Interview: creators of games set in the League of Legends universe tell us more about their exciting titles

Times are good for fans of Runeterra, a fantasy world full of never-stopping action and adventure. Just lately two great titles from their favorite universe – Ruined King: A League of Legends Story™ and Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story™ – have made a grand entrance on GOG! Today we’ve decided to ask a few questions to the creators of both mentioned titles.
No matter if you love RPGs with gorgeous visuals or dynamic rhythm platformers you should definitely visit GOG today. Ruined King: A League of Legends Story™ and Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story™ are now available at our store, bringing you a mix of engaging gameplay, memorable characters, as well as neat design and music score. Developers of these games have put a lot of effort and creativity into them, and that’s why we would like to listen to what they have to say about their proud creations.
GOG: Ruined King: A League of Legends Story is a turn-based RPG featuring a party of heroes exploring Bilgewater and setting sail for the Shadow Isles. What dangers await them there and, most importantly, what set of their own skills should the players prepare before starting their journey?
Joe Madureira – CEO and Creative Director at Airship Syndicate: Players can definitely expect a mix of established Shadow Isles threats (including some well-known Champs) as well as new enemies and creatures created exclusively for the game. Of course, we can’t say too much, or it would spoil the fun! There’s a lot of strategy to the combat, and players will need to master the lane system and use not only each champ’s abilities to their fullest but take advantage of (or avoid) ever-changing battle conditions. We do have a ‘Story Mode’ for players that want to experience the story without taking a beatdown.
GOG: Creating a game set in a universe that is loved by millions of gamers around the world is no small task. What was your decision at the outset of the developing process – did you want to create a game that will appeal to the League of Legends fans or aim more to open a door for potential newcomers to the franchise?
Joe Madureira: Working with a franchise as well-known as League of Legends means you have to take both audiences into consideration. It’s not easy, but the story in Ruined King was written to ease new players into the characters, letting them learn who they are by observing how they behave rather than being explicitly told.
Those who are veterans of the universe will see deeper into many of the interactions and recognize special details that we hope will make the story even more rewarding.
GOG: A single-player game set in the League of Legends seems like a small revolution. How do you want to use this type of gaming experience in Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story to make the franchise fans immerse even deeper into its fantastic, colorful world?
Rowan Parker – Creative Director at Riot Forge: We know there are tons of players who love single-player games and games with immersive stories. That’s one of the reasons why Riot Forge exists. Riot Forge will help bring new League of Legends experiences to a variety of players who love completable games. With our partner studios, we can tell a wide variety of stories and let you get hands on with our world and champions in a new way. The scale of stories we tell in each game will vary depending on the creative vision of our partners and the game they are creating for players. Riot Forge works closely with our partners to ensure we stay true to the League Universe.
GOG: Tell us more about Ziggs and his explosive skills. What made you decide on making this character the main hero of Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story?
Alex Neuse and Mike Roush – Co-Directors at Choice Provisions and Co-Founders of the studio: When we started the project, we were considering all the League of Legends Champions for appropriateness for the type of game we wanted to make, and if you’re familiar with our previous work, you know that we like goofy irreverent characters, and Ziggs just simply rose to the top of our list!
Ziggs is totally unhinged, and the idea of causing explosions in sync with the music seemed fun to us. The way that Ziggs makes his way through Piltover is completely via explosions, which is just ridiculous. We wanted the game to make the player feel like they were ALMOST losing control, but JUST BARELY able to maintain composure through the chaos. This is highlighted particularly well when players are chasing the Challenger Rank. In order to achieve the highest ranks in the game, they need to cause as much mayhem as possible via the Freestyle Mayhem system.
Freestyle Mayhem is all the optional stuff Ziggs can do throughout the level. If the player only plays to the onscreen prompts, they will still get a satisfying game experience, but if they are able to let the music guide them and perform all the optional Freestyle Mayhem, they will surf along a wave of explosions totally characteristic of The Dean of Demolitions.
So, without further ado, we would like to invite you to Runeterra. Both Ruined King: A League of Legends Story™ and Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story™ are available on GOG so feel free to jump into their colorful world.