Hello bros, I was wondering why we haven't had a particle heavy champion like Xearth in a while.
As in the particles basically being the champion and really selling a design.
I was wondering if this was partially a hereditary issue with the LoL engine or if theres more of a design side problem with a particle based champion.
I thought Xearth was pretty cool but I don't think his form being limited to a glowing line really played to the strengths of particles, and so I was just wondering if there were other ideas around energy type champions or maybe fades, phantoms, or any other numerous ways you could tackle a particle champ conceptually...and if those ideas were being limited by design reasons or by engine limitations.
Since you addressed us in the formal "bros" I'll try and answer this...bro
I'm happy to hear you wanna see more particle champs and thanks for starting up a thread about it; we appreciate it!
I'd argue we have quite a few particle heavy champs; Nami, Syndra,Jayce,and Kha Zix come to mind. Maybe my understanding of a particle heavy champ is different, but I consider a particle heavy champion as a champ that uses particles as their power source and personalty. An example is Syndra; those energy balls are part of her character and gameplay. Or look at Nami, all those water effects (oooooo fancy)
Another little tid bit is, while we work hard to make all the spell effects look friggin cool, we try to enhance gameplay first by removing some visual clutter or noise. Trust me, each of us has made crazy effects that we had to trim down because either fps took a nosedive or it took up way too much screen real estate it caused gameplay issues. One example from my own work is Tryant Swain's ult transformation was gigantic and you couldn't see your team mates or anything else for that matter. Bravo Ray approved.
At the end of the day, we want to make sure the design and gameplay are enhanced and conveyed through the particle effects while making it look as cool as possible. When character calls for it, we to do our part to bring it to life.
I ranted but I hope I answered your questions; please feel free to ask.
I'd like to know where you guys usually draw the line in terms of "cluttering" or "overloading" the screen. Which in game skills are really "toeing the line" right now?
Just curious. =)
Great question! I don't want to call out any spells and put them in a bad light I'm a bro I can't do that.
Generally, we try not to obstruct other player's view and keep action as clear possible. We play test everything to make sure you can tell what's going on while looking cool. The art and design teams have guidelines for visual noise and we rely on playtests as well as each other's feedback to make sure we hit the mark.
@ Riot's Particle Artists, and Character Designers.
As in the particles basically being the champion and really selling a design.
I was wondering if this was partially a hereditary issue with the LoL engine or if theres more of a design side problem with a particle based champion.
I thought Xearth was pretty cool but I don't think his form being limited to a glowing line really played to the strengths of particles, and so I was just wondering if there were other ideas around energy type champions or maybe fades, phantoms, or any other numerous ways you could tackle a particle champ conceptually...and if those ideas were being limited by design reasons or by engine limitations.
I'm happy to hear you wanna see more particle champs and thanks for starting up a thread about it; we appreciate it!
I'd argue we have quite a few particle heavy champs; Nami, Syndra,Jayce,and Kha Zix come to mind. Maybe my understanding of a particle heavy champ is different, but I consider a particle heavy champion as a champ that uses particles as their power source and personalty. An example is Syndra; those energy balls are part of her character and gameplay. Or look at Nami, all those water effects (oooooo fancy)
Another little tid bit is, while we work hard to make all the spell effects look friggin cool, we try to enhance gameplay first by removing some visual clutter or noise. Trust me, each of us has made crazy effects that we had to trim down because either fps took a nosedive or it took up way too much screen real estate it caused gameplay issues. One example from my own work is Tryant Swain's ult transformation was gigantic and you couldn't see your team mates or anything else for that matter. Bravo Ray approved.
At the end of the day, we want to make sure the design and gameplay are enhanced and conveyed through the particle effects while making it look as cool as possible. When character calls for it, we to do our part to bring it to life.
I ranted but I hope I answered your questions; please feel free to ask.
Just curious. =)
Generally, we try not to obstruct other player's view and keep action as clear possible. We play test everything to make sure you can tell what's going on while looking cool. The art and design teams have guidelines for visual noise and we rely on playtests as well as each other's feedback to make sure we hit the mark.