@Riot, Artists. What is Dominion's future aesthetically?

Solideus·May 13, 2015·2 votes·1,038 views

Seeing the loading screen graphic for Dominion on the PBE I can't help but wonder what will be done to the place once you decide to revisit the abandoned town. The loading screen art looks really good! Although, it seems a bit...vague? What I mean to say is, it could easily have been meant to depict a different place than the Kalamanda we know. For instance, it could have been representing a Shurima-adjacent area. That would be really neat! In some ways Dominion feels a bit lacking visually and disconnected from Runeterra.

So, Artsy Rioters, have you talked at all about revisiting the place, and what would you like to do with it aesthetically if you do?

5 Comments

SharjoMay 13, 20151 votes

I was pondering making a post about this myself, but was unsure about it.

Personally, I'd like to see them to emphasize the connection the Crystal Scar had with Skarner and make it a map set around the entrance to his home. Basically Shurima it up if that makes sense.

The obvious problem is that that would ruin the whole Kalamanda thing, but that's likely not so canon anymore, so I feel like revisiting the entire aesthetic and deciding where the Crystal Scar exists in Runeterra now would be a good thing.

I imagine people wouldn't be happy about such a change though.

SolideusMay 13, 20151 votes

My issue with Kalamanda is that it doesn't have a well developed theme; the platforms are a different aesthetic, the buildings aren't memorably styled or influenced, Skarner isn't really aesthetically connected to the place, there are some out-of-place Norse names in there and the colours are bland (among many other details). I imagine they could place it on Shuriman land: a sandstone quarry, tents, Xer'Sai mounds, oases, golden shuriman shrines and sandstone ruins for platforms. They have **a lot **of visual development done for Shurima and other places already, I'd love them to apply some of that to Dominion. It's the only map now that isn't a throughly developed part of the world they are building, like ARAM, TT and SR.

SharjoMay 13, 20151 votes

Yeah the buildings thing really gets me - none of them are very well visually represented because their architecture is part of the backdrop. You focus way more on the actual capture points and not what's behind it where as there are better ways, in my opinion, for this to be done. The Shurima aesthetic could really help the whole place out.

Tesla EffectMay 13, 20151 votes

Preferably Shuriman, maybe replace Dominion with an Arena type map or Ascension mode.

SolideusMay 13, 20151 votes

They should salvage the best parts of Dominions current gameplay and try to improve it through what they learned from Ascension. That was a really fun mode, I think! There really needs to be a meaningful teamfight-forcing objective in the center, imho.