Life Story Thing: What League has give me.
Hey everyone. So, I just wanted to share a story about what League did for me as a person. We're gonna be heading back about two years so bear with me on this. Sorry if it isn't too interesting, I'll try to throw in images and such to lighten the wall-of-text-ness that is kinda prevelant in this story.
Back in 2013, I was super upset with where I was in life. I was doing poorly in school in a major I hated. I wasn't really doing anything important with my life and I was kinda jobless. This all came to a head in February, when my car hydroplaned and hit the back of another car. I was fine (As was the other driver) but the front of my car was busted and undriveable. At this point, I shut down. I dropped out of my major, I started seeing a psychiatrist and I just didn't even get out of bed in the morning.
That's when I finally decided to do something creative. I had always wanted to be a writer but I was afraid of long-form fiction because, well, people didn't like that sort of thing. So, instead, I decided to splice in dialogue with champion icons. All in all, that's what gave way to short little comics that I made on the forums called Dungeons & Demacians
http://i.imgur.com/NKBUrZh.png
People liked it. Like, really liked it. It was my first time where I had ever encountered success to such a degree. In fact, it was so popular people started sharing it with friends. It got way bigger than I had ever intended it to be. So intense, in fact, that it even got featured on the summoner showcase. For a writing thing? I was dumbfound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDIZKLR4_tc
I put more and more time into doing them. Strips that would take five minutes became two-to-four hour long assignments. People would add me in-game and tell me how much they enjoyed them, how much their friends found them cool, etc. It was at that time that my father told me we might be taking a trip to California by Riot's office. At which point I talked to the Rioters who had became my friends and checked to see if we could hang out while I was there.
http://i.imgur.com/YN5BCLU.gifv
That's when it turned out that my family decided not to go because...I don't even remember. Either way, I was super upset by that. To be so close to going and then missing the chance? It sucked. So what did the community do? Well, there was a single person who I spoke to. He could be abrasive but he was an amazing friend. When he heard I could go to Cali, he gave me the money for a plane ticket. I was speechless. When I asked why he'd do that, he simply said "I think you can work for Riot. So go learn when you're there." A complete stranger I had never met in real life thought I could work at this studio. Dumbstruck to the nth degree.
http://i.imgur.com/1TFyhJE.jpg (Yes that's me in the picture, yes that's the old office).
After seeing Riot, meeting the people and actively speaking with those I met there, I knew that this was what I wanted to do with my life. No longer did I have some haphazard goal about "Well get a degree and uh go from there?", now I was dead set on working at Riot. Ever since then, I've been working on personal projects and business-related things to get there. Just this year I've gone to GDC, conversed with some more Rioters in the field and am nearing completion on my next big project. This isn't just about what I want to do anymore: I want to give back to the community that gave me so much.
http://i.imgur.com/Ur0kj2F.jpg
If I could offer one advice to anyone, it'd be to do what you love. I know, it's cliche advice, but I never would have dreamed that short comics based on League would lead to such grand things. You never honestly know the extent of your own talents until you make your creations public and, when you do that, you'll discover that you had talents you never even thought you had. People will give you advice, stand behind you, they'll even be the ones who pick you up and push you towards the light. Whatever you want to do, keep at it and share what you do.
Paint your story across the sky for all to see.
TL;DR Guy has crappy life. Guy does writing thing and people like it. Work blossoms into crazy huge thing. Guy sets himself on new path. "Inspirational Quote"- Famous guy who probably didn't say it.
