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League of Legends Newsletter #8 - June 2009 |
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Wednesday, 01 July 2009 |
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The vast quantities of magical energy that have been released during
Valoran's numerous Rune Wars have scarred much of Valoran. Many remote
locales continue to be twisted by residual magic, making them places
where few dare to go. The Howling Marsh is one of these places, and the
self-appointed overlord of this land is the lich known as Karthus. Some
speculate that Karthus was a mage in life who was foolish enough to
enter the fetid waters seeking his fortune, and that he was forever
transformed by whatever dark magic permeates the swamp.
Karthus has come to the League of Legends seeking personal magical
power and influence. While not entirely malevolent as an undead lich,
he cares little for the consequences of death upon the living. Karthus
can make the ground beneath his foes erupt, causing massive damage to
those caught in the blast. He can create a wall of tangible pain,
crippling foes who are foolish enough to pass through it. Karthus also
may sing the song of death itself; those who hear his baleful dirge are
wounded to their very soul, and it is nearly impossible to escape
hearing this woeful aria. |
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The city-state of Zaun is a twisted realm of science and magic ran
amok. The air is choked with pollution from the countless factories and
magic labs that spew waste into the sky. As polluted as the sky is in
Zaun, its subterranean levels are far worse. The waste products of
Zaun's many different scientific and magical endeavors have flowed
together in its sewers, mixing into a toxic and mysterious concoction.
Rising up from this alchemical nightmare is a single plague rat. Unlike
his un-evolved cousins, Twitch (as he calls himself) can talk and read
and interact with the world as well as any of the other sentient being
in Valoran.
While Twitch's true motivations remain known only to him, his prowess
in the arena is a matter of public record. As a creature of the sewers,
he is able to blend in with the shadows and ambush an unwary victim of
his choosing. He has collected a significant quantity of the toxic soup
that collects in Zaun's underground, which he coats his crossbow with.
The effect of being shot with one of Twitch's crossbow bolts is
extremely debilitating. Even without his poison, he will outright
infect those he chooses to attack courtesy of him being a plague rat.
As an act of desperation, Twitch may rapidly unleash a flurry of bolts
at his foes. He madly peppers the area he focuses on, though the damage
is reduced. |
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Process of Iterative Design, Part 4
by Tom Cadwell
I'm Tom Cadwell, Director of Systems
Design here at Riot Games. In my last blog, I wrote a bit about how we
changed Twisted Fate to make him more fun. In this blog, I'm going to
outline the same process, but with Master Yi.
Sometimes, after making a Champion, we end up wanting to change their
abilities - we get a new great idea, or something doesn't work quite as
well as we hoped. Master Yi is the latest example of this and of how we
try to improve the game and evolve it over time.
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Prior to co-founding Riot, Marc worked as a corporate marketing
executive at the Business-to-Business media firm Advanstar
Communications. Marc also held roles in finance at Merrill Lynch and US
Bancorp. He brings to Riot his marketing, leadership, and "l337" gaming
skills. Since founding Riot however, Marc has only had time to game
vicariously through the design team while watching them do "research"
from his lonely office in the Riot Tower.
Special Ability: Night Merrill
Marc temporarily enters Beast Mode, which causes all employees to
fervently increase productivity by 300% for the next two hours. |
Shawn Carnes joins the Riot team, bringing with him 15 years of
experience as a game designer. He has given life to some great ideas
while working at Wizards of the Coast, contributing to the development
of Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, and Dungeons & Dragons 3rd
Edition. Most recently at Blizzard Entertainment, he was a part of the
World of Warcraft design team, creating numerous quests, world events,
and WoW's reputation system. As the Lead Developer for Blizzard's
Licensed Product Development team, he was instrumental in creating the
World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, WoW Minis Game, WoW Adventure
Game, and the StarCraft board game.
Special Ability: Atlas
When the game world doesn't seem to fit together, Shawn gathers it on
his back, and holds it tightly; balancing out the world so it may mold
together, and live harmoniously as he presents it in his hand to the
World in all its glory. Drama sold separately. |
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