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@Riot, is it too late to listen to the lore community just for this once?

Ouroboro·12/19/2014, 3:12:35 AM·42 votes·6,159 views
Dev Blog: Exploring Runeterra

I just re-read this: http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/creative-spotlight/dev-blog-exploring-runeterra

After I was done literally crying, I scrolled down to read the comments. Take a look:

http://puu.sh/dAzmT/686548fcc4.png

I added in the whole comment for context, and after I got finished crying at the second comment, I read a request to the Rioter to set-up one final poll to see if this was something the lore lovers (We were already a minority. I can't say the lore fanbase got any bigger, and if it did, it's probably because you're actually doing lore now) really want to happen.

The final comment of the image raises a lot of good points. As someone who has been invested in the lore since Season 1 (I read the JoJ, the Judgements, everything, and loved them) I still get saddened even today by this decision in the lore narrative. In fact, one of the only reasons why I'm so obsessed with Varus as a character (He's my all-time favorite, if only he were viable. That's another story however.) was his Judgement.

It would mean the absolute world to me if you addressed this. Thanks.

-Ouroboro, former lore junkie, enthusiast, and writer

83 Comments

Byrnes12/19/2014, 9:32:42 AM11 votes

I don't mind the lore changes too much, in the end, but I do absolutely hate the little changes in champions here and there and then having Riot file it under "still same person, basically". And by that, I do not include champion relaunches. I mean the littlest of things...all the little things they change piece by piece that adds up.

Why does Riven wear makeup in the new splash and look 10x more girly than she did. Why did we have to change Lux's ulti from what it was to what it is now. Why did Ashe go from a wise leader to a whiny teenage girl.

To me, that was Riot suppressing some part of these characters that existed before...and for why? Because they felt these characters needed some change? I dont get it.

DarkerGrey12/19/2014, 11:04:47 AM11 votes

If Riot didn't show any intention of undo these lore changes when they first announced them, they have less reasons to do that now. We're just beating a dead horse.

I'm afraid to say it, but we lost. This Riot's game, they can do what they please and truly, there's nothing we can do about it. I feel like they own us at least an apology, but we won't get it. As we all know, Riot is too stubborn about it and they genuinely think this was a good idea.

I get that it's hard to write a story when the Institute of War is preventing every big conflict from happening, but that shouldn't even be a problem. The lore isn't about great battles involving armies and nations, it's about individual champions and their interactions with the Summoners and with each other. Even if you still want a big event within Runeterra, the conflict could be centered around the Institute of War before going about Noxus against some losers.

It's a waste of time to keep complaining about the lore. Even if we made a perfect argument, it'll be ignored or unanswered. Getting at least one Red post ITT would be miraculous unless we start bashing on Riot. Even then, we're probably only getting condolences from IronStylus at best.

LordHippoman12/19/2014, 3:35:40 AM8 votes

The window of opportunity is over, sadly. It's been about 4 months. If they rolledback the changes now, it would look extremely wishy washy on their part.

I'm really sorry this upset you. It upset a lot of people (Me too). But it's a done deal, and the best we can do now is either try and constructively work with the new lore, to give it that same magic the old version had, or...well, not. You don't have to like the new lore. You can go on writing fan fiction and doing art of the old stuff if you want, and nobody can take that from you.

Just don't flame the people who prefer the kind of Lore you're not into and you're fine in my book.

CupcakeTrap12/19/2014, 5:42:39 PM8 votes

That battle is lost, but the war is not. When it comes down to it, do you really want this Narrative team writing the League and Summoners? The same team that apparently cannot conceive of any version of them other than "creepy all-powerful puppetmasters who enslave and torment Champions"? I'd say it's a blessing that they won't be writing any more League lore.

Instead, I think our energy should be focused on two things. First, writing the League is up to the lore community now. I think we're up for the task. (I would in particular invite everyone who wants to help continue developing a League of Legends universe that actually has a League of Legends in it to come join in on writing Factions lore. We're a little busy at the moment wrapping up this arc, but we'll soon be in hardcore lore-writing mode again. We're also going to try to open up more of a tabletoppy roleplaying dimension for those who are interested.) Second, we need to do what we can to advocate against further destructive shock reveals, whereby Narrative suddenly (and without prior opportunity for discussion in "rework threads" or the like) makes major changes to characters and settings that are not compatible with prior lore. Them simply not writing about the League is arguably a plus, but they could still mess us up by continuing to Trundle characters and settings—i.e., rewriting them into entirely different concepts while retaining the same name.

Speaking of, they're about to Trundle Summoners. I think it's absurd that we aren't even getting a chance to give feedback and share ideas about what they're going to do to our in-universe selves.

My fantasy: that one day, people will laugh off Riot lore and consider community lore to be the centerpiece of the League universe. "Haha, did you know that Riot technically says the League of Legends doesn't even exist? Yeah, their community is showing them up again." That would be karmic justice indeed.

Narasimha12/19/2014, 4:05:21 AM6 votes

The honest and sad truth is, most people didn't care about the old lore. And I mean most players, not the minority on the forums/boards. To them, it was just something that was there, not really important at all. If anything, I've seen people's interests grow with how the new lore is presented. The new events, videos, and special pages garner more interest. Could they have done this with the old lore? Sure, they had the JoJ. And it was great. The issue was that it was a static thing. It was like reading a newspaper. And let's face it, that doesn't appeal to that many people. The lore department is moving forward, and I do think they're making some good progress as they go.