Most people have probably at least heard of the game League of Legends at some point in the past few years. If you are like many, you've probably become ridiculously addicted to the game. I've only had limited experience with it, but I'm trying to figure out why it is so popular. At the very least, I hope that my lack of technical knowledge of the game will be amusing to the die-hard fans.
A few years ago, many of friends starting playing LoL together. At the time, I had no interest in the game. Usually, when we had Skype calls at 3 AM, they would all be playing together and I would be doing something else while listening to them rage about how their ADC was "totally fed" or something similar. From what I could gather, the rules were that five players on either team played as one of many characters called "Champions" with backstories and abilities ranging from a king of an ancient desert empire to a pyromaniac little girl with a demon teddy bear. These players then try to destroy another team's base by invading through one of three paths. Other than the character designs, I had trouble understanding why someone would spend hours upon hours playing League. It was especially puzzling when I considered how often I would hear my friends complaining about it. It really didn't seem like they were having too much fun at all. So, a few months ago, I made a free account and tried it out with them.
If anyone has ever played Flappy Bird on their smartphone, he or she understands just how addicting a game can be when it is extremely challenging and causes you literal exhaustion. My experience with League of Legends was something like this. It was extremely confusing at first trying to understand even basic things like controls and winning conditions (they seem simple, but can become rather complex when really strategizing with them). Then, almost immediately, I was asked how I wanted to "build" my character and what items I wanted to buy. This opened up countless possibilities for my play-style that I was just not ready for. At it's core, League of Legends is just a point-and-click game fighting game. Yet if you wanted to play against real people, you had to know other mechanics like "map awareness", "gold advantage", "poking and trading", and "killing dragon". How was I supposed to make sense of all that?
It was then I realized the draw of League. The game could be immensely difficult and infuriating. When you get so into something and want revenge on the players who are destroying your team, you don't want to quit. You want to play game after game to make up for how badly you did in the last one, or to feel the immense satisfaction of doing well. The payoff you get when you have a really good game makes the frustration worth it for most people. You could play any way you want and have the potential of making it work and doing a good job. You have a strategy that is your own and making it work is very validating. This is only compounded when you play with close friends at the same time. Honestly, even after just a few games, I understood why people could like it so much.
So am I now addicted? No, not really. Going into this, I made sure I wasn't overdoing it and only playing on occasion with friends. Even now, it just isn't my style of game. I enjoyed myself, yes, but I'm not about to drop real money on playing it. Still, I will play a round or two when my friends are looking for an extra teammate. I just don't see myself playing more than a game or two a week. Knowing my own personal style, this probably won't change for a while.
