Hey guys, thanks for hosting this AMA. I wanted to ask how do you guys generally approach finding a gameplay hook when designing a champion, and what sort of process goes into creating the kit around the hook, since it sorta feels like that sometimes a kit covers the weaknesses too much of a hook.
And related to hooks, how are narrative and visual hooks generally formed too.
Gameplay hooks can come from a variety of spaces. Like RiotScruffy mentioned one way is from designer brainstorm meetings they hold pretty often. Sometimes they can come from product strategy, like Pyke's hook came from the opportunity space I created to make a support Assassin. Others can be derived from a thematic/visual pitch. Kai'Sas hook, for example, came from the idea that BravoRay came up with when he was doing concept exploration for the champion. He came into one DNA meeting with this awesome drawing of this "Void Diver" her called it and said that it was Kassadins daughter. The concept looks so bad ass, that the whole pod got excited about it which led to RiotJag coming up with the Ultimate which was basically her "diving into the void"
It really depends on the designer. August, for example, prefers to start with cool concept art, then derive a gameplay hook that he feels matches the character art. He's always like "Draw me a awesome character and I'll make you a fun kit"...
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