The Old Standard For Champion Releases

Impetual·Jul 10, 2015·5 votes·655 views

I miss how excited I used to be about lore/narrative releases.

In the old days, we used to hear whispers of a a yet to be released champion through the hints dropped in the Journal of Justice.

Usually there would be a political event that would have an impact on the world of Runeterra and develop its story upon a champion release.

WIth each champion release, the story of Runeterra would be continued.

These days champions feel like they're produced in a vacuum. They don't feel like they have any impact on Runeterra and simply just exist.

The "narrative element" just hasn't been up to par for the last few champions. The new champions just don't feel important or significant to Runeterra.

Despite their reduced frequency, champion releases feel much less like an "event" than they used to.

6 Comments

SolideusJul 10, 20155 votes

You think a few words in the JoJ about a "sighting" were the most exciting way imaginable to introduce a champion? Really? How aren't todays pre-release content better in every way?

And what exactly makes new releases so very one-off compared to early releases? You say champions were "usually" released with a political event; whom was, exactly? I can barely think of one, and that's Lee Sin who was on fire for a while. How well does his mention in the JoJ compare to the content released for Diana, Zed, Vi, Quinn, Lissandra, Lucian, Jinx or Azir? Doesn't rework-events, like Sion's, count as release-content? I really don't think we get more one-off champions than way-back.

ImpetualJul 11, 20151 votes

My mistake, I may have given the impression that the JoJ was the only way that the old lore developed newly released champions. It wasn't.

Whenever a champion was released, Riot would produce a champion judgment, which would give us great insight into a given champion's personal issues. The judgment from the Institute of War would always give interesting and personal information on who a champion is and what they're about.

In addition, there would usually be a Incident in the Journal of Justice where said champion would have an impact on Runeterra, which would help give us an idea where they stood within the world.

Rather than just telling us who/what a champion is, they would show us who they were through events and interactions that actually had an effect on Runeterra and the other champions within it!

SolideusJul 11, 20151 votes

I see! I did enjoy the judgements, but it seems to me like pre-release stories, like the Ekko comics, fills that role now. Most of the time I didn't feel like the incidents in the JoJ was that impactful, though. As opposed to the judgements, the JoJ's format didn't allow much character development to shine through.

NorthernDruidJul 10, 20152 votes

Well that's just how things are now. Riot doesn't want to tell that story anymore, they want to tell a completely different story unrelated to anything but general character names and themes.

It became clear to me that as a world, Runeterra wasn't going forward, when they claimed they were replacing major core setting elements and then didn't do anything for 10 months.

Tesla EffectJul 10, 20152 votes

He is just biased, nothing will really change his opinion unless its like the old.

ImpetualJul 11, 20152 votes

Incorrect.

I'm not involved with Riots Lore production, so I don't see how I could possibly be biased. I'm just another player pointing out what I don't like.

My opinion isn't biased, regardless of how one-sided it might seem to be to you. If you attempt to misguide people into believing that I have a biased opinion, I implore you to explain to them what you believe that bias to be, rather than just call me biased in a dismissive tone with zero explanation.

Back on track: Old isn't necessarily good or bad on it's own. There's good stuff and bad to be had with both the new and the old.

I just happen to find the old lore much more compelling than the new lore based on it's merits.

To me, the new lore just feels over commercialized and streamlined to the point that it lacks the character the old lore had. It lacks the charm and intrigue that the older champion releases had.

That's my personal opinion, which I think is a very understandable one, and I don't believe it is a biased one. If you believe my opinion is biased, could you please explain what you think that bias is?

Once again, this is just my opinion!