GameBook (working name) seeks to capitalize on this already robust and growing market by creating a social media site focused on online competitive multiplayer and the people who play them. GameBook will give players a place to meet and interact, form teams, and compete with similarly skilled players. Players will create a profile, and much like online dating sites work will be matched similarly skilled players that they can then interact with. Once teams are formed, the site will host free and premium tournaments that teams can organize and join. Tournaments will vary in size and scope but will allow players and teams to compete against similarly skilled players.
This project is intended to help players form teams to make an impact in competitive and tournament style gaming. The first game we will be using to launch the platform is Overwatch, as it is on all 3 major platforms, is one of the world’s biggest eSports games (and should retain this title for many years to come), and is extremely team dependent. The game has 24 unique characters across 4 major team roles (attack, defense, tank, and support) with teams made up of six characters. Each of these 24 characters has skills and abilities that synergize in effective fashions with other characters. Using this as a framework, and analyzing what team compositions the pros are using to win, we will be able to create teams that will highly increase the probability of winning than it would be without our tool.
Players can log onto the web-based platform and input their rankings, hours spent on specific characters, and any additional notes. Based on their rankings and hours spent playing different roles, the platform will use an algorithm to intelligently match the player with others who specialize in complementary roles to create an effective team. For example, a 100-hour tank character with a skill ranking of 3100 could be grouped with a 100-hour support character (as that is traditionally a good combination) with a similar skill ranking to ensure the team has a range of skills that has minimal overlap (it is ineffective when teams have two players who both specialize with the same character). With teams composed of players who have a range of skills that allows for versatility and synergy, they should be better equipped to compete.
We will focus on the social and competitive aspect of connecting players and teams that are on similar skill levels and meet the specific needs to be able to play with each other. We are not making an alternative to the gaming networks, rather a complimentary system that will integrate with these networks to help connect their users. Focus points of the project will be the user interface and to gather the needed information to create an algorithm to make the player connections relevant and effective. These connections can then be leveraged in our tournament platform, allowing teams to play together in a competitive setting to enhance gaming experience of team and connection among players.
This will combine a social media platform with a competitive platform allowing for gamers to connect, compete, and showcase their skills.