Originally Posted by IronStylus

I really like this post. I think it's spot on. The comparison of specialties in relation to other is a very good point. There's really nothing nor some other artists/technicians can do past a certain point. As a concept artist there's not much I can help with in the craft when we're focusing on things like animations and VFX. I can still be part of the review and feedback process, but there's nothing I can do technically on the team to add value.

That's another component I'd like to emphasize. We have a lot of people reviewing products and content as they're being created to make sure the quality is up to par. While some of our jobs end at a certain point in content development, usually the whole team stays with the project to keep eyes on it as it progresses through later phases of feature creation and subsequent polish. That does indeed add extra time, but it's time well spent as we're making sure that technically things are working up to par or that we're not making an error in a choice. Also, we want to make sure that we're catching opportunities where we can add even more value.

We make sure though to keep it so that feedback as the content progresses doesn't yield diminishing returns. We take a cost/benefit approach of time spent vs. value added. As we know in any other production process, sometimes late-term feedback can result in that time dilation effect. We make it a top priority not to get stuck in those redundant loops. A product has to be awesome, but it also has to be shipped. You have to cut the cord at some point, going back to that baby analogy.

Do indeed keep the thread bumped if you feel there is good knowledge and insight into the process. I'm hoping that someday we have a proper conduit in order to present a developer diary to our players. I know there's obviously an interest in seeing how close a feature is to release, but it very much seems that there's a big demand from players who really take interest in the development process. I'm hoping we can provide a good venue to show off the process that results in our content. =)

Originally Posted by IronStylus

I'm going to chime in here as well now that Morello has paved the way. Progress is being made as we have introduced some cool features. What he's speaking of in terms of particles and other goodies is correct, as well as other things we simply won't be able to talk about.

He's describing a process which took Ezreal from a cool skin to an amazing skin without us even realizing it at first. Basically, we made such a cool skin, a thought was put forward: "OMG! This skin is awesome.. it's begging to be made awesomer!" So.. we are! I should know.. I helped =)

I understand people are salivating over it and that the antici..........







.........pation is getting to people. All good things come to those who wait! Believe me, there are people at the office waiting just as patiently/impatiently with good reason. I agree with Morello's sentiment that it will be well worth the wait!

Originally Posted by IronStylus

So, I'm not up on much info about skin revisiting. Morello and I have decided to team up on some issues concerning reworks of certain champions however, such as Ashe and Soraka and their various skins.

We have really upped the quality of skins as of late, and champions also, I feel. This has been a concerted effort by all the teams to really push our level of quality in all aspects of a champion or skin. We've spent a lot of time seeing where we can make improvements and best add value.

I realize as we up quality on skins going forward that it does cause older ones to look outdated. There's a lot of forward momentum with our current skins production and that's mainly why I don't have info on revisiting older skins. I'm simply not involved in that aspect of production. Because I'm on the concept side I'm looking out towards future quality improvements and not really tasked with revisiting what's legacy.

This is a conundrum of development. As things move forward, we inexorably move towards better quality, out-dating older assets. That's to be expected. What we have to evaluate is what do we gain by reworking an older character or skin? We have to gauge whether or not the number of people using the asset, the initial concept of the asset, and the future viability of the asset warrant a rework. If they don't, we may be best off creating something new and fresh while we let some content sunset. That is by no means an official line, that's just the crux that is continual content development.

Originally Posted by not5id

would this change your mind?

Originally Posted by Echorion

I'm confused. Riot said it's taking so long because they "want to make it into a true legendary skin"
But it it already has new voice options, effects, spells, sounds, art, model, etc...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NszJ...feature=relmfu

What else could they possibly add to it? =/

Originally Posted by Rojiru

You can't possibly mean there's no value seen in reworking the oldest models and skins of the league, such as Kayle and Gangplank? We have the premise and the reasoning for updating old content, as I'm sure the new look created a resurgence in their sales. Doing the same for all such outdated content can only be a positive force for Riot.

In any case, the phrase "let some content sunset" doesn't mesh well with what I can see of Riot's goals. There's no way Riot will allow the base models of, let's say elephant feet Sion, to remain something they're proud of for very long as excellence in quality continues to rise.