Using MDA to grow a MOBA

For those of you unfamiliar with the MDA framework for game design, it is an attempt at formalizing the design process by providing a structure around which you build a game.  The main conceit features cascading dependencies: Mechanics defined by Dynamics defined by Aesthetics.  By defining the experiences and emotional responses (Aesthetics) first, designers have a reference and foundation to maintain consistency as they dive deeper into the game system.  Ideally, the behaviors of the player and game logic (Dynamics) spread organically and define solid components of the game (Mechanics).

We will use this approach to assemble the skeleton of a MOBA, utilizing the MDA paradigm to circumvent and highlight issues with current entries in the genre.  First, MOBAs are broadly defined as:

MOBA - Multiplayer Online Battle Area

Pulling from the source material, we look at the defined Aesthetics:

Sensation Game as sense-pleasure

Fantasy Game as make-believe

Narrative Game as drama

Challenge Game as obstacle course

Fellowship Game as social framework

Discovery Game as uncharted territory

Expression Game as self-discovery

Submission Game as pastime

For our MDA MOBA, we pick the following Aesthetics in terms of priority:

Aesthetics

P1

[C] Challenge - As an arena-combat game, MOBAs are highly competitive, pitting player skill against player skill.  NPC elements are very minimal; thus, winning generally means your mastery of play was greater than that of your opponents.  Winning is a hard battle well-fought.

[F] Fellowship - MOBA play relies heavily on interaction and coordination between teammates; if communication is such an essential part of the game, then enjoying playing with others shall be an essential part of the game.  Additionally, Fellowship helps to form a community around a gaming scene, which helps lead to its overall success.

P2

Submission - While this somewhat clashes with Challenge, games that offer Submission elements lower the barrier to entry for the less hardcore player and can be habit-forming, both attributes that help to increase the player base.  Even elite players like to take off the competitive edge and play differently for pure enjoyment.

Fantasy - Being a larger-than-life hero acts as an integral part of MOBAs; not capitalizing on such elements would be foolish.  Investing in the lore and continuity of the MOBA's world help to catch player interest and appreciation.

Dynamics

As a first pass, we will take the P1 Aesthetics and draft a set of Dynamics that support those Aesthetics.  To keep us honest, we mark Dynamics that encourage Challenge with [C] and those that encourage Fellowship with [F].

[D0] Teamwork - [F]

[D1] Adaptivity - [C]

[D2] Competition - [C]

[D3] Reconciliation of varying skill levels - [C][F]

[D4] Community - [F]

[D5] Viewership - [F]

Mechanics

With Dynamics defined, Mechanics should flow naturally and form a consistent picture of a MOBA that leads to Challenge and Fellowship.  As before, we mark the Mechanics with their representative Dynamic(s).

[M0] Teammates "Link" when near each other and give each other bonuses [D0]

[M1] Solo queue vs team queue separation of rank [D0][D2][D3]

[M2] Players signal commands to other quickly and efficiently via hotkey shortcuts [D0]

[M3] Acquired resources get evenly distributed between team members [D0]

[M4] Players have a generic character to whom they add abilities [D1][D4]

[M5] Players create their own champion through a character-building engine [D4]

[M6] Champions are blank slates to which players can apply abilities each match [D1][D4]

[M7] Throughout a match the players can apply more abilities [D1]

[M8] Abilities fall under the following categories: [D1][D3]

[M9] Abilities can have different states and triggers [D2]

[M10] In high level tournaments, teams draft abilities [D1][D2]

[M11] Each game takes place in a generated map [D1]

[M12] Players with positive reviews (i.e. Upvotes) get bonus points post-game [D4]

[M13] No in-game method of trash-talking opponents, only "GG" and sportsmanship [D4]

[M14] Killing enemy creeps gives your entire team resources [D0]

[M15] Killing enemy players gives no resources [D0][D3]

[M16] Healing allies generates resources for your team [D0]

[M17] There are resource points throughout the map [D2][D3]

[M18] Players have to return to home base to spend resources

[M19] Players can use a lobby to meet and play relevant mini-games between matches [D4]

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it is a decent first pass and paints a picture of our game.  Ideas are cheap, implementation is expensive - no framework will magically create the next big hit, especially in a genre becoming super-saturated.

Personally, I'm relatively disassociated with MOBAs - I like myself a good game of Awesomenauts, but LoL and DOTA don't really appeal to me.  Does this MDA-generated with a pseudo-class based system and user-made heroes have a similar peer out there?  Does it really do anything unique?

Open Questions and Next Steps

This was a relatively simple endeavor - a mountain of problems and decisions still need answering before I would even consider this game's design "ready" to be more than a concept.

Was this helpful or interesting?  Let me know through here or twitter.  More articles to come, especially around my secret pet project nearing completion of pre-alpha.