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: