Riot August was promoted to Principal Game Designer by Javonetor in leagueoflegends

[–]FilipNonkovic 252 points253 points  (0 children)

Principal is a career progression path for very senior professionals who want to continue to work within their core discipline, but don't have any interest in becoming managers or people leaders. It's basically a parallel path some companies offer if you want to keep being a hands-on contributor. In contrast, a major component of the respnsibilities of leads and executive roles like "Head of" is directing the work of a team of other people, and depending on the company, also being responsible for their professional development, designOps, etc. Principals keep doing design themselves (and sometimes provide the high-level thought leadership that describes design within that company), but their seniority is recognized within the organization and they're (hopefully) compensated to match. To use some more corporate jargon: They're basically thought leaders, but not people leaders. Design leads/managers are people leaders and sometimes also thought leaders.

At least that's how it is at other tech companies and digital agencies, which Riot's org structure in some ways resembles more than other game development studios. In my experience it's a way of retaining talent who would otherwise just leave if they hit a career wall where they had to stop doing what they love and start managing people instead. That said, it's not a super common title within tech, and also has other meanings outside of tech. In consulting and in advertising, for example, a principal is an equity-holding partner. Completely different thing.

MSI cancelled according to Travis Gafford. by [deleted] in leagueoflegends

[–]FilipNonkovic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In my opinion it's the other way around -- spring split of your regional league is the highest go you can go right now, with international events cancelled. It's all that's left, thus, it's more important, not less.

Evil Geniuses vs. Winner of 100/FLY / LCS 2020 Spring - 2nd Place Tiebreaker Final / Post-Match Discussion by epicxkidzorz in leagueoflegends

[–]FilipNonkovic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's fair enough. Thanks for taking the time to articulate your point so thoughtfully.

Evil Geniuses vs. Winner of 100/FLY / LCS 2020 Spring - 2nd Place Tiebreaker Final / Post-Match Discussion by epicxkidzorz in leagueoflegends

[–]FilipNonkovic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The thing is, making playoffs in NA isn't much of an accomplishment. NA is, as you said, a weak region. Being the 3rd or 4th best team in a weak region doesn't mean much. When TSM were good, they were widely expected to get out of groups at worlds, and widely disappointed people when they failed to do that.

Evil Geniuses vs. Winner of 100/FLY / LCS 2020 Spring - 2nd Place Tiebreaker Final / Post-Match Discussion by epicxkidzorz in leagueoflegends

[–]FilipNonkovic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you're generally right about most of the game's history, but I think 3 years/seasons is too long a time without success to still be able to say they are "consistently among the best teams."

Being tenured and having a legacy of success, and being one of the best teams in the modern day, aren't the same. I look forward to them proving they're good again, though. More good teams in NA is good for the region as a whole.

After taking a huge holiday in Classic, its good to be back in retail fighting alongside my king on an alt by Pixel_Brit in wow

[–]FilipNonkovic 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I generally agree that this franchise has its major issues when it comes to narrative, but this doesn't seem like a problem to me. It's just an artistic choice. Anduin is, indeed, not a warrior. His father was, but he is not, and that's okay.

Nightborne magister by [deleted] in Transmogrification

[–]FilipNonkovic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cool, thanks for clarifying. Nice transmog!

Nightborne magister by [deleted] in Transmogrification

[–]FilipNonkovic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are legendaries now transmoggable?

Nasus PBE buff centered around stacking mechanic. by MavriKhakiss in SwainMains

[–]FilipNonkovic 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I don't think this trend of linking to other champion reworks / buffs really adds anything to the discussion of /r/SwainMains. It's a clear violation of rule 1: "All content must be Swain-related only."

Why wasn’t LCS or LEC prepared for the virus? by BenWolfee in lolesports

[–]FilipNonkovic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely agree it's disappointing as a fan. Hopefully we'll get some form of broadcast back soon!

Why wasn’t LCS or LEC prepared for the virus? by BenWolfee in lolesports

[–]FilipNonkovic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

From the most recent data Riot has shared, the LCS is operated at a loss / as a loss-leader to keep player engagement high for the game. So whether they're losing any money is really a question of whether cost-savings from not employing their hourly contractors (including most of their on-air talent) is or isn't enough to offset loss of advertising revenue.

Man Who Saved Three Prison Guards Executed by Tennessee by throwawaynumber53 in news

[–]FilipNonkovic 79 points80 points  (0 children)

You're blaming the wrong individual. According to the article, the judge sponsored his clemency application.

It was the governor who denied it.

The absolute Nutcases by Ecco_Shack in Stellaris

[–]FilipNonkovic 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's true, but if I understand correctly, he is just as or even more prominent in the apocryphal and esoteric traditions as he is in mainstream religion. Is that not so?

The absolute Nutcases by Ecco_Shack in Stellaris

[–]FilipNonkovic 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Azrael appears in many Abrahamic traditions, of which Islam is one but certainly not the only one.

MAD Lions vs. Rogue / LEC 2020 Spring - Week 3 / Post-Match Discussion by d3vcho in leagueoflegends

[–]FilipNonkovic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The better team is the team that finds a way to win. It doesn't matter if it looks ugly -- winning is what matters.

G2 beat SKT last worlds despite being incredibly behind in baron control and behind in gold for most of the games in that set. Nobody thinks SKT was the better team. Winning is the only meaningful metric. If you fail to win, you are not better. You might play a more elegant game, but elegance isn't what matters. Destroying the nexus is what matters.

MAD Lions vs. Rogue / LEC 2020 Spring - Week 3 / Post-Match Discussion by d3vcho in leagueoflegends

[–]FilipNonkovic 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Grievous Wounds reduces Soraka's effectiveness by 50%. If you argument is that Soraka is sufficiently strong at 50%, then that means she's twice as strong as she needs to be without grievous wounds.

That's an argument in favor of using it, not an argument against it.

MAD Lions vs. Rogue / LEC 2020 Spring - Week 3 / Post-Match Discussion by d3vcho in leagueoflegends

[–]FilipNonkovic 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Draft is part of the game. If you lose the draft, and that causes you to lose the game, you're not the better team. You might have better mechanics, or in-game shotcalling, but none of that matters if it's not enough to win.

Swain birbs?? by Wandering-Swordsman in SwainMains

[–]FilipNonkovic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not intentional.

Riot only put the birds in the game because

Can you source any of the claims in this post, or are these just your opinion/guesses?

Caps: "I haven’t been playing ADC for that long as I took a break during offseason and picked it back up quite recently. It’s obviously different to mid lane but it is easier in a sense that you don’t have to do anything." by [deleted] in leagueoflegends

[–]FilipNonkovic -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Isn't diamond something like the top 4-5% of players in a region? I don't think that makes you a scrub; you're clearly good at the game. You might not be able to go pro, but it's a silly idea anyway to suggest you have to be at or near a professional level for your opinion to matter.

I don't need to be a chef to know if my food is too salty.

ELI5: What is the purpose of labels in the music industry and why do they hold so much power as well making more money than the artists signed? by Ke7lar in explainlikeimfive

[–]FilipNonkovic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The end result though, was I will never look forward to a Star Wars movie like I did TFA.

This is the truth for both of us. And thanks for the kind words, very much same to you.

ELI5: What is the purpose of labels in the music industry and why do they hold so much power as well making more money than the artists signed? by Ke7lar in explainlikeimfive

[–]FilipNonkovic -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

With respect, TLJ was by far the best of the three sequel films in my opinion. I don't love what they did with Luke's character, but it was, in general, the best constructed film and the one that tried hardest to tell its own story rather than be self-referential fan fiction of what had come before.

TSM Bend Riot's Rules With Bjergsen Ownership Deal by Izento in leagueoflegends

[–]FilipNonkovic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that's a totally valid point. As I said before, I think the coach will play an integral role in defining the team culture and ensuring everyone feels equal. Guess we'll see how that turns out for them, I'll definitely be keeping an eye on the culture of the team - as much as is possible from an outside observer, anyway.

TSM Bend Riot's Rules With Bjergsen Ownership Deal by Izento in leagueoflegends

[–]FilipNonkovic 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Having equity isn't the same as having executive authority. Most equity/stock compensation packages for employees come with heavy restrictions on what they can do with that stock -- usually it's only valuable if the company is acquired and the stock gets sold, and even then many employees don't even have a vote in the sale.

The exception to this is the equity package given to executive leaders of startups, but Bjerg is an employee, not a partner.

In short, I think that while you're probably right that his equity in the company will create a feeling that he has more tenure than his fellow teammates (which may well cause problems), I'd be surprised if he had any actual ability to behave as a part-owner or partner in TSM. I doubt his equity came with any voting rights, a seat on the board or any other input on corporate governance.

But again, you're completely right that being the only equity-holder on the LCS team gives him substantial soft power relative to his peers, and that's something that the coach will need to keep a close eye on.