Game Design: How MOBA’s Fight Repetitive Gameplay

Last week we looked at replay value in single player games. Today we’ll be taking a look at a specific type of multiplayer game and how they deal with repetitive gameplay. Games that are too repetitive doesn’t survive yet MOBA’s have players race to complete the same objectives time and time again. How do they get away with this?

League of Legends

This is probably the most popular MOBA in the world despite all of the matches having the exact same objective. Players must fight through the lanes to reach the enemies Nexus and destroy it. Despite this, the game is one of the biggest eSports in the world. Riot Games

Riot Games deals with repetitiveness by adding more playable Heroes to the game. There are over 130 different unique characters in the game with their own abilities and playstyles which make them useful in different kinds of situations.

Smite

Now, this is a unique MOBA. Smite is played in third-person and features a wide range of different game types that range from classic 5v5 MOBA gameplay to a 3v3 one lane mode. It offers a lot of interesting content which is not typically seen in a game of this type.

As a bonus, the Heroes in this game are based on Gods and mythological figures seen in the different cultures of the world. Each Hero has abilities based on their stories making them feel realistic and unique when compared to other MOBA’s.

It’s clear from these two examples, that MOBA developers use different tactics to keep the repetitive nature of the gameplay at bay. Either by adding different gamemodes which feel fresh despite them having the exact same objective or by adding a large number of Heroes to play with. As a result, the games continue to feel interesting for many hours.

How do you think MOBA’s fight their repetitive gameplay? Let us know!

This post was provided by Clare from Lunawolf Gaming