The first skill we came up with was Way of Kaeula. It came together quickly because a water skill is so versatile. You can slow down enemies, speed up allies, and hey… Making it Rain is just plain cool. The second skill, Way of Meidra, was a more support-based option. Although it affects both allies and enemies, we wanted to focus on giving allies the ability to heal themselves by fighting weakened enemies. At this point we had a speed/slow option and a debuff/heal option and wanted a more “selfish” option. Way of Lydusa was a way to make the player feel like a boss, so to speak. They weaken their enemies’ defenses while collecting shards that have been knocked off their now fragile exterior. It felt cool to be able to pull something away from the enemy, only to use it to harm them and their cohorts!
Typically, most archetypes come together in a similar way. We first think about the topic and then a skill. For Invoker it was the Ability/Jungle theme and the most important skill was Way of Kaeula. From there we build on it until we have all three unique options. After that, most of the benefits almost write themselves, especially if the archetype theme is exceptionally strong upfront.
Then it’s time to include concept art. We talk about the topic “Is this archetype evil?” Positive? Neutral? Is it pure DPS or is it supported? Maybe a hybrid?” Ideally, we also present the concept artist with some images we discovered that underline the mood and perhaps even provide an insight into possible armor ideas. They go out and do their thing and bring us a handful of concepts and we give feedback: “1A looks too friendly” or “That part on the gloves in picture 2C is exactly what we’re looking for… maybe that could extend to the pants.” /“Boots too”. Usually we go back and forth for a while and then they come back with a more focused second pass. We rarely need a third round. We submit the look to the creative director (David Adams) and 99/100 times he says “COOL.”
Next, we discuss the abilities, benefits, characteristics, and any special behavior with the gameplay engineering team and technical designers. We review each item to determine how complex it is to ensure it fits into our schedule. Sometimes we may need to rethink something, and other times we may be inspired to improve our designs even further because someone points out an additional feature that might be appropriate. We also talk to the animation team if we have any special requests (casting animations, other features, etc.).
Once each element comes online – usually the Prime or a single skill – we begin testing them in our combat test room. Sometimes things sound great on paper, but in practice they leave a lot to be desired. This is where we begin to determine if something is missing, too complex or confusing, too cumbersome, or if we are on the right track. Very often we test the first pass of a skill and think, “Okay, that’s pretty great!” We’re tweaking things like damage or healing values, ranges, durations, etc. to make them feel “good for the first playthrough.” Once we’re happy with them, we send them to VFX and SFX to really make them shine. However, if we find something is missing, we take some time to figure out where it can be improved and, after adjusting, repeat the “first pass” testing process again.
