in good ways. This is just the visual side of things. Emote systems are almost always universally beloved, and sprays are cool too, and let you leave more of a personal mark on a match's map. Other games even have voiceline customization, or rewards for the player's mastery of specific heroes.
And this brings me to another idea: Creep customization!
Afterall, with a MOBA, the players aren't the only thing that matters. I'm aware that DOTA already has this, actually. Imagine, if you will, that you can customize the creeps in a variety of ways. Maybe for the stronger ones with the banners you could even customize the banners in some way. Now, whenever you're in a game, your designated lane will be bestowed by creeps wearing those very customizations. A cute little idea for sure, I think! When you're sharing a lane with someone else, it could randomly choose which player's customizations the new creeps will spawn with.
This could even be applied in some way to guardians and walkers. Even if it's slight - as it probably should be for these elements, so that fluid gameplay is always retained - I think just having them at all really would go a long way to help foster positive interaction between the community during matches in the future. Small little things like this add up and result in really special moments between players in time.
Why this all matters:
Above all else, I find that I think of these sorts of things as extensions of the playerbase's passion. If given the potential to spread a bit of themselves in unique ways, as Deadlock will undoubtedly find ways to implement in the future, it can very much so impact how people see the game, keep it fresh for longer, and help it grow a strong and good community.
Right now the players are in an early era of discovery and love for this game alongside the developers. It's a special thing, but it's possible that it won't last forever. As the game grows more complete, we will reach a point where optimization and competition begins to take more of a hold. The worst case scenario is that this fun game we're enjoying eventually grows stale and gains a more cynical community.
Deadlock's reputation shouldn't end up like League's, which in ways even taints the entirety of the perception of MOBAs as a genre. I think we can all agree that it's for the best for the game to try it's best to stay as enjoyable and friendly as it is right now. While customization might seem like it doesn't have all too great of an impact on community morale, that couldn't be farther from the case.
Just look at games like TF2 - the cosmetic system, while flawed in it's own right in a lot of ways, has continued to breathe life into the game for it's entire existence. It became part of the game's identity, part of it's community's identity, and fit right in with what was already there. I don't think anyone would ever argue that customization being implemented the ways they were in TF2 aren't responsible in a lot of ways for the games' longevity and overall fun and positive player-base. Infact, in games with a bit more of a focus on allowing for the freedom for good player self-expression, that seems to be a noticeable trend.
I'm not saying Deadlock has or really should go full goofy mode and become something like Fortnite. Bu things like this only further lay the path down for an even more fulfilling game down the road. There is something special here - at least right now - and anything that could help keep that special, lighthearted and enjoyable nature of the present moment alive in any capacity is more than welcome in my book.
If you've read this far, thanks! I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on this sort of thing.
For now, I'll leave you with an Ivy, drawn by me:
Last edited:
