Adding a New Layer of Replayability: Predecessor CEO Talks World Shift’s Design

Omeda Studios’ Predecessor introduces a bold spin on the ever-popular MOBA format, shifting the perspective to third-person for a blend of skill-based shooter gameplay and intricate MOBA strategy. Despite the third-person combat, Predecessor‘s MOBA aspects are immediately intuitive for genre fans: players choose among a variety of familiar roles, pick a suitable lane, and work toward powering up the team in a bid to breach the enemy’s defenses and claim victory. After a year online, Predecessor is releasing perhaps its most significant update so far, which introduces the new World Shift mechanic alongside an all-new playable character.

World Shift is a first for the genre: midway through the match, Predecessor‘s map, Sanctuary, will undergo a variety of changes that alter the map’s paths. New paths may appear that invite changes in strategy, and players will need to adapt quickly to each game’s particular World Shift. Game Rant recently spoke with Omeda Studios CEO Robbie Singh about Predecessor‘s 1.8 update and World Shift, and he weighed in on the inspiration behind the mechanic, as well as how World Shift adds replayability and skill expression to the mix.

Predecessor’s World Shift Adds Replayability and Strategy

MOBA maps are typically static across the board with consistent geography and predictable routes. Although this ensures that teams are on an even playing field and invites an element of meta-gaming around a known layout, the map’s unchanging nature leaves room for variety. Predecessor‘s World Shift aims to tap into this well of possibilities, introducing replayability but also adding a new layer of skill. Singh says:

“The inspiration for World Shift came from a combination of design goals and a desire to address player feedback. While MOBAs do a lot of things incredibly well, a huge source of variety comes from a wide hero roster and the roles those heroes can play. Similar to the Augments system we added in June, we wanted to add an additional dimension that would enhance the overall player experience and add a new layer of replayability. Ultimately, this mechanic had to play into the core strengths of the genre: the feeling of mastery and the balance of mechanical and strategic skill.”

Now, part of skillful play in Predecessor will involve the player’s ability to react to and leverage these changes in the environment, and through experience, be aware of potential strategies to prepare for. At the lower skill levels, this may not matter so much except that each match plays out differently, but it’s easy to see how high-level games might be won or lost due to how each team utilizes the World Shift.

World Shift Is a Response to Player Feedback

This change was also a response to some of Predecessor‘s most common fan feedback, which is that players wish to see more map variety. Although it’s still the same Sanctuary, World Shift ensures that each match will play out somewhat differently as various layouts influence strategy. Singh notes:

“The other factor was the challenge of updating our map, Sanctuary. It’s one of the most frequent bits of feedback we get from our players, but MOBA maps are unbelievably hard to get right. Millions of games have been played on the map we have, and even small tweaks can lead to unintended consequences or imbalances.

While we’re still planning a larger, long-term update to the base map, World Shift gives us a way to put some of what we’ve been cooking up directly into players’ hands. This allows us to run both projects in parallel, adding variety to the game right now while we continue to shape the future of Sanctuary.”

Singh revealed that a larger update for the map is in the works and that World Shift will double as a testbed for future adjustments to Sanctuary. Plus, if Predecessor were to implement an all-new map, it could also benefit from this dynamic system. It’s a unique experiment that helps define Predecessor‘s identity, and something that future MOBA games ought to look to for inspiration.