League of Legends: Difference between revisions
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=====Basic and more complex Concepts of the Game: The three Game Phases===== | =====Basic and more complex Concepts of the Game: The three Game Phases===== | ||
This wide gab between the basics taught in the tutorial and the actual utilization of this knowledge in a ''real'' in-game scenario becomes apparent by taking a closer look to the general progress of the game - the three game phases ‚laning‘,‚mid-game‘ and ‚late-game‘. During the ‚laning‘ phase, the main focus of the players is on efficiently farming gold by killing minions and monsters in order to gain important items. As an example for higher mechanical complexity the difficulty here to is not to let your minions advance too far into the enemy territory, respectively to attack the enemy turret with them at the right moments and not overextend in the danger zone. Getting killed by an opposing champion in this early stage leads to a huge disadvantage which can ‚snowball‘ as the game | This wide gab between the basics taught in the tutorial and the actual utilization of this knowledge in a ''real'' in-game scenario becomes apparent by taking a closer look to the general progress of the game - the three game phases ‚laning‘,‚mid-game‘ and ‚late-game‘. During the ‚laning‘ phase, the main focus of the players is on efficiently farming gold by killing minions and monsters in order to gain important items. As an example for higher mechanical complexity the difficulty here to is not to let your minions advance too far into the enemy territory, respectively to attack the enemy turret with them at the right moments and not overextend in the danger zone. Getting killed by an opposing champion in this early stage leads to a huge disadvantage which can ‚snowball‘ as the game progresses. After the first turret falls the game transitions into the mid-game phase. | ||
As implicated, the game phases are more fluid and not coupled to a fixed | As implicated, the game phases are more fluid and not coupled to a fixed time stance. The loss of a turret gives the game a new dynamic: In the ‚mid-game‘ champions who previously had fixed positions on the affected lane start to move across the map and increase the pressure on other lanes, group up with teammates to kill larger monsters (which provides puffs) and destroy other turrets or enemy champions in skirmishes. If a team's advantage increases significantly up to this stage of the game, an inferior team may surrender due to lack of comeback chances and winning conditions. | ||
In the late game, most champions will be sufficiently geared and will be looking to kill all or most of the enemy team and subsequently destroy their nexus or, if this is not possible, destroy defensive structures or kill Baron Nashor (a powerful monster whose death confers significant stat boosts for the slayer’s entire team) if it is available. Once the nexus is destroyed, the game is over and players are placed into the postgame lobby where they can chat and view individual and team statistics. | In the late game, most champions will be sufficiently geared and will be looking to kill all or most of the enemy team and subsequently destroy their nexus or, if this is not possible, destroy defensive structures or kill Baron Nashor (a powerful monster whose death confers significant stat boosts for the slayer’s entire team) if it is available. Once the nexus is destroyed, the game is over and players are placed into the postgame lobby where they can chat and view individual and team statistics. | ||
Revision as of 16:06, 4 February 2020
About the Game
League of Legends is a Free-To-Play MOBA-type game available for PC. Published on 27 October 2009, the game of the american developer studio Riot Games has gained "a level of academic attention appropriate for its significance on both the eSports industry and the contemporary game culture."[1] According to PC GAMER in a press release to the 10th anniversary in October 2019, League of legends reaches about 8 million player logins everyday and is therefore one of the most popular and relevant games throughout the gaming culture these days.[2]
Core Game Mechanics
Standart Game on ‚Summoner´s Rift‘
In a standard game, which usually lasts between 15 minutes and one hour, two teams composed of 5 players clash on the battle arena called ‚summoner's rift‘, each of them controlling one of 148 currently available champions (January, 2019). The Rift is a square area with a diagonal riverbed dividing the pitch into two halves. Those separated sections are in control of each team: In the bottom left corner lies the base with the so called ‚spawn point‘ (starting point of the player´s champions) and the ‚Nexus‘ of the ‚blue‘ team. The upper right corner is the base location of the opposing team ‚red‘. As shown in the picture on the right, there are also the three lanes 'Top', 'Middle' and 'Bottom', which connect the team bases and by intersecting with the riverbed frame the four remaining zones: known as the 'jungle'.
Nexus, Turrets, Minions and Monsters
To win the game, the opponents ‚nexus‘ must be destroyed. Deep in the center of a base it is protected by two heavy turrets, which have to be demolished first. The way to get there along the lanes is fortified with further turrets, three of which reinforce the entrances to a base and two more are positioned on each lane, to control a certain area and provide visibility and protection for the player´s champions. Once the first minute mark has passed, the actual game begins with the spawning of ‚minions‘ and ‚monsters‘. These NPCs are mainly intended to generate gold for the players if killed by them. While monsters are placed in their fixed positions in the jungle and only engage in the game when being attacked, the minions spawn in waves of 30 seconds in the bases of both teams and march in groups along each lane towards each other to meet in the middle of the field. They attack enemy minions, turrets and champions in their way and, as the game progresses, slowly make their way towards the enemy nexus.
Research-Relevant Topics of the Game
Playing the Meta - Competitive Gaming in League of Legends
This section connects to the research approach Metagaming
The following serves to elaborate the scientific analysis of metagaming in League of Legends. Further understood as a metagame expertise in a binary relation to mechanical expertise, the following refers mainly to the work of Scott Donaldson: Mechanics and Metagame: a binary expertise in League of Legends (2009) and thereby related work.
Mechanical Expertise
Like other MOBAs or RTS games, League of Legends comes with a high state of complexity in terms of game mechanics, knowledge and the strategic decision making building upon. Once reaching the maximum level of 30 and owning at least 20 champions, players are unlocked for the ‚ranked‘ mode and the league system. Until this stage a player has to master a certain basic mechanical skillset and gain some fundamental knowledge about the various game components. Therefore the game offers a brief tutorial to new players about how the game works by simulating isolated in-game situations against an AI and after that unlocks the ‚normal‘ mode - the unpunished free playground to experience the game. Like Donaldson (2009) states, this "inbuilt mechanisms for learning are not extensive enough to give players anything beyond a basic understanding of gameplay. New players receive only limited assistance from the game system in developing mechanical expertise."[3]
Basic and more complex Concepts of the Game: The three Game Phases
This wide gab between the basics taught in the tutorial and the actual utilization of this knowledge in a real in-game scenario becomes apparent by taking a closer look to the general progress of the game - the three game phases ‚laning‘,‚mid-game‘ and ‚late-game‘. During the ‚laning‘ phase, the main focus of the players is on efficiently farming gold by killing minions and monsters in order to gain important items. As an example for higher mechanical complexity the difficulty here to is not to let your minions advance too far into the enemy territory, respectively to attack the enemy turret with them at the right moments and not overextend in the danger zone. Getting killed by an opposing champion in this early stage leads to a huge disadvantage which can ‚snowball‘ as the game progresses. After the first turret falls the game transitions into the mid-game phase.
As implicated, the game phases are more fluid and not coupled to a fixed time stance. The loss of a turret gives the game a new dynamic: In the ‚mid-game‘ champions who previously had fixed positions on the affected lane start to move across the map and increase the pressure on other lanes, group up with teammates to kill larger monsters (which provides puffs) and destroy other turrets or enemy champions in skirmishes. If a team's advantage increases significantly up to this stage of the game, an inferior team may surrender due to lack of comeback chances and winning conditions.
In the late game, most champions will be sufficiently geared and will be looking to kill all or most of the enemy team and subsequently destroy their nexus or, if this is not possible, destroy defensive structures or kill Baron Nashor (a powerful monster whose death confers significant stat boosts for the slayer’s entire team) if it is available. Once the nexus is destroyed, the game is over and players are placed into the postgame lobby where they can chat and view individual and team statistics.
Camera Controll
Champion´s Abilities, Item Build and Runes
Previous Experience and External Resources
The Metagame of League of Legends
Communication as Part of the Metagame
Constantly Evolving through Patches
Related Research Approaches
- ↑ Donaldson, S. (2015): Mechanics and Metagame: Exploring Binary Expertise in League of Legends. In: Games and Culture Vol. 12(5). P. 428
- ↑ https://www.pcgamer.com/8-million-people-play-league-of-legends-every-day-making-it-the-most-popular-game-on-pc/ (Access: 27.02.2020)
- ↑ Donaldson, S. (2015), P. 431