The small conference room at Riot Games was filled with voices and energy for the first time.
Whiteboards were covered with messy diagrams and code snippets, and the air was thick with the scent of strong coffee mixed with stimulants.
The core technical team, led by Li Ming, Wang Qi, and Sun Ce, had been working tirelessly for weeks.
Engine selection and the initial framework for the network were slowly taking shape through difficult discussions and repeated iterations.
However, Qin Feng knew that while technology was the skeleton, what truly gave the game its soul were the "Heroes" who would soon battle in Summoners Rift.
Today, he had gathered all team members, including Chen Ran, the lead artist he had poached from an art outsourcing team with a high salary, a young woman with an extreme sensitivity to color and form.
The meeting had only one topic: creating the first Hero for League of Legends.
"Everyone, you are slowly conquering the underlying technical challenges, and I appreciate your hard work," Qin Feng began, setting the tone.
His gaze swept over the slightly fatigued but still fervent eyes of the team members.
"But ultimately, what a game presents to players is its content.
From today on, we need to shift a portion of our focus to Hero design.
We are not just creating one or two characters, but a living, breathing world with hundreds of unique Heroes."
He walked to the whiteboard and drew a simple circle.
"First, we must establish the core principles of Hero design: differentiation and balance.
Each Hero must have a unique role, skill mechanism, and playstyle, giving players clear choices and a sense of mastery.
But at the same time, there cannot be any absolutely 'invincible' existences; counterplay and countering are the essence of strategic gaming."
He paused, seeing some people with expressions of partial understanding.
Theories were abstract; examples were needed.
"Just talking might be too abstract, so I'll describe a few early Hero concepts.
Chen Ran, you'll need to lead the art team to try to produce visual concept art based on my descriptions.
Li Ming, Wang Qi, you need to consider what technical and implementation challenges these skill mechanisms might pose."
Qin Feng cleared his throat.
In his mind, those familiar figures were as clear as spirits awaiting a Summoner.
"Let's start with a relatively simple Hero that can directly embody the 'thrill of combat,'" Qin Feng began to describe.
"He is a barbarian warrior from the harsh northern lands, with a backstory of being a tribal king burdened by a blood feud.
What are his core characteristics? Simple, brutal, melee, and..."
Qin Feng deliberately paused for suspense, then heavily wrote a word on the board: "Immortal! Or rather, extreme comeback ability when low on health."
He elaborated on the skill mechanisms:
"Passive Skill - Battle Fury: He gains Fury every time he attacks, critically strikes, or kills a unit.
Fury increases his critical strike chance.
This makes him stronger the longer he fights.
Q Skill - Bloodlust: The active effect consumes all Fury to heal himself.
The more Fury, the higher the healing.
This is key to his sustainability and low-health deception.
W Skill - Defy: He roars, reducing the attack damage of nearby enemies.
If enemies are fleeing with their backs to him, the slow effect is stronger.
This is a soft crowd control, reinforcing his image as a 'pursuer.'
E Skill - Whirlwind Slash: He swings his great axe in a circle, dealing damage to all enemies in his path.
This is a movement and AOE (area of effect) skill, allowing him to quickly engage in combat or clear minions.
Ultimate Ability - Undying Rage:"
At this point, Qin Feng emphasized his words, and everyone leaned in.
"For 5 seconds, no matter how fatal the damage he takes, he will not die!
His health will be locked at a minimum of 1 point, and he will instantly gain a large amount of Fury.
Note, it's 'will not die,' not invincibility; he can still be affected by crowd control effects like stun or knock-up."
A slight gasp rippled through the conference room.
This "undying" Ultimate Ability concept was extremely bold in the current game design.
Li Ming immediately raised his hand: "Mr. Qin, how will this 'health lock' mechanism be determined on the server side?
If ten skills hit him simultaneously the moment he activates his Ultimate Ability, how do we ensure that on all clients, he precisely stays at 1 health, and doesn't die on a certain client due to synchronization issues?"
"Good question!" Qin Feng nodded approvingly.
"This is where the server authoritative model comes into play.
The moment 'Undying Rage' is activated, the server will apply a 5-second 'death immunity' status tag to him.
During these 5 seconds, all damage dealt to him that would otherwise be fatal will be forcibly corrected by the server to set his health to 1.
It must be ensured that all clients absolutely obey this status determination from the server."
Wang Qi also raised a question: "What about visual effects?
During the 'health lock' period, should there be a special visual indication so that all players (including opponents) clearly know 'he cannot be killed right now'?"
"Absolutely!" Qin Feng affirmed.
"For example, his entire body could be engulfed in a furious red aura, or there could be a distinct sound effect.
Clarity of information is the foundation of fair competition."
Chen Ran quickly sketched in her notebook: a muscular warrior with a huge cleaver and wild hair, his eyes filled with anger and defiance.
She marked keywords like "Northern Tribe," "furs," "scars," and "enraged expression."
"Next, we'll design a completely different type, a template for a ranged physical damage core (ADC)," Qin Feng switched topics.
"She is an ice archer from Freljord, a queen of her tribe, symbolizing calmness and command."
"Passive Skill - Frost Shot: Her basic attacks apply a frost effect, reducing enemy movement speed.
This gives her strong kiting (hitting and running) ability.
Q Skill - Ranger's Focus: The passive effect accumulates 'Focus' stacks with basic attacks.
When actively activated, it consumes all stacks, significantly increasing attack speed for a duration, and her basic attacks transform from a single arrow into a volley of arrows, hitting multiple targets.
W Skill - Volley: She fires a cone of arrows forward, dealing damage to all hit enemies and applying the Frost Shot effect.
This is her primary poke and wave clear skill.
E Skill - Hawkshot: Releases a hawk spirit that travels across the entire map, providing vision along its path and finally illuminating an area for a period of time.
This is a purely tactical scouting skill, with no damage."
"Ultimate Ability - Enchanted Crystal Arrow:"
Qin Feng gestured with his hand, indicating a huge trajectory.
"Ashe fires a massive crystal arrow in a target direction, traveling across the entire map.
The farther the arrow flies, the more damage and stun duration it deals.
This is a god-tier skill for long-range initiation, support, and even stealing kills on low-health enemies."
This Hero design introduced the concepts of "global skill" and "immobile squishy."
Sun Ce frowned: "Mr. Qin, this global Ultimate Ability, its collision volume, flight speed, and hit detection under different network latencies will be very complex.
Furthermore, the E Skill that provides global vision will also put considerable pressure on server vision calculation and data synchronization."
"These are precisely the technical fortresses you need to conquer," Qin Feng faced the challenges head-on.
"Remember, it is these unique mechanisms that constitute the irreplaceable strategic depth of League of Legends.
What we need to do is not avoid difficulties, but solve them."
Ashe, under Chen Ran's pen, exuded an aura of elegance and majesty: a slender figure, a longbow made of ice crystals, magnificent Iceborn attire, and calm, resolute eyes.
"Finally, let's look at a magic machine gun-style mage," Qin Feng described.
"He is an experienced mage seeking the secrets of the world's runes, burdened with a heavy mission."
"His core mechanism lies in skill combos and mana as a damage amplifier.
Passive Skill - Arcane Mastery: His maximum mana proportionally increases his skill damage.
Q Skill - Overload: Fires an orb of energy, dealing damage to the first enemy hit.
This is his primary damage skill.
W Skill - Rune Prison: Instantly roots an enemy Hero, dealing sustained damage.
This is a reliable single-target crowd control.
E Skill - Spell Flux: Applies a Spell Flux effect to a target, damaging it and marking it.
His next skill, if it hits the marked target, gains additional effects—for example, Q Skill bounces to nearby marked targets, W Skill root duration is extended, and E Skill spreads the mark to surrounding enemies.
Ultimate Ability - Realm Warp: Ryze opens a portal (Realm Warp) and, after a brief channel, teleports himself and all allied units within range to a designated location.
This can be used for team transfers, support, flanking initiations, or strategic retreats."
This was considered for a long time, feeling that if it followed the old version, this Hero would be too strong and affect balance; rather than changing it later, it was better to modify it directly now.
This Hero's design introduced the complex concepts of "skill combinations," "effect synergy," and "resource (mana) conversion into damage."
Li Ming and Wang Qi both felt their scalps tingle.
Ryze's skill synergy, with its status marks, effect triggers, and damage calculations, posed a severe test for both client and server logic.
The meeting lasted the entire afternoon.
Qin Feng also briefly described several other early Hero concepts with different roles, such as stealthy assassins, indestructible tanks, and healing supports, initially outlining the framework of the Hero class system.
When the meeting concluded, everyone felt their brains were overflowing with information, yet also filled with creative passion.
They were no longer just writing code and drawing textures; they were playing the role of "creators," imbuing virtual characters with soul and power.
Chen Ran returned to her desk with a stack of imaginative sketches, beginning to refine the Hero's original artwork design.
Li Ming, Wang Qi, and Sun Ce gathered together, intensely discussing how to transform these fantastical skill mechanisms described by Qin Feng into stable, efficient code logic.
Qin Feng watched the team, once again engrossed in their work, and leaned back in his chair with satisfaction.
The stage of Summoners Rift was already taking shape; now, the actors were being created one by one.
He could almost hear the future sound of charge horns and cheers of victory echoing through the Rift.