The 6 design values: jungle timers vs. the world

The most recent upset in the design evolution of League of Legends is the addition of jungle timers to the UI. First and foremost, an important disclaimer: this change was added to the PBE for testing and is by no means confirmed for the live servers in a forthcoming patch. So hold your horses! If you're wanting to contribute your pro's and con's on the topic, I'm 100% sure the designers that are all ears as long as you remain constructive.

Throughout the community two camps have spawned since the announcement: those that absolutely dislike the change, and those that are in favour of it. I have the impression that the latter is a significantly smaller group, but let's be fair: change is always scary, and it will take some time for people to get used to the idea. That being said, let's discuss the idea behind "jungle timers", why they have been cumbersome to track and what has led Riot to add UI support for jungle timers.

Jungle timers constitute an addition to the UI that show a countdown until the next spawn time of major map objectives, including Baron Nashor, Dragon, and red and blue buffs for both sides. These timers are only accessible by hitting the Tab key the same you way you access the score/items board. Hence, they don't clutter the game window and it requires the player to hit Tab and pay attention to the timers, which is something you cannot do when in the thick of battle. The timers work similarly to the mini-map icons for jungle monsters: they appear in the new UI element when the jungle camps respawn, and disappear when you clear the camp or find out the camp has already been cleared. Additionally, if you have vision of the camp when the last/only monster is killed, a countdown to the next spawn will be shown. A few notes:

• the countdown is not available when you do not have vision of the camp at the time of clearing (i.e. unless you ward the enemy's blue buff, you won't have the timer on it),
• this functionality is currently unavailable on live, so keeping track of timers has to be done through the chat box of the game, and finally
• the countdown does not appear if you find out (belatedly) that a camp has been cleared (i.e. you won't know when the camp respawns, but you will see the camp has respawned by means of an icon, the same way the mini-map works with jungle camps on live).

The major issue players have with this newly proposed functionality is explicitly showing the countdown as part of the UI. On live, players can keep track of the jungle timers in the chat box, or even in a Notepad file on a separate screen, and hence maintain an edge over opponents who do not do this. Knowing when a blue buff is about to respawn, or even when Dragon is going to come back up, while the opposing team does not, is a major boon! Having this information freely available to everyone clearly removes this potential for an advantage.

So why is Riot opting for the UI approach for jungle timers anyway? One of their 6 design values is "clarity", i.e. straight from their Dev Blog:

Players should fight their opponents, not the game. We strive to present information in a clear and precise way so that League can be about dominating opponents with skill and teamwork – not through bookkeeping hidden information.

Fair enough. Given that maintaining 6 different jungle timers in the chat box window of the game is incredibly cumbersome, players literally choose not to bother with timers because of the obnoxious functionality of the chat history (especially if there are pesky chat spammers on the team). Alternatives exist, but they require Alt-Tab'ing out of the game or having an additional screen to access Notepad, making notes on paper (you know, with a pen or a pencil), or making use of ye good ol' -- hopefully well-trained -- memory. When maintaining jungle timers, you do fight the game and you are bookkeeping hidden information. It appears to me this is exactly the kind of game aspect Riot targeted by adding "clarity" as a design value.

So, knowing Riot's stance on the matter, is there anything to be happy about as a player where UI-incorporated jungle timers are concerned? Definitely. Hear me out on this one!

To quickly reiterate the point of a previous blog post: skill in League of Legends comes in three flavours, all of which can contribute to truly mastering the game:

1. the micro-level (champion mechanics, the here and now, team fighting, JUNGLE TIMERS, ...),
2. the macro-level (long-term plans, action-reaction, map awareness, CONTESTING JUNGLE OBJECTIVES, ...), and
3. game knowledge (champion abilities, map mechanics, RESPAWN TIMES, ...).

As discussed, the micro- and macro-level can both directly lead to a victory in a match, while game knowledge feeds both levels the information and attitude that is required to be successful. As indicated above, the discussion about jungle timers definitely falls under and affects all three skill dimensions. But how does the new UI addition really affect the game on these three levels?

1. Micro: Killing an important jungle objective (Baron, Dragon, buffs) and noting the time when you did is an individual skill that you or a team member can maintain. If you are successful at performing this small task, while the opposing team is less so, this can lead to an important advantage for your team. Adding the UI element obviously removes this aspect of the game and leads to a decrease in skill requirement on the micro-level.
2. Macro: Gaining an advantage over the opposing team by contesting jungle objectives can be an important goal when going into a match. You can plan your next few moves as a function of when important jungle camps respawn, e.g. if you want to deny the enemy mid laner's blue buff -- especially if he or she is very dependent on it. In the late-game, Baron Nashor as a jungle objective can actually dictate the flow of the game. The new UI element for jungle timers directly provides the information you need to facilitate making decisions on the macro-level in terms of jungle objectives. 
3. Game knowledge: To maintain jungle timers and to gain an advantage over the opposing team through jungle objectives, you actually have to know what the respawn timers are for the relevant jungle camps. 5 minutes for buffs, 6 minutes for Dragon, and 7 minutes for Baron. This information is not readily available or known to new or casual players, which removes the potential for making a play for a jungle objective for these players. Adding the UI element for jungle timers means the information is easily available in the game and suggests to new players those buffs and major jungle monsters may be well worth the hassle of fighting for them, and thus winning the game!

As a conclusion, jungle timers are refocused more towards the macro-level of the game away from the micro-level. This does not have to be a bad thing necessarily. 

For one, players can focus more on other gameplay aspects on the micro-level. Support players and junglers are most often the designated team members to maintain the jungle timers. Freeing them from this burden helps them focus more on their own individual mechanics. Besides, in all fairness, maintaining jungle timers was never the most exciting feat of the game. 

Moreover, the freely available timers increase the in-game support of macro-level planning. Many new players primarily focus on individual success and their champion mechanics. This is not unexpected because during the course of the game not a lot of game elements motivate new players to consider long-term plans. Integrated jungle timers can improve on this significantly. The now more macro-focused aspect of jungle objectives will help more experienced players improve their strategising in terms of buff, dragon and baron control. 

At the end of the day, all this will help to bridge the gap between casual play and the professional scene. Jungle objectives are an essential part of professional game planning. Confronting casual players -- the potential watchers of the professional scene -- with a more pronounced focus on the macro-level in their games will greatly benefit their understanding of how professional games develop, and perhaps bring in more e-sports enthusiasts to watch the leagues around the world. 

TL;DR: Don't consider the UI support of jungle timers as a decrease in required individual skill level. Instead, try to see the advantages of the addition in terms of long-term planning in a match: maybe more objective-oriented play could be the way for you to improve and climb the ranks? 

Music discovery of the day:

The 6 design values: skill dimensions

In the previous blog post, I discussed the three skill dimensions for mastery in League of Legends: the micro-level, the macro-level and, in general terms, game knowledge. Because they are relevant in every discussion concerning the game design of League, I will define these three dimensions before continuing with the next design values.

For the sake of keeping in line with the current real-life meta (2014 FIFA World Cup), I will draw an analogy with football (a.k.a. soccer, across the pond). I have not randomly chosen this particular analogy, though. There are a lot of parallels to be drawn between the the League of Legends e-sports scene and the professional sports scene such as for football.

1. The micro-level: 

Essentially, the micro-level is about a player’s mechanics throughout the different stages of the game. How good are you at last-hitting minions in lane during the early-game? What are your skills in terms of ganking your lanes from the jungle? How well can you execute ability combinations? How do you fare during team fights in terms of positioning depending on your role in the team? To put it differently, micro-level skills do not concern any long-term planning. The micro-level dimension includes any event in the game that requires you to act here and now. In a way, the micro-level includes most of the actual action in the game.

When one watches a football match, it’s the flashy plays we’re looking for, analogous to the micro-level in League of Legends. Do you recognize any of the following epic plays? I sure don’t. I suck at football, and I’m even worse at watching it. 

2. The macro-level:

Any given event usually leads to another. In a way, this is League’s expression of ‘cause and effect’. The macro-level concerns this succession of events that, ideally, leads to reaching the eventual goal of a game of League: destroying the opposing team’s nexus before they destroy yours. This can be planned for before the game even starts by selecting champions that have good synergy in one way or another and can be used to implement a given strategy. Similarly, football teams will figure out strategies on the blackboard before a match even begins.

The execution of that strategy, however, is always counterbalanced by the strategy of the opposing team. Going into a game with a clear plan does not necessarily mean the enemy will allow you to execute that plan. So the macro-level is not only about planning beforehand, but also about the actual execution. A good dose of improvisation is required to react properly to the moves of the opposing team within the confines of your own strategy. A single action or event is the micro-level. A sequence of an action and then a reaction is the macro-level. Always remember not only the strategy that your team follows, but also the strategy that the opposing team is trying to execute. Be mindful of the consequences of your actions and the fact that no matter how much you plan beforehand, that plan is always counterbalanced by the plans of the enemy.

3. Game knowledge:

The final skill dimension is the actual knowledge of the game. League currently sports 119 unique champions, over 150 unique items, an army of runes, and 3 unique mastery trees. The actual game mechanics on Summoner’s Rift adds another chapter of information one has to absorb to grasp the game fully. The difference between this dimension and the other two? It does not directly lead to a win. However, it sure does contribute to both the micro- and the macro-level. Comparing this to football, knowing the overly complicated concept of offside and all its caveats (nope, I don’t play football, obviously — but let’s be fair, the concept has a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to it!) contributes to your gameplay (micro) and strategic planning (macro). Only the application of that knowledge, though, can net you a goal. 

Your game knowledge contributes to your micro-level play. Knowing exactly what abilities a specific champion has, or even how much damage an opposing champion’s ability does, can mean the difference between a successful all-in maneuver or an instant trip back to the fountain.  Similarly, that knowledge contributes to your macro-level play. When during champion select you see the opposing team forming a poke-heavy siege composition, it may be wise for your team to form a heavy-engage/heavy-dive composition such that you don’t give the opposing team the chance to poke you down during the course of the game.

So what does all this mean? 

With the final goal of destroying the opposing team’s nexus, both your skill on the micro-level and the macro-level can directly contribute to a win. You greatly enhance your skill on both levels by increasing your game knowledge. Going back to the discussion on the design value of Mastery in the previous blog post, you can improve your gameplay by working on either one of the three levels. To truly master the game, though, all three are important. 

And this mastery goes deep. Even the best of the best still have areas to improve. The recent uprise of the 4v0 fast push in the professional scene is a great example. In the 4v0 fast push a team swaps their marksman/support duo to the top lane and freezes the lane until the arrival of the third minion wave, which contains a cannon minion. With that wave they then push forward to the turret and kill it with the help of the top laner and the jungler (micro-level). Of course, the opposing team can perform a similar tactic in the bot lane and take down the turret there. Hence, you have to balance your own aggression with the defense of your (either first- or second-tier) bot turret. If executed well, this can lead to a significant early-game advantage over the opposing team (macro-level). In the professional scene, sometimes the advantage gained this way was huge (e.g. one team would take down the inhibitor in their fast-pushing lane, while the opposing team had barely taken down the second-tier turret). This strategy also showcases how micro-level play can influence the macro-level play. How well you execute the fast push (micro-level) determines whether you you gain an advantage over the opposing team or not (macro-level). However, without having the game knowledge for this strategy, you are less likely to succeed. For instance, you want to know which champions excel at pushing down a turret fast, and how minion control works in the early-game.

TL;DR: Micro-level and macro-level play both contribute to winning a game of League, and your game knowledge can greatly enhance both levels. Moreover, there is a intricate interaction between micro-level and macro-level play. Which will you choose to improve your skill first?

Music discovery of the day: 

The 6 design values: I. Mastery

This is the first of a series of blog posts on the evolution of champion design in League of Legends. Riot’s designers have set out to rework old, outdated champions to bring them up to par with the more recent champion releases, both in terms of artwork as well as gameplay. I will tackle the why and how of reworked champion kits and discuss the potential impact the rework may have. In a way, I hope to provide insight in Riot’s design decisions from my own point of view, and present a window into the past, the present and the future of the champions of League of Legends. In the first few posts, I will discuss the “Great Six”, or rather the design values Riot designers have defined for themselves: Mastery, Meaningful Choice, Counterplay, Teamplay, Clarity, and Evolution (source).

Starting off with the first one: Mastery.

Generally speaking, mastery of the game simply implies getting good at it. But in a multi-layered game such as League of Legends, there are many different aspects a player has to improve upon in order to master the game. Riot designers actively recognize this and attempt to provide separate pathways to improve skill in the different aspects, while also maintaining that all those aspects are intricately linked to each other. Moreover, in this multi-layered game, one can define three dimensions that players can master.

1. There’s the micro-level of play,
2. the macro-level of play (including “the meta”), and
3. the actual knowledge of champions and their roles and abilities.

As an example, one can consider what would make me a good marksman player. Because a marksman scales very well with items, and actually needs those items to be able to perform the role of “AD carry”, I have to be able to farm efficiently at most stages of the game. In the early game, this includes accurate last-hitting while dealing with the opposing team’s players in my lane. This also includes predicting which lanes will have minions pushing deeply enough to be farmed up quickly and safely during the mid game.

However, this micro-level of play is always balanced out by the macro-level: what is happening with the rest of the team? What is going on in different parts of the map? Are multiple members of the opposing team pushing down a turret elsewhere? Then perhaps it is a good idea for me to push down the turret of the lane where I’m farming at that point. If I head out to top lane in the mid game to farm up a wave of minions, which happens to have built up over the past two minutes, that leaves my team in a vulnerable position if the opposing team decides to group up and push down the bottom inner turret. Knowing when and how to react to as well as predict events elsewhere on the map is part of the macro-level.

Moreover, there’s not just one marksman champion in the game. Even though all of them definitely have some aspects of play in common, they also have vastly different abilities. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of all those marksmen greatly contributes to my skill level as I can adapt on-the-fly during champion select by picking the most appropriate marksman for my team’s and the opposing team’s composition. In addition, there’s also many different roles in the game, each with a hoard of champions that can fill them. Champion knowledge is the third dimension of mastery that I can attain, and affects how well I can perform in the other two dimensions of mastery.

• On a micro-level, I had best know what the abilities are of my own support as well as the opposing team’s marksman and support. This benefits my ability to farm up and trade effectively.
• On a macro-level, I will vastly improve if I learn what role a particular marksman champion fills: does the marksman hyper-scale with items into the late-game? Then I will prioritize safe play and get as much farm as possible. Does the marksman fill more of a supportive role? Then I will attempt to steer the game towards team fights in the mid game. Is the marksman a bit of a lane bully with a poorer late game? Then I will try to zone the opposing team’s players in my lane and perhaps grab some early kills to snowball the game to an early victory.

Hence, mastering the game includes many different aspects, intricately connected with each other. Players can improve at the game by identifying these different aspects and then choosing which one to improve at first. These multiple layers of mastery are the basis of a game that entreats players to continue improving on the long term, because, in the end, being the best means knowing all aspects.