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League of Legends properly introduces Gnar
After teasing players about the nature of the newest champion arriving in League of Legends, Riot Games has provided a full introduction for the prehistoric yordle known as Gnar. He looks nice enough, actually, even sort of cute. At least until he gets angry and transforms into Mega Gnar, a hulking brute who's happy to crush everything in his path and then start down a new path so he can crush more things. Anger issues, in short. So how does Gnar play? It's all about managing the rage. In mini form, he's a quick attacker with some range who also has access to a handy escape ability. When he enrages, though, he's a tank-happy fighter with plenty of durability and burst damage. Both forms have their own weaknesses and strengths, so the art of playing him comes down to carefully maximizing his fits of rage before getting back out of danger. After all, who'd believe the little cute guy could get that angry?
League of Legends previews Gnar without a word
Who is Gnar? An upcoming champion for League of Legends. How does he or she play? We don't know. All we know is a little bit of what Gnar is all about, and that is shown in a quick teaser site that manages to convey a story without using a single word other than Gnar's name. Gnar seems like a pretty happy sort at first, but when a calamity befell Gnar's family, Gnar didn't handle it too well. Gnar can be seen breaking out of an ice tomb and setting forth on what we can only assume will be a rampage filled with enemy champions. Take a glance at the preview page to watch the whole thing play out, and keep your eyes peeled for more information on how Gnar will play. (Speculation has him focused on crowd control and area denial.)
League of Legends public chat rooms disabled by Riot
What's the fastest and easiest way to deal with the problems in League of Legends chat channels? Apparently, just shutting them down completely. Riot Games has removed several of the public chat rooms until the company finds a way to turn them into something "useful and accessible." The company is aware that there are great communities in the game, but it's too easy for toxic individuals to mask that. Not only were the public chat channels problematic, but even the private channels lacked effective moderation tools outside of an ignore button. The development team is starting over from a new foundation, hoping to make the chat rooms a place to hang out with friends and more easily organize matches instead of being... well, what they were before. Feedback is welcome, so chime in on the official forums if you know what you want to see when the chats finally return.
University adds League of Legends team to its athletic program
Could being at wiz video games get you a scholarship and a college degree? As far-fetched of a dream as that may seem, it's now becoming a reality at one institute of higher learning. Robert Morris University in Illinois announced today that it will be forming an official League of Legends varsity team as part of its athletic program for the 2014-15 academic year. Team members will be treated on the same level as other athletes, meaning that they're eligible for tutoring, support, and scholarships. The team is a result of the university's associate athletic director's love of competitive PC gaming and acknowledgement that it requires the same level of teamwork as other sports. "Although e-sports have long been a part of the culture of gaming, competitions have seen a large surge in popularity in recent years," the university posted. "Robert Morris University recognizes the value and legitimacy of e-sports and is excited to add e-sports to its already rich athletic program."
HBO's Game of Thrones advertises for League of Legends
League of Legends will be partnering up with HBO's Game of Thrones for a cross-promotional effort in the coming weeks. Riot Games said that HBO contacted the studio with the offer, saying that there was a shared interest between the two franchise's fanbases. Riot released League of Legends assets to HBO, which will then be turned into a trailer spotlighting both the MOBA and TV series. The game studio gave an overview of the promotion in an interview today: "HBO is doing a three-week activation in advance of their series premiere on April 6th. They're going to be getting some marketing assets, whether that's logo bugs or website takeovers. But we're also working with their team to produce a mash-up trailer. They're giving us some exclusive sneak peaks into footage that hasn't been seen before."
Massively's Valentine's Day roundup
When a mob hits your eye with a big sharpened spike... that's not really amore! In fact, it's downright painful. But it's February -- a time when love is in the air, hearts are aflutter everywhere, and pink and red festoon your favorite MMOs. So in the spirit of the season, go ahead and give that mob an extra-hard love tap, right from... er, to the heart! And don't forget to collect whatever treasures it had for you because we all know Valentine's Day isn't all about the love; no, it's about the loot! Want to know where to get your hands on something special for this holiday? There are plenty of celebrations throughout the MMOverse offering a plethora of events and goodies. Check out some of the various Valentine's events and specials going on now.
The Soapbox: Novel content trumps novel mechanics
Action combat. Interactive conversations. Public quests. Voxel worlds. There are many game mechanics that developers of massively multiplayer online games crow about when promoting their games because these are the things that make their games stand out from the pack. Even if they're not the first to do it, they'll proclaim that they're doing it bigger and better than their predecessors. I don't have a problem with any of this. It's when the developers and their ardent fans gloss over the importance of the actual content these mechanics are applied to that I get annoyed. Mechanics are just a skeleton, and they can't do anything at all without some meat on the bones. Content matters, and good, fresh content will keep players interested long after the novelty of unusual mechanics has worn off.
Riot claims 27 million daily players for League of Legends
It's no secret that Riot Games's League of Legends is the biggest MOBA on the block, but just how big might come as something of a surprise. Riot has revealed that the League playerbase has now reached 27 million players daily. Player concurrency hits about 7.5 million players during high-traffic hours; for comparison, Valve's Dota 2, which most would consider League's primary competitor, sees about seven million players per month. The high numbers have done wonders for Riot's pocketbook, helping League to generate over $624 million in revenue in 2013.
Potential League of Legends patching problems due to porn filters
Will the UK's anti-sex law cause issues with patching League of Legends? According to LoL's subreddit, some members are seeing an effect from the filters UK Internet service providers have in place by default to block pornographic content for new customers; specific update files that happen to have "sex" in the wording -- VarusExpirationTimer.luaobj and XerathMageChainsExtended.luaobj -- have been blocked. Riot Games informed Eurogamer that there are no reported incidents of this law interfering with the game, but the studio is monitoring the situation. If players run into a problem, they should contact LoL support for help.
Led by mobile and free-to-play, U.S. digital sales see big gains in 2013
The digital games market is still on the rise, generating $11.7 billion in sales in 2013. According to market research firm SuperData, this total marks an 11% increase over digital sales in 2012. SuperData noted that Christmas and New Year's occurring in the middle of the week may have helped spiked end-of-year numbers; December 2013 saw a 36% increase in digital sales compared to December 2012. Mobile titles claimed the largest percentage of the digital pie, representing $3.6 billion in sales. Free-to-play titles were up 45% year-on-year to $2.9 billion. Perhaps most interesting for MMO players is the fact that F2P MMO offerings from games like World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic landed in the top ten, though the top three free-to-play earners in 2013 were CrossFire, League of Legends, and Dungeon Fighter Online. Data used by the firm is gathered by collecting digital transaction data directly from developers and publishers. [Thanks to Hagu for the tip!]
Greg Street is now lead game designer at Riot Games
Greg Street, also known as Ghostcrawler, was the lead systems designer for World of Warcraft for much of the fantasy MMO's life. When he left Blizzard late last year, the rumor mill exploded with speculation on where (and why) one of WoW's most familiar and visible developers might be going. As of today, the mystery appears to be solved. Information on Street's LinkedIn profile, supported by several industry sources, indicates that he is now working as lead game designer at Riot Games, known for the massively popular League of Legends. Street has yet to confirm the move via Twitter or any other official channel.
Is League of Legends greedy? No, says Riot Games president
Responding to claims that Riot Games is being greedy and lazy for failing to create an updated client for League of Legends, President Marc Merrill posted a sharp-tongued rebuttal on Reddit yesterday. "It's pretty frustrating when people try to position us as greedy," Merill began, "because look at it from our perspective: We build pretty much the first successful free online game in the west that core gamers actually really like and play. We did this by building a really fun game, constantly investing over and over to grow and improve this game and by NOT selling power or being money hungry." Merill said that "millions upon millions" play the game for completely free, which is completely fine with Riot Games, and that the studio does the right thing in the end such as its response to the e-sports contract controversy. "I completely disagree with your greed accusation and yes, it pisses me off because I've spent the last eight years of my life building this company, game, and team to deliver great value and to treat players well," he wrote.
Massively's winter holidays MMO roundup
The holidays are here! That means the hustle and bustle of the season is in full swing, with gifts to get, treats to taste, deals to nab, and plenty of festivities to partake in -- and that's just in the MMOverse! Yes folks, there's a plethora of holiday celebrations out there -- so many, in fact, that it can be hard to keep track of them all, let alone participate to them! If you're trying to catch everything in your favorite games, we're here to help. We've got a round up of the various winter celebrations across the gaming sphere all bundled together right here for you. If something catches your eye, hop in and join in the festivities!
Strife has entered closed beta
S2 Games has announced that its "second generation free-to-play MOBA," Strife, has officially shifted into closed beta. Fans of the genre will recognize S2 as the studio behind Heroes of Newerth, which itself is among the litany of games cast from the original Defense of the Ancients mold. According to the announcement, Strife is "focused on giving players an environment where they're competing with enemies, not their own teammates." S2 claims that existing MOBA issues like in-team toxicity, fighting over shared resources, and drama over designating roles have all been alleviated through the game's design. Strife's closed beta is not region-specific; invites are going out to players across the globe. The game is set for launch some time in 2014, and beta sign-ups are currently live on its official website. For a closer look, check out our hands-on with the game from August. [Source: S2 Games press release]
Developers respond to Riot's streaming restrictions for pro players [Updated]
Riot Games' new contract with professional League of Legends players prevents those players from streaming certain games during the LCS (League Championship Series) season. Banned titles include Dota 2, Hearthstone, Awesomenauts, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and many, many more. News of the contract broke earlier this week. Since that time, a couple of developers associated with games on the banned list have responded to Riot's rules in letters to website OnGamers, which broke the original story. Here's a clip of the lengthy response from Awesomenauts co-creator Jasper Koning: We are disappointed to see Riot impose restrictions on the spare time of its LOL Championship Series players. It's understandable Riot as a company wants to protect its interests, but the way they're doing it now is decidedly unsportsmanlike, anti-competitive, and it sets a bad precedent. And here's S2's (Heroes of Newerth) Marc DeForest: We view eSports differently - it is a platform for competition, growth, and the collective celebration of video gaming passion. We do not view it as a leveraging tool for anti-competitive and monopolistic practices. S2 Games will continue to support the eSports idea as a whole, not just our own specific interests in it. Riot has confirmed the terms of the contract but has not responded to further updates or fan criticism. [Update: Riot has announced that it is changing LCS players' contracts due in part to community feedback. Under the new rules, players will be able to stream any games they want as long as they are not accepting sponsorship from other studios to promote those titles.]
League of Legends contract for 2014 prevents streaming of other games
The last thing that anyone at Riot Games wants is to provide free advertising to League of Legends' competitors. The first thing that the company wants to do is promote the professional gaming side of the community. In the contract for players taking part in the game's 2014 championship series, the company is aiming to kill two birds with one stone by preventing professional players from streaming any competing games during the duration of the 2014 season. Games considered to be "competition" include World of Tanks, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Dota 2, and StarCraft. An official response from the company states that this is comparable to the restrictions placed on pro athletes in several sports. Players in the official Reddit thread are upset by this decision, claiming that the comparison to professional athletes is both inaccurate and inapplicable in this particular context. It remains to be seen whether or not this will impact the game's championship numbers in any fashion.
League of Legends' Harrowing adds spooky skins and mystery gifting
Once again it's time for The Harrowing in League of Legends, and this Halloween-themed update contains spooky champion skins, a new mystery gifting system, and exclusive summoner's icons. There are two new champion skins that can be tried out during the event and purchased to keep afterward: a Haunted Zyra and Officer Vi. Riot Games is also bringing back legacy Harrowing skins for a limited time for those who missed them in previous years. Players can choose to spend their RP to send a mystery gift in the form of a random skin to a friend. This mystery gifting will result in a skin that's worth more RP than what it cost to buy, perhaps to encourage friends to gift to each other. The team's also added five summoner's icons that can be earned during the event. The Harrowing will continue through November 12th.
World of Tanks named online game of the year at Golden Joysticks
World of Tanks, the ever-popular tank-based MMO from Wargaming.net, is 2013's online game of the year according to the Golden Joysticks. The title beat out heavy hitters like League of Legends and Dota 2 to take the crown. Here's Al King on the victory: You have to play together as a team. We're rolling out increasingly aggressively across the world -- we have 70 million active users. It's truly democratic, we have a tremendously loyal community. They just did everything we asked of them, they're phenomenal, and we love them. Other big winners? Assassin's Creed: Liberation (best handheld game, The Last of Us (best storytelling), and Grand Theft Auto V (game of the year).
League of Legends aims for harmony with new Team Builder feature
MOBA golden child League of Legends has long been renowned for its incredibly hardcore community, which can make matters unpleasant for newer players and for those looking to learn a new character or try a new strategy. The folks at Riot Games are aware of this and are looking to do something about it. That "something" just happens to be making its way to LoL's PBE (Public Beta Environment) in the near future, and it's called the Team Builder. Riot's Lead Social Systems Designer, Jeffrey "Riot Lyte" Lin, stopped by the forums today to drop some knowledge on this upcoming feature. Essentially, the Team Builder allows players to designate their preferred playstyle and strategy, and then the system attempts to match up those with similar mindsets. This saves players the trouble of wondering who's going to play which role, who will be in which lane, and what the team's overall strategy will be, hopefully resulting in a much more harmonious gameplay experience. On top of that, the Team Builder will also include a "smarter matchmaking system that can dynamically account for your experience with a given role, position or champion," so players looking to change up their playstyle need not be afraid of invoking the ire of their teammates as they learn. For all the nitty gritty details on the Team Builder, check out the full post over at the League of Legends forums.
Hacker reveals League of Legends collectible card game
Things got a bit weird in the League of Legends community last night when a hacker took over Riot Games president Marc Merrill's Twitter account. The intruder, working under the sinister alias, "Jason," used the opportunity to out League of Legends: Supremacy, a collectible card game built from the League of Legends universe. In a series of tweets from Merrill's account, the hacker posted images and files related to the project including card art and the main sign-in page for the game. According to "Jason," Supremacy was fully completed but never announced or revealed to the League community. Riot did trademark the Supremacy name last year, lending credence to the hacker's claims. Marc Merrill eventually recovered control of his account, noting, "We're always working on a variety of new ideas for League and beyond. Lots of experimentation that may never see the light of day." Make of that what you will. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip]
