"Breakaway" takes inspiration from real-world myths and legends.
Designed for success as a popular livestreamed game, team action game "Breakaway" is one of three new games revealed by Amazon at TwitchCon, a livestreaming conference dedicated to its Twitch TV platform.
Positioning itself as the trio's game that is nearest completion, "Breakaway" aims to make the most of a popular MOBA genre that includes tournament heavyweights "League of Legends" and "Dota 2" as well as Amazon's own livestreaming platform Twitch TV.
It's got an alpha testing phase that is inviting prospective players to sign up and put it through its paces (via www.playbreakaway.com) and is being demonstrated throughout TwitchCon via a public stream (twitch.tv/playbreakaway.)
In common with others in the MOBA genre, it features a roster of fighters that teams can pick and choose from.
Instead of plumping for a high fantasy setting, it's drawing influence from more traditional myths and legends: sorceress Morgan Le Fay from the tales of King Arthur, Grecian gladiator Spartacus, and notorious pirate Anne Bonny among them: arenas are inspired by El Dorado, Atlantis, The Styx, and so on.
Helping it stand out even more in an increasingly crowded genre is its buildables mechanic.
At the start of each round, Amazon explains, teams can introduce their own adjustments to the field of play, having persistent buildables constructed upon it.
Those constructions might attack enemies, shield teammates, or create new pathways, as each team tries to wrest control of the Relic and carry it to a mighty touchdown inside their opponent's base.
That, plus deep livestreaming integration, gives it a good chance of making it big: channel hosts can customize display overlays with pertinent game data, invite fans to play with them, and post up polls and let viewers bet on match outcomes. Players will also be told when they're in a match that's being streamed and can respond accordingly.
Prior to becoming Amazon Orange County in 2014, "Breakaway" developer Double Helix Games had worked on action MMO "Defiance," action remake "Strider," and competitive fighting game "Killer Instinct."
Also announced, though in less feature-complete detail, were the massively multiplayer, open-ended sandbox game "New World," and the more briefly described last-person-standing survival challenge "Crucible."
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 "Breakaway, MOBA, League of Legends, Dota 2, Amazon, Twitch TV, TwitchCon, Double Helix Games, New World, Crucible, Video Games")
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