Riot Games is building plenty of excitement with its new space-themed Teamfight Tactics set, Galaxies. And fans were treated to a behind-the-scenes look into how that universe was selected today.
TFT producer Dax “Lunchboy” Andrus explained what goes into choosing a theme for each set, breaking it down in a Twitter thread today. Lunchboy spelled out three important factors that are taken into consideration before making a decision that will affect the direction of a set for months.
“1) Can the thematic support an entire set – are there enough champions to make a well designed set?” Lunchboy explained. “2) Is the thematic resonant? Will players enjoy looking at it for months? 3) What’s going on in the rest of League?”
A theme should obviously house enough champions that blend into the set’s universe and design. But the other considerations are a bit more nuanced.
While the player base will certainly increase when a new set launches, it needs to continue to pull fans for its entire lifespan. To do that, developers have to create in-game variation that spices things up every time you hop into the Convergence. Rise of the Elements attempted that with Elemental Hexes, but many players were unwilling to sacrifice positioning for the hex bonus.
Set Three will feature a new mechanic that takes players to a different “galaxy” with unique rulesets. A Neekoverse Galaxy, for example, will give each player two Neeko’s Help items at the start of the game. This, along with the intergalactic boards and units, should help players “enjoy looking at it for months.”
And with Galaxies’ theme being decided “before Set 1 even shipped,” according to Lunchboy, the sets are laid out in a roadmap. This can easily help the dev team coordinate with the League of Legends universe.
Set Three: Galaxies is being tested on the PBE now before going live in mid-March.
