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Riot's next big game: please don't make an MMO

Maisanai·12/22/2018, 7:43:06 PM·16 votes·11,066 views

I see a new pro-LoL MMO post on here almost every week it feels like, and they tend to get many upvotes and much praise for people within the boards community. I myself have enjoyed many different MMO's over the years, and would no doubt enjoy one based in Runeterra. However, I think that making a new MMO given the trend of the market, would be a serious blunder. The genre has been on a steady decline For a while. If you look at trends for interest in MMO's and the number of active players, you will notice a pattern. Unless a new expansion is released on a consistent basis, say every 2 years or so, the player base will dwindle. Most of the top games have around 1-3 million active accounts, with WoW being the exception at around 7 million. This is something to consider when Riot already has a game that requires constant updates and maintenance. Branching into probably the most costly genre on the market would be incredibly risky. As MMO's continue to decline in overall popularity, I think it's important to consider the future of the brand and what a new game could do to help get the world of Runeterra to a bigger audience. They should focus on appealing to gamers that maybe have never touched LoL, and I think the best way to do that would be to create a story focused experience, something that can be released on consoles as well as PC. The lore has been one of the best things about LoL (for me) for a while now, and any game that would allow me to explore these vast and rich locations would be phenomenal. This would also give them a chance to Introduce new story arcs and characters, as well as progress the story of Runeterra in meaningful ways without having to use the characters of LoL to do it.

What I think could work: an open world RPG or a series of narrative focused adventures. One could appeal to fans of single players games like Mass Effect, Skyrim, and the Witcher, while the other has the chance of appealing to more casual gamers as well. The open world RPG might be the best way to truly immerse someone in this world, and maybe allow the player enough choice to be able to make the character truly their own. With a series of narrative adventures, I'm thinking something like a telltale game, they would be able to give us different character viewpoints. We could explore stories in each faction, with maybe name drops or cameos of character from LoL.

I understand the desire for an MMO, and nostalgia for the greats of the genre is a powerful thing. But there have been many attempts to recreate the success of WoW, and most have failed. Look at Wildstar. I want whatever they release to be something that we can enjoy in a new way, that I can show to my "single player only" brother and he can get hooked. Sorry for the rant, hopefully something made sense here.

30 Comments

Grudumpf12/23/2018, 2:28:18 AM9 votes

Oh boi, finally someone who say the opposite of all the "gamers" around there. A MMO in the world of runeterra would just has been a wasted occasion to truly focus on one region/faction by one region/faction. I want a Skyrim/the Witcher experience in Runeterra, not a "let's go to Zaun for 2 days then switch to Demacia" experience. I want a place based on quality, not lot of region only based on quantity...

And even if it's a bit different, I see the same point about a "League movie". Geez guys, don't you see a serie would be faaar better than a rushed movie ? We're slowly going for the 150 champion, try to imagine just half of that in a movie. Or even a quarter. No depth in any character... While a serie can introduce a lot of different stories without drowning under 40 champions ! For me, League needs a GoT treatment, a lot of character, a lot of different stories, all going to the same point after some episodes/seasons

Hexs Fortune12/23/2018, 6:21:03 PM5 votes

Something else to consider is that an MMO tends to want to be the only game that it's user plays. MMO's naturally demand a large amount of time commitment from their audience. A single player game would be something we could explore on our own time, while continuing to enjoy league.

Jeddy01712/23/2018, 4:39:19 PM3 votes

[sg-ahri-2] You & I are on the same boat.

While I get the MMO hype people have, it never been my type of game (I tried). I would personally prefer a single player game more than anything. I'm not saying a MMO is a bad idea or shouldn't happen. It can still happen along side a single player game. Riot just have to partner with different companies for each game.

MMO isn't the only option forward.

Beast Brawler12/23/2018, 5:04:13 PM3 votes

Personally I think they should make a solo rpg or something to start with. Something that's easier to balance because it's only one or two players working together and you can focus on fun and satisfaction and world-building.

Kenny Omegaman12/23/2018, 11:10:31 PM3 votes

I'm with you, I prefer single player games. You can play through the story in them in your own time and at your own pace, with no feeling rushed to get to end game.

Arakadia12/23/2018, 9:09:43 AM2 votes

An RPG could be awesome. Something like Left for Dead or Dragon Age in general gives a lot of options for story telling.

JulianMX12/22/2018, 7:52:58 PM2 votes

The only good MMO was Metin2. Most of MMO are shitty graphics and cartoons like World of Warcraft

Official metin2 servers never did something for their game but his community and private servers did.

League of legends MMO should be like this :

https://www.facebook.com/620289974797132/videos/747016175457844/

A fantasy world with good graphics , worlds to explore and much more.

This video is from a private server that get the game further than others. His engine is SO old and you could still create fantasy that no one could imagine.

Think what league of legends could make with their money , engines..

I really hope if that happens they dont create a bad MMO with cartoon graphics and non sense skills like all of the MMO (AION , TERA , WOW , 4STORY......)

This game was the only one who escape from that.

League could be great as long as they do something amazing focusing this type of MMO.

Hammermancer2/27/2019, 8:48:55 PM1 votes

Fighting game and a 2-4 player adventure game could be pretty good

lWhat was that game that failed due to rushed production by the Gears of War team? it was really cool. Then there are all those generic DnD fantasy titles that have good ways of showing off the world

An MMO wouldn't be bad b ut yeah not yet, we need more world building

I'd rather a fighting game first up though, just to get the scenery and some aesthetics down, maybe new champ ideas or whatever

IVlaverick2/28/2019, 2:17:54 AM1 votes

Think about it this way; Riot already has shitty SJW terms of service. You don't want them making anymore games where people have to interact. Without their constant regulation and censoring, they'd never retain dumb idiots to purchase their "optional" content. Basically, the experience wouldn't be organic, the world would not evolve on it's own, it would be on rails from the start, just like modern WoW.

Madjack012/28/2019, 2:30:23 AM1 votes

Give us an open world rpg with factions (both optional and story-determining) and money would fly.

Depending on the faction you join you can get certain legends as companions. Plus having like a base to manage where you could gather all kinds of people you meet in the world would be a big bonus.

And make it 18+ with some damn gore and mature themes im general.

Sarshi12/23/2018, 11:04:31 AM1 votes

I'm willing to bet that, since WE get to hear about a new game, they've probably been working on it for long enough that the genre is already established - we might not know it, but they certainly decided what they want to do.

Hexs Fortune12/23/2018, 4:18:50 PM1 votes

As far as single player experiences go they can opt for 1st person like Skyrim/ Cyberpunk, 3rd person like Mass effect/ Witcher 3 or an over the top isometric perspective like Diablo 3, Pillars of Eternity and Divinity Original Sin.

An isometric game would bring us full circle from the Warcraft 3 days that inspired League in the first place. It'd also be more familiar to devs and players who are used to working within that space.

Yordle Xayah12/23/2018, 7:30:17 PM1 votes

Sorry, I hate Bethesda RPGs with passion. To me they're all the same: An open world where you can do whatever you want which often translates to nothing happening while you walk across a huge empty land fighting generic monsters, collecting a bunch of trash and doing trivial quests that ultimately feel like nothing even happened in the world and you might as well not even be there.

At least the MMO you play it with friends.

I really hate the Bethesda formula.

turkeyBACON12/23/2018, 10:09:06 PM1 votes

I would love for Riot to collaborate with Stoic Studios and make a game similar to Banner Saga set in Runeterra lore.

Lacrimae Lamia2/26/2019, 10:37:43 PM1 votes

I think youre assessment ignores the fact that unlike most MMOs LoL has an active fan base all ready heavily invested in the world.

I think within that fanbase there is a thirst to dive deeper than a 30 min romp on summoners rift. After a decade some players are aging out of being able to stay competitive but may still have an interest in being involved in the lore. So offering a multiplayer experience could catch those players who are stepping away.

The real concerns Riot will need to look out for if they go forward with such a plan. Is avoiding the traps and tropes of the genre. They need to avoid being seen as a WoW clone. Or being as generic and dull as ESO. Or as greedy and grindy as the slate of korean mmos that rise and fall like wheat. They will need to be cautious about their launch and modest with their monetization strategies. Defy the expectations of the players and provide a unique experience to compliment this rich and vibrant world and I think the players will defy expectations and flood in.

The MMO genre imho died to its own stagnation. It died on WOWs success. Learn the lessons of the past 20 years. Avoid open worlds devoid of stuff. Rather focus on filling smaller worlds to the brim with stuff. Focus on ways to develop community which is the best part about an MMO and ultimately what keeps them going strong. Try implementing stories where player and community action can impact the world.

GreenLore2/27/2019, 1:06:37 PM1 votes

Tbh, I think a strategy game could work really well.

Campaigns could take place in different factions, every faction could have different units(giving us insight about what they use in their military forces),giving us access to a large amount of playable champions(since they could still function as regular units) and I'd argue that it'd be easy to share some of the models between the 2 games.

Not to mention that it'd be easy to enhance the game with additional missions.