Behind the Scenes:
Game Designer, Nikolay Karpov
With Fableborne, we challenge mainstream esports and web3 gaming alike. To achieve our bold vision of accessible competitive experiences on mobile devices, having the best industry talent is paramount. Take a gander ‘Behind the Scenes’ and meet the team who is innovating the industry, here at Pixion Games.
Welcome to our interview with Nikolay Karpov, Game Designer at Pixion Games. Nikolay’s journey in the gaming industry began as a physicist, but his love for competitive multiplayer games led him to explore game design and eventually lead to the creation of War Robots. With an impressive track record in game design and development, Nikolay shares his insights on creating a successful gaming experience, his involvement in Fableborne’s creation, and the importance of player feedback in game development. Join us as we get to know more about Nikolay’s career and passions beyond game design.
Hi Nikolay, great to have you here! Can you briefly share your journey and top achievements in the gaming industry that led you to Pixion Games?
My journey began as a physicist, but my dissatisfaction with real-world construction rules led me towards board games development and eventually into the video game industry. I have always been a huge fan of competitive multiplayer, which holds more importance for me than the game genre. After working on a major multiplayer experiment with Glu Mobile, I joined Pixonic with the freedom to explore my ideas, and that’s where the concept for War Robots was born, which is my biggest success to date.
Later, Wargaming invited me to join their R&D department in Cyprus because they needed someone who could think differently about gameplay, especially since I wasn’t a fan of World of Tanks as a gamer. In the midst of the pandemic, I received an offer to join Pixion and move to the UK. The opportunity to travel and work with an amazing team on an exciting project made the decision easy for me.
In your opinion, what are some essential elements that contribute to a successful and engaging gaming experience, and how have you integrated these elements into Fableborne?
A successful gaming experience is all about emotions and feelings. If a player can answer “yes” to several key questions about a game, it has a good chance of succeeding.
- Do you feel powerful? — In Fableborne, players control a mighty hero and can form and grow a team of heroes capable of destroying massive towers, hordes of monsters, and seizing valuable resources from other players.
- Is this game enjoyable? — Our team works diligently every day to ensure Fableborne is enjoyable. We focus on different game modes, smooth controls, proper challenges, and various other features to keep players entertained.
- Do you clearly understand what you need to do to succeed in the game? — Fableborne emphasises two aspects: an understandable progression path with achievable goals and clear feedback for players when they fail, answering their “why?” and “how to fix?” questions.
As a Game Designer, can you shed some light on your involvement in Fableborne’s creation, and what aspects of the game you are primarily responsible for?
When I joined Pixion, the project was already in production, and my main task was to improve the game while preserving the original idea of combining action RPG and strategy elements. I admired the original version and loved the concept, but it was a collection of unsorted good ideas that weren’t seamlessly connected yet.
Here are the aspects I’m responsible for:
- Changing the controls from one-stick to dual-stick
- Introducing floating islands (previously, it was a room in a forest)Redesigning island layouts (previously, they were rectangles in different sizes)
- Overhauling the island and hero upgrade systems (previously, it was linear)
- Developing the core gameplay and raid balance
- Establishing matchmaking rules and trophy calculations
So, if the game falls short of being enjoyable, you can hold me accountable.
Fableborne has undergone two Closed Playtests recently and more Playtests are coming. How have the results and feedback from these playtests influenced the game’s development?
So far, the results have been very positive. I’m a firm believer in making the game available to real players as early as possible, as it helps us tremendously. With millions of possible variations in our game, I can simulate some of them in my spreadsheet, but it will never give the same feedback as our players provide.
Sometimes, we struggle with prioritising different features, but receiving proper feedback from playtests helps us make informed decisions and sort things out.
Let’s talk a bit more about Playtests! How has Pixion Games managed to incorporate player feedback from Fableborne’s Closed Playtests?
Player feedback plays a crucial role in helping us refine and enhance our game. For instance, based on the feedback we’ve received, we now have a better understanding of how to handle the Hero recovery mechanic and manage the availability of different buildings at various stages of the game progression.
Moving on to something more personal, we’re curious to know which Fableborne Hero is your favourite and why? Can you share some insights into the design process for this character and what makes them stand out?
At the moment, I find Leon to be my favourite Hero, since playing as him evokes a powerful sensation.
When it comes to character design, I began with three main archetypes — light, medium, and heavy — and then incorporated attack range categories — melee, medium, and long. This process helped me establish a connection between speed, damage per second (DPS), and health points (HP) for all archetypes. While we can still have heavy long-range characters, this system ensures we can balance them properly.
When it comes to designing characters, how do you ensure that they resonate with a diverse audience, and how has player feedback from the playtests informed the development of heroes in Fableborne?
We strive to ensure that all Heroes in Fableborne cater to different gameplay and balance aspects. Each Hero has their unique strengths and can be effective against different defense buildings and monsters. Our main goal is to create a self-balancing PvP game, so if you’re struggling against one or two types of Heroes, you can reshape your defense line to counter that pairing.
We understand that player feedback plays a significant role in helping us find mistakes in the game’s balance. As such, we take it seriously and incorporate it into our hero development process.
Away from Fableborne and game design, what are some of your hobbies and interests? How do these personal passions influence your work as a Game Designer?
Outside of game design, I have several hobbies and interests that I’m passionate about. I’m a competitive gamer, a snowboarder, a forever Dungeon Master (DM), and a father of two sons.
For me, any game is enjoyable if you can play it with others. Sharing the game experience with someone else is crucial. This passion for social interaction and competition helps me work on Fableborne as a PvP oriented game with a strong emphasis on social interactions in the future.
Lastly, for those who want to stay connected with you and learn more about your work at Pixion Games, where can they find you on social media?
I occasionally join the Fableborne Discord to answer questions about the game, so feel free to chat with me there. Keep up with my latest updates on game design and development at Pixion Games. You can also find me on LinkedIn: Nikolay Karpov | LinkedIn. Feel free to connect with me and keep up with my latest updates on game design and development at Pixion Games.
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Let’s embark on an exciting journey together, let’s #becomefableborne.
THE FABLEBORNE TEAM
