=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-1628/nht_paper_1
|storemode=property
|title=Lore v. Representation: Narrative Communication of Power with Regard to Gender in League of Legends
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1628/nht_paper_1.pdf
|volume=Vol-1628
|authors=Elzabi M. Rimington,Tom Blount
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/ht/RimingtonB16
}}
==Lore v. Representation: Narrative Communication of Power with Regard to Gender in League of Legends==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1628/nht_paper_1.pdf
Lore v. Representation: Narrative Communication of
Power with Regard to Gender in League of Legends
E. M. Rimington T. Blount
University of Southampton University of Southampton
UK UK
emr2g08@soton.ac.uk tb12g09@soton.ac.uk
ABSTRACT 1.1 Context
This paper examines the differences in narrative presented in the This paper begins with certain assumptions regarding the socio-
lore (the canonical history, aims and personality) and the digital cultural construction of objects. We accept the established view
representation of characters in the game League of Legends. We that a given artefact does not exist in isolation, but is both result
use a combination of close media analysis and broader trend and part of wider networks of meaning-making and power [1, 3, 5,
analysis of the champion roster in order to demonstrate this 13]. This assumption allows us to view cultural objects as being
ludonarrative dissonance, alongside metanarrative discussion from coded with socio-cultural meaning, which may be deciphered
the community forum. We discuss the implications of discordance using different perspectives and modes of analysis. Narrative
between lore and implementation from a gender-power objects may therefore carry meaning in two ways; firstly as part of
perspective, highlighting in particular the presentation of the story to which they belong and secondly as social products.
performative femininity as a design factor superseding that of This is the epistemological standpoint informing our discussion of
narrative logic. Implications of these findings are discussed. League of Legends champions as narrative constructs. We seek to
compare the narrative informing their existence in a fantasy game
General Terms world with the coded real-world socio-cultural meanings
Design, Human Factors. embodied through them.
Riot games, the publishers of League of Legends, are in
Keywords continuous dialogue with fans and players. The community has a
League of Legends, narrative, culture, video game studies, gender, large say in how and which changes are implemented (although
objectification, avatars. the final say is always with the developers) and the development
of an effective metagame is considered to be of particular
importance to the community [2]. This exemplifies the co-
1. INTRODUCTION constructive relationship between game developers and their
In this paper we examine the expression of social power
audience, in which cultural products (video games) are made and
difference through creative construction. Specifically, we seek to
consumed, and therefore works comfortably within our
analyse how this balance of power is communicated through the
constructionist epistemology.
presentation of characters in the multiplayer-online-battle-arena
game League of Legends. We examine the narrative of playable League of Legends champions offer several unique
characters (‘champions’) as presented in the official lore (the methodological affordances. They exist as semi-discrete objects in
canonical history, aims and personality of these characters), and the context of League of Legends. This means that they can be
the digital representation of characters in the game (their visual looked at independently as they are not dependent on or crucial to
appearance, gameplay traits, and voice acting). These combine to wider plot. Like most video game characters they are given logic
form a meta-narrative that is consumed by approximately 27 for their existence in the form of ‘lore’. It is through lore, play
million players, and then re-produced and re-presented in mechanics, and image that champions are narratively coded.
discussions on online forums, fan-theories of lore and upcoming Champions are also constantly in a state of existential flux. The
changes to the game, and fan-fiction featuring places and world to which they ‘belong’ is continuously being worked and
characters from the game. re-worked as patches are applied and new champions are added.
Not only this, but their individual backstories may be retro-fitted
The meta-narrative for many champions is discordant and often
to better suit new narratives as the ‘story’ of League of Legends is
clumsy for a number of reasons which we consider meaningful to
changed. This iterative process of creation, in which backstories
our argument. We aim to show that in particular gender tropes in
and play mechanics are continuously changed according to
the representation of female characters conflict with, or take
audience feedback and top-down design approaches, contributes
precedence over, their narrative construction. We argue that is the
to noticeable amounts of discordance between lore and play,
result and expression of a cultural hegemony in which the male
which we term ‘ludonarrative dissonance’[6, 14]. This is not a
gaze is privileged and legitimized.
new concept in game studies, but our decision to examine it as an
expression of gendered hypernarrative is novel.
1.2 Hypotheses
That there is dissonance between the narrative
construction of characters as presented by the game
lore, their graphical design and representation, and their
gameplay style.
That in female characters this disjuncture will be construction. This lack of foundational logic also forces
predominantly influenced by the need to visually code continuous retro-fitting and plot-hole patching. It relies heavily on
them as feminine and erotic objects. comfortable tropes and stereotypes which form easily-
recognisable codes for players to read and understand as
That the gendered difference of this disjuncture is an
meaningful. It also allows its genre genealogy to show through.
expression of power networks in which ‘femaleness’ is
Early champions have obvious DOTA2 counterparts, which were
continuously produced and reproduced as ‘other’ and
themselves descendants of the Warcraft universe. Later character
essential regardless of other narrative logics.
designs make the effort to produce unique champions, and
2. METHODOLOGY retrofitted lore changes intend to make the world more distinct
from its predecessors and counterparts. This aims to create a more
1.1 The research site: A brief overview of satisfying for players who look for more than effective mechanics
League of Legends in their online games and want the illusion of a virtual fantasy
Unlike other game worlds, the world in which League of Legends world as a foundation [15], but is often not consistently carried
is situated is not established through libraries of pulp fiction or out, contributing to the ludonarrative dissonance which is so
narrative-based in-game quests. The lore created to give the problematic in League.
League of Legends battle arena provenance is subject to change, The largest of these changes took place in 2015, when the lore
and narratives which were at one time canonical are subject to surrounding the League of Justice was removed entirely, along
change or removal. This is in part due to its origins as a ‘mod’ of with the logic of players as ‘summoners’. There is therefore
Warcraft III, a fantasy-based RTSG with a substantial backstory. nothing currently coercing champions to fight beyond their own
In making League of Legends a discrete game its creators could will.
no longer use the copyrighted narratives of the Warcraft universe, 1.2 Method
but chose to develop a different fantasy setting in which the game There are 130 playable champions in the League of Legends
would take place. Runeterra, Valoran, and the League of Justice roster at the time of writing. A full discussion of each champion
were created as a result. would be unfeasible for the scope of a position paper. Instead we
Runeterra is a fantasy world in which magical wars have split the created a taxonomy to describe the physical characteristics of
land into continents. Valoran is one of these continents, populated champions and queried it to identify overall gendered trends in
by humans, animals, and magical hybrids of both. Its populace representation. We then narrowed our approach with with a small
predominantly live in governed countries and city-states, of which random sample of champions by gender: three males and three
there are nine. females.
The city-states are as follows: Demacia, Shurima, Freljord, Noxus,
Ionia, Zaun, Piltover, Bandle City, and Bilgewater. There appears
to be little logic behind the design of the regions of Valoran Male Female
beyond providing background colour to the champions. Demacia
Garen Vayne
is a caricature of medieval morality led by a constitutional
monarchy. Its arch-rival, Noxus, is the antithesis of Demacia as its Malzahar Shyvana
citizens value power above all else. Swain Cassiopeia
As proof of their mettle as a cruel and power-hungry adversary,
Noxus obligingly invades and lays waste to surrounding lands. Table 1. Champions selected for close analysis.
The ‘oriental’ lands of Shurima and Ionia suffer in particular.
Shurima is vaguely themed around ancient Egypt and was once a
great empire built on the backs of slaves. At this time in the lore it We analysed each champion in our sample in terms of their
is once again rising from the desert thanks to its inhabitant construction. We aimed to break down each champion into
human-animal hybrid demi-gods and ‘ascended’ spirits. Ionia is components of narrative construction (made up of their lore,
the ‘far east’ of Valoran whose inhabitants are non-violent speech and visual representation), and their mechanical
masters of martial arts [sic] who strive for inner spiritual peace. construction (play mechanics, additional ‘skins’, movements, and
Other ‘lands’ without direct governance include the Kumungu trivia) in order to gauge ludonarrative consistency. We paid
jungle, the Void (a space between the worlds which occasionally particular attention to the ways in which these codes differed, and
spawns hideous monsters), and the Shadow Isles. what these differences said about cultural products, and about
After these states’ constant squabbling threatened to wreak further social attitudes towards gender.
destruction on the landscape, a council of key magicians and
We also examined how players of the game perceive these
‘summoners’ (sorcerers) found a new way for the states to resolve
elements and the relation between them by searching for each
political differences and disputes, and formed an organisation
champion by name on the (predominantly English-speaking)
named the League of Legends. The League was an effectively
North American and Europe-West community forums1 and
utilitarian solution to the problem of war. As diplomatic
examining threads over the course of the last year that related
resolution to conflict was unlikely, and war ill-advised, a
specifically to lore and/or gameplay. In this paper, we provide a
microcosm of violence was created. Each city was described sends
small sample of comments made as an illustration, but a future
representative ‘champions’ to the League to battle. Additionally,
study to quantify the number of comment types (gameplay, lore,
individual fighters attracted by chances of fame or the opportunity
etc.) and their position on these issues (over/under-powered,
to do battle with their enemies are also allowed to fight, as
harmonious/dissonant, etc.), may also prove valuable.
voluntary gladiators were.
That the world in which the League is situated was stitched
together from need rather than as a unique fantasy is clear from its 1
http://boards.[na/euw].leagueoflegends.com
3. ANALYSIS to learn on, he was weaker than more complex counterparts,
whereas others suggested he was currently too powerful:
3.1 Overview
Of the 130 characters currently available in League, only 44 are “He's meant to be a newbie champion, as such he's incredibly
female (33.8%). This reflects current trends in wider media and one-dimensional and has a very boring style of play.”
pop culture, in which female characters are generally
“Garen have never being a tank, he is a bruiser. 90% of lol
outnumbered by their male counterparts. In many video games the
player played him whit only defence item...build deal sensless
fashion is for muscle-bound, mesomorphic male characters [4, 8]
damage on him while being still tanky enough to run trough
and while half (51%) of male champions fit this stereotype, male
enemy team…”
champions also exhibit a wide range in physicality. Characters
only vaguely humanoid in biology or even wholly monstrous or “Pls Rito nerf Garen!!!!”
animal in appearance are overwhelmingly male (94%). This One particularly interesting comment noted that a recent change
demonstrates that there is no perceived need to communicate to to Garen’s mechanics (dealing bonus damage against a designated
the audience through a meta-narrative that the character is, indeed, “villain”) integrated well with his lore:
male. Thus maleness is communicated to be normative and
inessential [4, 12]. “by adding mechanics, they tell out a major part of Garen's lore
without writing out a new chunk of text to deem "Canon”...You're
Compared to this, the presentation of female champions largely as stuck with this strict set of rules that you think are hurting you
slim, large-breasted, white and Western (64%) is especially ultimately, and are unsure if you should break them because of
problematic. Hyper-muscular and monster female characters are what you think is good, or what the set of rules says. This is
notable for being exceptional (7%). Where male animal-human nearly a direct parallel to Garen's more literal lore, in which he
hybrids look more like the animal, female hybrids overwhelming supposedly broke the Demacian code to hunt Katarina, even
retain secondary sex characteristics associated with ‘femaleness’. though that is beyond taboo for any good Demacian citizen.”
The perceived need to communicate femaleness to the audience
through the meta-narrative supersedes all other requirements. This 1.2.2 Malzahar: The Prophet of the Void
is expressive of a power hierarchy which positions maleness as Lore: In aeons past, according to the lore, there existed in what
normal and femaleness as performative [4]. are now the desert lands of Shurima (see section 3.1) a storied,
cyclopean city named Icathia. The seer Malzahar traveled on foot
3.2 Close Analysis: Male Champions through the desert in search of it, without food or water. Finding it
1.2.1 Garen: The Might of Demacia cost him his sanity. The Void filled him with power and hideous
Lore: In a stellar case of nominative determinism, Garen premonitions of Void-spawn monsters eating the world. Malzahar
Crownguard is the captain of the royal Dauntless Vanguard and a shares this history with ‘the mad Arab Abdul al’Hazred’, a
valiant warrior. Garen was introduced as the antithesis of an recurring character in Lovecraftian mythos.
‘edgy’ champion by his designers, and this can be seen in both his Representation: Malzahar’s appearance is a fantasy approach to
lore and visual representation. He is strong-jawed, Aryan in the orientalist Arabian trope – an Aladdin lookalike in turban,
appearance, and heavily kitted in shining plate and mail armour mask, and loose silken clothing. His possession by Void powers
along with an enormous sword. He hails from Demacia (see gives him glowing eyes and the ability to float over the ground.
section 3.1) and as such adheres to a rigid moral code. He does, His powers include spawning miniature void monsters, creating
however, harbor secret and complicated feelings for Katarina, a pools of negative energy, and infecting enemy minds with malefic
Noxian assassin, sworn enemy, and also a champion in the League visions. Despite the overt orientalist notes of Malzahar’s
of Legends. appearance, his visual coding and lore do maintain a certain
Representation: The descriptive narrative of Garen as a mighty coherence. His skins, too, are informed by the same aesthetics.
and just warrior is carried out in all aspects of his construction. Exceptions to this are his ‘Snow Day’ skin, a limited-edition
His expressions are voiced by Jamieson Price, a voice actor release which subverted his narrative of malevolent Eastern
known for his deep, booming tones and reflect Garen’s mystery, and his dance, that of MC Hammer’s ‘Can’t Touch This’
uncomplicated, patriotic personality. His skins, too, are variations (a joke playing on the similarity of their legwear).
on armour with fantasy and historical influences. When played in Meta-Narrative:
a team with or against Katarina his interactions become mildly As with Garen, there was widespread disagreement on Malzahar’s
flirtatious, playing on cultural tropes of performative masculinity abilities and utility, with some users derisively stating that he
in the form of displays of strength. His gameplay is similarly takes little skill to perform well, with others arguing that his
straightforward, consisting of single-target and area-of-effect mechanics are more complex:
attacks with his enormous sword. The only perceivable break from “except for someone extremely tanky he is just going to ult you
the straight-faced presentation of a stalwart warrior character is in and melt you down, and people say all you have to do is build a
his dance, which is that of the cartoon character and parody of qss [an in-game item] but it doesn't help that much and there
masculinity Johnny Bravo. This adds a knowing, tongue-in-cheek shouldn't be a champ that forces me to buy a certain item ...please
aspect to Garen’s play which is not overt in his narrative rework malzahar so that his champ takes skill, and can't just one
construction given the prevalence of similarly muscle-bound and shot everyone that goes mid lane.”
stereotypically ‘heroic’ characters. There were a number of comments calling for his appearance to
Meta-Narrative: be updated and improved:
In terms of discussion about Garen's mechanics, there was broad “think malzahar really needs an visual update...I honestly think
disagreement of his viability in the metagame. Some users you could make him look abit better so that he fits in with
suggested as he was designed as simple champion for new players everyone else and their updates.”
and other actions (her ‘dance’ is based on a martial arts routine).
There was also some discussion of his lore, which mainly focused This does not, however, extend to her skins, which vary greatly in
on theorising at his “true” motivations: their presentation of the champion. While the ‘vindicator’ and
“I have a theory: what if Malzahar hasn't actually sided with the ‘aristocratic’ permutations remain close to the champion origins,
Void, but is only "faking" it?” the ‘dragonslayer’ and ‘arclight’ lose this narrative logic in favour
1.2.3 Swain: The Master Tactician of skimpiness. By far the most jarring is the ‘heartseeker’ skin,
which re-imagines Vayne as a cutesy Cupid-like character in
Lore: Jericho Swain is a citizen of Noxus (see section 3.1) who
striped pink stockings and bedecked with love hearts, presumably
walks with a crutch as a result of a childhood injury for which he
as an amusing and ‘sexy’ juxtaposition to her normally stern
refused magical treatment. At this time a six-eyed raven was
demeanor.
already his constant companion. Despite the limp which would
normally have seen him cast out of Noxus, Swain rose through Meta-Narrative:
military ranks, finally beating Keiran Darkwill to become grand Interestingly, the community seems to be in agreement that Vayne
general. Despite his frail middle-aged appearance Swain is is a very powerful champion, and actually dislikes her for this
described as stoic and strong. reason:
Representation: The lore is carried strongly through Swain’s “Vayne is pretty much a ranged [version of the melee champion]
appearance and further skins, which follow military and/or lee sin. This abomination can duel anyone.”
otherwise menacing aesthetic lines. His voice, which in lore is
described as harsh and deep, is similarly consistently presented. Her lore has also stimulated debate as to whether she might form
His gameplay, on the other hand, is completely apart from this an alliance with Lucian, another character with a similar
narrative logic. Swain is played as a close-range mage with the background. However, some of her character traits make other
ability to transform into an enormous demonic bird-creature. The players skeptical:
raven on his shoulder, for which there is little to no official “…Vayne and Lucian's lore…seems like they have common
information apart from its name (Beatrice), plays a major part in goals. Are they going to form some kind of team or alliance in the
magical attacks including a rooting ability named ‘Nevermove’. future?”
While suitably malevolent for a citizen of Noxus, it bears no “…a rioter posted about how Vayne and Lucian are like two
relation to Swain’s lore as a soldier or military commander. sides to the same coin. They're fighting the same fight, but on very
Meta-Narrative: different fronts. So it would take quite an event to get them to
While champion lore is usually an uncommon topic of discussion team up together.”
among players compared to gameplay, the mis-match of Swain’s “On my personal analysis, I don't know that either of them
lore and gameplay is noticeable enough to prompt discussion: COULD work with others, on a psychological level. Vayne is the
loner of all loners and Lucian just lost his partner and Wife.”
“According to his lore, swain is a master tactitioner who beats
his enemies with strategic planning rather that raw power. In 1.2.5 Shyvana: The Half-Dragon
reality swain turns into a bird and runs into people while Lore: Shyvana’s lore has been changed twice since her release,
sustaining the damage he takes. I find it kind of funny.” and in that time she has also received a number of updates to her
design and skins. This has been intended to modify her lore to
“...how is it that Swain is a mage? I mean, they never mention better fit current metanarratives, but has also changed her
anything of it in his lore.” ‘personality’ from somber, to fierce, and finally to dualistically
savage. Throughout it has been implied that her father was a
“Swains background is a complete mystery and so are the origins dragon, and as such she has maintained the ability to transform
of his abilities.” into a dragon as a powerful attack.
3.3 Close Analysis: Female Champions Representation: Shyvana is a strong example of the bikini-
1.2.4 Vayne: The Night Hunter armour which lingers in female character design. Despite a
Lore: Shauna Vayne’s design and narrative are influenced by a backstory which is largely asexual, her skins dress her variously in
number of streams in popular culture and media including Bram bodices and even thong underwear. As her appearance varies in
Stoker’s Dracula. Her lore is very similar to that of DC Comics’ different skins, so her dragon form also changes appearance. This
Batman or Huntress characters, but while they eschew murder she raises some questions about how her armour and clothing change
is on a crusade of vengeance following the death of her parents. according to her shape-shifting, as her dragon form wears entirely
different (and far less provocative) armour.
Representation: This lore positions her as an assassin, but in
gameplay and mechanics she executes a ranged damage style Meta-Narrative:
associated with steady damage over time. Her visual presentation Discussion of Shyvana’s lore predominantly concerns her
is influenced by even more disparate sources, including Marvel interpersonal relationship with Jarvan, the king of Demacia:
Comics’ Blade and PlatinumGames’ Bayonetta, producing a “So in the lore, it feels Jarvan treats Shyvana like a daughter. Is it
costume consisting of a slinky catsuit, stiletto boots, cape, and because he saved her from death a long time ago when she was a
tinted glasses. Although not described as having magical abilities, child? Could it be that Jarvan is a father figure to Shyvana?”
Vayne comfortably carries an enormous crossbow on her slim
back with no noticeable difficulty. “I think it's implied Shyv has feelings for Jarvan, so that could be
a bit weird.”
Vayne lacks a unified character but the overall character tropes
associated with a vengeful hunter are carried through into her
speech (if given the ‘joke’ command, for example, she will refuse)
“There's no reason why Jarvan can't think of Shyvana as sort of a in both close analysis and in examining overall trends in character
daughter but she thinks of him otherwise. People have lopsided presentation.
attractions/expectations in reality all the time.” Finally we argue that the insistence on communicating not only
1.2.6 Cassiopeia: the Serpent's Embrace femaleness but also desirability to the audience through the meta-
narrative at the cost of narrative logic is extremely telling. The
Lore: Cassiopeia, like Shyvana, is an older champion and has
effects of heteronormativity and masculine hegemony are further
undergone a number of redesigns in lore and artwork. Originally it
ideated through community discussion which discuss the sexuality
was similar to that of Medusa, the gorgon slewn by Perseus in
of female champions’ appearance. It is expressive of a power
Greek mythology in that Cassiopeia was cursed to take snake form
hierarchy which positions maleness as normal and femaleness as
as a form of punishment for her cruel and seductive behaviour. In
performative and objectified.
newer lore she is still described as seductive but her curse is a
punishment for releasing the champions Xerath and Renekton 5. REFERENCES
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