focusedon“offence”,asMerrill
describesit,big-pictureideasthat
helpshapethefutureofRiotandits
games.That’swhyLeague’stenth
anniversarywassoclosetohisheart.
“Itwasanopportunitytoshowcase
notonlytotheworldbuttoRioters
[thenicknamegiventoemployees]
whatRiot’sallabout–whoweare,”
Merrilltellsme.“Theten-year
anniversarygaveusanopportunityto
takeplayersbackonajourneyofhow
thecompanyhasevolved.”
Merrillsaysthemomentwasalso
bornoutofarealisationthatwith
over 150 millionplayers(8million
playingeachday),anygameRiot
announcedwouldlikelydisappointa
largesectionofitsaudience.Afterall,
noteveryoneisintocompetitive
FPSeslikeValorantorcardgames
likeLegendsofRuneterra.Soinstead
ofannouncingonegameand
potentiallyleavingsomeLeague
playersdisappointed,Riotannounced
sixofthemandaTVshow.
“AllofthegrowththatRiot’shad,
andallofourfutureplans,arejusta
continuationofourmissionasan
organisation,whichwe’vealways
saidweaspiretobethemost
player-focusedgamecompanyinthe
world.”Merrillsays.“Becauseit’s
reallyallaboutthem.”
INCHARACTER
Themagicthat’sturnedLeagueof
Legendsintotheworld’sbiggestPC
gamedoesn’talljustboildownto
that‘fortheplayer’attitude.Afterall,
we’retalkingaboutanintensely
competitivegamethattakes
thousandsofhourstomasterandhas
a reputation for toxicity that Riot is
still trying to curb. There’s another
key ingredient at work: League of
Legends’ huge cast of characters.
Over the past decade Riot has
slowly stitched together a vast fantasy
universe and intricate backstories for
each and every one of its 157
champions. And while many might
not grab your attention, there’s such a
huge amount to choose from that at
least one is likely to catch your eye.
“Our opportunity for players to
explore these characters is relatively
limited given the third-person
isometric camera perspective and the
click to move mechanic and only a
handful of abilities,” Merrill explains.
That’s why so much effort goes into
the tiniest details, including lines of
dialogue and animation. Everything
about them has to be perfect.
“But I do think that it’s
insufficient,” Merrill explains. “I
think why players get so attached is
we have the luxury and benefit of
people playing a lot over time and
having a long-term relationship with
these characters and therefore they
get attached. Because the champion
roster was created to have these rich,
diverse characters with different
themes and personalities, we built
this pop fantasy universe. And the
range of what can be included in the
[world of League] can be really
robust, so there’s a lot of opportunity
for creativity to be expressed in ways
that still fit and make sense.”
It shouldn’t work, but it does
because even if the setting might
change, the characters stay rooted in
an inalienable identity that makesRIOT GAMES
“WE’VE ALWAYS
SAID WE ASPIRE
TO BE THE MOST
PLAYER-FOCUSED
GAME COMPANY IN
THE WORLD”
ABOVE: (^) Riot Games has offices all over the world, including Los Angeles,
London, Hong Kong, Dublin, Dubai, Istanbul, and more.