In a card-game atmosphere, legends of Runeterra is a well-known adaptation of the League of the Legends Universe. Aside from the breathtaking art and character portraits, Legends of Runeterra or LoR introduced a new play style for card games.
LoR does a great job at including the League of Legends MOBA tactics and strategies in a fun way in its card-game universe. It also opens the realm for Riot Games to explain even more lore from Runeterra and its champions.
However, a game is solely based on the reviews it gets, which is our focus in this article. Dan Felder is one of the fan-favorite devs responsible for implementing LoL pets into cards in LoR. He is a very vocal developer who recently released a Reddit thread giving tips on many topics.
Giving Feedback
Dan Felder took to Reddit and the LoR dev entries to discuss a frequently asked question, “How to give feedback properly.” The Reddit version and the Dev Entry are both tackling similar points in very similar wording, but the Dev Entry is a little more refined so we will be using that.
Feedback: Dan FelderDan made a very interesting correlation between feedback and explaining your symptoms to a doctor. That is it; you have to describe how you’re feeling. Seems obvious, right? Yes, it is obvious, but the point isn’t to teach you how to give feedback but to make you understand how it is interpreted.
The devs give an example of how immense negative reviews about how a former project had an area that was a little too long for players to traverse. Instead of ripping the map apart, the designers looked deeper into the reviews to conclude that it was not a distance problem but a boredom one.
The whole point of this article is to see how devs interpret the information you provide. It is a sneak peek into the operations behind making a game. Reactions like the one mentioned above are particularly why some games shine far brighter than others.
The Gist of it All
- Legends of Runeterra developer Dan Felder explains how to give feedback in LoR properly.
- Dan Felder explains that good reviews are more important than bad reviews for developers.
- Developers also list the Jinx changes that never made it into the Path of Champions in LoR.
Jinx’s Development
In this section, we will talk about an in-game example of the franchise’s most popular character, Jinx. If you have played LoR, then you know that Jinx is a very important champion because that’s who you start your Path of Champions with.
Jinx’s development is nowhere as easy as one would’ve thought. Originally, she would have a treasure card that replaced all the cards in your hand with 1-cost spells. This card is to bring you close to Jinx’s level-up condition, yet; it was deemed not exciting enough by Dan.
As a player, I, too, would be incredibly bored by this tactic, especially if I have a lot of mana. So, this card was ultimately redesigned into the “Loose Cannon,” which opens up room for more plays than the previous treasure would have ever achieved.
Jinx ChangesThis example shows you that devs want you to phrase your feedback, so the devs know exactly why you are facing the problem. Even though it isn’t mentioned, I am positive that this change influenced many other champion treasures.
Clone the Bright Spots
Last but not least, I will list a very important point that Dan briefly touched on in his post. Negative feedback is important, and it gets more traction as opposed to positive feedback.
Positive Feedback compared to Negative Feedback.Unfortunately, most players don’t feel it necessary to explain why they love the game, which is why most games die. Positive feedback holds immense weight because it tells the devs what features are working well.
This ultimately results in features that support that feature or even updates that make that feature even more fun. In addition to that, in Dan’s words, “Negative feedback gets a lot of attention, but frankly, positive feedback is even more useful. This isn’t because it feels good to read (though it does) but rather because it lets us do something called ‘clone the bright spots”.
Ending Note
I want to end this piece on a positive note, appreciating all the developers in the Legends of Runeterra team. They are very active in communities that constantly address FAQs and the occasional tease on upcoming features.
In conclusion, let me know if this was a question on your mind. You can also practice this feedback loop in the comments and help each other. Furthermore, if you want to add anything, feel free to leave it in the comments.