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But regardless of whether a game I was designing was about ancient mythologies, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or World War II, what was important to me was capturing the atmosphere of the setting. And it's not entirely about the artwork or the quotes from history that have been incorporated into the game; they are important to some extent, of course, but they don't make a game thematic. After all, Monopoly set in the world of Pirates of the Caribbean will not suddenly turn into a game about dangerous corsairs and sea battles. What really lets us capture the atmosphere of the game is its mechanisms – which in my opinion is one of the toughest challenges a game designer can face.
Another "Typical" Fantasy Game
This is exactly how it was with Heroes.
Now, if you already know the game, you might be a bit surprised. For those who don't know it: Heroes is a fantasy game, and it's the most classical fantasy possible: powerful wizards, supported by an army of fantasy creatures, face one another in a magic duel — a topic totally worn out and heavily overused in games.
Moreover, in many cases choosing this kind of setting is just supposed to cover the lack of better ideas from the designer and the publisher. Since Tolkien's times, elves and dragons have become a real cliché — but it's a bit different in the case of Heroes...
Non-Existent Reality
The theme was the beginning of all in this game. When I started designing it, I knew that I wanted to create a game about a duel of wizards that could capture and reflect the reality of such an event. I know this might sound strange at first; after all, it's not a historical theme that's trying to reflect any objective reality of some time period. Nobody of sound mind has ever witnessed a duel of wizards, or at least nobody can prove that.
But the truth is, if you want to make a game go well with the theme, it doesn't matter whether it is real or fictional. In either case, you can design a game that will reflect the realities well or not. (Any doubts? Check Monopoly set in the Lord of the Rings world.)
Emotions
The atmosphere is present in Heroes on many levels. Spells work as you might expect judging by their names. The same thing with the creatures. A Dragon breathes fire, a Leviathan may devour a smaller creature, a Hydra can heal itself.
Everything's according to the fantasy canon, but in actuality that's only a small thing compared to what's most important. Creatures and spells are not what make Heroes a game about dueling wizards. The main part of the atmosphere is hidden in the dice and the mechanisms related to them.
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When I tried to imagine how a duel of wizards casting deadly spells at each other could look like, the first thing that came to my mind was that it would be a very stressful experience. Why? Well, try to cast a spell — which is not easy in itself, according to all rules of fantasy worlds — while being attacked by a horde of enemy creatures and before the opponent finishes their own incantation to throw a fireball or lightning at you!
In such a fight, the speed, self-control and cold-headedness of both mages would play a crucial role, but emotions must be overwhelming. Capturing those emotions in the mechanisms was my main idea while designing Heroes.
Real Time on the Board
All the main premises mentioned above come down to one thing: Heroes should be a game with a significant real-time element, a game in which the players try to prepare and cast their spell before the opponent manages to do so.
This effect was achieved by introducing dice. They represent the magic energy you must harness to cast a spell. Until someone gets a satisfactory result on the dice, usually after many re-rolls, the gameplay is absolutely crazy. This is where dexterity, perceptiveness and flexibility let you modify your tactics, depending on what your luck brings you.
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A Second to Breathe
Of course the whole game cannot be played at such a pace — or maybe it could, but it would rather be a party game then, and I wanted Heroes to be like a computer real-time strategy game adapted to tabletop. This is why when you gather the appropriate symbols on your dice, you stop the game. You apply the effects of your spells, activate your creatures, and have a short while to plan your future moves.
And you can take one deep breath before the dice are rolled again at a really crazy pace.
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Final Effect
When I read reviews of Heroes, I often encounter opinions saying that this game could actually be about something else, that it could be set in a cyberpunk world or simply be another of my historical games.
On the one hand, it's true. The mechanisms of Heroes are so flexible that they would fit well to some topic other than dueling wizards in a fantasy world. But these mechanisms were born out of the setting which on many levels determined how the game should look like. I wanted Heroes to make the players feel as if they really entered a fantasy realm for a while and took part in a deadly duel of wizards.
Have I managed to achieve this effect? I hope you will see soon, perhaps in Essen at booth 2-B110 where Historical Games Factory/Lion Games will be with the whole Polish Publishing League, or at the booth of our distributor and co-publisher, REBEL.pl. Feel invited to drop by, try the game, and let me know what you think!
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