For anyone who has ever wished they could take Warcraft games on the move with them, Blizzard Entertainment is about to launch a new free-to-play mobile game, Warcraft Rumble. This mobile action strategy game is inspired by the classic Warcraft: Orcs & Humans RTS and subsequent sequels that followed it, with many elements of World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm thrown in. The game will feature delightfully cartoony graphics of familiar World of Warcraft characters and environments, with uniquely handcrafted stages to play through as players collect new virtual Minis to add to their army.
Within the game of Warcraft Rumble, players collect virtual Minis that can be transformed into characters that can move and fight through the various campaign maps and dungeons or even in PvP and cooperative experiences. While the game is designed to be fun for all, fans of World of Warcraft and the classic RTS Warcraft games will be especially interested in the familiar feel as well as the many references hidden throughout. Recently Screen Rant was invited to an interview with two of the game developers working on Warcraft Rumble: Lead Technical Artist Josue Mariscal, and Associate Game Director Adam Kugler.
Warcraft Rumble Is A Game Within A Game
The story behind Warcraft Rumble is that throughout Azeroth there have been new machines appearing in taverns and other locations that allow people to select miniature toys of Warcraft characters and the gnomish machinery raises them up to a playing field where the Minis come to life and battle against other Minis to take control of a map by strategically gathering resources, capturing key locations, and conquering the enemy. Josue Mariscal, the Lead Technical Artist for the game, stated that “Warcraft Rumble is a game within a game”. The trailer released on Warcraft Rumble‘s YouTube channel shows how characters in the WoW universe are playing the game on a gnomish pinball-style machine that brings the characters to life.
When asked about the game, Associate Game Director Adam Kugler said that the team’s number one priority while creating Warcraft Rumble was to make it as broadly accessible and engaging for all as possible.
Adam Kugler: “The goal is to both appeal to the Blizzard audience at large, anybody who has played Warcraft before I think would love to play this game, but also bringing people that are not necessarily Warcraft fans yet and turning them into new Warcraft fans.”
The gameplay for Warcraft Rumble is fairly straightforward to what many people would be familiar with from a mobile RTS, with special leaders to guide the Mini armies into battle, taken from the World of Warcraft experience.
Warcraft Rumble’s Gameplay Mechanics
There are several specific Minis which are leaders that have special abilities to help their troops, which players can use to hone their strategies as they decide how they want to approach challenges in the game.
Josue Mariscal: ” Part of the thing I love about Rumble is that there are so many different variations that you can have in your armies. One thing to think about is that all of the leaders have a passive ability and that can tend to how you want to build your army around that passive. One example is: Cairne Bloodhoof provides, I think, 20% HP to all of your Horde units, so you could potentially stack your army with Horde units and gain from that passive.”
Adam Kugler went on to add how there are a bunch of different features that unlock as players progress through the campaign.
Adam Kugler: “When Dungeons open…we start introducing the concept of army board buffs. What happens is, we will use Jaina for example, Jaina’s first three slots that she unlocks are Alliance, Alliance, Spell. And so, when you match those slots, you’ll get bonus levels for things that match. Like Footmen in the first or Execute in the last, they will get a bonus level for matching that. As Jaina fights through dungeons, she will be able to earn additional slots that you can customize.”
Having these buffs and layouts helps players to not suffer from as much of the analysis paralysis that can come from trying to decide which of over 60 Minis should be placed in each army.
There Will Be No Pay-To-Win In Warcraft Rumble
When asked how the in-game store will affect things in Warcraft Rumble, specifically if there will be any concerns of the ‘pay-to-win’ methods, Josue and Adam were quick to assure that this should not be an issue.
Josue Mariscal: “Everything that is in the game can be acquired just by playing. There is nothing in particular that you can purchase that someone playing for free won’t get. The only thing that purchasing does for a player is allowing them to build their collection faster.”
He went on to stress that everything is designed to be more about strategy than having specific Minis. Adam then added that they want every player’s journey to be their own. They do not want people to buy their way out of having fun, as a lot of the fun of Warcraft Rumble comes in collecting the Minis and approaching puzzles in the game with the Minis that are available.
Adam Kugler: “Every Mini has different strengths and weaknesses and lots of different strategies can all work for each problem”
There are currently no plans for a Battle Pass for Warcraft Rumble, although there is a premium version that players can purchase with real money. Even if a player chooses not to upgrade to premium until months after they start playing, however, all progress that a player makes while playing the game will be stored up and can unlock rewards whenever the premium is purchased.
Solo Or Multiplayer Opportunities In Warcraft Rumble
Warcraft Rumble has many different ways to play the game. Josue stated that they wanted to make sure the game offered different ways to play, so people could enjoy it however they wanted. Adam noted that there are over 70 handcrafted campaign missions for solo play, each with multiple ways to approach the problems and puzzles involved in them. Additionally, players can battle each other in PvP, or join a Guild to work together towards Guild goals and raid with a guild member.
Adam Kugler: “It should be fun to play regardless of what you’re doing”
The campaign, dungeons, raids, and everything in Warcraft Rumble are there to provide long-term aspirational goals for people to work towards. Ultimately, they should play how they want to play.
Adam Kugler: “There are a couple of exclusive things given by doing raids…but it’s going to take players a long time to get there and players should play the way they want to play. If you decide you don’t want to do it, that’s perfectly cool.”
Overall, Warcraft Rumble is designed to keep things nostalgic within the Warcraft universe with a lighthearted and joyful chaos to it. From the various Easter Eggs, such as exploding sheep, that longtime fans will enjoy seeing, to the bright graphics and standard RTS feel, Warcraft Rumble is designed to be a fun mobile experience for all.
Warcraft Rumble will be available on iOS and Android devices on November 3, 2023. Screen Rant was provided with an iOS beta access code to the game for the purpose of this interview.
