Herois e Vampiros (Heroes & Vampires) is a Brazilian online multiplayer trading card game, with a television convergence model originally broadcast by Globo TV.
The game
Herois e Vampiros was designed to follow the release of a telenovela (or soap opera) about vampires, called O Beijo do Vampiro (Vampire Kiss). In the card game format, players could spot clues in the TV show about how to get special cards and powers within the online game. Similarly, some events from the game also influenced the script of the TV show, such as the balance of forces between Good and Evil in television were the exact representation of what was going on in the game environment.
As a trading game card, it presented unique features, especially in the strategic side, as players chose to be either a hunter or a vampire (including female variations) with class and racial specific advantages and drawbacks. For example, vampires always struck first in the beginning of the game, and female variations could rely on some enticing powers to distract the male opponent. Some advanced combos could include up to 8 cards in the hands of experienced players. Usually a match lasted around 15–20 minutes, but it is known that once a match between two clan leaders in São Paulo city, for a local championship, lasted 6 straight hours. Apparently, the major strength of this game was in its accurate balance between the cards – not even one of such cards was altered or banned during the game's operation time.
Despite being designed to last only six months (the duration of the TV show), the game survived due to its popularity for more than four years, topping 120000 active players. Fan based Clans were established and casual matches and even small championships were held in any LAN house across Brazil.
Since the game wasn't designed to last for so long, few or no update was provided during its lifetime. After four years of operation, it was discontinued in the end of 2005, followed by some minor protests from online communities against Globo.