#241 Diving into MOBA Perspectives and Problems

Skye joins Dirk and David again to continue their deep dive into the MOBA genre. This time, the episode hones in on a few key gameplay decisions of MOBAs, and examines what those choices mean for players. After reviewing some MOBA-related takeaways from the show’s last guest, Ryan “Morello” Scott, the crew discusses first person vs third person perspective at length. Later, all three hosts talk about how the laning phase impacts the genre. Finally, the group talks about one of the persistent issues in MOBAs, toxicity, and discuss strategies to mitigate it.

Episode Outline

01:19 A quick discussion about the previous show with former League of Legends designer Ryan Scott

15:35 An overview of first vs third person perspective, and the advantages and disadvantages of each

33:43 The pros and cons of the iconic “laning phase” in MOBAs

54:27 A conversation about toxicity in online multiplayer games, and strategies to minimize it from a developer standpoint

In this Episode

Kathryn Hymes - @chicalashaw, thornygames.com
Avery Paez -
Erik Ririe -
David V. Heron - @davidvheron
Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer