Game design of PvE events in World of Tanks

What the talk is about

Yaroslav Tsyvilko, a game designer on World of Tanks, talks about designing temporary PvE events as a safe way to test new mechanics on a large audience. Using several events, he shows what went wrong and what the team learned. Simplifying familiar mechanics and leaving no room for mastery pushed players back to the main game. Hard limits such as consumable "canisters" work worse than soft ones: reward multipliers and progress that pull players back into the main mode. Variety comes from scenarios, battle phases, content unlocked mid-event and a choice of difficulty, not just from more maps and vehicles. Players responded well to human-like AI. Useful for game designers planning live-ops and limited-time events.