[News] "During the day I worked on one champion and at night on another": The obsession of a League of Legends developer changed the history of Riot Games ten years ago

[Draeno]

 

He came to League of Legends ten years ago and since then he has become the most important champion in the video game. She was the first character to have her own music video, she became the great protagonist of Arcane and Riot Games has used her on multiple occasions as the main image of its brand. Also, although in another order of importance, he is the only LoL hero to appear in Just Dance 2023. Jinx has changed the history of the MOBA and it is all the fault of a drawing that obsessed one of the developers when he had just entered the game. company.

A drawing on the wall and two newcomers to Riot Games
Artists have that thing where, as if the work wasn't enough, they still dedicate time to their ideas when the workday is over. The people behind League of Legends knew this, which is why there was a place in the company for everyone to share their creations. Back at Riot Games, there was a bulletin board where anyone could post their sketches of future champions. It was always full of art or skill kit ideas. The board was a source of inspiration for champion designers, even if most of the ideas have never even been developed", they explained.

On this small board, however, a sketch of what was then called "Psycho Arsenal" was published. That's where Katie De Sousa put it. The artist ended up becoming one of the most valued professionals at Riot Games, although at that time she had just arrived at the company. The drawing was posted on the developer's bulletin board for months until a small group of workers decided to turn that drawing with potential into a champion that could reach League of Legends.

 

The main person responsible for this adventure was August Browning, who had also just joined his job at Riot Games. He arrived in June 2012 and this is what the company's chronicles tell about his first six months of work: "While by day he worked on creating Vi, Jinx's archenemy, at night he joined Katie and others developers to bring Psycho Arsenal to life." With the ambition of someone who has just arrived and wants to conquer the world, he managed to bring two new characters forward in his first twelve months as a video game developer.

Jinx's main problem when she was still a cartoon named Psycho Arsenal was related to her generic appearance. It was then that the changes began and it took the form that finally made it to the video game. A joint effort in which the entire team collaborated and which also gave rise to playable changes. "We were putting weapons to him during his development while we thought about what his gameplay was going to be," explained Katie de Sousa. Initially it was a kind of Udyr in the marksman position with a weapon associated with each ability.

The idea was partially kept, although Jinx received it through different abilities and not just a basic attack modifier. Also, his passive was added at the last moment to reinforce his maniacal personality. "If Jinx encountered a stranger in an alley she would not automatically stab him. However, if she was walking down an alley and a stranger passed near a stack of fireworks, she would certainly set them off even if that stranger was burned alive. Fireworks are too much fun for her", concluded from Riot Games.

The consequences of Jinx's creation are largely known. However, its creation could be related to the cancellation of a champion. Between the release of Vi and Jinx, Riot August was going to work on a character called "Yordle in a Tank" that never got a final name. However, it ended up being discarded. "It was very bad, playing it was horrible and I don't know... it just wasn't good. His narrative and his art were great, but I wasn't able to do it well," he explained to me a while ago.

Perhaps if there weren't another project in hand, the idea could have been worked on more until it came to life. However, no one at Riot Games is sorry. August Browning himself sometimes jokes that his career peaked ten years ago when he created Jinx while still a newcomer to the video game industry. He's still working on League of Legends, now as head of the champion creation team. Katie De Sousa left the company and participated in the development of Dauntless. Currently, she is the creative director of a farm management video game called Fae Farm that will be released later this year for Nintendo Switch.

 

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