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Why doesn't league have a game based around it's lore already?

coreym11·7/28/2019, 5:09:11 PM·28 votes·11,261 views

One big reaction you see from a majority of players that are exposed to the game is that the trailers and the cinematics don't actually reflect the game. A lot of people are attracted to the cinematics and the universe but don't actually get involved with the game because the gameplay is not what the trailers attracted them to.

Whether it be an mmo rpg in the league universe or a story driven campaign that has a different story based on what champion you choose, I feel like it is a huge missed opportunity. The only thing I can guess is that having an actual built universe we can see take away from the imagination of the people reading the lore kind of like how people say that how books are better than the movie adaptation or "I imagined this better in my head" than what the writers actually created. They don't want to disappoint lore enthusiasts. The final thought that I have is that this is either a HUGE top secret project or they are saving this lore based game for when the game starts losing players.

A couple months ago before TFT, if riot said "we are working on a new project" and left out the part about it not being an mmo or lore based game I would have totally thought that they would have created a game based off their lore. People like TFT but I would MUCH rather have a lore based mmo or story driven campaign molded around the champion you choose than heavily rng TFT.

If you created an mmo per se, it would attract players from different game genres that not necessarily play mobas. People who play WOW might give the game a try and if the game is better than other mobas it would draw players to your game rather than the others. I know for a FACT league has a better universe that more than half the mobas out there.

26 Comments

Falrein7/28/2019, 5:27:36 PM10 votes

I really need to just create a google sheet and copy/paste the same message when people say that. It'd save me some time.

Anyway, let's address the first issue - the MMO

Well, not taking into account the fact that Cactopus said no MMO was coming, let's talk about it. MMOs are a risky bet. A very, very, VERY risky bet. WoW capitalizes the market of the MMO. They're THE big giant. Add to that that the MMO market has been declining. Sure, you could say "people may like something new, it may be the game that will bring MMOs back to the fore!" and you could be right. But you could also be wrong. Riot, as a company, probably cannot afford to take such a risk. It's either hit or miss.

Now don't get me wrong, I would love that as much as you would. I love MMOs, yet cannot find anything that appeals to me as of now. And I'm sure there are others like me. But are these others enough...?

On a more general matter tho, I entirely agree. They NEED to make a game based off their lore. They did say they wanted to open Runeterra to a "whole new audience" so we just have to wait and see. Probably expect something on October 27th. I'm confident they will release such game. I think Riot are smart enough to know that such an IP could be a great addition to their revenue. What I'm mostly afraid of is that they'll only use the popular champs. A MMO would be great in that it could include all of them, but we know it ain't happening. So yeah, let's be patient and see... We gotta trust :/

Camille Ferrøs7/28/2019, 5:19:19 PM9 votes

Well something is in development under the name Legends of Runeterra. But the problem with the lore is that its in constant change. We are almost 10 years in and there hasn't been consistent lore, rewrites and rewrites, and rewrites, they can't lay back on something that is in constant change and invest in it. But they themselves know that the lore isn't as popular as they want it to be.

4 Step Cadence7/28/2019, 5:36:12 PM7 votes

They could just have games like the Elder Scrolls series where each game is dedicated to a specific region of Runeterra, and make them compatable with mods and other things that would make travel to other regions possible.

I'm just not sure if they could make one big game with all of Runeterra in it because, lets be honest, Runeterra as we know it right now is big enough, and that's just 1/6th of the planet. Imagine how big its going to be eventually when we actually get new regions outside of what we already know.

Shieda Kayn7/28/2019, 5:14:37 PM4 votes

I recall Riot claiming they wanted to put the s in Riot Games, but also that TFT is STILL a part of League of Legends. I'm pretty sure they're still working on another project, with a lot more work put into it than autobattler n°649

TheMan2927/28/2019, 5:42:11 PM3 votes

why must it be an MMO? Runeterra is HUGE. they could simply make games that focus on one or 2 regions (even 3 under the right conditions). I still maintain an RPG set in Zaun, with its chembarons, mad scientists, and monsters would be a great edition to the setting. imagine meeting Viktor for some upgrades (if you can find him), avoiding Mundo, and joking a chem baron (or even Urgot's gang). it would be awesome. also they could hire 3rd party devs to do these games

sadly, this would still be a risk and cost quite the amount of money

Warlord Dienekes7/28/2019, 11:49:29 PM2 votes

Well, because money dear boy.

Riot is a business, but they made their mark making a very specific type of game: free with a lot of means to get players to spend money on trivialities and conveniences.

This monetary system works really well provided the following is true:

There is a steady stream of stuff for people to buy.
The buying audience is vast enough to support a company.
That audience stays invested, so that consumers who wouldn’t normally spend money see constant reinforcement that they should be spending money.

Which is part of why we saw the first win of the game bonus and loot boxes and special borders and the specialty missions all come about.

So here’s the thing, if the monetary goal is to make certain that your player base constantly plays this game making another game that appeals to the players of this game mostly means that you’re now cutting your player base into portions and now to maintain your monetary goal you have to effectively double your work load. This is not something any company would do.

And make no mistake, as of now, only players of this game are really familiar with the lore to any meaningful degree.

But Riot are taking steps to change that. The Marvel comics and the book that will be out sometime are clear forays into outside markets as a means to expand the knowledge base of the lore. This is a pretty safe tactic, it’s what Warhammer and Warcraft did.

And from there I believe we can see a rough guess as to what Riot’s next moves will be. More of a lore push to get further outside markets. Then when they feel they have a market they will release games that don’t directly clash with their LoL monetization. So not an MMO, those things also require a stable consistent playerbase that demands to be drip fed additional content.

What we’ll likely see is a smaller more niche game. The goal being the lore fans are going to buy it, and lovers of this niche stuff who have no one catering to them will also buy it. Hopefully the lore lovers will love it for the lore and the niche game fans will learn to love the lore too.

It will likely be focused on either the most popular or hottest setting in Runeterra. If I had to guess, right now, it’d be Demacia. As the comic and book tie in are the perfect way to get outsiders invested.

GenoXx7/28/2019, 6:37:06 PM2 votes

Stuff we've forever asked for. Riot has no ambition for the such. They instead want to stick to the fast and easy route in gaming business. Really...the speed that Teamfight tatics had in development could have been used for something else....but lets just copy dota amirite Riot?

Xela Syab7/29/2019, 3:56:58 AM2 votes

Legit all they would have to do is just get legit a handful of people and just have them make some Metroidvania or ARPG with league characters and I'd be happy with this. Like Hollow Knight was made by like 3 people and it's one of the best games ever made.

Gamer Life7/29/2019, 3:27:26 PM1 votes

Because Riot cant even fix the problem with league of legends never mind another game lol

Dyromic7/28/2019, 11:26:03 PM1 votes

It most definitely won't be an MMO, that would be too risky.

A Diablolike ARPG with loads of fun builds and costumisable skills and perhaps characters (think of Path of Exile) would be nice, tho.

PzyXo7/29/2019, 10:11:58 AM1 votes

I don't think Riot will do this. They are too busy playing TFT and GTA V and Pubg Mobile.

KatarinaIsPuke7/29/2019, 12:22:53 PM1 votes

You mean open world +action mode with story lines like MMORPG?