The Great Dark Beyond takes Hearthstone to space and sets the CCG up for the future.
Hearthstonecan be a fragile game.
Going back is far too easy.
Released earlier this week,HearthstonesGreat Dark Beyondexpansion already feels like the refresh the game so often needs.
It turns out those early hopes may have been more than a feeling.
Sci-Fi and Draenei
Thematically,Hearthstoneexpansions have been based on everything from music festivals to gang warfare.
By comparison,The Great Dark Beyonds sci-fi and spacefaring themes must seem humble.
The people on the team did that as well, Gonzalez says.
Weve never really gone into space this in-depth inWarcraft.
Do this, do this, do this.
I think that shines through.
The chance to explore those elements in depth proved to be both an opportunity and a responsibility.
There was a lot of free rein for what could be possible.
The answers to that question ended up coming from many different sources.
[Struzans work] is kind of an abstract scene.
The skies are always vibrant and have this kind of cosmic look.
The team was aware of that responsibility, though Gonzalez doesnt see it as a burden.
Few of those ideas new ideas stand out more than theGreat Dark Beyonds marquee new mechanic: Starships.
What is the Starship mechanic?
Well, variousGreat Beyondminions double as Starship Pieces.
Its also an idea the team has been kicking around for quite some time.
Starship started two expansions ago in theWhizbangs Workshopminiset, Gonzalez reveals.
The original description of that set was misfit toys.
Gonzalez wanted to revisit that idea for a toy version of CThun inWhizbangs Workshop.
What if you could also add a bunch of different effects to make this amalgamated giant minion?
Ultimately, we knew we didnt have enough time or enough space to do that mechanic justice.
Once I was slated to leadThe Great Dark Beyond, I was like, I want to do this.
The work had already gone into it.
We can re-flavor it to be Starships.
Starships arent the only idea theHearthstoneteam pulled from the past.
However, it turns out that summoning them toHearthstonewas anything but easy.
Among other things, Kiljaeden is known for his war against the Draenei.
The eventual solution came from a strange place.
That inspiration led to Kiljaedens incredible new effect.
According to Gonzalez, the idea was to invoke the classic demonic idea of inevitability.
Play against Kiljaeden long enough, and you probably wont survive against what comes out of that portal.
Its a problem the VFX team is all too familiar with.
Even as Leo was pitching it to us, we were like, Theres no way, Mason recalls.
We literally had to change how card draws work.
We found many bugs once we messed with the concept of drawing cards in a game about drawing cards.
Im the person to blame for why that card exists, Gonzalez confesses.
Theres Uluu, the Everbuggy…he had just a whole list.
And its like, what, what have I done?
At least as long as theyre not super, giga, omega, weird.
The future is, much like Kiljaedens effect, a potentially frightening inevitability.
So how is theHearthstoneteam preparing for what comes next?
What Is Next For Hearthstone in 2025?
Its a sentiment that Mason echoes on behalf of the art team.
Weve literally had graphs of the silliness-to-tone ratio, Mason reveals.
I think its still looking up and up, especially for the surprise and delight category.
Perhaps its better not to know exactly what comes next.
WithThe Great Dark Beyond,Hearthstoneonce again seems to be in a good position to surprise and delight.
If you really want to know whats coming next, then Gonzalez has at least a tease to offer.
Hearthstone: The Great Dark Beyond is out now.
