Don't show me! Let me Do It!

Don't get me wrong! I love League of Legends. It's one of my top five favourite video games (probably one of my top three). But the process of enjoying the game to its full potential is still a weakness.

I have two kids: a fifteen years old son and a thirteen years old girl. Both of them enjoy video games. We use to play together sometimes in teams using different computers. Yes, I'm a great dad. Thank you. Our favourite titles together are Overwatch and Fortnite. But, as I try to bring them to LOL world, I realized how they don't allow themselves to approach this fantastic and strategic game. "Why? Why? Why Mr. Anderson? Why do you persist?" you may ask. Probably just because I love Leagues and because I love to celebrate with my kids when we win a game.

Even though League of Legends has a lot of fans around the world they could be doing even more if they dedicated some resources to explain things more easily.?You're probably thinking "But, Tony, for every character we have abilities presentations", and yes, it does, but it's too different to learn by watching than to learn by doing. Once into gameplay, new players will get frustrated because of the stress of the survival and killing required during the action. There's no time to learn, only to act.

I bring this reflection because as Riot Games, many other smaller developers and studios are trying their best to bring new gamers to their community by considering only the gameplay design and abilities. You need to remember that if your game has many variables (MOBA usually does), to process the information deeply you require more cognitive resources than if you do it superficially. You need to provide players with a chance of learning by doing before getting to combat.

In the case of LOL they have a great tool to showcase characters (even before you purchase them) so you can know what they are capable of. What would be a great step further is to give the chance of testing this ability with two static opponents and see how they work. This will not only provide great information for the player before gameplay but also for the studio which will know what kind of abilities are more interesting for their community.

The other area is the Items, Shop, and Stats in (LOL). And please, don't go for the simple argument of telling me that "The MOBA gamers' community knows how it works". I know that professional gamers know it and probably some others that spend a lot of time grinding. But I'm ready to bet that new players (not beyond level 10) that haven't played this genre ever and that are giving you the chance to invest their time in the game could enjoy more the experience if you present them with the information. And when I say this, I'm talking about combining design, tutorials by playing, and marketing.

Marketing is the last important element. In the case of League Of Legends (and a huge studio like Riot Games), they also have an amazing Netflix series (Arcane) that supports a background story of characters. For the new gamers that could be brought to Leagues and that could be of other genres players, you could pay a professional gamer as Faker, Uzi, or Caps (make an offer they can reject) and design tutorials about the use of Items, Shops, and Stats during gameplay.

I love my work as Game Designer. Today I can't avoid identifying what makes a game great or not the moment I start playing it. I hope this information will help new and old studios in their new designs and preparations for their MOBA or any other genre. Thinking about your community is the first thing you should do at the moment of creating a game. They know what to expect from your game. But you can't count on them forever. You need to steal players from other communities and bring the new generations to the fantasy land you present to them. All gamers need orientation, great gameplay, and a mental challenge to solve. The deep learning of your game might take time. Wear yourself "newbie shoes" and realized what you can do better and differently.