Clash of Fans

The Solution

Each player chose a champion to represent them in combat against the current bit-boss (who also had a champion of their choosing). Each champion had a multitude of stats including base health, armor against different damage types, base variable attack speed, damage, critical damage, and critical effects.

The number of bits a player spent determined how many champions they could choose. Champions are segregated into rarities, common, rare, mythic, legendary.

In later versions, we also added permanent items that increased stats, as well as consumable items like health potions that could be used during combat.

How We Got There

We started the development of Clash of Fans with a brainstorming session of what we could do with, or in the same vein of BitBoss Battles. One idea I proposed was as 'Rock'em Sock'em Robots' app where two people would fight on the screen until someone won. The idea would solve two big problems with BitBoss Battles currently.

The first problem was BitBoss Battles felt very 'pay to win'. The only way to participate was to donate in bits, and your bit donation ratio was always 1 bit to 1 Hitpoint worth of damage. This meant that usually, only the people willing to donate the most were the only ones becoming the BitBoss. With the Overkill Mechanic, extra bits past the amount needed to replace the BitBoss becoming additional hitpoints for the new BitBoss, it sometimes meant that viewers were not incentivized to donate because the BitBoss hitpoint total was too high. With new health systems and the back and forth nature of this new game meant that even people who donated less still had the chance to pull off the victory. And even if they didn't, all the viewers had a fun spectacle.

The second problem with BitBoss Battles was the lack of player choice. Your only real choice was "How many bits do I spend?". With Clash of Fans, donating bits would allow you to choose a champion with different strengths and weaknesses. Suddenly it became an interesting choice of three or more unique characters rather than "Do I donate enough to become the BitBoss or not?"

Once we settled on a rough design we went through many different iterations of the game with weekly phone calls and feedback reports from influencers and fans alike who would want to use this product. Using the fan feedback so thoroughly helped guide our design and philosophy on the game.

The debut of the game at TwitchCon 2017 was a hit. Our booth was packed from open to close as we showed off Clash of Fans. Additionally, we had a video that played during a TwitchCon panel that same year showing what the product could do.