My title is Eric Angelillo, I’m the Inventive Director and Co-Artwork Director for Convergence: A League of Legends Story. I additionally co-founded Double Stallion video games 10 years in the past with a mission to create vibrant & transcendent experiences with gamers all all over the world. I really like making daring motion video games with vibrant stylized visuals impressed by the perfect of animation and comics.
Convergence: A League of Legends Story, is our new, story-driven, single-player 2D motion platformer that includes dynamic fight and distinctive exploration, and it gave us an unbelievable alternative to make use of our strengths as a studio adapt a myriad of Zaun and Piltover Champions from the unique League of Legends MOBA. With Ekko as our lead, it was tough to slender down the record of different Champs we wished to incorporate within the forged, however we settled on Warwick, Camille and naturally, Jinx the Unfastened Cannon!
For Ekko, growth actually began with one key drawing I fabricated from him grinding on a rail. I knew {that a} sport about Ekko needed to double down on not solely his time rewind talents and boy genius points, but additionally on his punk-inspired vogue sense. The idea in query had a robust graffiti aesthetic and pushed Ekko right into a neon soaked post-punk skater vibe. This turned the premise for which we constructed the entire sport’s artwork route.
We opted to stay near Ekko’s basic design from League, however tailored his design form language to incorporate quite a lot of triangles and sharp angles. Astute observers will even discover that his silhouette is predicated on an hourglass form. His sneakers had been barely modified to permit for sturdy arches permitting him to grind. Mechanics-wise, we tailored Ekko’s total package of talents after which some!
Constructing a single-player sport freed from PVP balancing allowed us to actually leverage Ekko’s skill to rewind time, so this naturally turned our core mechanic. However gamers shall be thrilled to see his MOBA talents – the Timewinder, Parallel Convergence, Section Dive and Chronobreak – are additionally integral elements of the sport. Along with faithfully adapting these strikes, we additionally expanded on them by making them helpful outdoors of fight as nicely. The Timewinder can be utilized to energy electrical sockets, Parallel Convergence can time-freeze collapsing platforms and Section Dive can be utilized to teleport by partitions!
A narrative about Zaun wouldn’t be the identical and not using a go to to the Sump… and a go to to the Sump wouldn’t be full with out its resident Uncaged Wrath; Warwick. Warwick was one of many first Champions we explored by idea artwork as his biomechanical wolf profile is simply so enjoyable to attract. His sheer sprite dimension and complexity made him one of the vital intensive characters to animate within the sport, however we knew it will be price the additional effort.
Moveset-wise; our animators referenced the look of his talents like Jaws of the Beast and Primal Howl. We even tailored his leaping Final; Infinite Duress, however as an alternative of slashes, we had him seize Ekko and throw him in opposition to a wall! After all, Ekko can simply rewind it each time… supplied he has sufficient Rewind Expenses in his Zero Drive left.
Camille the Metal Shadow is an integral a part of Convergence. She represents Piltover within the sport, and acts as an unlikely ally to Ekko as they’re each looking for to take down the malicious Chembaron household often called the Poingdestres. Though Camille finally turns into an ally, issues initially begin on the mistaken foot between her and Ekko… Followers shall be thrilled to know they should face Camille in hand-to-hand fight.
A part of why we selected to adapt Camille is that her moveset from League of Legends had a lot potential in a side-scrolling sport. Camille’s signature hookshots are utilized in League to shortly transfer laterally, nevertheless, in an action-platformer like Convergence, we had been in a position to make use of the hookshots to permit Camille to have unbelievable aerial talents. In consequence, her battle encounter requires Ekko to actually dodge deftly, as Camille dominates the sector with each horizontal and vertical excessive mobility.
Along with the pace and agility afforded by her hookshots, League gamers will discover we additionally tailored Camille’s Precision Protocol roundhouse kick. And naturally, who may overlook Camille’s Final assault; The Hextech Ultimatum. Whereas we needed to adapt the Ultimatum’s boundaries to operate vertically, the essence of capturing her opponents in a Hextech matrix stays the identical. For Camille’s artwork, we actually pushed her key options; lethal, tall, bladed legs and refined Piltovan class. As beforehand talked about, we used triangular shapes as a motif for our character designs, and that is particularly evident with Camille’s sharp determine.
Jinx’s position in Convergence is exclusive in that she basically performs a distraction position in Ekko’s quest to avoid wasting Zaun. As an agent of chaos, she doesn’t assist nor instantly impede Ekko, however her manic hijinks power Ekko to should cease her earlier than he can proceed on his journey. Jinx has so many followers in the actual world, so we felt that even inside Runeterra, she would in all probability have quite a lot of followers as nicely. In Convergence, Ekko discovers there’s a brand new chempunk gang on the town; the Inx. The Inx are like an unofficial fanclub for Jinx, solely as Ekko finds out, Jinx isn’t too completely happy in regards to the thought of a bunch of chempunks ripping off her model… As an agent of fine, Ekko is pressured to step in to cease Jinx from wreaking havoc on the Inx and in so doing blowing up Zaun and Piltover!
With all of the bosses in Convergence, we put quite a lot of thought into making them distinctive, and a part of that was focusing each on both melee or bullet-based ranged assaults. Jinx naturally fell into the latter camp. All of her weapons from League make an look; Zapper, Chompers, Fishbones, Pow-pow and naturally the Tremendous Mega Loss of life Rocket! We additionally added just a few additional surprises like a full-screen missile bathe! For Jinx’s character design, we based mostly it on her Wild Rift design, however then added on our signature cell-shading and sharp traces.
Whereas it wasn’t possible to incorporate all of the Zaun champs, we did embrace easter eggs for every one in all them. Gamers might even spot references to different Champions from outdoors Zaun as nicely. We’re extremely happy with Convergence and might’t watch for gamers to expertise it firsthand.
Convergence: A League Of Legends Story shall be launched on Could 23, 2023. for Xbox Sequence X|S and Xbox One Sport Move members: Obtain the Convergence Jinx emote in League of Legends. For those who haven’t already, merely hyperlink your Riot Video games account to your Sport Move subscription and play League of Legends by 11:59 PM PST on June 2nd to obtain it.
CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story™ Deluxe Version
Riot Forge
$39.99
Pre-order the Deluxe Version of CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story™ to obtain the Pre-Order Bonus Golden Ekko pores and skin
The Deluxe Version of CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story™ contains:
– Star Guardian Ekko Pores and skin
– Ruined Ekko Pores and skin
– CONVERGENCE Digital Comedian and Artwork E-book
Rewind the Previous, Management the Future
Traverse the sprawling metropolis of Zaun as Ekko, a younger inventor with a tool to rewind time. He and his associates should work collectively to maintain their metropolis secure, however as hazard looms and secrets and techniques come to mild, Ekko realizes he can’t belief anybody—not even himself.
Developed by Double Stallion Video games, CONVERGENCE: A League Of Legends Story is a story-driven, single-player 2D motion platformer that includes dynamic fight and distinctive exploration alternatives because of Ekko’s skill to journey by area and time. Rewind your actions to be taught out of your errors and outsmart every new enemy. Will it’s sufficient to avoid wasting Zaun’s future?
CONTROL TIME
Activate Ekko’s Zero Drive to show again time. Then, use your information of the longer term to adapt your strategy to any problem and get the soar in your enemies. Fluid, dynamic fight rewards exact timing and positioning.
DISCOVER ZAUN
Run, leap, and slide your means by the streets of Zaun. Meet champions, face down enemies, and find never-before-seen sides of the Undercity.
BATTLE CHAMPIONS
Encounter League of Legends champions such as you’ve by no means seen them earlier than. Unlock new talents and face rivals in a sequence of explosive battles to be taught who’s with you, and who’s in opposition to you.
Seize each second in CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story.
CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story™
Riot Forge
$29.99
Pre-order CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story™ to obtain the Pre-Order Bonus Golden Ekko pores and skin
Rewind the Previous, Management the Future
Traverse the sprawling metropolis of Zaun as Ekko, a younger inventor with a tool to rewind time. He and his associates should work collectively to maintain their metropolis secure, however as hazard looms and secrets and techniques come to mild, Ekko realizes he can’t belief anybody—not even himself.
Developed by Double Stallion Video games, CONVERGENCE: A League Of Legends Story is a story-driven, single-player 2D motion platformer that includes dynamic fight and distinctive exploration alternatives because of Ekko’s skill to journey by area and time. Rewind your actions to be taught out of your errors and outsmart every new enemy. Will it’s sufficient to avoid wasting Zaun’s future?
CONTROL TIME
Activate Ekko’s Zero Drive to show again time. Then, use your information of the longer term to adapt your strategy to any problem and get the soar in your enemies. Fluid, dynamic fight rewards exact timing and positioning.
DISCOVER ZAUN
Run, leap, and slide your means by the streets of Zaun. Meet champions, face down enemies, and find never-before-seen sides of the Undercity.
BATTLE CHAMPIONS
Encounter League of Legends champions such as you’ve by no means seen them earlier than. Unlock new talents and face rivals in a sequence of explosive battles to be taught who’s with you, and who’s in opposition to you.
Seize each second in CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24830575/canoo_van_photo.jpeg "All of Canoo’s employees are reportedly on a ‘mandatory unpaid break’")
