With the support of our central IP Strategy team, I’ve written a champion summary that makes Illaoi special and summarizes what players around the world love about him.
Illaoi is the Truth Bearer of Nagakabouros, the god of life, ocean storms, and movement, often depicted as a gigantic kraken. The Illaoi and its people originate from the Snake Islands, an island archipelago that includes: Bilgewater and his hometown is the island of Buhru.
In League of Legends, Illaoi’s gameplay focuses on testing the worth of individuals using the golden artifact known as the Eye of God. Equipping the colossal idol, she rips the spirits from their host bodies and summons ghostly tentacles to slam them over and over again.
In our story world, those who survive the Nagakabouros’ test are considered on the right track and can move forward to pursue their true purpose in life. Those who have fallen are not certain that they have failed in their mission to advance their lives and are blocking the flow of the universe. An experience that not all of them can survive.
Using all this information, we defined the core truth of Illaoi as: “A strong and charismatic spiritual leader who inspires others to become their own unstoppable strength.” With his physical presence and his confident, purposeful twitches, he turns heads and dominates a room.
Then, using the abstract, I worked with other discipline leaders such as design and art to create a north star for its development. This way, we ensure that Illaoi are instantly identifiable, even in a species we’ve never seen. And more importantly, we used it to look for opportunities to grow his legend. Because a fighting game is the perfect place for Illaoi to shine.
With a clear picture of her in mind, we can ensure that anyone who already knows Illaoi beyond the surface level finds the character they love, while giving the development team the power to delight even their most devoted followers with a version that will blow up. the doors are closed. Or in his case, rip the doors off their hinges with magic tentacles and beat them pointlessly.
On a personal note, I’ve loved who Illaoi is and who she could be since we developed her for LoL in 2015. And while he’s not one of the most popular champions in League, Illaoi’s Injured knuckles, a devout heart, and cheerful mood (combined with all the new experience we can put into players’ hands) could make him a superstar in Project L.
Art
Mike “zatransis” Henry, Creative Director:
Once the narrative gives us a good idea of who a champion is, we move on to their visual side. Once you know who they are, especially when comparing all their visual representations, you can instill so much more into a champion that Illaoi is definitely not lacking.
While some of our champions may change slightly, for others it doesn’t make sense for them to change their appearance drastically. When we started Illaoi, it became clear that she would be the latter.
He has a truly iconic look: tall, muscular and imposing. But more than that, she is cheerful, energetic and believes in challenging others to live their lives to the fullest. And all this had to be reflected in his appearance.
Illaoi’s physique is quite unique in the list of League of Legends champions, and we’ve referenced many athletes focusing on weightlifters and shot putters. Mostly women who spend as much time lifting things as easily as Illaoi raises her huge weapon.
