Boards›Story, Art, & Sound

An Ori Main's View on Orianna Lore [New VS Old]

Zenbuuuu·12/8/2016, 9:54:21 PM·20 votes·5,854 views
Orianna/Background

When I first started League, I wanted to main a character with an interesting visual and contextual design—Orianna fit that bill perfectly for me. Not only did I adore her visuals and lore, but her exceptionally creepy dialogue and humanly distant mannerisms. Her play style is not only unique and powerful, but it is also difficult, which makes playing her well feel like a big accomplishment. I don't think any Orianna main wants her to lose those important details.

Disclaimer: I'm not entirely familiar with Viktor or Blitzcrank's lore, which may or may not shape on how I view Orianna's new lore.

Orianna, in her old lore, was a talented dancer who died tragically during her training to become a Champion in the League of Legends. Her father created a clockwork killing machine in her image to complete his dead daughter's dream of being a Chamption. Orianna's updated lore now says that she, much like her father, is a craftsman in clockwork augmentations (mainly) for medical needs. She falls ill during her volunteer aid in a city devastated with toxins, and eventually has her father replace all of her failing organs to keep what's left of her alive. The last organic part of her body remaining is her heart, which she gives to her father, replacing his which is failing. This marks the end of her life as a "human" and she leaves her father, continuing her existence elsewhere.

I feel like the first half of her new lore was actually a lot better written (and more heartbreaking) than her old lore. My only criticism of the basic plot is that making her a clockwork engineer instead of a dancer actually takes away from how creepy she is. Her origins as a dancer (rather than a fighter or an engineer) made her more interesting and odd because of how distant dancing is from the kind of activity most Champions are involved in.

Her dancing and graceful movements during the game don't really make sense now. I understand that in her new lore, Orianna loved to watch dancers at the theater and that she's mimicking them. But, I've got to be honest, it feels like a very unneeded part of her lore and serves only as a lose thread tying her lore, visual design, and her animations in-game together. She seems more like an adventurer now, breaking free of her ties to humanity and living to explore the world.

Where her new lore really falls apart is during her conversation with Fieram. Remember, this takes place after Orianna's full replacement of all her organic parts, including her heart.

I won't be the first to complain that her dialogue during this scene is far more human sounding than the _"I hear soft things" (referring to humans... ?) _ Orianna we know. I think I can say, without a doubt, that this is the #1 grievance of Orianna's fans. Even not considering how we feel, it's just very contradictory to her character, considering both her old and new lore.

Orianna in-game has a very obscure way of processing and presenting information. To quote her original lore:

"Though she attempts social interaction with other champions in the League of Legends, there are few who can get past her exotic nature. To many, it's as if there's nothing inside, that Orianna is just a soulless clockwork shell - a dangerous and deadly one at that."

This is reflected very well in her in-game dialogue.

She shows a disregard for life, not truly comprehending what it is. Her lines and actions during her encounter with Fieram seem to contradict her established personality.

Here's things to consider:

  • Other than her ball, which she has a (for lack of a better word) telepathic connection to, would she want to take an outsider with her on her adventures?

  • Does she have the mental capacity to care about his plight, when she refers to killing enemy champions as "fun" and not understanding why champions are "running" from her?

  • What is the extent of Orianna's vocabulary? In-game she will describe people as "soft things" and her ball's blades as "sharp things." Her sentences are short, precise, and... Confusing, sometimes. In her new lore, she spouts out sentences like, "I like to ride the Rising Howl at dusk to catch the last of the day's golden rays." Is Orianna supposed to talk like an inexperienced human being, or is she a poet? This is actually very conflicting to her in-game dialogue. I highly, HIGHLY suggest NOT accommodating her in-game dialogue to her new lore. We will lose almost everything that Orianna once was. Instead, her dialogue in her new lore should probably be heavily edited, or taken out completely.

What I think worked for her new lore: The description of her father slowly losing the daughter he once knew and forcing her to re-enact her old mannerisms to the point that Orianna nearly resented his company was devastating. It was sad, and emphasized her creepy, alien-like nature. I was actually very fond of the idea that Orianna became inflicted with the sickness due to saving another human being. With some clever re-writing, her lore could show her dramatic personality change by putting her in a similar position, but with her failing her mission and ultimately not caring because of her inability to truly understand how special individual life is.

What I think could improve her new lore: Cut out the entire story with Fieram. Although it shows the pitiful truth that Orianna may just be a more complex "puppet" , it is ultimately unnecessary. It doesn't give much insight as to why she is a Champion (like her old lore did) and it breaks the characterization of Orianna as we know and love her.

Re-writing lore is tricky, especially if you want to lengthen it and add more meaty details. If the fine parts of the story that dictate her personality and purpose aren't going to be ironed out, I think we are happier with a shorter, but more cohesive bite of lore. We can imagine the rest if needed ;)

One last thing: If dancing isn't a key part of Orianna anymore, and she has to be revamped visually to accommodate missing the windup key, and her dialogue has to change to reflect her more human personality... Is she really Orianna anymore? She has her name, and her face, but she isn't Orianna. Why not elaborate on her old lore, which stays true to her original nature? Or why not create a whole new techmaturgical character, instead of muddying an old idea people loved?

Please tell me what you think, and upvote if this touches your own concerns on this subject.

20 Comments

StealthyWolf5212/9/2016, 1:34:26 AM7 votes

As a fellow Ori main, I want to throw my opinion in too. I think the story involving Fieram could be very useful and help Orianna's identity.

Her old lore gave me this image: Orianna is a machine built after the human of the same name died and their father wanted their dream to continue. This machine was given aspects of her former self, but is otherwise entirely different. This machine enjoys inflicting pain onto other champions (and people) while also using the given aspects to stay delicate. (This is a short version, I don't want to add too much detail rn)

Her new lore could still do this, but better imo. Seeing as Orianna was slowly transormed from her human self into a machine we could see this new version of Orianna clinging onto parts of her old life, but being unsire of who she really is she looks to others to find herself. Fieram seemed similar, so she grasped onto this idea that he could help her. If she didn't have to find who she really was alone, maybe things wouldn't be so distant and dull. She soon realises (seeing that Fieram is complete machine, no thoughts) thats she is alone. She has her old self as a part of her still, but it is also not who she is now.

This, to me, is a much more interesting story than a machine built to be delicate and a copy of someone that turned violent. The new Lore suggests that Orianna is both her old self, and something new that she is looking to find and discover, she just has the abilities to be strong, violent, and delicate, but no idea of how to combine these together as part of her because she has lost who she was and doesn't know who she is.

Thefrostyviking12/8/2016, 10:36:17 PM6 votes

Hello!

I think her new story is indeed more emotional, but there are some strange things.

  1. Her new story makes her more human or at least, she understands them more even if she does not understand herself. Therefore many of her current voice lines don't fit and she needs new ones.

  2. In her story she replaced the key on her back with an artificial heart to keep her alive therefore her model needs to be changed.

  3. I am not really sure but in that short story with Fieram her ball seems nearly semi sentient , It kinda does small things by itself and she talks to it. So maybe give her some kinda interaction with it?

Her old character is already broken when you consider that she retains all of her human memories. She has no reason to act the way she currently does in game. Her new story mentions that she indeed still loves her father but she wants go out to explore and...have fun? Which makes her current voice lines kinda weird.

I kinda get the vibe of a human turned robot/AI looking to find a place for herself, she seems curious, a little adventurous and maybe unrestrained by normal "common sense" in her new existence.

But i am indeed bugged by her personality just changing with no real explanation, her story just said something along the lines of " as she replaced more and more of her organs she found her personality changing and becoming different compared to the old her" which doesn't make a lot of sense. She used to enjoy watching the theater but after the....procedures she just left the show in the middle because she saw no point in watching. I kinda wish the personality change was a bit more detailed and maybe what exactly the ball is. All we know is that she built it to be a friend and guard but it seems a little too smart for a simple remotely controlled drone.

deceptopus12/10/2016, 3:48:41 AM3 votes

Ori's been my main since her release, she's easily my favorite champ to play and I love her equally as a character. Artificial intelligence stories have always been something I've enjoyed reading and thinking about. That's where I'm coming from in this event.

I HATE the change that riot's done. Not because it's terribly done, it's a well written story among a lot of stories that don't hold up to scrutiny very well. I hate it because Riot used a sledgehammer where they could have easily used a scalpel. Orianna's entire in game appearance and personality will have to be changed because of this new identity. The character I love will be deleted and replaced and there aren't words for how frustrating that is. This kind of scorched earth policy should be a tool of last resort, not the first thing on the table when dealing with a popular, well liked character.

A lot of people seem to like the new orianna, and I'm not unsympathetic. There's a lot to like about it. Human transmogrification is an interesting topic and the human orianna is a sympathetic character. However that's NOT Orianna. A lot of people seem to be going off the idea that Orianna's some cheap knock off or stand in for the real thing. Orianna, as a character, as a machine, and her story as an artificially created being, growing and developing from nothing, THAT's the character that I care about. THAT'S Orianna, THAT's who I've been playing and identifying with for years, and THAT's who I who's story I want to continue.

That said, I actually really liked the Fieram story because it felt like a story for the old Orianna, not the new one. Chalk it up to the two hands not talking to each other, but the characterization is totally out of line with the new bio, and far more the kind of trial and response that the artificial Orianna would go through, down to the little details like "acquiring" human gestures, something that makes no sense for a human that undergoes a ship of theseus conversion. It's still not quite the right voice that the in game Orianna has, but it's in the right spirit, and after reading the new bio, it gave me a lot of hope that riot can do Orianna right if they get the feedback and avoid pulling another Fiora update.

GinoSoldier12/9/2016, 4:38:18 PM2 votes

Aside from agreeing with everything you said so far, i'm also wondering why the fact that her body is split in two at the waist (and how it works) is never, ever mentioned in her character lore. I haven't read the other story just yet. Her character lore also feels to me like it shoehorns the Ball in there without an explanation of what makes it's synergy with Orianna so important despite it being a core characteristic of what she is.

I agree that Orianna as a standalone character had to go, but then they send her off adventuring instead of keeping her in Piltover where she could actually have huge impact, not to mention much-needed interactions with Viktor and Blitzcrank. Not to mention Piltover and Zaun are pretty much the only places where she's likely to even have the materials she needs to 'repair herself' on hand. Having her as a 'human in a robot body' instead of a 'replica human' changes her character so much that either she needs a VGU, or that the stories we got be massively edited.

mosaickle12/9/2016, 10:34:58 AM1 votes

I dunno if anyone's mentioned it before, but that also renders her 'ballet skirt' design a bit off too.

Ulquiorra99512/10/2016, 12:56:00 AM1 votes

First of all I absolutely love new Orianna, so this is going to be written from that point of view. I love how she is actually a girl she was meant to be instead of a soulless mechanical replica. How she struggles to remain human with her new nature. I love the contrast of her higly unnerving appearance and gentle, caring personality which resides within. It actually gives off a very Deus Ex vibe to me - what makes someone augmented human? Is there a point where a person stops being human or despite the extent of one's augmentations the soul is what matters the most?

And I have to agree that she isn't Orianna anymore. Or more accurately - she is Orianna now instead of being just a machine named after her. That's why the manner of speech she demonstrates in her lore is in such a sharp contrast with in-game Orianna - she isn't just a machine trying to speak like a human, she was (and maybe still is on the inside) a human.

And yes, she does need a visual update and full VO change to reflect her new backstory. And I'd really, really love to see those - but as someone who likes old Ori, don't worry, Riot has stated that they are not doing that kind of updates anymore as they aren't as well received as full VGUs. So that part of old Orianna is here to stay, for better or for worse depending on whom you ask.

And my personal favorite part of her story: how she listens to her father's heartbeat before she leaves. That is not something a soulless machine would do. This part alone shows us that despite losing her last organic part there is something left of sweet, caring girl she was inside of now fully-mechanical body.