This week, OgreWare will be working on a new feature for Calling All Heroes. It’s entirely optional, but, depending on how it’s used, could also entirely revolutionize the way you play the game.
Yes, that’s right, we are introducing…the Oracle Tent.
The Oracle Tent is a non-troop building, much like the Mission Hall, that unlocks a special feature: a new screen that take you inside the realm of the Oracle, a mysterious soothsayer who boasts the ability to change your fate. When you consult the Oracle, you can watch an ad to get a temporary buff (“bonus” effect) from an assorted list. The buffs can stack, so you can watch more than one ad. And the more you upgrade the Oracle Tent building, the more variety of buffs you’ll have access to and the longer they will last.
As you upgrade the Oracle, you’ll also get more opportunities to watch ads and get buffs. For example, at some point, when you fail a mission, the Oracle may appear and offer you a chance to reverse this and win the mission instead. Other times, when you return from offline, sometimes you will have the option to double the amount of gold your Troops accumulated while you were gone. These effects are not available when you first build the Oracle Tent, but it will be possible to unlock them later on.
OgreWare has always been clear on its stance on ads in its games: there are no banner ads, no interstitial ads, and the gameplay will never be built around forcing the player to watch ads. They are only ever to be used to get bonuses, never as a compulsory part of playing an OgreWare game.
Personally, I think this is a great setup for both player and game developer: the player is entirely in charge of how many ads they see, and honestly, the Oracle makes it more a fun part of the game than a barrier to gameplay. You’ll never have to watch ads, but if you want to, the option is there.
OgreWare hasn’t completed or implemented the Oracle system yet, but it will be coming soon – so stay tuned!
-Admin Taylor