Kabam’s Marvel: Contest of Champions is a free-to-play fighting game available on iOS and Android. Basically, it’s the Marvel equivalent to Injustice: Gods Among Us, which is based on DC Comics characters. The most obvious difference between the two is the number of playable characters – Contest of Champions dwarfs Injustice’s roster. Based on its popularity and financial success, Contest of Champions is one of the top mobile games that are based on comic book properties.
But when you really put its premise and gameplay under a magnifying glass, it’s readily apparent that’s it’s the complete opposite of a good game, with many saying that it’s a scam and a fraud. Just check out the reviews on its Google Play page. Even those who scored it 4 or 5 stars have something negative to say. So what makes Contest of Champions a bad game and what can indie developers learn from Kabam’s questionable approach to game design?
1. Internet Connection Shouldn’t Be Required During Single-Player
Requiring players to be online all the time is one of the cardinal sins in game design. And Kabam did just that in Contest of Champions, forcing players to hook up to a Wi-Fi or a data connection even during single-player mode. The constant internet connection allows Kabam to continuously shove ads in players’ faces whether they like it or not. Which is just wrong.
The most obvious reason why constant internet connection shouldn’t be forced upon players is because it drains the battery faster, which means players spend less time on the game. And if you’re the developer, you would want your players to spend as much time as possible playing your game. Yes, many players play games on their devices while charging. But what about those who mostly play games while on-the-move or those who don’t always have access to internet connection? Bottom line is, internet connection should only be required during multiplayer.
2. Don’t Get Lazy With The Character Designs
Contest of Champions has dozens of playable characters. However, all of them are basically just re-skinned versions of each other. No character truly stands out and costumes aside, none really feels like their comic book counterparts. They’re like generic, lifeless dolls deprived of any personality. And it also doesn’t help that they don’t really have unique fighting styles that distinguish them from one another. Not to mention, all characters are mute, making those victory poses a cringe to watch. Heck, some characters even share the same victory pose. It’s in this area that Injustice gets better marks – it may have a diminutive roster, but at least each character stands out.
When creating a fighting game, developers shouldn’t create half-assed characters just for the sake of ballooning the roster. Yes, it’s impressive to have dozens of characters to promote and include in marketing materials. But it’s not all that impressive when all of them are basically clones of each other. It shows that the developer is too lazy to bother with the details. This also holds true in RPGs. Instead of designing numerous playable characters ala Suikoden, it’s better to simply focus on a small number and instead devote more time into developing their personalities, quirks, and battle style.
3. Don’t Go For A Luck-Based, Obvious Money-Grab IAP Model
The in-app purchases or IAP in Contest of Champions is no doubt its most hated aspect. In many other games, if you want to buy a specific character or other add-ons like extra gold or whatever in-game currency a game uses, the transaction is pretty straightforward: You hand in the cash and the game gives you whatever it is that you bought. That’s not how it works in Contest of Champions. See, you can’t directly buy a specific character – you can only buy the chance to get that character. Basically, you’re gambling your money.
Characters are ranked from 1 to 5 stars, with 5-star characters being the most powerful. Now, imagine coughing up $100 in the hopes of getting powerful characters, only to end up with a bunch of 3-star or 2-star characters. Makes you want to break your phone in frustration, right? If you also game on PC or console, you could have used that money to buy two or three brand new games. Of course, you could go the manual route and grind toward acquiring more powerful characters. But the amount of time it would take is simply absurd, making in-app purchases the more efficient route.
If you play Contest of Champions just to pass the time and don’t care about unlocking new characters, Kabam’s in-app purchases model shouldn’t bother you. However, if you want to play competitively, you will be forced to spend cold, hard cash on the game. Again, the alternate would be to invest a stupid amount of time, and all of which doesn’t even guarantee you a powerful character in the end. In-app purchases aren’t supposed to work this way. They’re not supposed to bar players from progressing in the game. Simply put, Contest of Champions is one of those free-to-play games that require you to spend money to consistently win – which is a huge no-no, no matter what kind of game it is. Developers should only make in-app purchases an optional aspect to the gameplay.
4. Be Mindful Of The Time And Money Spent By Customers
Last year, Kabam made a number of changes to the gameplay, all in the name of “improvement.” And in case you didn’t open the link, it wasn’t just a minor update with a few changes to a character here and there. Reddit user CammonRo pretty much sums up everyone’s reaction to Kabam’s ill-advised update. Simply put, Kabam took everyone’s hard work and money, put it in a jar, and threw it out the window without a single hint of remorse. Many players have tried to refund all the money they spent on in-app purchases, which is only a natural reaction. And the worst part is that Kabam doesn’t even care.
When players are clamoring to refund all the money they spent on your game, it’s a good sign that you did something terribly wrong. What Kabam did wasn’t a mere update – it was like a complete overhaul of the gameplay which rendered players’ investments worthless. We’re talking about real money here. Not just some in-game currency. Yes, developers can do whatever they want to their games. It’s their product after all. But if they’re going to make disheartening changes to their game the way Kabam did to Contest of Champions, they should at least compensate for players’ losses. Give players the chance to adapt and rebuild again and not leave them with empty pockets and a crushed morale.
There are other aspects to Contest of Champions that other developers should steer clear from. Like the terrible loading times and the unfair difficulty curve for beginners which forces them to spend money just to keep up. But these four points are the most notable. Kabam is an example of a developer who was given access to already popular characters, but instead of creating a great experience for both fans and gamers alike, they focused on the best way to milk money off of people. Niantic is also another example, but at least Pokemon Go doesn’t require players to spend a single dime on the game. Marvel: Contest of Champions should have been a great fighting game. Unfortunately, its developer only had eyes for everyone’s fat wallets. It’s a shameless cash-grab game, period.
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