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Old Lore Corrections Thread!

Dotintheparadox·2/27/2015, 8:57:26 PM·2 votes·1,230 views

I am doing this response to the threads that state that the old lore was restrictive, and that I the reason it was required to be retconned. I need to say this, the old lore was restrictive, not due to the IoW being a them, but the fact that it was an established canon, that the current narrative team did not create. The current narrative team does not have the original members in it, it is also most likely composed of professional writers with past game writing credits, not spoken fans of the original canon. There was no one there to correct them on very important issues pertaining to it.

I.E. The retcon happened in the name of creative freedoms, not because it was really restrictive, but because it was too different for the narrative team, who most likely worked on several isolated narratives before, League's was very unique, it was an open world setting, which allowed us a spectator's seat as Summoners. Think about how many other stories will do this for other games.

So, this is not meant to bash anyone, I want to hear from both new and old supporters on this, what about the old canon did you feel was truly restrictive? I will prepare a full response to the most popular questions here as to how they could have changed the old canon, without removing the gameplay connection, or original themes.

23 Comments

It Hertz When IP2/27/2015, 9:18:09 PM3 votes

First, I will say that I feel the old lore as it was was NOT particularly restrictive in terms of environment and setting. Unlike other games/media with open world lore (WoW, GW2, Star Wars, etc.) Runeterra has not really been fully delved into before. We have the old backstories that gave a general setting and a few specific place names, and a few Journal of Justice entries that I'm not convinced were intended to be canon, or even taken seriously (Blitzcrank dating service? And exactly what lingerie would be more revealing of Janna than her usual outfit?) Any capable writer should have been able to work within that universe, and if they were/are not willing to work within a pre-created universe, then why did they agree to a job at Riot? It would be like me taking a contract to continue the Hunger Games series and declaring "I really don't like the setting, so I have magically declared that the districts, the revolution, and the Hunger Games themselves don't exist", and then just making a series of short stories about random characters from the series that have no connection to each other.

That being said, I think some of the storylines were not being handled well. For example, by the time the Great Reset happened, we had how many factions fighting over the Freljord?

Narasimha2/27/2015, 10:31:16 PM1 votes

It had its moments, but the major issue with the old lore is that everything HAD to be tied to the League somehow. And with some of the champions that are popping up, it doesn't make any sense for them to be there voluntarily. And theres only so much you can play "The league imprisoned them" card.

Impetual2/28/2015, 8:21:20 AM1 votes

God forbid new developers should be expected to learn and develop for a games pre-existing lore. It's not like they're professionals....oh wait, they are. (I Think?)

Solideus2/28/2015, 4:04:23 PM1 votes

The way champions were bound to the institute made it so their stories had to follow a pretty set structure. They joined and got what they wanted from the Institute, rather than having to do it themselves. They couldn't really quit as they were playable champions. Their progression was through rewards from gladiatorial work, rather than adventuring themselves.

Also, the IoW plot-device made certain relationships fall flat, as by trying to rationalize characters like Lucian and Thresh readily laning together. Even though it can be rationalized with *summoner magic * it totally took away the champions' agency and trivialized their motivations. Also, anything happening on the rift was meaningless, as there were no consequences to anything.

No matter how hard they'd try to marry gameplay to the lore it just wouldn't work all the way. Skins, Mirror Matches, team setup and many other things just can't be explained in a way that isn't just contrived, and doing so wouldn't at all make the story richer. Gameplay can't be fettered by story-elements; Cho'Gath and Rek'Sai just can't be so big they fill up the entire screen. Similarly, I think the lore was held back *a lot *by the gameplay, mainly by the removal of consequences in the narrative.

On the Fields of Justice interaction could happen (although very contrived interaction) but the rest of the world was kind of held hostage from any serious conflicts to happen. Now the whole of Valoran can be part of the action while champions will meet and interact in an organic manner that doesn't have to be "set up". Maybe it will be harder for Annie to have a rational platform for interacting with Cho'Gath, but at least the characters' interplay will now be meaningful.

The retcon was horribly executed as evident by all the angry fans, but I do think it was the right decision; it wasn't the right time for it, though. There should have been more stuff to back up the change with. The narrative team still isn't ready to deliver at the pace they'd like, I bet. To be fair, there's a lot of exelent setup for the new lore. We'll probably have to wait a bit longer for the actual progression, though.