As we worked on the LHU version, one of the first mechanics we wanted to overhaul was the Hero Pass. We believed that the old system, where players earned progress for the Pass simply by earning hearts, was monotonous and would soon become dull. So, we spent a considerable amount of time developing a personal statistics matrix that would enable the game to generate individual tasks for each player, making the game more challenging and interesting. However, we made a costly mistake.

At the start of January 2023, we built an analytical service into the game to discover how players typically played and what game elements remained unclear to them. We were surprised to learn that only one-third of players understood how the Hero Pass worked. Many did not see the tabs with quests, and the few who found them and understood how to collect their rewards for completing them were unsure what Hero Points in the next tab could be redeemed for.

Understanding the root of the problem horrified us since the Hero Pass was deeply integrated into the game's UI. It was challenging to reverse or reconfigure the logic to make the system more understandable for players. Jarly began to sketch interfaces to return to the heart system, and I started creating a dubious cartoon about a duck (see attachment) when our designer approached me and said, "I installed Marvel Snap, and you know they have a Battle Pass like we do." I demanded that he show it to me immediately. To my surprise, Marvel had indeed created a Battle Pass system similar to ours, but they had added a separate interface for completing Battle Pass tasks. This minor addition made the use of the Pass's cumbersome mechanics more convenient and enjoyable. First of all, it makes interaction with the mechanic simple, and then it reminds you to interact with the Battlepass only when there are rewards ready to be picked up.

We already had a notebook in which we planned to give separate daily tasks, so we were able to link Hero Pass tasks to it the following day. The first statistics showed that almost all players who logged into the game after the introduction of the Notepad were able to start interacting with the Hero Pass mechanic, and all available rewards were claimed.

This was a victory. The most crucial aspect of any game mechanic is not the complexity of the game but the simplicity and convenience of its interaction.

We owe a special thanks to the Nuverse team for providing us with this solution that saved us and for their fantastic game.

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