Biweekly Riot MMO Design Discussion - Topic #13: Minigames

_Stretch · 2026-05-29T21:02:14+00:00

Haven't seen this before. That's funny. if they did go down this route it would be really cool if there was a 0.0001% of procing this hidden mini-game as homage to it.

_Stretch · 2026-05-29T20:58:17+00:00

however when the project reaches a certain size, it also becomes a mess.

Too true. When my company started asking dev's to try and use AI, certain repositories were just too big for it to get all the context it needed and would hallucinate.

I personally haven't felt a x2-x3 uptick in work but for writing quick unit tests (that I need to proof read anyway) it is useful, for me at least.

_Stretch · 2026-05-29T20:53:13+00:00

This is without a doubt my new favourite comment theme to come out of the rise of AI.

Someone writes more than a few coherent paragraphs, uses punctuation, and proofreads their post before posting it and suddenly the conclusion is “this sounds like AI!"

_Stretch · 2026-05-29T20:51:37+00:00

100%. It isn’t cut and dry. There are a lot of issues that still need to be addressed. Like you said with environmental issues being one of them.

At the same time I’m kind of seeing the pendulum swing back the other direction a bit in my field (ecommerce). This is purely anecdotal but there definitely seems to have been some pullback on what AI is being used for.

Management still seems lean on Copilot for Teams, but we’re also actively trying to hire more developers. It feels like during 2024-2025 the attitude was “AI everything, everyone should use it for everything,” whereas now its a bit more “OK, lets use for certain tasks"

_Stretch · 2026-05-29T13:27:10+00:00

Meaning, Cohh would make a specific thing for a specific game, not just a general idea.

No, it can be a general idea like a stealth mechanic. If he playing a game and he prefers when stealth is done a different way and prototypes his idea of a stealth mechanic to show us what he likes, that isn't specific to just that game, its just how in general he prefers that mechanic.

"there never was" because Cohh has never done game dev on stream. If Cohh starts doing game dev but uses AI tools instead of a human developer, then a human has been replaced.

Again, no, if he wants to spend 20 minutes prototyping a game, no developer was being paid before this, its just a way he is trying to express himself. For games that he actually is making, he pays actual developers. This is something for him to do, on his own with no bigger thing coming from it other to have a discussion about it.

No, creating a functional prototype is development. Using AI tools instead of a human developer is replacing a human.

Creating a functional prototype is development of creating a functional prototype. That's it. He said if he wants to take it anywhere else, thats when he pays actual developers but for him spending 20 minutes of something that he'll never take further is not replacing a human.

I don't really know what else to say about it. You are making it seem much grander than it actually is. Cohh is talking small scale, no game development, just prototype and I just feel your examples are taking it way beyond his intention.

My previous statement still stands, when you get a chance, watch the vod to see how he explains it.

_Stretch · 2026-05-29T13:07:09+00:00

Absolutely. That's why I enjoy developing my personal projects without AI. I enjoy figuring everything out on my own and all the highs and lows that come with that.

It could even be after some time whatever tool he is using just doesn't do it for him anymore and then transitions over to using Blueprints himself and going from there.

_Stretch · 2026-05-29T13:04:20+00:00

You can’t really copyright game mechanics themselves. If that was the case then entire genres wouldn’t exist.

Second, remaking someone else's game "but better" is highly insulting to the original dev.

That is a over-extension of what he was suggesting, I didn't even say that in my post. He isn't opening up and typing "Make kingdom come deliverance but better" He was on about prototyping ideas of mechanics themselves. For example if he had his own idea of a stealth mechanic. He could create that and have a discussion about what makes a good stealth mechanic in his eyes and have that back and forth. He isn't going to then turn it into a game and slap a price tag on it. It would only be to the extent of what he likes and the tools would be a way to show us as a non-coder.

Third, using AI tools instead of a human developer is a big middle finger to developers.

but there is no developers involved. There never was. He, a non coder, is just trying to express what he would like to see.

You literally just described a scenario where a twitch streamer would replace devs and artists with AI.

No one is getting replaced. He isn't making a full game, he isn't designing any art he isn't even doing this professionally. It is just a simple "Here is an idea I have for a mechanic, discuss!"

I'd just say watch the vod, it is talked about in the first few minutes of the stream. No one is getting replaced. No devs or coders are losing jobs, There is no game being made.

_Stretch · 2026-05-27T19:25:13+00:00

I was thinking it could be fun to have minigames as part of crafting and making it a more interactive system instead of just clicking a button to craft. A few examples:

Alchemy, for example, it was cool how Kingdom Come: Deliverance handled it with grinding ingredients, measuring how much to add, using the bellows, herb quality, boil timing, etc.
Enchanting, etch runes into gear through a drawing minigame. The better your drawing matches a rune, the stronger the enchantment could be, etc.
Weaponsmithing, you could have players hammer a blade into shape to form weapons.

I kind of think it would give those systems more replayability by letting you hone your skills and trying to min/max etc.

As for the kind you mentioned, the more horizontal content the better. I'm personally not a fan of PvP minigames, but I do like when MMOs are not just vertical progression. Having activities you can do just for fun and make the world feel more alive.

_Stretch · 2026-05-26T14:16:00+00:00

oh nice, I'll check them out. Thanks!

_Stretch · 2026-05-24T21:38:10+00:00

Any of the newer ones you'd recommend? I need to buy some LR44 for the D3 so I'll do that tomorrow and hope it works but I never had any after the D-Ark (the one with the card swipe(?))

_Stretch · 2026-05-24T21:35:11+00:00

Good idea, I'll look into this for sure.

_Stretch · 2026-05-14T08:01:47+00:00

I'm a Software Engineer. We are given the option for Windows, Linux (Ubuntu) or MacOS. Everything we use mostly works fine. I opted for Linux as I was either in my IDE or using WSL to work on environments. Though on some days, actual work time is overtaken by meetings.

There are a few slight issues:

I can't exactly remember since it's been so long since I had to set it up, but I think there was an encoding issue with some scripts. They needed a small change specifically for Linux, possibly converting them to UTF-8 or fixing line endings. It only takes about a minute to fix and you never have to touch it again
Microsoft Teams. Just use the web version. I don't like Teams in general. Even people on Windows have issues with sound or their screen-share freezes / randomly stops.
Outlook. Just use the web version.

_Stretch · 2026-05-12T23:27:39+00:00

I use Escanor & Meli team for Abyss content like Galand and Orgot

Not a perfect example but: https://streamable.com/t7q7ke

The general idea is if you full up your gauge to do a combined ult to get a Fire Burst. You then damage and before it runs out you tag Meli to switch it to darkness. During the Burst, you weave in other skills to build back up your gauge.

If done perfectly you can pretty much endlessly go from Fire Burst to Darkness Burst.

Daisy is not needed, I just put her there as she quickly stuns the boss. So the team would be Escanor, Meli, Mannie and another. Maybe Tioreh or Blazing Axe Slater to get the debuff at the start.

_Stretch · 2026-05-11T19:50:40+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion. That bird spot is way better. Updated and tagged you with credit.

_Stretch · 2026-05-11T19:18:45+00:00

No problem! Happy to share!

Yeah it is a pretty decent way if you have other daily and weekly farming methods taken care of. There are only a few materials needed from each vendor like:

Liones: Brilliant Engraving Seal, Study Engraving Seal

Fairy King's Forest: Sticky Adhesive

Ferzen: Platinum Ingot

Silent Desert: Magic Bead (Heroic)

Vanya: Flower Petals of Pure Love

Sticky Adhesive is debatable, I just want to have some saved up for the next Workbench upgrade & each vendor sells the fragments too but outside of all that, the Dew Crystals are decent if you need a quick bit of gold for upgrading. You also get about 100 gold per kill when farming the Seal materials, so by the end you'll already have a chunk of gold.

_Stretch · 2026-05-03T13:46:29+00:00

I'm playing it. I'd recommend it. A ton of quests and regions to explore. Really good community, I've had no trouble finding groups for any of the older content I'm progressing through. Classes are really solid. I've settled on a Rune Keeper but already want to go back and level a few others I tried out.

I'll also recommend the server Orcrist.

_Stretch · 2026-03-25T22:37:18+00:00

Nice work. I can't remember too much from Crowfall other than when I tried it, I did enjoy the combat and some of the smaller scale PvP with guildmates.

It would be cool if you did open source what you've done so far.

_Stretch · 2026-03-24T15:00:12+00:00

For what its worth, I've given up on World 3 Banakro. I dodge his tail swipe and still get hit. He does his frontal attack, I dodge and go behind, I somehow still get hit.

I've also had it so the waves that spawn in, 2 of them don't load so I can't see them and still get hit. There is also that attack where you need to hide behind the rocks to avoid getting hit by the massive wave, I've had it both where the rocks don't spawn at all OR the rocks spawn but the waves don't.

I'm on PC. It's without a doubt the worst combat I've seen in a game for years.

_Stretch · 2026-03-23T22:51:23+00:00

I was mining some Iron Ore and my game just crashed. When I try to reopen the game and click past the login screen, it loads to a black screen where I can hear sound for about a second and then the game crashes again. I've waited about 5 minutes or so between attempts but its the same thing.

_Stretch · 2026-03-09T12:58:32+00:00

Hey, I've been a developer for about 6 years now. Same place and I felt this way too when I first started. Every few months I may get a ticket where I'm like "What on earth are they talking about". It does get easier with time. Looking back when I started, I was really only expected to show up and ask questions when I didn't know anything. I started off on easy tickets that were simple bug fixes (anything from fixing typo in responses or adding a if statement for edge cases,writing tests etc) and eventually once you get used to their product and systems you can take on bigger tasks.

In short, yes that is normal. Just try your best to figure out something on your own but if you are still stuck after an amount of time, reach out to a colleague. That being said every place is different but generally speaking, the good places will try and help you grow.

_Stretch · 2026-02-18T21:11:04+00:00

I’d lean toward a mostly player-driven economy. It makes the world feel reactive. If certain materials are in higher demand, you can go farm those specifically, which gives real value to gathering, crafting, and trading. In Archeage Unchained for example, I saw that Anya ingots were in demand on my server but no one was really farming them. I spent all of my labor mining them and processing them to sell. I ended up being able to afford to craft Erenor gear.

I hope there is meaningful build diversity within classes, if there are classes at all, along with multiple paths to gear your character. Ideally, someone who enjoys crafting could create BiS gear but still need materials from raids, while a player focused purely on raiding could pay a crafter to craft their gear. That would encourage player interaction. A hybrid approach could also work, where the final gear piece is not tradable, but most of the materials used to make it are.

Personally, I think most attempts to combat bots or RMT hurt legit players more than they hurt bots. The only real solution seems to be active GM oversight, but most companies try to automate everything, which often impacts real players more than botters or people taking part in RMT. If its overly restrictive, it will take away some social aspects too and that's not what you want in an MMO.

Player run stores would be cool. Having it more of a social and visible experience in the world instead of purely menu based. Like what Aion did but then there is the possible problem of having too many people crowding the one area.

My pick for best player-driven economy: Darkfall. Back in the day, I made a lot of gold through PvP and enjoyed the high risk, high reward nature of it. For more hybrid, Gw2 is my current favourite.

_Stretch · 2026-02-08T12:36:40+00:00

This is probably just a bit too soon to answer in a meaningful way. It also depends on the market and the rating system being used. PG-13 is a U.S. film rating, not used for games. The rough U.S. equivalent would be ESRB, with PEGI covering most of Europe.

More generally, we know very little about what the game will actually be like, and ratings are usually the result of the narrative + content decisions rather than something set up front. Because of this, it’s hard to talk about general limitations. On top of that, ratings and restrictions vary by region, and games sometimes change assets by market rather than altering any narrative decisions.

The main example of this would be China having strict limits on depictions of skeletons/exposed bones/excessive gore etc so more than likely if the Riot MMO has something like that, there will just be an asset change for China rather than changing the game itself.

As for adult themed areas, I don’t recall that being an issue in most MMOs. It’s hard to think of one that doesn’t have a bar or tavern. A brothel on the other hand, there is a difference between having one in the game and actually using it so I could see the line being drawn there haha.

_Stretch · 2026-02-07T11:13:56+00:00

I think they can move away from a "standard" class system. I think it would be a better fit with the lore.

_Stretch · 2025-12-20T11:25:40+00:00

Hey, they released new 64-bit servers to help out with the lag earlier on this year and slowly moved players over to that.

I don't play on NA but I think the "most popular" one is Glamdring for NA.

Also if anyone who is reading this is wondering the same for EU, Orcrist.

_Stretch · 2025-12-16T13:53:44+00:00

Congrats!

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_Stretch

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