With the support of our core IP strategy team, I wrote a champion summary that summarizes what makes Illaoi special and what players around the world love about her.
Illaoi is the Truth Bearer of Nagakabouros, the deity of life, ocean storms and movement, often depicted as a colossal kraken. Illaoi and her people hail from the Serpent Islands, an island archipelago that includes Bilgewater and her home island of Buhru.
In League of Legends, Illaoi’s gameplay focuses on testing people’s worthiness with the golden artifact known as the Eye of God. With the massive idol, he rips the souls out of their host bodies and summons spectral tentacles to strike at them repeatedly.
In our story world, those who survive Nagakabouros’ ordeal are considered to be on the right path and can move forward to pursue their true purpose in life. Whereas those who fall have no doubt that they are failing in their duty to advance their own lives and are hindering the flow of the universe. An experience that not everyone survives.
Using all this information, we defined Illaoi’s core truth as: “A powerful and charismatic spiritual leader who inspires others to be their own unstoppable force.” He turns heads and dominates a room with his physical presence and confident, determined swagger.
Then, using the brief, I worked with other disciplinary stakeholders such as design and art to create a North Star for its development. This way we make sure Illaoi is instantly recognizable, even in a genre we’ve never seen her before. And more importantly, we used it to look for opportunities to grow your legend. Because a fighting game is the perfect place for Illaoi to shine.
With a clear image of her in our minds, we can ensure that anyone who already knows Illaoi beyond the surface level will also find the character to love, while empowering the development team to delight even to his most devoted followers with a version that will explode. closed doors Or, in his case, he rips the doors off their hinges with magical tentacles and beats you senseless with them.
On a personal note, I’ve loved who Illaoi is and who she could be since we developed her for League in 2015. And while she’s not one of the most popular champions in League, I think it’s easy to see how she Illaoi’s combination of bruised knuckles, devoted heart, and joy (combined with all the new experiences we can put into players’ hands) can make her a superstar in Project L.
Art
Mike “zatransis” Henry, Creative Director:
Once Narrative has given us a good understanding of who a champion is, we move on to their visual direction. You can put a lot more into a champion when you know who they are, especially when comparing all of their visuals, which Illaoi certainly didn’t lack for.
Some of our champions lend themselves well to being slightly altered, while others would not make sense to have their appearance drastically changed. When we first started on Illaoi, it was clear that it would be the last.
She has a truly iconic look: tall, muscular and imposing. But more than that, she is cheerful, lively and believes in challenging others to live their lives to the fullest. And all these things had to be reflected in his appearance.
Illaoi’s physique is quite unique in the League of Legends champion roster, and we referenced many athletes focused on weightlifters and shot putters. Mostly women who spend a lot of time lifting things as easily as Illaoi lifts her huge weapon.