Riot Games defines the entire process of creating aesthetic models and makes it clear that one of the requirements is that the designs do not affect the gameplay.
The new Riot Games online shooter will come out of its closed beta phase in the coming days and will be released under the free-to-play model on June 2 (with news!). Meanwhile, players can discover more details about the Valorant development process. In a recent post on the website, the study reflects on how weapon skins are designed. As in everything, its creators have some golden rules that they strictly follow.
Thus, an essential requirement is that the model, art, visual effects and sounds of a design must be completely immersive in first person, since the only thing that other players will see (in third person) is the design model. . In addition, these skins are exclusively aesthetic, so they should not affect the gameplay or the win ratio.
@RiotSuperCakes and @RiotZiegler are back with an important update about the future of VALORANT, don't miss the video. pic.twitter.com/I7dBPVTbhV
– VALORANT (@VALORANTes) May 21, 2020
First phases: ideas and concept
The first step is to decide who they are for. Riot Games has a research team that studies the interests of the players and decides the next steps. They give an example of the theme of weapons, that is, if their aesthetics are going to be science fiction, fantasy, modern, etc. On some occasions, they are struck by a sketch by a conceptual artist. "That we have blackboards covered with more than 130 little notes shows that no idea is too farfetched. We take inspiration from improvisations and always ask 'yes, so?' (instead of saying 'no, because …') in the early stages of brainstorming, ”they point out.
Team members ask themselves a series of key questions where they map out the way forward. Creative vision requires a conceptual phase, so these questions help them materialize the idea. They are as follows:
- With what adjectives could we describe it?
- Which song would create the ideal atmosphere?
- Are there any key works of art that perfectly reflect the universe?
- In this alternate universe, who would carry the weapon?
- What materials is the weapon made of?
- How do we want the player to feel when using it? And with what attitude?
- What would make the players stay like "how handsome!" the first time you see this design?
Modeling, animations and testing
From the idea, the concepts are built. Only when this is determined the modeling process begins. Then, it is the turn of the animations, which "must reflect the rhythms of the basic version of the weapon." For Riot, using a design should not alter the original essence of the weapon under any circumstances. As for the sound, when they incorporate it, they guarantee that you do not hear any more or less than the equivalent of the basic weapon. "If you rely on sound to control dispersion, we don't want the new shooting sounds to bother your plays."
The final phase focuses on verifying that everything is working properly, that is, testing. "These are tests we run twice a day where designers experiment with all of our new features, be they maps, characters, and, exactly, weapon designs."
Valorant is one of the new pillars of the creators of League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra and TeamFight Tactics. The game, for now, will be exclusive to PC, although Riot Games has not ruled out launching it on other platforms in the future.
