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What is Riot's state on "Sexy" champion redesigns?

Dzoni87·4/28/2017, 6:23:40 PM·2 votes·2,411 views

Ask Riot: The "Sexy" Factor - Nexus - League of Legends

Ok, since i tried to ask this question on the main article, but i failed to do so, because their "Nexus" website is bugged as hell, ill try to ask here. So here it goes.

Since we saw numerous other "big" developers and companies having their characters' appearance beign redesigned, because parts of communities have found their design "too offensive", will Riot Games follow this new trending and bandwagoning? Did they put some other official statement about this? Did they adressed this topic at all?

IMO if they did, i am quite a concerned, as someone who have been financially supporting Riot games since the 2009 (Shadow Evelynn being my first skin ever bought :D). In my opinion, ALL the characters should stay the way they are and no developer or any sort of creative mind shouldnt change their creations, in order to appeal to a specific group of players\consumers\whoever.

On the other hand i do agree with the article and the statement about the variety of body types and\or appearance, and yes, i think that there are already enough of Sexy\attractive female and male characters in the character rooster without adding more of those (eventhough i think that Xayah is hot enough :D ). But i am against of redesigning of the already created character for this very reason, like some of the other companies (which i will not name this time, and they are not necessarily video gaming companies) already did.

I really like to know more about this. While asking for a red post about this would be to much, any answer or the insight about their statement on this would be nice to see. Thanks in advance.

13 Comments

Sharjo4/28/2017, 6:44:21 PM11 votes

At the end of the day Riot's just gonna make changes that they feel make the most sense character wise. Caitlyn was the example they used of a sexy design that kinda just doesn't fit her, but others include Janna, LeBlanc and Evelynn in regards to their attires not making total sense:

Janna's an ethereal spiritual being of sorts, so while her lacking much clothing isn't really all that unusual, it begs the questions of either why does she even have clothes to begin with and why aren't her clothes more tialored to her thematic of being this guardian of humanity, empowered by their wishes and prayers. You'd either expect her to look only human in some respects and be a lot more ethereal, or to have a design that defies conventions and highlights her powers, rather than what effectively amounts to lingerie.
LeBlanc's a woman of high class and refinement; a mage of incredible power and dark secrets, but once the cape, crown and high collar are thrown back you're not left with much that adds to her theme; I'd expect a flowing, exquisitiely designed dress that's also kinda imposing, rather than just a bra and straps.
Evelynn's like the sexy assassin of League and that's fine of course; that's an archetype, you make of it what you will, but why is she in bdsm gear? Why? What does that do for her thematically? She's not tying people up and spanking them she's ripping them apart with her god damn nails and spikes. What does it say about her beyond what her words and movements already say? There are better ways to convey that than just putting her in the sterotypical depiction of a domme's attire.

There's also other factors like their attire being wholly uninspired since it's just meant for pure sex appeal (Evelynn), being unoriginal and lackluster given the thematic space and character (Janna, I'd also argue Akali falls in to this), and just giving things a unique spin.

There's sexy, and then there's sexy that is there beyond just having it. These things should inform and enhance designs, not just be slapped on. You can have these champions stay "sexy", but it can be done in much better ways than the ways in which League's done it in the past. In some cases "sexy" might actually detract from the thematic, depending on the direction. I'll draw back to Caitlyn, in that for me personally, while I love her character, her attire just really sticks out to me as sucking. Comparing her design to Camille's and Vi's just makes me sad because she's got the short end of the stick seemingly.

Again, there's nothing wrong with sexy; sexiness is awesome and should be embraced, but there's ways to do it that actually work and enhance what you're doing and ways that don't. I'd highlight Taric as a good example of this; sexy in a way that showcases his personality beautifully.

Ralanr4/28/2017, 6:32:36 PM4 votes

The answer they had in the article was basically, "If it makes sense for the character to be dressed in an attractive manner (Like how MF uses her flirting to get her way or how Leblanc probably means to look distracting) then they will be designed as such."

Basically they'll keep avoiding the "Chainmail bikini" design like the plague but not try to overly specialize champions that it doesn't make sense to do so in lore.

So Eve? Probably going to be designed as someone who dresses in a sultry manner. But someone like Ashe? Probably not as much.

Variks the Loyal4/28/2017, 6:42:45 PM4 votes

I think it depends on the character being redesigned.

There's no way they could make certain female champions without them being the 'hourglass girl', because it's a part of their character and identity Ahri MissFortune Evelynn Elise Cassiopeia Morgana (Maybe)

Meanwhile, those in which sexuality isn't an important part of the character might face some changes, as seen with the recent Sejuani splashes. Sejuani Sivir Syndra Caitlyn

Dzoni874/28/2017, 7:10:53 PM1 votes

Well, i must say that i do agree with most of what you guys replied. Yes, imo, champions like Ahri MissFortune or Evelynn should stay this way, because they are imagined as a badass sexy seductresses. So if they even decide to update their 3D model (well, Evelynn has pretty dated one) or anything like that, they should stay similar in design. And yes, i am all for redesigning the other character if they will make them more fitting to their lore ( Sejuani for example). Another example is Sivir . She, as she is now, fits very well into this Egyptian-like attire, despite it being revealing and what not. And yes, i remember her being the "mercenary princess" or something like that. That wasnt the case at that time. And she was in an odd polygonal leather bikini then, literally :D

On the other hand, what i dont like is that design\costume change, just for the sake of it. For ex. if some looney start to pressure Riot, because he finds the chest of stomach exposed being "too offensive" because its something worthy of jumping into the bandwagon, nowadays. And as a result, we will see champions as MissFortune in a full plate armor, despite it going against her lore and storyline. And it wont be the frst case for a big company to do something like this. That is my primary concern for Riot. Hope that doesnt happen.

Dzoni874/29/2017, 3:17:35 PM1 votes

... and ironically enough, there is a discussion if MissFortune should wear a full plate or not. A real one. Oh, dear...

As for Eve, yes, there is absolutelly sense for her to have a BDSM attire, for she is a vampire\sadistic type of creature. Without clothes however... I wanna see that actually. Well, if she is gonna be like the type of that one "Astral" hero of that one other MOBA (similar of course), then it would make sense. Just her being some sort of a spirit\blood\liquid like.... thing :)