‘At the level above that though, there really wasn’t much leadership or structure, which definitely made for an interesting dynamic,’ they added.ĭespite the superconductor of enthusiasm being assembled within Counterplay Games itself, Boronian said that bad communication between early backers and the Duelyst development team was something of a recurring theme. According to him, Duelyst’s early missteps were much the same as many Kickstarter projects of the time. A selection of Counterplay Games employees. Umbrella said that the combination of community members and super passionate developers meant that everyone involved behind the scenes was well-looped into the community, and deeply motivated to make Duelyst the best game it could be. Umbrella said that hiring from within the Duelyst community was fairly commonplace, and that this contributed to a unique development vibe. ‘I’ve got to say having worked longer in games industry, it’s really remarkable what sort of atmosphere Duelyst cultivated.’ That’s always been an experience I valued a lot, and honestly one that’s pretty hard to recreate! It’s genuinely magical,’ they explained. ‘At that point in my life I spent a lot of time getting close with various online communities, and I loved getting in on the ground floor – playing games before they were balanced, and participating in communities small enough that people could recognise my name on ladder. While it was the unique art style and a love of card games that originally drew them to the game, Umbrella said that the community around Duelyst was a big part of what kept them engaged. Originally a backer for the game, Umbrella joined Counterplay Games as a community manager in early 2015. The one that pitched Duelyst in the midst of the Kickstarter boom was around half a dozen people in size. Today’s Counterplay Games fields a workforce of over 140 people. While Duelyst smashed through its original fundraising goal by attracting $137,000 in Kickstarter pledges over its original goal of $80,000, Boronian said that ‘it was still only a modest success considering that they aimed to create a pure online competitive game without almost any single player content.’ Image: Counterplay GamesĪt the time, Counterplay Games was only a small indie studio. The BeginningĬrowdfunded via Kickstarter in 2014, developer Counterplay Games pitched Duelyst as a tactical, turn-based strategy game with a focus on ranked competitive play.īlending together a lush science fantasy aesthetic and crunchy low-fi pixel graphics, Duelyst looked to squish together the pick-up-and-play accessibility of something like Hearthstone, with the depth of turn-based tactics titles like Front Mission and Fire Emblem. Given enough time, even the most popular digital card games will go just as dark as Duelyst. ![]() Physical card games like Netrunner continue to be played long after their last printing, but games like Hearthstone will only be around as long as their servers are. It’d be easy to dismiss Duelyst as just another one of those. However, games like Artifact, Scrolls, Titanfall: Frontline and Duelyst don’t just show us what could have been – they give us a glimpse of the inevitable. Sadly, the road to modern digital card games like Magic: The Gathering – Arena, Gwent and Legends of Runeterra is littered with the carcasses of card battlers that couldn’t quite cut it. More broadly, it’s worth mentioning that he did also write a 15-page document chronicling the history of Duelyst from the perspective of its most diehard fans. ![]() ![]() Personally, he finds the nickname funny because he formally studied history, ‘once upon a time.’ Despite the shutdown, Boronian said that Duelyst still has ‘a small but very loyal fan base.’ He jokingly admits that he’s sometimes known as the game’s unofficial historian.
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