Last week we finally got confirmation that the Riot MMO is still alive and kicking. For many who are not as familiar with game development, or maybe those who have just simply been hurt far too many times, seeing Ghostcrawler and then weeks later Xenogenic leave the project may have raised some concerns. I think this lovely and eloquent post by Riots co-founder Marc Merril stating that EVERYTHING IS FINE, the Game is in great hands and they are proud of the direction of the game really should have been enough to calm any tensions.
This week, after a few long months of no public job listings, we finally received a new job post that confirmed many things we have been speculating for the last couple years at this point. These being the camera perspective, the type of combat and potential cross-platform support. All of this info is coming from the posting for Lead Game Designer, Combat – Unpublished MMO.
A little bit ago, @Ghostcrawler shared that after 9 years with @riotgames he’ll be stepping away to focus on the things that matter most: his family. Thank you again for everything, Greg.
— Tryndamere (@MarcMerrill) March 7, 2023
I want to take a second to talk a little about what that means for the MMO… [1/4]
Third person Camera & ACTion combat
First off it looks like at this point we can rpretty much confirm that the game will in fact be third person. Within the job postings Desired Qualifications they stated they are looking for someone with “Direct Experience across both third person action and MMO genres”
Now the verbage here may be a touch confusing so lets break it down for the pegegas in chat. First we have third person action. This can be anything from Elden Ring to Black Desert Online. The third person POV is arguably the most popular storytelling perspective. In video games and movies, the third person POV refers to a perspective in which the camera is locked onto a character, usually peering over their shoulder. So any game like this that features action combat.
The other part is just MMO Genres, which really could be anything from Ultima Online to Everquest or World of Warcraft to Elderscrolls online.
Now where this gets slightly interesting is that they are looking for someone with experience in both of these fields. However much I would love to see Elden Rings combat pasted into an MMORPG its really just not that simple. Though luckily what we can deduce from this one singular line is that more than likely the game will be 3rd person perspective… Now it does say action combat as well which, if we scroll up, confirms what many of us have been kind suspecting all along… In the first paragraph of the posting Riot games says…
“We’re on a mission to deliver a game that players have been yearning for: an MMO set in the League universe! We aspire to provide a generational leap in the genre that satisfies old fans and newcomers alike. A key ingredient to our success is delivering cutting edge action combat that is immediately satisfying and remains engaging for thousands of hours of play.”
Riot Games
Now if at this point you still think the Riot MMO is going to have tab target combat…”OK BOOMER”
Mobile
Last on todays list of topics to go over that hopefully will refill our copium tanks and remind us why we wake up each day, we got further confirmation that the Riot MMO is likely to feature cross platform play.
Now I broke this news nearly a year ago where a speculated at the end of my Bethesda Showcase video that Riot Games was planning to add cross platform support, given the likelihood of controller support that was confirmed by Greg Street in twitter DM’s as well as them adding PC, Console and Mobile qualifications in nearly all of the job postings since.
And now with this newest job postings they have once again as for “Experience across a variety of platforms like PC, Console and mobile.”
Alternatively to what I view as confirmations about the third person perspective and action combat I think this cross platform is a little more subjective.
This may just be something that they are open to experimenting with as, yes, the game is still…VERY EARLY IN DEVELOPMENT, but I think its also not such a bad thing that many people think it may be…now if the game does feature cross platform support it does have some pretty interesting implications…
First, I think that this all but confirms that the game will have a limited action set or limited number of abilities give to players at any given time through gameplay. This has been made very popular through game titles such as Elden Ring, League of Legends or even MMO’s like Guild Wars 2 or Albion Online. All of which in my opinion are great games that don’t have limits to their skill cap or depth.
Albion Online for example even has a VERY successful mobile port, and allows players to farm while traveling, sitting on the bus or on an airplane. A really fun a great feature that opens up accessibility to a much wider audience. In my opinion, I don’t think these immersive and awe striking worlds should be gate kept by those who can afford gaming PC’s with thousand dollar graphics card and I would love to see them available to “Old fans and newcomers alike” like Riot stated in the job listing. Things like tab targeting , 50 key binds and un-immersive UI’s have been a road block for new comers in the genre and something I am personally happy to never see again.
Now as always I cannot say for certain what this cross platform play may look like, any limitations it may have or if it even makes it to the final product but either way I am personally excited for it no matter which direction they choose.
