The Nature of Ninjas & Shen: An Overview (Part 1 of 4)
Quick Primer In what follows is going to be multiple posts of ideas and suggestions that I started putting down "to paper" during my insomnia/sleep deprived nights. I edited some after the fact but it's all still fairly rough. Most of it should not be viewed seriously, but I like the general ideas and think it might be an interesting take on a Shen Gameplay and Visual update. I'll try to keep each post to the relevant boards and provide links between.
Let us begin with a general overview of the current state of Shen, shall we? --__--
Current Visuals: Here comes Shen on the catwalk. He's sporting your standard ninja uniform in dark, muted blue. Quite clever for going unseen and unheard in those traditional ninja tabis. Take note of those manly bare arms and shoulder pads an 80's business woman would envy. Doesn't he look fetching?
Okay all in all, Shen doesn't look horrible. Except for his older model being a little clunky he looks fine. Shen's a ninja and he looks like one. The problem is that he doesn't look interesting. There's nothing conveying story or personality in his clothes, stance, or effects. He's the epitome of generic ninja.
Current Lore: Shen, our loveable stoic ninja, has pretty bare bones lore but we know a few things. He sits in the background unmoving and unfeeling, passing judgment and telling others to act to maintain balance. Truly the epitome of ninja-dom. Wait a minute. That's not very ninja-like is it? He oversees the operations but doesn't actually carry them out? So... Shen is the guy hiring ninjas? He's their boss? So that makes Shen is a job site manager, right? Not a ninja.
Well, Shen does have a cool, classic rivalry between himself and Zed, the guy who killed his father. Zed "killed" his father and stole forbidden techniques, that shadowy bastard. Who wouldn't hate the guy that killed his dad and swear ever-hating vengeance. Except... for Shen. We don’t know how Shen reacted since this part if from Zed's lore. But Shen watched his father be tortured before his very eyes and didn't flinch. I don't think his murder would/should mean that much to him. Shen's got more noble duties to worry about than the petty torture and/or death of the man that raised and trained him. Shen's got to keep an eye on who's been too naughty or too good. Where are your priorities people!?
But man, do you know who would make a perfect rival for the "Master of Shadows" and is sitting around doing nothing in their current lore? Perhaps the "Fist of Shadow", Akali. Am I right? (Let's ignore the vague heavy handed hint's that Shen's master/father defeated Zed and assumed his identity. Let's take it at face value so as not to complicate this further with speculation).
But wait, turkeyBACON, if Shen doesn't have his epic/clichéd rivalry; his lore leaves him as a boring middle manager. I know, little one, I hear you; I'll get to it in good time. Don't you worry your pretty little heads. So let's just say his lore is problematic and take a look at his gameplay.
Current Gameplay: While ninja's don't desire open combat, ninjas do get down. They just don't get dirty. They work in the shadows unnoticed. Sneak in, steal the item/kill the target, sneak out. Its the poor ninja that makes himself known. So what does Shen do? In game, he's a tank. He taunts enemies into attacking him, he shields himself and life taps his enemies so during his long duration fights he can stay alive and deal more damage over time through his autos. Oh and he teleports across the map to aid his allies. Overall very ninja like. /sarcasm
Okay, perhaps Shen isn't the classic ninja fantasy. Perhaps he comes from the Naruto school of flashy magic tricks you use to distract and attack your enemies over longer fights but you use your cunning and tricks to out maneuver and set yourself up for the fatal blow. But... Shen doesn't even do that. Sure he distracts and he has some magic tricks. But he doesn't outplay his opponents really and he very rarely lands the killing blow.
TLDR: So what type of ninja is Shen supposed to be? His visuals say classic. And his Lore says overseer. His gameplay says straight up tank/fighter. So what can or should be done to reconcile this mish-mash of ideas?
The Nature of Ninjas & Shen: An Overview (Part 1 of 4) A Modest Proposal: Shen's Lore Update (Part 2 of 4) A Modest Proposal: Shen's Lore/Visual Update (Part 3 of 4) A Modest Proposal: Shen's Gameplay Update (Part 4 of 4)