Improving the community and gameplay at the same time

lexmus··1 votes·336 views

Hello, Riot Games

      This is lexmus, from the United States server, and I wish to discuss how to improve the community and gameplay at the same time. I also study for Game Art & Design and I have about a year left before I graduate from college with my bachelors. I say this so that you know I don't just play games. I study them and test there break points, and take into careful consideration on how I can implement what I've learned from these experience into well executed designs for games.
    
        I was playing Overwatch the other day and was wondering to myself while on the train. Why is this games community so forgiving and friendly. There are many reasons that lead to this anomaly,but I have theorized on a main consensus. Psychologically players go through a burnout in their minds in league. I say this, because as humans we are not truly able to multitask. It would take at least 20,000 years before we could fully focus on two tasks at once. This fake multitasking leads to the players being stressed after playing a few games for at least two hours, if they play that long. 

         The result of this leads to players harassing enemy players and even teammates during and at the end of their games. Some even go the extra mile to friend players they just played with to harass them for mistakes they may have not made. Psychologically that experience carries rapidly through all ten players in each match leading to frustrating experiences through every game you play. When I was playing Overwatch, I realized that people find everything easier in the game when you can eliminate the enemy faster even if you might need some help here or there, and they find joy in the predictable and completely unpredictable strategy of the game. 

         I thought to myself league can do something like this because both games require working as a team to accomplish a simple common goal while thinking about how I'm going to defeat or outplay the enemy. I know Riot is going to have some problems conveying this concept like considering late game and items a such, but I think it would be something to seriously consider into the design of the game to improve to gameplay and the community at the same time. Thank you for listening and I would also like to keep in touch. If you have any questions please message me on my account and I'll see you on the rift summoners. Thank you for listening

From, lexmus (Brian Davidson)

17 Comments

zrWQMdGHtY1 votes

Bruh. I find overwatch very stressful when I see Lucio in my team ruining my perfect Mercy scores...

lexmus1 votes

I can understand that frustration, but you would have to consider all the factors of the game as a whole, before you look at small details such as this. You should go to Blizzard Forums and talk about it. You might get interesting feed back. thank you for the comment. Galio

zrWQMdGHtY1 votes

Bruh. Lucio losses my whole ranked match, if that's a small detail IDK what a big one is...

lexmus1 votes

You're right on both ends. this it's completely your fault, and you don't know what a big detail is. I only say this, because game development is incredible complex and difficult, but I love it so let's talk. A big problem goes past just gameplay. Blizzard's development team is always trying to figure out what make the game interesting, and what makes the game not interesting. I say that because games don't have to be fun to want to play them. What makes the game fun doesn't just include what the game is. It includes the psychological warfare of people from around the world interacting through the amazing virtual reality we know as the video game. Five lines of code out of possibly millions of lines of code could be the difference between a incredibly enjoyable experience and a game people will hate forever. I really think you should create a valid argument of Blizzard forum. they don't like to disappoint and I promise they have a reason for what they have done. Thank you for your commentary.Galio

zrWQMdGHtY1 votes

I'm too lazy to read what you said, so I'll tell you why blizzard has awesome events. Because I can play with few people (friends) against AI and play the char I want and they get unique skins/voice lines for that. While LoL has pretty dull events... If they make me an event for example. Katarina + cassio + Draven + Darius and add new voice lines and stuff and they have to for example fight waves of monsters, or demacians, or stuff like that. It would be fun as hell. To do some sort of mission on a special map.

While the same time, if we speak about Moba as a moba and making it more fun it's simple. Delete Riven, Yasuo, Yi and stuff like that adn the game will be more fun. Lol at release was fun as hell when there was hardly 20-30 champions and they were all broken on their own and you could OS everyone with anyone! Now it's the same 15 champions destroying all others...

Tbh, didnt expect Xayah to be that fun, but Im just playing her till I get my blue shards for level 7 Kat. Well and maybe untill level 5... Still. But I think she's fun because im abusing people who dont understand what's going on. ^^

Can we delete Ryze now? Ty.

HalcyonDweller1 votes

Your ideas seem good at first glance, but first glance is all I could do; I just got cross-eyed trying to read the wall of text. Commenting so I can find this again and read it after you've separated paragraphs apart.

No offense, but walls of text are really hard to focus on to read.

lexmus1 votes

You're right. Here you go.

HalcyonDweller1 votes

Much better, thanks!

So are you suggesting they streamline some of the actions players make throughout the game, or try other things to improve the interface to reduce mental strain due to trying to multitask? Or am I missing the point?

Gameplay and player behavior are very important topics to me, so I'm quite interested in this discussion!

lexmus1 votes

yes, but there was one thing I didn't mention in this, because the concept is so broad that it would require Riot to move in a different direction they haven't gone before. You are on point with what I have typed, but there is one missing element I didn't mention depth vs complexity. they are almost equal in this game, and I think depth would be much more important than complexity without hinder the mechanics themselves. Maximum amount of depth with minimum amount of complexity and still having meaningful choices that impact the game as a whole. Love the interest you have by the way.

HalcyonDweller1 votes

What sorts of changes could Riot make to the existing interface / gameplay that would improve this depth vs complexity ratio? I tried to think of some but my expertise isn't really in interface or gameplay, more behavior.

  • Eliminate chat, provide more streamlined ping system
  • Adjust character models / healthbar system to better reflect buffs and debuffs without players having to look in multiple places for them. Also to better reflect the number of charges characters have of certain things (such as Annie or Maokai passive).
  • Change the minimap, not sure how. But something to reduce complexity and make it easier to read information from.
lexmus1 votes

Well first, if Riot reads this I just want to say, Congratulations on the great game you have made. You have done a amazing job, and your teams excellence shows through the darkest nights. Riot Should be proud of their magnum opus, but if they truly want to push meniscus on the tall glass of water we know as league of legends, should that your programming team can make anything happen, and show what Riot's designers and storyboard writer can do pass the point where failure is not uncommon. I think it would be a great idea to give a editable version of the league file to a indie development team that is inexpensive but gives you the opportunity to accumulate new ways to convey every concept seamlessly though mechanics interactions and gameplay without making so many features that we have to remember more useless content. Mechanics beat content.

HalcyonDweller1 votes

I'm here looking to discuss specific possibilities and ideas to improve it. Do you have any ideas you've come across while playing? Something you wish worked differently?

lexmus1 votes

I will get back to you later on this actually. I've haven't played the game much since the new Warwick rework, because The Game Design program is demanding of me. I want to give you and everyone else something constructive so once I've played a bit more, read some lores, watched some videos, etc. I'll get back to you. There is one thing that I'm looking forward to though. I'm looking forward to the Zac rework. Zac is my favorite, along with Jax.

HalcyonDweller1 votes

Slightly off topic (so I'm making a separate comment chain in case we want to discuss this too), but I've been theorizing the past week or two about ways to reduce toxicity.

First: pre-filter toxic chat

  • similar to how there is a language filter for cuss words. either replace it with something funny like what Overwatch did, or...
  • simply don't show it to people reading chat (it could still look to the toxic person like they said it normally in chat) but they wouldn't receive any response because nobody would see it and therefore wouldn't care.
  • Remind players to take breaks when they are tilting or on losing streaks

Second: have more reactive ban system

  • Shorter bans (such as half day, whole day, or even half week) to force breaks such as my last point in the section above.
  • Watch for toxic behavior and warn players immediately during or after the game, prior to even having reports.

What are your thoughts on this?

lexmus1 votes

Rather than getting rid of the filters they already have, I think Riot should make a way that all players can communicate even when muted that allows them to give some critical information while in game, but if they are just plain annoying now matter what I think player should have the choice to _lvl 2 mute _players so that they cannot communicate what so ever through chat.

HalcyonDweller1 votes

I think that they almost offer this now, with the ability to mute players and then mute their pings. I'd have to check if this is how it works now though.

lexmus1 votes

Okay that's fine. I'll also check on that. [slayer-pantheon-popcorn]

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