Death to False Icons

Riot Games’ League of Legends has 138(and counting) champions, 800+ skins, 70+ Wards, and 100+ icons. A free to play game released in 2009 and makes it’s profits off of the cosmetic content. Players are presented with opportunities to customize our visual experience and our mark on the individual games alongside millions of players.

People like to show off what they have, we want to stand out with that rare skin or icon, or brag that we met a Rioter once and obtained a special ward. The inherit problem is we get that one rare skin or icon and we don’t want to change it. It defines us to people we play with; our friends, opponents and teammates. Icons are one of the options we have to stand out and with the stream of tie-in events that becomes limited.

I Got 99 Icons & a Mission ain’t one.

The Project: Hunter event has various missions to unlock rewards, and modify or gain new content. It all starts with a single mission to get your event icon which allows you to fulfill the requirements for each mission in the event. The catch, use a standard icon to reap the reward.

Most events you get the option to buy another icon to use for the event, but most people want to use their RP(cash-to-in-game-currency) to buy skins and not icon art. Truth be told, the icon/mission system doesn’t feel good to use. Game loading screens and friends lists are over saturated with the single icons of people grinding them out.

In retrospect, there has been a few times where I’ve skipped out on missions because the grind to reward ratio was undesirable or I just didn’t want to equip the icon over mine again for 5 event points as the cycle draws to a close.

Iconic Iconography

On the counter point commemorating events with icons feels right, we get a small reward for participating at a specific point in the history of League. In 2013 ARAM moved from being a player run game-mode to a staple mode with its own map. The launch was commemorated with Lissandra’s release, and a full Freljord event(this moment being one of great significance to the narrative/event future of LoL).

Players were given a choice to rally behind one of the three sisters battling for the crown of the Freljord; Sejuani, Ashe, or Lissandra. Each sister had specific icon to show your allegiance and you would only get to keep one, the others unobtainable and locked away forever. The icon was a bragging right that created dialogue in games, a fun rivalry to /all chat your opponents. It also wasn’t cheapened by coming back later, diminishing the rarity/collectable.

Players like to have options, choice creates conversation and the ability to peacock to the next person. We give the players a faction to rally behind and people will roll with it. A prime example are the eSports icons, with 13 regions and over 130 teams. People want to support ‘their team’, especially during the Worlds.

The choices we make stick with us more than the lock-n-load grind quest.

Iconic Scenes

As a consumer I never really look at the Icons in the store, I don’t buy the mystery icons, and I rotate between 2–3 icons at this point. I put on the event ones to grind out the quests and I switch them back to my icon as soon as possible.

Missions and skin events are new, they are experimental and have lot of fun potential. With the ever growing options and a bright future there are ways to challenge the current standard and to advance League. What’s not working for me as a player is the lack of individuality. It’s lackluster to get in a game with 6 out of 10 icons being for whichever event is going on.

What I want to see more of is choice in events, the option to pick a side or ideal, I want to immerse myself. I understand the large scale of some events but still I want more events like the Gangplank Rework/Burning Tide. That fantasy to rally behind Noxus or Demacia in the pending conflicts, to not only take a Which Star Guardian are you test, but also to have that reflect on my account profile. I want my choices to mean something. Imagine if we could look back and see the percentages of the player base that picked which sister for the queen of The Freljord or the impact of Nightbringer and Dawnbringer.

The future of icons in events are rewards for choice, not a means to the grind goal. Something to ideally facilitate conversation and friendly competition. So, instead of rapid fire mass releasing icons for every skin and event, make them mean something and make us want them.

The Icons of the Future

Events aren’t going anywhere, and they shouldn’t. Putting behavior rewards aside, I broke down the four types of events I would love to see down the road with Icon’s playing a large role in:

• Narrative
• Holiday Events
• Moments in time Events
• Buy-in Events.

Narrative are account bound choices that you make through your time playing. You hit a milestone level and you get to make a choice that affiliates you to a faction or choice. You want to support Ionia? Simple. Pick the faction and you get the icon. Change your mind on your faction? Trade in your icon and some Blue Essence and you are now a proud member of Bandle City, score some ladder points for the Yordles. The possibilities with narrative choices are endless.

Moment in Time events are single time events events that come to pass. The Battle for the Freljord and Burning Tides are two Moment in Time events that you had to be there for and can’t reap the benefits years down the road. Your loot that you win, your icon or skin is now rare and collectible specific to your account. This loot becomes unobtainable or if is re-released you get special Legacy status.

Holiday events are like Snowdown and The Harrowing. These staples in the year that celebrate with us (Santa Baron, anyone?).

Buy-in events are tie into eSports and competition like championship or Challenger skins and icons. Things you buy that support sub systems with in the League community.

Icons are a low cost reward. They’re easier to produce than a full champion skin. In their current state they don’t feel special or necessary to purchase. Icons could be doing so much more than their current state. The possibilities are endless and there’s a lot of opportunity to make some of the smaller cosmetics feel impactful and important.

Through events, missions, and even other possibilities like Titles or Honor, there’s a ton of ideas that would work well and advance the systems we have. Only time will tell what works and doesn’t, until then I’m going keep using my Impact Challenge icon and only switch it when I absolutely have to.