[Debate] Riot and the Community
Hello and welcome to my weekly (at least that's what I shoot for) [Debate] post. In this post series I outline a subject with LoL, and encourage people to post their own opinions and views about the subject. I hope to spark intelligent, civil and open-minded debate amongst the community. Just in case you don’t know how to do debate that here are the guidelines:
- Don't dismiss anyone's opinions, opinions are never wrong, you just disagree with them.
- You are free to disagree with someone always, but always do your best to explain why.
- Don't get emotional, hopefully we're all adults here, keep it in 'debate' mode. No catfights allowed.
- Feel free to disagree with my OP as well! I love feedback, but this is a debate thread, I'll respond!
- There is a comment reply cap! You only have a few tries to rebuttle and argue a point, so make them count!
#Riot and the Community
In my personal experience, Riot has had some of the most dedicated, open employees and game transparency than any other game I have under my belt. Their precedent of communicating changes, giving previews and actively showing responses to feedback is a respectable goal and allows more insight into their game than most companies would be comfortable with. It brings in a lot of positives like:
#####Pre-test Test
The ability to test waters and get player feedback before changes are even implemented.
#####Think Tank Effect
Allows the community to address thoughts and create ideas Rioters didn't have. 2 million heads are better than a dozen!
#####Player Ownership
Let's players take pride in a game they feel they can help create. It;s one thing to play a game that's constantly balanced and worked on, but it's another to see the gears working behind the scenes and see what develops in a game you love afterwards.
#####Qualitative Analysis
N umbers are good, but there's only one way to know what a thematic change or a character interaction will bring, and that's show it. Take Trundle's VU or Viktor's initial lore for example. Both had reactions that simply couldn't have been accounted before showing the community.
##But....
Is this policy a good idea? To explain, showing previews and responding often to inquires, questions, and feedback to a very large playerbase with different ages, cultures and overall different personalities can have some seriously negative consequences.
#####Expectancy
The biggest problem. Riot gives feedback often, but realistically cannot address everyone, so this ends with people feeling ignored and under-appreciated when they really shouldn't.
#####Giving Purpose to complaining and whining.
In other games with frequent patches (WoW for example), complaints are geared more towards griping for attention rather than anything constructive. With Riot openness to feedback however (and the general lack of understanding of what 'constructive negative feedback' is) people complaining and whining wonder why their opinion isn't also heard and responded to.
#####Mistakes were Made
Rioters are only human, so naturally there will be mistakes and as long as it's addressed and fixed it's not a big deal in the end. But every mistake that is shown and admitted to publicly, while a gain in the respect factor, will also naturally undermine people's confidence in their choices.
#####I can game design too!
A wall of number a champion does not make. Simply, text info will not be enough to yield a whole judgment on, only the estimation of the direction. Unfortunately many experienced and/or overconfident players (myself included) will start spouting numbers and take a stance against or for changes they do not fully comprehend until they actually play them.
##My Personal Take
Overall, my personal view is that Riot has taken a huge goal for themselves that is, frankly, insane and nearly impossible. The ability to communicate with the playerbase and have the playerbase work with them to create an even better game. But, I believe they should keep going because that's not the gaming dev policy we want but the one we need as gamers. It will be incredibly difficult for both sides to see eye-to-eye, if ever, but hopefully the playerbase will get more patient and Riot will be able to keep up with the numbers.
