PC Gamer UK 01.2021 @InternationalPress75

TOP: One challenge
to this allegation is
that Riot senior
designer Jeevun
Sidhu claims his
partner, another
employee who goes
by Riot Whiskies
online, inspired
Seraphine’s
personality.
Stephanie
acknowledges
this and says she
doesn’t believe
Seraphine is based
only on her.

ABOVE: Stephanie
notes that Seraphine
comes from regions
in League lore she
wrote an essay about

• an essay shared
  with John, which she
  claims he printed
  out and framed in
  Riot’s office.

that day an illustration of Seraphine was posted to the

character’s Twitter to announce she was ‘working’ with

KD/A. It seemed like more than coincidence.

“I’ve felt really grossed-out about it, to the point that I

can’t play one of my favourite videogames,” writes

Stephanie. “It’s been kind of horrid to have a League

champion who looks like you, has so many of your

characteristics, and has a name that’s almost identical to

yours. People I’ve never met send her to me online and

point out the similarities, there’s already immense

amounts of porn of her.”

THE LOOK

As for legal options, Michigan State University law

professor Brian Kalt says those would likely involve “the

tort of right of publicity, also known as appropriation of

likeness”, which “protects your name or likeness from

unwarranted intrusion or exploitation”.

Whatever happens legally, it’s understandable why

Stephanie believes Seraphine is based on her. But there’s

also a chance this is pure coincidence. If the resemblance

is intentional, it seems hard to prove unless someone like

John confirms Stephanie was the direct inspiration, and

that seems unlikely indeed.

Tyler Wilde

Highs & Lows

HIGHS

World of Warcraft

WoW speedrunner DesMephisto

took a Death Knight from level 10

to 50 in 3 hours 33 minutes.

Apex Legends

Respawn hasidentified 419 top-level

players using an exploit to beat up on

Bronzers, and banned them.

Mass Effect

A return to Andromeda? Who knows,

but Bioware is releasing artwork that

gives hope for humanity’s future.

Among Us

Since the game became a viral hit,

Steam has been flooded with

knock-offs.

Capcom

The Japanese giant was hit by

a huge ransomware attack in

November.

Ubisoft Montreal Hoax

Some moron called in a hoax

hostage situation at Ubisoft

Montreal, and the building was

cleared by armed police.

LOWS

Recently-formed developers
Sharkmob are creating a
battle royale game based on
tabletop RPG Vampire: The
Masquerade, bewildering fans and
non-fans alike. Set to release in 2021,
you’ll need to collect blood and use your
powers to survive the night and be the
last man –er, vampire – standing. RW

COMPLETELY BATTY

V:TM BATTLE ROYALE

NEWS | OPINION | DEVELOPMENT

Tired of hot ears? You need

sound beaming – a

technology coming to

fruition that allows audio to

be beamed from a speaker-like

device direct to your brain. Isn’t that

just called a speaker? No! This is sound

only you can hear, and without needing

to wear anything on your head. JR

After months of annoying C

antics in Warzone, Infinity

Ward and Raven have now

backed the MacGyver

approach to explosives. One redditor

found a bomb drone in a bunker,

seemingly modelled on the DIY

version that saw players strap

C4 to flying spycams. JP

USER-GENERATED CONTENT

WARZONE BOMB DRONE

BRAIN WAVES

SOUND BEAMING TECH