Inside DC: Dark Legion – Deep dive with Producer David Du

Welcome back, David. It’s a pleasure to have you with us. Thank you for joining us today!
Let’s start at the beginning. Can you introduce yourself and share the journey that led you to become the producer of DC: Dark Legion?

I’m David Du, I’m the producer of DC: Dark Legion at FunPlus.

It’s been quite the ride with 16 years in game development, working everywhere from the US to Finland and China. I’ve had the privilege to work on such groundbreaking projects as State of Survival, Brawl Stars, Clash of Clans, and Art of Conquest. My journey kicked off with Dog Show Friends, my first project after graduating from Columbia University.

Each game, each country has taught me something invaluable, perfectly prepping me for the unique challenges of DC: Dark Legion.

Reflecting on the milestones that have marked your career… which project do you feel has significantly shaped your approach to game production?

Without a doubt, State of Survival!

I’m incredibly proud to have worked on it. Our team was so invested in playing our game, immersing ourselves fully, that it drove us to develop and release new features and gameplay updates as fast and at as high a quality as possible.

Our love, genuine passion, and enjoyment for the game were the driving forces behind our success.

Every project teaches us something new. What key lessons from previous projects are you bringing into the development of DC: Dark Legion?

Focusing on your community and understanding the markets is crucial!

While business metrics are important, if you deliver the value your players expect, then the metrics follow naturally. Our community wants the highest quality content, the most rewarding social experience, and top-tier service. So we need to live up to their expectations, listen to them, and iterate fast enough to meet their needs.

The DC Universe is vast and full of iconic characters. Do you have a favorite DC character? Why is your favorite? And any favorite storyline? How has this influenced your vision for DC: Dark Legion?

It’s a bit cliché, but my favorite DC character is… Batman!

Compared to other characters who are metahumans or possess superpowers, Batman stands out as an exceptionally relatable figure – an ordinary human driven by his self-imposed mandate to protect justice. His real superpower is his unwavering will, which drives him to unite a team of extraordinary individuals. This resonates deeply with me.

When choosing the setting for DC: Dark Legion, I was inspired by the “Dark Nights: Metal” storyline because it shows Bruce Wayne challenged in a truly groundbreaking way:
How do you fight your own shadow?

Our heroes ultimately prevail after a hard-fought battle, but we also get to peek at all those “what-if” universes where they failed.

This scenario offers a perfect entry point for the players, acting as the commanders, to carve out their own narrative and their own story in this sea of possibilities.

Innovation is key in the gaming industry. What unique elements does DC: Dark Legion bring to the DC Universe that fans have never seen before?

DC: Dark Legion is a strategy game with RPG and social elements. It innovates over other strategy games in a variety of ways.

First of all, a standout feature is its high-quality and compelling narrative, penned by the exceptionally talented Christos Gage and Amanda Deibert. This allows players to delve into a richly crafted story, and at their own pace.

Second, we’ve crafted a completely new gameplay experience through our emphasis on DC’s iconic characters. While many modern strategy games feature character cultivation systems, these characters often serve merely as “commanders” who enhance an army rather than engaging directly in combat. However, it’s only natural that DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains would hold their own in combat! The ability to cultivate these characters and deploy them directly onto the battlefield creates a truly immersive gameplay experience.

Another innovative aspect is that it actively cultivates positive socialization. Unlike traditional strategy games, there’s no way to raid a player’s base. Our PvP modes are more like team sports, where you may win or lose a match, but you don’t do any lasting damage to your opponents. This ensures that progress is dependent on time investment, allowing players to advance at their own pace.

In conclusion, DC: Dark Legion offers players an innovative strategy experience filled with exciting solo and social gameplay. They can collect and cultivate a vast roster of their favorite DC characters (over 60 now, with plans to expand to over 200!), build their own base (the Batcave!) and shelter, experiment with the strongest teams, immerse themselves in the story, and find lots of ways to make friends and enjoy team play with their leagues.

Development is a journey filled with pivotal choices. Throughout the development process of DC: Dark Legion, how has the game evolved, and what were some of the most important decisions you and your team had to make?

The pivotal moment in our development journey came when we decided to transition the game from a landscape to a portrait orientation. This decision was made nearly two years into development, and even after we had entered early access. This shift was driven by feedback from our community and insights from our performance metrics, signaling that a significant change was necessary.

Honestly, it’s not about the orientation of the screen. It’s also about aligning the game with the core values we want DC: Dark Legion to embody for our players: Simplicity and Sociability.

• Simplicity: we wanted to achieve it by designing the game’s controls to be manageable with just one thumb, making the gameplay accessible, even for those new to gaming..
• Sociability: we want to enhance all Social aspects of the game, also the chat, which we wanted to make as straightforward and intuitive as using texting or messaging apps.

To embody these principles, we basically redesigned the whole game around these two core values and revamped the entire first 3 hours of gameplay. Implementing such a significant change so late in the game’s development was daunting and nerve-wracking, but it was all worth it!

We are immensely grateful and relieved that the transition was so successful, and that many players who originally preferred the landscape orientation came back to enjoy the new experience. Thank you all for your support DC: DL community!

The heart of any game is its gameplay. Can you highlight some innovative gameplay mechanics in DC: Dark Legion that players should be excited about?

I’ve already touched on the broader reasons why DC: Dark Legion represents a leap forward in innovation in one of the questions above, but if I have to highlight a particular gameplay mode, ‘Darkest Timeline’ truly stands out.

This is a rogue-like game mode that is completely skill-based and free to play for everyone. It features ‘storied dungeons’ where the objective is for players to navigate through to the end without experiencing a squad wipeout, with progress resetting on each run. On the way to the final boss, players try to recruit all Champions, react to random events, make key decisions, and collect great achievements and rewards.

Some of the challenges are very difficult, requiring a good understanding of the game mechanics, well-planned choices, and, of course, a pinch of luck. We are thrilled to continue enhancing this mode with new stories, more challenges, and even more rewards! Stay tuned!

Choosing characters for a game like this must be a daunting task! With DC’s rich roster, how did you decide which characters to include in DC: Dark Legion, and can players expect any surprises?

The decision on which characters to include at launch for DC: Dark Legion was a carefully considered process that balanced fan favorites, strategic gameplay, and the game’s overall narrative.

We included core DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains for the immediate appeal and impact. Additionally, we also considered the relevance to the narrative and the Dark Nights: Metal-inspired storyline.

As I mentioned earlier, we will continue to add more iconic characters in future updates, with the ambition of eventually offering players a playable roster of more than 200 characters! Can you imagine it? So exciting!

Creating a game is no small feat, especially with a beloved franchise. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in keeping the game true to the DC story while also introducing fresh gameplay elements?

Always stay true to DC lore! That’s the number one principle behind all of our design.

Whenever we have an idea, we first have a brainstorming session with our writers, as well as with DC and Warner Bros. Players are downloading the game and giving us their time because it’s a DC game, so we want to make sure the experience is super authentic for them. Those collaborative brainstorming sessions have been a goldmine of great & innovative ideas, designs, and details. We benefit a lot from them.

Looking ahead to the future… Where do you see DC: Dark Legion in the future gaming landscape, and what impact do you hope it will have on the gaming community?

We want to engage our players for years to come! Our hope is that DC: Dark Legion will become their ultimate digital collection of DC champions, their virtual comic bookshelf, and an online social hub for DC fandom.

We have exciting plans and ideas to keep the game fresh, engaging, and full of new content for both new and long-term players with new gameplay modes, new story content, new heroes and villains, and regular updates to enhance the gaming experience.

Our vision is to pave the way for more meaningful collaboration between major IP franchises and the game industry, creating a win-win situation for fans, IP holders, and game developers alike. Together, we can create something special!

Last but not least, what message do you have for DC fans and gamers around the world who have already tried the game? And to those DC fans who haven’t tried the game yet? 🙂

To all our cherished players: We are here because of you! We are incredibly grateful for your support and input, and we truly cannot thank you enough. Please know that we read your feedback daily and strive to iterate and respond as fast as possible.

To DC fans and enthusiasts out there: It’s time to join the other 5 million players around the world and come to see why we’re the No.1 game in over 40 countries at launch! You are invited to join us and explore the DC universe with us!

Our journey doesn’t stop at launch—this is just the beginning! We have an exciting roadmap ahead, packed with new characters, storylines, features, and much more. We want to keep evolving the game with our community, giving everyone new content to enjoy and discover.

And that’s a wrap-up!

A huge thank you to David Du for taking the time to share these personal and exclusive insights with us, offering a deeper look into the heart and soul behind DC: Dark Legion. His dedication to bringing an authentic and innovative experience to the DC Universe shines through.

Inspired by Batman’s resilience and driven by a commitment to the DCDL Community and gameplay innovation, DC: Dark Legion offers a unique blend of strategy, storytelling, and social interaction.

Whether you’re a seasoned DC fan or just diving in, this game promises a fresh and immersive way to explore your favorite characters. Join the adventure and become part of the ever-evolving DC: Dark Legion community. Play now and… Lead the League!

Thank you for joining us in this space. We hope you’ve enjoyed it and learned more about FunPlus and the people behind it.

Until next time!

DC: Dark Legion is out now on iOS, Android, and PC via the official game website.

More information about the game can be found at dcdarklegion.com, with regular updates on new characters and content available on DC: Dark Legion’s X, Facebook, Instagram, Discord, and YouTube.

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About FunPlus

FunPlus is one of the largest privately held companies in all of gaming. Founded in 2010, it is a global creator of interactive entertainment experiences powered by technology, with cross-platform game development and IP creation at its core.  FunPlus is an organization that fosters top industry talent, with around 2,000 team members based in offices and studios across three continents. These talented creative teams are well-known for developing hugely popular cross-platform titles, including DC: Dark Legion, State of Survival, King of Avalon, Guns of Glory, Stormshot,  Sea of Conquest, Misty Continent, and Foundation: Galactic Frontier.

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