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JWA: GamePress Interview with Ludia

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Introduction

Hello Explorers! Last week we teased that we were given the opportunity to submit questions for Ludia to answer and they would be getting them back to us before the holiday break. We are so excited to present those questions and answers to you today! The questions were e-mailed and distributed to the appropriate Ludia teams. We tried to touch on subjects that we often see the community wonder about. We submitted 14 questions and they responded with answers on all of them.  So let's get to it! 

Ludia Interview

1. How do you decide which creature is getting a rework (buff/nerf/complete overhaul)? Is this something you do internally, or do you take inspiration from the Forums and general community as well?

It’s a combination of the two; we spend a substantial amount of time collecting feedback from forums and the community, but we also combine it with an observation of analytics on our side of things. We consider several factors: use rate, win rate, usage in arena/tournament, evolution over time, etc. This allows us to validate (or dispute) our hypothesis and make decisions based on these results.

2. What is the process for designing a creature? Do you know the moves and stats before designing it and how do you decide which of the hybrid components it should resemble more?

Creatures are designed depending on the present game state. We consider the battle needs, and some designs take into account projections for the future. Such as opening a new hybrid line, existing legacy lineage, a new type of creature, etc. This is how a family is decided for a hybrid and where it belongs to among its components. Only once those preliminary steps are complete, at their intended design time, does the actual stats and abilities kit work begin by the battle designer. We then try to pick creatures with characteristics that will allow us to answer the determined design needs.

3. How do you design the Raid Bosses? How do you determine how many rounds it will be, what attacks it will use, and so on?

The playable versions of the Raid Boss creatures, if they don’t already exist, are designed first. Then, the Boss abilities, minions, and length are designed to represent an experience that both crystallizes the personality of the original creature as well as gives it a special twist to stand out as an experience. We match the difficulty with the creature’s rarity, and we try to adjust the duration to provide a fun and challenging experience. We then monitor player feedback combined with our analytics for necessary adjustments and future considerations.

4. On average, how many players vote in the polls sent out regarding choosing creatures for a particular theme? Do you go 100% off those votes or are some changes sometimes made?

We usually get between 20% and 30% of respondents, which we consider a great number! We typically go 100% with the votes. However, in certain cases, there are small changes and additions made to highlight special creatures for individual themes.

5. Are the creatures and features in the Creature and Feature Poll from May 26, 2021, still considered to be used in the future, or have they been scrapped?

They are still considered, especially for the most tied choices.

6. Is there anything you could possibly share about new features that are being in the works in the background for future updates?

OK, spoiler alert: we’re looking into adding a twist to some Tournaments and asking players to be creative with their roster. We expect some interesting matchups and a lot of exciting encounters! Stay tuned!

7. There are a lot of new creatures that have been added that have pushed “older creatures” out of the meta. Are there any thoughts or plans on balancing some of the older creatures to be better aligned with the newer ones?

Absolutely. As a basis, we try to prioritize creatures in JWA that are proving to be polarizing, problematic, or that are featured in events. That being said, the team is always thinking of ways we can make our older and oldest creatures more relevant and exciting, rather than being thought of as mere components. We’d love to work on new ways to bring these creatures back to the present meta.

8. We seem to be getting updates much more often (a month or so in between). What are your plans to make sure the free to play players don’t fall too far behind in the meta and the game with all the new updates that have been unable to keep up with (especially in terms of boosts and other resources).

We increased our number of updates this year to bring new content to players as soon as it’s ready on our side. Updates always bring new ways to obtain resources for free to play players through features and events (daily calendar, Rare mini-boss, Raids). For example, the boosts are now more distributed in free channels than ever. It is important for us to ensure that free-to-play players keep progressing and having fun!

9. If you would like the community to know one thing about your team and what you do, what would it be?

Rest assured that the team reads the community's comments and your feedback is greatly valued. We care a lot about how to improve the game, and do our best to listen to our fans whilst bringing new and exciting things to the game. It’s a lot of work pushed through by a small team and it takes time, but we do our best and we read everything you write in on social, the forums, and through support!

10. Boosts shuffle and reset events have been asked and talked about a lot lately. How do you decide if and when those will happen and is there any possibility we will see another one (or another type of event) in the future? 

We hear and understand that the Community has had several questions regarding stat boosts. The team is prioritizing this topic and more detailed information will come in the new year! We understand that the community is expecting more improved communication overall. That being said, we recently announced that a new community communication initiative will be launched in early 2022! As you may have seen from the forum, this will be in the form of a “Community Update”. Although we can’t reveal all the goodies just yet, the community will get a glance at some early snippets, teasers, and information of what’s to come in Jurassic World Alive!

11. When balancing a creature, are boosts taken into account? In addition, is this done with simulations or is everything done at base level (26)?

Everything is designed at a base level of 26 but we do run tests and simulations to verify specific matchups as they’re designed. When that design happens, yes, the possibility of boosting a creature is always taken into account.

12. In elaboration of #11 above, it seems like tournaments may be used for testing of balance and/or relevance- is this part of the process?

Tournaments add to the analytics we utilize to verify how creatures are doing, the same as any other event or level of play. We take that into consideration over time to decide if a creature (or its surrounding meta) might benefit from a rework. That being said, this is more of a collateral result than a straight-up intentional part of the process. We don’t use tournaments specifically to verify balance and relevance, no.

13. How are you liking the Jam City acquisition and what changes might this bring to the future of JWA?

It’s great! They are passionate about games like us and we are building a solid collaboration to make our games thrive. Having a game-focused partner enables us to benefit from some of their knowledge and really invest in the growth of our games.

14. We all want JWA to stick around for a long time as it’s a game we obviously love to play. Can you share anything about the possible future of the game or things that are being implemented to secure a future for it?

Both Ludia and Jam City strongly believe in the game and its future. We also have a great relationship with NBC Universal and are excited about the upcoming year, the new movie, and everything that the game will bring to players!

Parting Words

Overall, we are pretty happy with how the questions were answered. We feel like we got some information on things we never knew (like how creatures are designed) and go a little more insight on how decisions were made. We know boosts were a BIG topic for everyone and while we did ask a question about it, we didn't get much more than what has already been announced on the forum. That being said, we are still looking forward to the "Community Update" in January and are cautiously optimistic about what additional information they will give the community. We hope to do more of these interview articles as well so make sure to join our discord and let us know what kinds of questions you would like to see asked! 

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About the Author(s)

Wife, mother, native Texan, taco lover, book lover, dinosaur lover and self-proclaimed nerd. I hate cold weather and the book is always better than the movie.