Keeping it static but fresh

Johr Dinh·7/25/2015, 1:23:40 AM·1 votes·528 views

First off, I have no problem playing Rift all day everyday, and I find a static map or map set for competitive games to be very important for the integrity of the esport being discussed.

Having said that, some people aren't as hardcore as others, and need that little visual juice to keep them coming back. New champs and skins work well for League, but I think you could do something else.

I don't think anyone would mind a Dominion or Twisted Treeline skin every now and then, but I wouldn't prioritize them as they probably aren't half as popular as the other maps. For ARAMs I feel like doing a reskin of the map once every 6 months or so, and having the game pick from a pool of ARAM maps when you play that playlist would work well to motivate people to keep playing, coming back, etc. FPS players who are used to having pools of maps to play from are used to that constant visual change. No voting, just throw us on a random ARAM skin would be fine. You don't have to go as big as the Bligewater event, but that would definitely add even more quality to the experience.

Rift on the other hand, the main map for esports, is more subject to competitive integrity. You want a static experience for practice, as well as having the least amount of changes to the map as possible. My idea is to have Summoners Rift change its seasonal look (kinda like it used to) based on LCS/LCK/etc season changes, and actual IRL seasons. You would only have to change the map every 3 months or so, it would be the same static experience every year, and it would give the map and game a more immersive feeling, all while keeping it fresh and making people wanna come back for the next seasonal map for a bit. It wouldn't be as big and epic as a Bligewater event, but having a Spring season on a map with cherry blossoms, a winter season or winter IEM Championship on a snow covered map in December, Worlds on a fall/autumn map...idk I think that'd be cool. I believe Riot used to do this sometimes for holidays like Halloween, but it was probably a pain making a Rift skin to only use it for 2-4 weeks, for specific holidays, etc. (I think it was before my time too, I started end of S3 so correct me if i'm wrong) If anything maybe it could work well for Normals/Blind pick/etc but keep it away from Ranked?

Idk just an idea, always trying to think of ways to make League better. This might not be an amazing idea, some people would probably hate it, just something I thought of that I wanted to share.

1 Comments

Minarde7/26/2015, 1:37:37 AM1 votes
  1. Competitive integrity should be a priority for any skins, regardless of map.
  2. If Riot starts with map skin rotations, every map should get them. It's fine to prioritize SR, but Riot shouldn't exclude the other maps, like they did with Pool Party minions. Further marginalizing alternate game modes doesn't make much sense when SR already has so many specific incentives.