Share this page!

Morello 🗣️ Profile picture
Twitter logo
21 Nov, 6 tweets, 2 min read
I say this as someone who doesn't engage with League IP (after working on it too long) outside of TFT, this rating is 100% worth it. I can't believe how well-written it is. I'll share why it's good in the thread, without spoilers:
All of the characters, from main to side, fan favorites to new additions, have motivations, arcs and emotions that fucking make sense.

This is a big deal in a world of surface-motivated heroes and villains. No one is mustache twirling, no one sparkles, everyone is *human*.
The art is second-to-none in animation. Facial expressions especially have a great deal of care. Not just through technical expertise (even though that is flowing here) but specific choices that are all carrying their storytelling weight.
It doesn't require deep league affinity (maybe one at all) to enjoy. In fact, not knowing what happens to the characters, or who is a "champion" probably adds to the tension.

The original characters (non-champs) are probably my favorites.
The show is mature in the actual meaning of it. Not "tits and blood and the fuck-word" brand of edgy, but rich in terms of emotional consequences and expressions. Nothing is cheap. Nothing is wasted.
Bravo again to the team - @praeco and Alex (I don't know his twitter and didn't see it, sadly) should be proud, as well as the entire team at Fortiche for something that has no business being this actually-good.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Morello 🗣️

Morello 🗣️ Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @MorelloNMST

Morello 🗣️ Profile picture
7 Oct
I had an interesting conversation this week about the concept of "taste" in design. Specifically, the idea that designers should have good taste to be good designers.

I disagree with this, but maybe not for the obvious reasons. Let's discuss taste.
The problem with "good taste" is that it doesn't mean anything on its own. My belief is that good taste is simply a weak definition for the combination of things we *do* want .

So I'm gonna try to break down the elements of good taste and demystify it a bit.
1) Player empathy. Knowing and being able to understand the audience(s), the meaning behind their needs and frustrations, and what does and doesn't really matter.

It goes beyond just knowing the common requests - say rollback netcode or good anticheat. Those matter, but..
Read 16 tweets
Morello 🗣️ Profile picture
10 Aug
Let's talk today about the word and concept "fun" in terms of development.

I have a pretty sharp opinion on this: It's a word and concept you shouldn't use as a designer.

Of course we want players to *find* a game fun, but as devs, it's too vague and subjective to use
To go further, I don't think it's merely useless, it's *dangerous* as a term in design.

Seems silly, maybe; especially when design does have a measure of subjectivity inherent to the craft. But fun, and arguments around it, at best bury real issues.

More often, it's a weapon
Beware the phrase "well, that's not fun" in terms of a design discussion. This weaponization has caused the biggest fallouts I've seen.

A way of taking one individual's taste and preferences and applying it as a rubric is misguided at best, or toxic at worst.
Read 16 tweets
Morello 🗣️ Profile picture
21 Jul
Constraints are a constant in design, and while they can sound like a bad thing, I'd suggest that I think they're not just inevitable, but beneficial to a strong, focused game design.

We don't talk about this a lot, so let's dive in a bit.
To clarify, constraints are factors that put pressure, requirements or challenges on the design that aren't just the design itself.

Each game has its own, unique constraints. While we can't prepare for everything until we hit it, let's categorize a few places they come from:
* Technical.

A few examples would be the memory budget, how many characters can be "active" at once, database space for inventory items, rig bone counts, or AI behaviors.

(AI is generally really expensive on performance).
Read 20 tweets
Morello 🗣️ Profile picture
20 Jul
I wanted to talk about a unique part of game dev: access to developers, and the expectation therein.

Fandoms, and particularly game, have an insane relationship to this - something not really in other industries.

Some tips, also, from someone who's been in the public eye a lot.
This might be a tempting topic to oversimplify, but as with nearly everything in game dev, it's nuanced.

Often I think the problems with this subject come from extreme takes on some very understandable issues, so hopefully this will color a more complete picture.
People who play video games get *very invested* - moreso than most other entertainment forms. There's a deeper passion, connection and meaning for people who play video games.

The experiences matter to us. That's part of the magic after all.
Read 25 tweets
Morello 🗣️ Profile picture
11 Jul
Let's discuss game design education and post-graduate programs. I have a bit of a dour take, but I hope it can be useful - and maybe we can even find the silver linings.

It's something I've spent potentially too much time thinking about.
While I have not experienced these classes first hand, I have been a hiring manager for about 10 years. I've had the opportunity to review a *lot* of candidates, resumes, and conduct a lot of interviews.

My experience is from an "I want to find good junior designers" POV
I'll start with generalizations, then we'll move onto exceptions, and then potential things you can do if you find yourself in a bad spot with this.

I don't think there are any blistering-hot takes in here - this isn't an uncommon convo - but I want to make sure new folks see it
Read 31 tweets
Morello 🗣️ Profile picture
10 Jul
Today, let's talk about design "subclasses" - that is, what sort of type of skills outside of game design responsibilities do you want to pursue?

A lot of designers have a subclass or two, making the shape of an individual designer sort of unique!
It's another reason design is harder to "grok" what it exactly is - there's so much variance. That's not a bad thing, though!

It speaks to what roles are more or less attractive, and what unique skills you can offer your team.
These should be defined by interest and background, I think. As a new designer, these can be nice to leverage for being more qualified or useful, but you'll still be very focused on getting the designer part right.

This is more a long term thing to think about.

Let's go;
Read 24 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @MorelloNMST has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @MorelloNMST!

Read all threads by @MorelloNMST

:(