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On Thematic Unity and Galio's Rework

ModCaptainMårvelous··15 votes·2,093 views
https://puu.sh/uynL8/49b0b8a6c1.jpg

Understandably, a lot of people are upset about Galio's change in terms of (if nothing else) color design and model design. What we have to make note of, however, is that thematic unity is something Riot has been trying to achieve for a while now with reworks and model updates. So, real quick, let's go over some examples:

#Noxus https://puu.sh/uys5R/17bb99eb0e.jpg https://puu.sh/uysb3/37f788dc0b.jpg https://puu.sh/uyscz/1a6508b2d0.jpg

Noxus, from an aesthetic point of view, has very dark and often muted colors. Swain's cloak might be green but it's not a bright, neon green or a brilliant jade. Rather. it's muted and reflects Noxus. Noxian champions have dark, permeating colors.

#Ionia

https://puu.sh/uysnT/fbc0038c63.jpg https://puu.sh/uysp2/ffe1adc303.jpg https://puu.sh/uysr0/9a168a953a.jpg

While Ionia has more color variation, colors that stick out are often soft "pastel" colors that mix with the darker or lighter shades. It reflects Ionia's nature as a peaceful place that prides itself on balance.

Rather than tug out more pictures and bloat the page, some quick additions:

  • Shadow Isles: Ghostly teals and blacks. Made to look horrific and spooky.
  • Piltover: Muted colors and lots of industrial greys/browns.
  • Zaun: Whatever you find in the gutter.
  • Freljord: "Cool" colors that are darker and reflect the icy climate.
  • Shurima: Brilliant and bright golds/silvers.

So now we get to Demacia. Demacia, as a country, is a "holy" place. Bright whites and complimenting colors like blue, gold, etc. It's where you think a paladin would be born. Current Galio looks like this:

https://puu.sh/uysRj/bc13a89441.jpg

Now, does that really fit Demacia?

Before all you snarkily go "Well of course", hear me out: His colors are a teal blue and muted gold. He doesn't look like a statue carved to fit with Demacia's architecture nor the general style of how Demacia makes things. When you put him in a line-up with Garen's bright blue/silver, Lux's sparkling white and Jarvan's gleaming gold? He stands out as the outcast. Even Poppy, who is more a visitor, represents Demacia better even if she's trying to emulate Demacia rather than actually emulating it. (Hence why she has some gold/white but it is muted comparative to Garen/Lux/Xin/etc.)

All that said, I do think Galio should have a chroma or something to better mesh with his original color design. But if you really compare to those who are meant to be his city-state peers and allies, this Galio makes far more sense as a Demacian golem than the current Galio.

29 Comments

Veraska9 votes

Agreed. Old Galio was a gargoyle New Galio is a demacian gargoyle protector, he's league of legends' gargoyle. Embrace archetypes and make them their own in the mythos, I think that's riots biggest strength character design wise

Dabrick017 votes

Is design makes way more sense when you look at it that way.

There are still people who are going to hate it for what it is now.

People refuse to be open to new things and it is their fault.

Ebonmaw Dragon5 votes

Even if i understand the point of this thread and it makes sense, i think that the main problem about the new Galio is that he is not a Gargolye.

Sure, you are totally right about "makes far more sense as a Demacian golem than the current Galio"... because the current galio isnt supposed to represent a golem (even if he is, technically). Gargolyes are grotesque carvings in stone that are located in the top of a building... and the new Galio is bigger than the building itself and its not grotesque at all. That is not a Gargolye at all.

Right now he is a golem with wings... and to be fair, we already have golems in the game... but, Imagine if Riot changed Twitch from a Rat to a Kangaroo and instead of releasing a new Rat champion to fill the niche of a Rat, they wouldn't because Twitch exist already, even if he is a Kangaroo now... and i can bet that it will happen with the Gargolye theme.

It was really necessary to make him a giant creature just to be cooler?

Valor Bot4 votes

Not all gargoyles are grotesques. Perhaps the traditional ones are, but take a look at the Gargoyles TV show and you'll see there are plenty of humanoid ones too in other media while still being considered Gargoyles.

Ebonmaw Dragon3 votes

[{quoted}](name=Valor Bot,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=a5AEz1Mv,comment-id=00020000,timestamp=2017-03-07T20:23:38.581+0000)

Not all gargoyles are grotesques. Perhaps the traditional ones are, but take a look at the Gargoyles TV show and you'll see there are plenty of humanoid ones too in other media while still being considered Gargoyles.

But they all have things a thing in common: They can stand in the top of a building and become statues, sure, it doesnt sound like something fun, but we could say that its a weakness of the Gargolyes... Galio cant do that unless the buildings in Demacia were made by giants.

Skorch2 votes

I mean the Demacian Captial Building or whatever it is is pretty fucking massive. That and i feel like in a few pictures of what weve seen of him its a little inconsistant. Although what is CURRENT Galios size anyway, I heard he was still massive, maybe not to that extent, but massive nonetheless.

Ebonmaw Dragon3 votes

{quoted}

I mean the Demacian Captial Building or whatever it is is pretty fucking massive. That and i feel like in a few pictures of what weve seen of him its a little inconsistant. Although what is CURRENT Galios size anyway, I heard he was still massive, maybe not to that extent, but massive nonetheless.

Lets compare the splash arts of the new and old Galio:

New: Standing outside the City, with a tiny house hear his feet https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8E2gpSvvuxk/WL78nKG8OQI/AAAAAAAAfVU/s1jUqpCCseARTPU9b-GDx6sLAIh-mDyIwCLcB/s640/wp-galio-base-logo.jpg

Old: Standing on the top of a building, like Gargolyes do, in the middle of Demacia http://ddragon.leagueoflegends.com/cdn/img/champion/splash/Galio_0.jpg http://lolwp.com/wp-content/uploads/Galio_Splash_10.jpg

Seriously, you cant tell me that he cant stand on the top of that tiny house and become a statue without breaking it.

Maybe, MAYBE the new Galio is a gargolye of the giant castle of the King... but there is no way for him to protect the city from inside without destroying everything arround him. In fact, he is already causing damage to the houses of the villagers with his tail in the new splash art.

Skorch1 votes

You see it looks like the soldiers to the right are fleeing from him, with red flags, meaning that is not a Demacian house. You can see Demacia in the background. On top of that we can see what looks like a few wheels at his feet. I assume it is some sort of raiding Caravan, of who? IDK. But it doesnt look like a house. Why would Galio be standing proud over accidentally destroying one of his protected citizens houses?

There IS a house near him for comparison, but it is an outskirt village house, meaning it is MUCH smaller than Demacia. Demacians are so GRAND in everything they build it wouldnt surprise me if he could just walk down the street, It'd be a tight squeeze, but maybe. (Also it says somewhere he is a guardian of the walls of Demacia, meaning his "perch" MIGHT be the wall and not a building, while still having free roam over the plains outside, still legal in gargoyle standards.)

Ebonmaw Dragon2 votes

{quoted}

You see it looks like the soldiers to the right are fleeing from him, with red flags, meaning that is not a Demacian house. You can see Demacia in the background. On top of that we can see what looks like a few wheels at his feet. I assume it is some sort of raiding Caravan, of who? IDK. But it doesnt look like a house. Why would Galio be standing proud over accidentally destroying one of his protected citizens houses?

There IS a house near him for comparison, but it is an outskirt village house, meaning it is MUCH smaller than Demacia. Demacians are so GRAND in everything they build it wouldnt surprise me if he could just walk down the street, It'd be a tight squeeze, but maybe. (Also it says somewhere he is a guardian of the walls of Demacia, meaning his "perch" MIGHT be the wall and not a building, while still having free roam over the plains outside, still legal in gargoyle standards.)

http://i.imgur.com/tdHP8AD.jpg

Please, im not talking about the Caravan that he destroyed, im talking about the house... You cant deny that he caused damage to the demacian building of the people that he is trying to protect.

Maybe, he can stand on the top of the giant Demacian structure on the horizon... but whatever, he is a Magic Nullifing Colossus, not a Gargolye.

KuroCaliber1 votes

He did mention in his lines that he never realized he had a tail

GreenLore4 votes

While he isn't a gargoyle in the traditional sense,he still resembles one enough.

I mean Aurelion Sol is technically no dragon,but because he resembles one so much,he pretty much fills the role of LoLs chinese dragon.

Ebonmaw Dragon3 votes

{quoted}

While he isn't a gargoyle in the traditional sense,he still resembles one enough.

I mean Aurelion Sol is technically no dragon,but because he resembles one so much,he pretty much fills the role of LoLs chinese dragon.

To be fair the lore of Aurelion do says that he is a cosmic Dragon, even if he doesnt see himself as such. In other hand, the new Galio cant be considered a Gargolye at all. Its like the case of Vladimir and the vampires, Vlad is not a vampire, but he looks like traditional one... the war between the people who wants an actual Vampire in the game and the ones that consider Vlad a vampire has been there since always... So, i can see why people is annoyed by the change of Galio.

GreenLore5 votes

The thing is that if there are actual dragons on the planet and then there is this huge space-being that is as old as the universe itself,then its pretty clear that the latter is something entirely different.

And overall,what defines a gargoyle in your opinion? After all there are lots of interpreatations of gargoyles in fiction http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gargoyles_collage2_350px.png

However the one thing that they basically all have in common is that they are humanoids with wings that can turn into/are made of stone. The one thing that I guess he is lacking is that he doesn't sit on huge buildings,he IS the huge building.

Ebonmaw Dragon2 votes

{quoted}

The one thing that I guess he is lacking is that he doesn't sit on huge buildings,he IS the huge building.

Exaclty! That is like the most important thing about Gargolyes after the turning into a stone thing.

Being humanoid and having wings is secondary since not all the gargolyes are like that.

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/4/44/Bronx.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110317174726 https://aos.iacpublishinglabs.com/question/aq/1400px-788px/gargoyles-notre-dame-cathedral_79eef6bdc5204bfa.jpg?domain=cx.aos.ask.com

GreenLore1 votes

But then again,there are buildings like this in demacia http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/demacia-citadel.jpg

Where he might be sitting.(He does mention a pedestal in his VO)

Ebonmaw Dragon3 votes

{quoted}

The thing is that if there are actual dragons on the planet and then there is this huge space-being that is as old as the universe itself,then its pretty clear that the latter is something entirely different.

And overall,what defines a gargoyle in your opinion? After all there are lots of interpreatations of gargoyles in fiction http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gargoyles_collage2_350px.png

However the one thing that they basically all have in common is that they are humanoids with wings that can turn into/are made of stone. The one thing that I guess he is lacking is that he doesn't sit on huge buildings,he IS the huge building.

Finally, now that we heard his VO we can confirm that he is NOT a Gargolye

https://youtu.be/rJFip-XdMIw?t=834

Case closed.

GreenLore3 votes

Well of course he wouldn't see himself as one. Aurelion also mentions that he isn't really a dragon(though he does describe himself as one)

But in the end I think it is up to personal opinion,I guess that with the new galio they could actually make a second gargoyle champion now,because Galio isn't just a gargoyle anymore,but also a colossus,so if they make a less humanoid gargoyle then it could actually fit.

Ebonmaw Dragon2 votes

{quoted}

Well of course he wouldn't see himself as one. Aurelion also mentions that he isn't really a dragon(though he does describe himself as one)

But in the end I think it is up to personal opinion,I guess that with the new galio they could actually make a second gargoyle champion now,because Galio isn't just a gargoyle anymore,but also a colossus,so if they make a less humanoid gargoyle then it could actually fit.

To be fair, im one of those persons that is not happy with Aurelion not being a Dragon and do not consider Shyvana a dragon as well and im waiting for my actual dragon champion.

So, yeah, Riot could make a new Gargolye champion that actually feels like a Gargolye now that Galio isnt a Gargolye. Dont get me wrong, i totally agree with this thread... But we cannot deny that the Gargolye theme is not really the focus of the new Galio.

GreenLore1 votes

So yeah now that his lore is out,there are actually some ties to gargoyles. It says that he sits outside of the city of demacia like a statue and that he awakens if he senses a huge amount of magic.

I would like to hear your opinion about this,because to me this does actually sound more like a gargoyle than the previous galio. Sure he doesn't sit on top of buildings,but he is a stone construct that lies dormant until a threat to a certain place approaches. Wheras the previous version of him was always active and even turned into a statue as a combat move instead.

Ebonmaw Dragon1 votes

{quoted}

So yeah now that his lore is out,there are actually some ties to gargoyles. It says that he sits outside of the city of demacia like a statue and that he awakens if he senses a huge amount of magic.

I would like to hear your opinion about this,because to me this does actually sound more like a gargoyle than the previous galio. Sure he doesn't sit on top of buildings,but he is a stone construct that lies dormant until a threat to a certain place approaches. Wheras the previous version of him was always active and even turned into a statue as a combat move instead.

Yeah, it actually sounds more like a Gargolye than the original one from the lore standpoint... we could say that he is a really really big gargolye that doesnt see itself as a gargolye.

Skorch1 votes

Might just be my American showing but what the HELL is a Canguru.

Ebonmaw Dragon1 votes

{quoted}

Might just be my American showing but what the HELL is a Canguru.

My bad, im not the american one: i meant to say: Kangaroo

Skorch1 votes

What country is it spelled Canguru?

Ebonmaw Dragon1 votes

{quoted}

What country is it spelled Canguru?

Fine, i had no idea how to spell the name of such creature even in my country... but to be fair even the person who discovered the animal had problems with the name. Whatever, it seems that is spelled like that in... portuguese and i dont even speak portuguese.

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canguru

Skorch1 votes

Fair enough

Voidzilla4 votes

Although I was never a big fan of Galio, I was surprised by how much Riot changed his looks, and will agree he no longer screams "gargoyle" anymore.

However, all things considered, I think it was for the better.

What's a gargoyle really? A sprout used to drain water off of a building. Not a really exciting archetype to play as. In a more fantastical/popular sense though, a gargoyle is a demonic stone figure that protects the building it's on. That's all well and good, but it's been done a million times already. If Galio stayed as a stone man with bat wings, there'd be little to set him apart from any other gargoyle from any other game. Instead, the designers pushed Galio to not only fit Demacia's aesthetics, but also put a spin on the gargoyle trope. Instead of a thing that merely sits on buildings, Galio is the building. Instead of a creature that looks down from its perch, Galio looks down because of how colossal he is. Instead of horns that were just there because "muh gargoyle", Galio has a crown to connect him to nobility. Instead of just another muscular demon, Galio has aspects of a knight or paladin to convey a sense of nobility and righteousness. A typical gargoyle would've been rather bland and uninspired, plus it wouldn't have looked Demacian, plus Aatrox can fit that thematic in a sense as well. This new Galio is as least unique and offers a fresh look on an old and, frankly, tired trope.

Recuro2 votes

I dislike this argument for a few reasons. First because it implies blue isn't a demacian color... Garen Lux Quinn Sona Vayne XinZhao - all from demacia and wear blue.

Another thing is that this entire update was focused on making him more Demacian. As people have said nothing about his old look was Demacian so... why is he still Demacian at all? People are acting like that was the single most important aspect of his character and are seemingly willing to scrap everything else to fit that mold. Personally I would have rather changed him to not be Demacian anymore than change his entire look to match it.

Finally, and people may disagree with me on this one, was this update's main goal to make his lore fit better? I know there are people that like the lore but in all honestly a lot of people don't really care about it that much. I myself am sort of interested in the lore but I'm mostly here for the game. I think the lore should be molded to match the champion, not the other way around. If Riot wants to make new lore that's fine, but don't do it at the expense of already cool designs.

ModCaptainMårvelous2 votes

Blue, perhaps. But teal? Because, as much as Galio looks blue in his current splash, his outfit is most certainly teal.

Following up on your other argument, Demacia is but one aspect of Galio's personality. Stalwart protector. Anti-magic tank. Golem/Gargoyle creature who gained sentience. Demacia simply molded "how" he would look as something like that, in much the same way you could argue where we grew up influenced the type of people we were. Someone raised/created in Noxus would be far different than Demacia. (As a comparison, Sion vs Galio existing as both aspects of the stalwart juggernaut defender of their respective homelands.)

But perhaps the biggest flaw with your argument is the lore problem. Lore plays a part in champion updates, sure, but lore is but one piece of the puzzle. On top of this, there are several well-defined champions from Demacia. It works a bit better when the zone isn't fleshed out like Bilgewater. When the nation has a very clear aesthetic, design, and type of champion? Who is easier to change: One outlier or ten fully fleshed out characters? Alternatively, you remove Galio from Demacia entirely and just make him lose a major part of his identity.

Recuro2 votes

Okay so make him blue instead of teal, I'm sure that would've been reasonable. I didn't say you shouldn't change him at all, his splash looks more blue anyway.

And again we're back to saying his Demacian nature should mold his entire look. I can't objectively say that's a bad thing - that I think boils down to whether you like his new look or not. I personally think his old look was wayyy better And I feel like old Galio got thrown in the trash just because he didn't fit the lore The new one looks like someone who had never seen Galio read his lore and never bothered to look back on his old look.

And on losing his identity by taking him away from Demacia, I'd argue he lost a lot more staying there. I'd say there's really no argument that his new personality is vastly different from his old one. I honestly hate the new voice but that's not entirely the point, the point is they completely scrapped his old personality. Yes they did succeed in making a Demacian gargoyle, but in my eyes that's literally the only thing about Galio they kept.

Kit wise they turned him into unique MR building mage into a generic tank dude. The only stuff the kept from the old kit was the tank stuff, ignoring the fact that he was more of a mage than anything.

So to summarize my thoughts I think he lost his unique playstyle, cool design, and solemn personality all for the sake of making him Demacian.

If you like the new Demacian Gargoyle champ that's fine, but I can't for the life of me see that being Galio.

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