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Generic champions and why they're intentional.

Sexy Jack Rabbit·3/17/2017, 3:08:08 PM·5 votes·1,814 views

So I will start of this point by saying this is not an attack on Riot by any means, It's just something I feel needs to be cleared up about the design of champions in the game as more get updated and changed.

With the rise of Galio's new rework a lot of people have come out to say stuff like "He's so generic" "He's so average.", and other things of the like, and for the most part I would like to cut anyone off by saying THAT IS THE POINT.

Even looking at the title of the video game League of Legends it's pretty obvious that the characters in this game are not wholly original.

That's not to say that they have been stolen, but just that ever since the dawn of the game, every character has been based off a stereotype or generic trait without much more thought into them. They are characters based off of other stories and legends with a universal twist thrown onto them.

League of legends champion can be grinded down to 4 simple categories; Profound, Edgy, Goofy and Sexy. Every champion in the game VERY easily fits into these 4 categories, and if they don't they will when they are reworked.

The reason for this is that it's plain and simple the simplest way to appeal to the biggest mass of people, whilst still coming across as competent designers.

Even if all of the champions were just different colored blobs it actually WOULDN'T matter, because all they are just husks to carry the gameplay. Whereas in other games like Final Fantasy, Nier Automata etc. The point of the characters is to BE the gameplay. To hook you, excite, get you invested. The point of League of Legends champions are to be marketable and likeable enough that you can bare a whole game of them.

League of Legends is enjoyed most by the people who can understand and appreciate all of the references being made, otherwise none of the characters actually grab you as being highly compelling and thorough in design.

There has never been the intention to create completely original, unique and compelling champions in League of Legends, but rather the intention to create characters that are generic in the most original possible way.

Ex: Old GP was based off of the pirate stereotype, after his rework he still retained that trait, but with a new coat of edgy paint. Ex: New Galio is a lot closer to the stereotype of what a Gargoyle is typical like, goofy and a little dumb, but with a different shiny design thrown into the mix. Ex: Taric is still obsessed with beauty, but now plays into a more conventional stereotype of what a beautiful/sexy man is like. Ex: Poppy is still stubborn and headstrong, but is now a lot more goofy, cutesy and generically likeable.

The fact and bottom line of it is that as we see more and more champions updated, keep in mind that the point of the updates are not to preserve the characters, but rather to create a new character who shares the same theme.

TL;DR: Champions are not designed to be original and unique, they are designed to be marketable and appealing.

4 Comments

GreenLore3/17/2017, 6:35:28 PM9 votes

I honestly disagree,mostly because I feel like Lols characters actually become less generic.

Sure the new Galio comes off as a typical good boisterous bruiser,but where else have you seen a being that struggles to understand humans,is immobile for years,unable to help those he cares about and only comes to life to fight,pretty much forcing him to destroy his source of life to protect his people?

Meanwhile the old Galio had a pretty basic story of the failed hero who falls into a depression until something inspires him to do his job again,which is a story that you see all the time in one way or the other.

What the characters in Lol actually seem to strive for are more outstanding personalities. You know characters where you can easily get how they'll act under normal circumstances. When I listen to the VO of characters like Janna,then I don't get much of her character besides "she likes wind". But I need to play only one game with Aurelion sol to understand that he is a dragon with an ego thats bigger than his beloved stars,who doesn't really care for most other lifeforms and that he really hates Targon.

But just because the personality is easily understandable doesn't mean that the character is automatically generic.

Quiksilvur3/17/2017, 5:21:46 PM4 votes

I think your ideas on what the champions are reduce the nuance put into them a bit too much.

Just because GP has been given a darker story behind his personality doesn't mean it should just be boiled down to a splash of "edgy paint." A criminal kingpin that's lost his empire? A redemption story that has that kingpin determined to reclaim it, dragging himself out of the complacency he had fallen into? I think there's more to that than edgy for the sake of it.

Taric now isn't just obsessed with beauty. His redesign specifically took that flat characterization and reworked it into a redemption story for Taric, turning him into an avatar for a being that exists to preserve life, which I think outgrows the stereotype enough to call him a unique character.

Poppy being generically likeable? Likeable is likeable. Writing Poppy to be unlikeable to chase after some standard of "unique" would be ridiculous. Her character went from being a flat and unlikeable ball of "gruff" to what she is now because Riot felt that direction was more compelling. It's miles ahead of her bare-bones characterization pre-rework.

Galio's personality has facets. He's a being undeniably excited about living made to snuff out the thing that gives him life. Having a personality you've seen before doesn't make him generic; the surrounding ideas that lead to that personality are the compelling parts. The stereotype of what a gargoyle is typically like? I don't really know what gargoyles you've seen in fiction, but Galio is at least as close to that stereotype now as he was before, and I would argue he's farther from it now. Rather than the sneering monster brought to life (which is probably the most prominent use of them in fiction), he's a far more human character, childlike and old at the same time. He further subverts the solemn, majestic stone guardian archetype by being jovial and personable.

You can't prevent a character from slotting into the thousands of archetypes that have come to exist in fiction; what you can do is try and tap into them into them to create a compelling character anyways.

Frankly, I also think the term generic is being thrown around very loosely. Boiling characters in any fiction down to categories will always make them seem like they fit a mold. You suggest Final Fantasy as a contrast, but Final Fantasy XV (for example) has four main characters you could just as easily boil down to stereotypes like "Strong and Wise Protector," "Young and Brash Comic Relief," "Calm and Calculating Smart Guy," and "Protagonist with Baggage."

Warlord Scrap3/17/2017, 4:44:54 PM1 votes

Thats the think final fantasy allows the story to develope a lot more because the game is the story league is a game designed to be fun with no story but you have the option to read lore sorta like warhammer. The story doesnt drive the game the game drives the story.

The Anagram King3/18/2017, 1:29:54 AM1 votes

You can make marketable, appealing, characters, that still come off as deep or interesting. It is hardly either/or. You named Nier Automata. Like a quarter of that game takes place in a realm of literal cubes, spheres, triangles and cylinders - and it's arguably one of the more fun parts of the game. :P

Story and design accentuate a game. That's why graphic updates are still a thing. That's why interesting stories are coveted. League boasts a surplus of champions and concepts to the point of clutter. They do not need to design each character or concept exclusively for mainstream market appeal. In fact, it does you good to have elements that challenge the status quo. Ezrael, Ahri, Katarina, Nasus, Renekton, Jayce, Syndra, Gnar - I could go on - all serve as mass market appeal.

Galio was never like that. In a way, filling in the gaps of his old lore with a standard 'sombre superhero' trope has taken away from the not-so-easily-identified concept that he was, before.

You make a heavy assumption in thinking that complexity, aesthete and tone of a character/story are simply limited to 'original' or 'not'. You can retell great stories. You can improve upon great stories. You can add perspectives or nuances, and make things engaging and entertaining.

For younger audiences, Galio is now this. For older audiences? I'd wager that statistically this is not the case.

Ponder, if you will - just how much less absurd Galio would appear as a concept if he did not have Justice Punches (or other such corny ability names). His dislike of wiping out magic, too - Imagine if he felt more resolute in his duty; or was actively failing to pursue methods to remain conscious upon completion of his duty, but getting closer each time.

This counts as depth and complexity; as character drive and motivation. This adds layers to a character, beyond a trope. And you can do it in all of one entire day. Now, I would argue that maybe Galio not having his ability names be super powers might alienate the younger audience a little, but there is zero drawback to adding some more long-term opinions and views to his character. In fact, I might even go so far as to say that adding these sorts of elements to basic characters may open your audience to the rarer, more complex, ones - allowing for more interesting deviations down the line.

TL;DR - Galio being hollow isn't a marketing strategy. It's the "Character Complexity" Box simply being left unticked during planning.