So I've recently been playing an MMO game called Helmet Heroes, developed by Rob Scherer. I don't usually play MMO games, but this one caught my eye, and I continue to play it.
Basically, Helmet Heroes is a cute, platform game where you create a character, make an account, then play. Playing is via arrow keys (or WASD), spacebar to attack, and various other keys that have certain skills incorporated with them. It's MMO, so you play with other players to kill monsters and kill each other (in PVP), and leveling up gives you points to use on your certain attributes. This add to the competition of getting levels and XP (experience), which promotes the game through the reward system.
You have the choice to choose from 4 classes:
-Warrior
-Mage
-Archer
-Cowboy
Warriors do melee attacks, mages do magic/melee attacks, archers and cowboys just do ranged attacks. You can choose your appearance during character creation, and can't change it afterwards.
Warriors tend to have more defense and power, mages tend to have more MP, and archers/cowboys tend to have better range with their weapons.
The map shows all the areas of this game; if you buy tickets (Payvault) then you can buy the ability to teleport across the map. There are 69 stages in this map as of update 5.98. Areas are sorted by its appearance, which I liked because of the organization. The map might look chaotic, but it's actually cleverly organized.
Another feature I especially like are the pets. You can train them by sharing 25%, 40%, or 55% of your XP to them. They have different modes that allow them to do different things, such as attack, boost, or go full on defensive. I liked the fact that you can own multiple pets at a time, and when inactive, they boost your stats. In some other games I have played, pets aren't this active as companions and instead are just like accessories.
Monsters are the main things you kill to get XP. They naturally spawn at different points throughout the map, all according to the theme of the area. For example, Block Bots, mini-robots, spawn in Robo City and any futuristic places, while retaining their cute appearance in line with the theme of the game. There are monsters for each level, the XP given increasing as the monsters get stronger. A problem that happens currently is kill stealing, where one person cannot get any XP or money because someone else is killing all the monsters before them. However, it's just the nature of the game and impossible to stop.
Monsters are the main source of money. They drop money, and also drop items that people can loot and sell to the shop for money. Stronger monsters drop better items, while weaker monsters drop worse items. This encourages higher level players to go kill stronger monsters, leaving the lower level players to kill the weaker monsters. This balance is cleverly constructed so the players are spread out throughout the map.
Missions add sort of a story line to the game, with the players completing missions given out by NPCs. Missions include finding other NPCs, wearing certain hats, and getting items for them. Missions are another way to get XP besides killing monsters; however, this XP doesn't transfer to the pet. Also, a problem I had was that the XP only carries onto that level. For example, if you had 4000/5000 XP and the mission gave 2000 XP, you would only get 1000 XP in order to complete that level. Otherwise, missions help give motivation to explore more of the map.
Items looted from monsters can be sold to NPCs such as this one, where you have two options: sell your stuff, or buy from the shop. There are numerous NPCs across the map that act as a "shop."
This sort of interaction is common throughout the game, and thus creates trade between the players. NPCs give you 35% store price when you sell things to them, whereas other players may give 70 or 80 percent store price for items. In order to succeed, this game forces you to interact with others, which is a good sign that this game is heading in the right route.
Fishing is also another feature of this game. Pressing C allows you to catch fish, which give you HP when eaten. Also, shiny fish, which are extremely rare, give you a certain stat boost, such as +1 range. Fishing also creates competition, especially when shiny fishes get involved. Fishing also promotes the use of pets, which increases the fish bite speed by 20 m/s, basically meaning that it holds on longer before letting go.
Fishing nets, from payvault, make it super easy to catch fish. However, I don't tend to get those, as it has a 2% chance of breaking, which in fact is a very high chance.
Chopping is also something players can do to pass the time. Chopping is just basically a feature of the game that allows players to chop down trees with their weapons in order to make logs; ten logs adds up to one block/cube/wood. Wood is required for crafting high level items. There are numerous trees throughout the map, which doesn't cause competition as much as monsters and shiny fishes.
One thing I didn't like about chopping was how warriors were over powered, while archers were under powered. Though it's understandable that warriors do the most damage, they do almost ten times damage than their archer equivalents.
There are several other features such as PVP, Payvault, ATMs, etc. that I didn't mention, but these are the main ones that I felt should be mentioned. Overall, Helmet Heroes has been a great game and I hope to see it go far.
