Gwen is by far the champion in most need of a short story. Literally anything will do, make her help Yorick take care of the Shadow Isles or explore the world and meet other champs like Lewis or Viktor. Just give her some purpose in life
I'd guess gwen is the part of isolda's soul that is the character she made up to be her imaginary best friend, and that's why she "remembers" being her best friend, and things that happen while she's a doll. She's probably what Isolda imagined her to be
i've seen tbskyen theory on the ball that gwen attends to in LoR and i think is nothing short of genius. Gwen receives a misterious invitation to the most magical place she's ever been, se dances and finds an gorgeous gentleman, an enchanted prince you might say, then the mist attack, gwen fights it off and saves the ball and her enchanted prince. It's a fantastical story with aventure, romance and a happy ending, a story really similar to those a child creates while playing with it's dolls.
My hot take is Gwen should’ve been designed as a support. Her thematic is all about sewing, what about stitching things back together like injuries? The hallowed mist is supposed to counteract the black mist which corrupts everything it touches, so why does Gwen only shield herself? Obviously as she is right now her kit isn’t suited for it, but I still think it’s kind of odd that character based around the hallowed mist and a doll with sewing tools is so inherently selfish in play style
It's funny that you mention the idea of making her a support, in the Ruination event's story progression she was the one to design the characters' outfits and styled their hair.
I think that would make sense but also seems kind of like the cliche or the most common way of looking at it. Which is fine but maybe the devs wanted to be different. Personally I kind of like that Gwen isn't a support makes her aesthetic stick out more. I think she would be even more of a filler character as a support.
Funny you should say that, the reason Gwen's play rate is far lower than that of most champions designed in a similar fashion is because of how she plays. A lot of girls who enjoy support champions like Seraphine seemed to love her design, but don't enjoy the kayle/Yi Hybrid playstyle. Riot's lacking skin sells on Gwen is most certainly a result of her being designed in a far more scaling 1v9 monster machine with some really easy to punish gameplay.
That would just be cliche and even more hated on as another boring egirl supp champ. I think it’s pretty cool how they used the seamstress aesthetic on a skirmishing champ that would be in the middle of the enemy team literally cutting them apart. It’s the subversion of the ‘supporting mystical dress maker character’ trope that makes her fun; not to mention it makes her matchups generally all these other grisly bruiser and tank champs which is amusing.
Gwen had memories while being a doll due to objects having simple souls in runeterra. This was revealed in one of Riven's stories while in Ionia and a soulweaver repaired a broken bowl by speaking to its soul.
Honestly I think that's just Ionia being goofy with everything having a soul because (as an extreme example) if you litter on the street and don't clean up after yourself your own house can come alive and beat you up
@@GamerJotaro Tbh I feel like the only reason why riot did that "every object has a soul thing" is probably to explain how yordle portals can be made from random objects
I really like Gwen. She's a little girl's power fantasy come to life. Where all the 'girly' things that she likes are sources of power and agency. She makes my neices happy when I told them her story and showed them her art.
I like Gwen too, especially in the aspect that she represents an innocence and a spark of joy among the gloom setting of the Shadow Isles. Shes a sweetheart
@@Blu_Moon_Owl And I like the interpetation of her LoR story that she's bopping around bringing happiness to the spectral remains of people of the Shadow Isles. Wrapping them up in her fantasies and saving them from sorrow and horror in her Hallowed Mists.
I agree. She also adds an important positive view of Isolde to counter Viego's obsessive version. She's a valuable addition in both archetype (girly power fantasy) and story value (adds to the Viego/Isolde dynamic)
Riot has also talked about why her and lillia were designed the way they were. It was to get women to play jungler and top because historically like 5% of top players were female. And according to riot it worked those 2 champs got alot more women to play top and jungle because those roles finally had characters that appealed to the average female player
Maybe this would be overlaping too much with Orianna, but if Riot wanted to have Gwen be more of a human looking doll, they could've made her a porcelain doll or even one of those figures you see spinning in music boxes, since her and Viego have music box motifs in their song. That way instead of giving Gwen the slightest hint at stitching, they could keep her proportions and give her like painted features or ball-jointed limbs to convey her doll-ness
I feel like Nicky let's his expectations of what Gwen can be destroy his ability to enjoy what she is. She looks like a doll made human which is exactly what she is. She's flawed for sure but definitely not a bad design she's more designed to embody an archetype rather than challenge. Would she be better with button eyes etc? Sure that'd be awesome but I don't think she really needs to change.
A doll made human instead of a human doll. A simple difference, but entirely different results. All because of not questioning if we are interpreting the concept correctly in the first place. TBSkyen moment indeed.
There is a plotline for the tabletop roleplaying game Chronicles of Darkness called Promethean: The Created that explores what it means to be human, and it uses the legends of Frankenstein's monster, Galatea, Tammuz, and a few others as templates for a created human being, not naturally born but supernaturally given sentience. Gwen reminds me of those kinds of stories but without actually exploring humanity
What i do like about Gwen is that she dosen't feel alot like other League women like Fiora, Vayne, Ahri, etc. in the sense that though she is attractive, she isn't that in a vulgar sense and feels like she's a girls deviantart OC, but a good one, and that to me is what i think makes her stand out from the other League girls as she feels like a character that was made by a woman who really likes Tim Burton, the whole goth aesthetic, with Viego perhaps being their dream prince as this sad, broken, *EXTREMELY* sexy man who yeeeaaarns to have his wife back and woulden't you know it; she has an aspect of his wife in her, causing him to obses over her even though under normal circumstances, he probably woulden't. (Also i wanna make note; i don't ship them, this is just my impression and interpertation of Gwen as a character and i can understand if you find it creepy if you think of Gwen more of a daughter to Isolde and subsequently Viego, rather than a seperate entity created *by* Isolde who then later gained an aspect of her.)
How the fuck are Vayne or Fiora vulgar in any way? Ahri doesnt even have sexual stuff besides porn fanart anymore and is the only one what could be considered vulgar
My guess on why Gwen isn't more doll-like is probably because we already have Orianna filling the role. Granted she's a robot, but girl with a crafted form by a parental figure is already taken. I do think it would be cool though if Gwen looked more like Herta from Honkai star rail, with the doll joints on her limbs.
Gwen looking more like a character from a stop motion Tim Burton movie would be so much more interesting! She could still have the starry eyed personality and look pretty human, but more doll-like and mildly creepy.
It would have been so charming if she looked creepy and aced just as bubbly and sweet as she does. Give her strange felt or hempen skin, give her button eyes and still have her be super sweet that would be so charming. Hell, if they were dead set on her looking like a Genshin Impact character then they should have done something like they did back in Burning Tides with Gangplank, release her with the creepy doll design then by the end of the story have the Hallowed Mist turn her into her current design, making the doll a skin that would have been amazing!
I love Gwen's design but mostly because of the color palette used for her and her animations. Also the fact that you would not expect her to be this scrappy skirmisher that destroys tanks and 1v9s late game. I do agree that she would have been way better as a doll though, kinda like Oriana but visibly a doll. Also that Soraka redesign is sick and we need it in the game right now
I have 3 most played champs. The first is Ekko and i watched the review, it was cool. I'm waiting for Urgot to come out. But for the third... Let's say I don't think he will ever do one, cuz it's the character he hates the most in the entire game...
Gwen’s design is a guilty pleasure of mine but I understand your point of view and I see her flaws. However, the thing that could have done Gwen so much better is to give her short stories of her trying to find her place in the Runeterra world, her finding a new objective in life and a constant evolution of her character could make her my cup of tea personally.
I personally dont think they should have gone with a creepy doll simply for the fact that it just would be kinda weird. A creepy scary doll but has the soul of someone whos meant to be good and kind its a tonal whiplash. I do think they should have gone far more with a doll aesthetic but definitely a cutesy doll rather then a creepy one.
Gwen came out at the height of popularity of Genshin and a ton of gacha games all based around very pretty characters. That most shows in her weird design choices, like Nicky pointed out you cant see her cool X stitch button looking eye or her ghost stitches on her model because they are soo small and dont work for a MOBA top down game design. She was not designed for the game she is in, in mind, she was designed to chase trends at the time. Anything showing her concept as a doll is hidden and all we are left with is a peppy spunky anime girl in a sea of them.
I think that not every character needs to constantly have something to do. It's fine that Gwen has now basically completed her mission with Viego and now is free to do whatever because the alternative is worse since we are left with a bunch of characters whose story is now that they are going to take down some bad guy or do something bad or whatever and that doesn't go anywhere for years if ever. If we follow the idea that characters can't compete their arcs we are left with tons of unfinished stories that if you ever want to finish you must also immediately find another thing for that character to do in the future which kinda leaves you back at square one with a story that has yet to be told.
Gwen became what Isolde wanted her to be, and Isolde did NOT want her to be a life-sized doll. Having Gwen be a doll would not be an improvement, it'd be stagnation. And this isn't even mentioning how the living-toy is already covered (Shaco) AND the uncanny-humanoid is also already covered (Orianna). We don't need more thematic overlap in those areas.
As minor as it is, I'm glad Nicky addressed his comments of Gwen being a "sexy anime character" from before. Because while yes, she is an aesthetic trope, she's not meant to be perceived as sexy. It's the Victorian-esque thematic mixed with with a touch of the modern day gothic lolita with the bows and and frilly knee length dress. It just so happens to be placed upon a slender figure with a pretty face, which alone, a "sexy anime character" it does not make. But it is, at the end of the day, a matter of opinions and personal taste. I like the gothic aesthetic trope, NickyBoi likes monsters/kaijus. Unique choices for unique people
As much as I like Gwen, and I like her a lot (I have played her since release until I had her M7), I have to agree with a lot of the criticism you mention. Yes, she is very much more of the 'anime pretty face' instead of a doll come to life. Her story being wrapped up also doesn't help her case. The scissors make it really difficult for skin design. But I also like the story idea you came up with, the rehabilitation idea sounds honestly great and would love to see it. In any case, keep up the good work Nicky.
Kinda related to Gwen. Considering Riot wants to make Arcane canon and to do so they are going to rewrite a lot of lore they have the opportunity to fix the SoL story. They can make all those sentinel skins in to what ifs (except Vayne and Graves but make him a better motive like saving his husband perhaps) and rewrite Gwen, Akshan and Viego (Vex I think is cool the way she is right now). I really REALLY hope Riot takes that opportunity and make the Ruination good and add unique Sentinels that aren't just bastardized versions of champions
She´s supposed to be a heroine, a friend to all children in need. There is absolutely no better way to terrify a child for his entire life than giving a person button eyes. I will never understand that criticism for Gwen, it´s so idiotic to me.
I am a Gwen main so I'm incredibly biased but I will say I agree with you on a lot of points. My biggest complaint with how they handled Gwen was that if she was made to be the counterpart to Viego its unfair how her entire story and arc is focused around him without him being focused around her which is what makes it feel weak and fall flat, is that without Viego, her story doesn't exist but without Gwen, Viego's story is just fine. But as you mentioned her aesthetic just sits well with me at first I hated her gameplay but grew to love it as I got better at the game (and I only play her Jungle now cause Top sucks)
I want to hit on something Nickyboi said and that is if Gwen released earlier she would have been considered a good design. I do believe that is true but because that is true i think a distinction has to be made that acknowledges the reason people dislike her design is because it was done before. I don't agree with that but it would be more honest. I personally think her design is bad because it doesn't show her as a doll come to life.
I like to think Gwen is wondering around shadow isles, giving the innocent/ damned spirits as a result of the ruination a good time so they can finally be at rest. She perceives them in the form of fractured memories of Isolde’s life. At least that’s what I think LoR made it out to be. A lot of post ruination is Gwen now trying to find a place in the world after Isolde left and asking herself “what now?” which I think is somewhat unique in LoL as there’s not a lot of champions that have done what they were destined to do and not entirely knowing what to do next. Also I 100% think she should’ve been more doll looking. If any direction is needed, look at Alpha from Vainglory. From her animation to character story is being at a crossroads at the thought of living their new life as not quite living. Which is exactly how Gwen should’ve been imo.
When I heard they were adding a living doll to league I got really excited as I was a huge fan of Mina in Dawngate back in the day. Gwen’s full reveal was painful in how un-doll like she is. If someone didn’t tell you you’d have no idea what she was just by looking at her. God I miss Dawngate’s character design. They knew how to make a sentient doll look awesome.
I always had the idea that if people really don’t like the fact that she turns into a human, it would’ve been cool if she had the way Chopper from one piece turns into a human when he needs to, and then goes back to just a little reindeer
I really dislike when people judge character by what they "could be". Gwen is a really competent design at a terrible time and setting. I do wish she has a button eye and some patch skin but, she's still good looks-wise, she just isn't what we want necessarily. Also LOR does some crazy interesting antics with her, in which needs an animation or such. The Midnight-Ball is awesome.
While your idea of a Viego rehabilitation is a good idea… Riot would 1000% fumble it. They’d try to hamfist some creepy love story or somethin. Like, “She’s like a thousand years old and has the soul of a grown woman in her so it’s ok lmaooooo” is what their excuse would be. It would be Briar all over again.
Once again going to say Viego getting a redemtion arc is an amazing idea. And making Gwen a part of that is a wonderful use of her character. It would be really cool if what ends up happening is after defeating the threat they woke up Viego for (I would like it to be Mordekaiser but that's a different rant) Gwen and Viego return to the shadow Isles, and join Yorick (and Akshan because he needs some relevance) and basically fight the ruination right at its heart, all the while it seems a new Ruined King has taken power... (It's Thresh)
normally, i have gotten tired of redemption arcs lately, but it fits viego well. he became a villain because he went insane from losing his wife, and went above and beyond in an effort to get her back. considering he got a massive humbling experience in that isolde hated what he did, and now he has to live with being sealed away for eternity, gaining the animosity of the one person he was trying to help... that might be enough of an experience to make him reconsider is ways
I just want Riots to make more monsters. There's so much potential for cool stuff and LOR just proves my point every time they release new cards. We've had our fair share of characters straight out of fashion magazines (Which I don't mind if it was just once in a while)
It's worth noting that literally everything in the world of Runeterra has a soul, even inanimate objects, which is why Gwen still has vague memories of her time with Isolde despite being a doll
Ngl, when I first saw Gwen, my only thought was "interesting eye design". But after learning her story, it's like... Yeah, it could be so much unique and interesting... Eh, China likes anime designs
I started League after Gwen was already in the game and started playing them because I liked the Scissors and her gameplay was fun and goofy. I can see why she may get hate but I enjoy then and there is clear potential for new stories. Maybe she travels to see the world becoming a literally Fairytale Heroine or even trys to help heal the Shadow isle idk just gotta wait for Riot to continue the story. Hmm i think of it like how Leagues Sylas is him at the beginning of his game before his character arc.
I disagree about her having no purpose. I think she has clear goal that LoR showed a bit, which is cut the black mist until it's gone and help the tormented souls stuck in SI and turn them to hallowed spirits and possibly eventually free them and let their souls finally rest. She can help maokai expand and protect his grove creating a safe place in SI, help Kalista and Ledros reunite and regain their selves using the hallowed mist. She has tons of potential.
i thought of the idea of rehabilitation and thought "wow rehabilitation of viego is a nice idea and he can become a champion in league after that" and then i remember he already is LOL
I may be mixing up when things happened in my head but I want to say part of what led to Gwen's design choice was the fact that at the time the Kpop/Kdrama scene was going through a massive boom in popularity. As I said it may be me mixing up when stuff happened but I somewhat remember her release was around the time fancams were really going around. Obviously champs are in the oven for a lot longer then trends but I do know that trends can affect design choices and league isn't immune to that.
I love Gwen. She's a magical girl oc come to life using her girly powers and innocence to fight against some of the most horrifying and evil threats in Runeterra, directly paralleling Viego, which I really like.
As someone who played nothing but monster characters for top lane mains, I actually like Gwen as a breath of fresh air. I play cho gath, mundo, sion, nasus, volibear, rumble, and so on. So to have a melee pretty girl is fun and different. I completely agree though about how they did her story was wrong.
I always find it a little weird when people say gwen SHOULD HAVE BEEN a more moster-like or a less humanoid doll, because her "character design doesnt convey that very well". I understand if you personally would have liked those ideas for her character cause yeah, they sound cool, but i dont agree that that SHOULD have been her character design. Cause the doll element isnt the point of her character, her purpose is to exemplify all the joy and wonder of isoldes childhood, and in a sense to represent a second chance for the best parts of herself to help right the wrongs her husbands is bringing uppon the world. And her character design conveys this very well, the idea of what a child thinks looks royal, distinguished and pretty, with the tatoos to represent what once was, where she comes from. There not an afterthougt. Theyre not central to her design BECAUSE theyre not central to the point of her character, her emotional connection to isolde IS. And the doll part is the vehicle to get to that point. And to say that she SHOULD HAVE BEEN more doll-like as like an objective statement is to misunderstand the point of her character. She is not "A doll" shes Isoldes playmate. THAT is the core of her character. Granted she isnt in many stories and she is handled poorly in like half of the ones she is so i get it why people misunderstand.
In the good universe, riot was making her less creepy doll like because shaco has this role and maybe, in a vgu, he could have something good coming. Maybe he is a shadow isles doll, a rival for gwen or something, she could have a new motivation
I feel like what could have made her a bit more interesting would be if there were damages she received in doll form reflected on her human form. Like the stitching on one of her eyes and/or legs ripped, so now she hops around on one leg or one of her eyes is just blank skin. Just some food for thought.
I completely disagree with the notion of gwen beeing "just another pretty face". Yeah i think a more monster version of her would have been really cool for sure but she looks very different from other female champions. Look at her 3d model compared to most female champs like mf, ashe, janna you know all those big booba waifus and then look at gwen. Shes smaller and more petite over all which if your talking about body diversity in league this is acually kinda rare for a human looking character. Her colors, hair, eyes, stature, weapons, clothing and the way she moves (animations in general) also stick out from the rest and i love the unique aesthetics. Look through the champion list and you'll notice gwen right away because of how unique she acaully looks. Also this more petite girl wielding giant sicissors is just a very cool and fun idea i think and her beeing a meele ap dps champ makes her even more unique in the game.. there is literally no other champ that has these qualities not a single other meele dps mage in the game as of right now. I think its easy to say "well look at all the things she could have been" instead of taking a closer look at whats acually there and how well made it really is even if you personally don't vibe with it. I love illaoi for example even tho shes not my type of champ she looks cool af.
I really like Gwenda as a character. But she is also like tailored made for my love of magical girls. I can't play her well worth shit tho. Good video, as always. Even if you are dragging my poor girl through the mud. I also really wanted to do fanart for this week but ran out of time. Hopefully, it will be done by next week. 😅
I kinda agree with you, I love ghostly characters designs either them being creepy, cute, or both, and when I saw Gwen (in that time, I didn’t know anything about lore) I liked very much of the design, but as of now, I do agree that I could’ve been so much better with a doll like approach
At least with the eventual void event they seem to be releasing things overtime that will eventually set forth the event as opposed to just throwing it all in at once
one thing I think is kind of funny is when he says that gwen or briar feel like someones oc put into the game and I've thought about which ones would fit in league and there are only 2 that I would actually think could find a way in being the spiritual brawler and the vampiric seductress being ionian and noxian respectively
As far as design go, i don't mind the human form. I enjoy the spiritual aspects of it with the eyes and blue hair and stuff but i do feel they could have leaned into it more like improve the stitches, add some spiritual flourish, etc.
I really like Gwanda's design, and I think its easier to appreciate her design if you judge it on its own merits and not on the merits of other champs or the event she was released during. Part of it probably is that she's just aesthetically pleasing to me but if you isolate Gwen from the rest of the game I think it does "doll-brought-to-life" trope really well. I mean that from a purely design standpoint as well, I think her character communicates what she is even if you don't know her lore. Then again I'm always a sucker for the "weapon thats way too big for the character wielding it" trope so maybe I'm blinded by that idk.
14:55 ¨did I make Shyvana into Illaoi body type?¨ this game has half its roaster be pretty girls with hourglass figures TWO muscular ladies won't kill anyone, Nicolas Boi
Whats interesting to me is im pretty much onboard with your Soraka redesign, but I feel like Shyvanna needs a slimmer and sleek design, only because her current sound effects give off a metallic and sharp feeling of presence which I feel like should be represented in the character design as well
Talking of Briar, i feel changing her story to be one of the roomates of Rell, back in the academy would help both her and Rell. Show what the black Rose is capable of. Creating a bipolar killing machine out of a normal girl. And Rell this way proves the "iron will" she claims by staying sane when every other test subject broke.
I started playing League around the time Qwen came out I think, and I remember her being one of the first champions I wanted to try because I love the idea of giant scissors. It gives me huge Kill La Kill vibes and I'm all for that. For that reason I actually wish they would give Qwen a pentakill skin or something along those lines just so she can really drive home the vibe.
13:10 (Champions as OC's) Briar. She may fit in the universe somewhat cause they made her story around it but like come on. I was so hope for this monstrous vampire made beast champion and then we just get *FEET* and pretty face. Massive disappointment on that end for me. I think her stories interesting for sure but bimbo-fication of a character seemingly because August wanted a loli vampire, and by god hes gonna get one, kinda ruined the rest of the champ for me personally.
12:37 well yes, Gwanda would have been the next opportunity to make a "proper" doll champion...if it was the project from the start. However, from the artworks and stuff I get hard Nilah vibes, in the sense that Riot : "Let's make a character design/kit first and then let some talented writer save it from just being...well, that" I'm of the solid idea that no matter what you do, what you planned for a character to be at first will always be very much visible
When I look at Gwen's concept art, I first think of when I started doing character design as a hobby. The error I always committed is focusing on the first drawing I did and not exploring too far what this character could be. If this was the case with Gwen, to be honest, it's not that big of a problem. I mean, the character is recognizable. I personally like it a lot, and I'm sure a lot of talented artists worked in making her possible. I mean, just look at how good her animations are in-game. Anyway, in short, it's not about what Gwen isn't; it's more about what she could have been. (Also, I'm biased because I'm trans, and playing her gives me euphoria.)
if u think about her story and realize how old Gwen must be if Isolde made her, and in her reveal trailer she was kinda under water: they could have made such a cool, rotten, old and stitched together doll character, who is barely holding on to that piece of Isoldes soul
I think Akshan and Vex are fine in the wider context of the Ruination / Viego / Shadow Isles. Akshan had a story before The Ruination (trying to avenge Shadia, even though that was shoved to the side in favor of The Ruination) and Vex as a character in my mind is designed as a character who floats between storylines as a depressed emo kid, and I think having her essentially be a narrative foil to a variety of characters (such as in her short story where her uncle or whatever annoys her and she makes him depressed) fits her very well. Gwen's story is finished when Viego is defeated because fundamentally *Gwen's entire story is caused by Viego.* The only reason Isolde's soul is shattered is because of Viego. The only reason Gwen got a piece of Isolde's soul and got brought to life is because of Viego. The only thing Gwen needed to do was defeat Viego. Now that Viego is gone she's literally just a prop: a toy soldier wandering around because she has nothing to do anymore.
I would love gwen if she had more doll like animations, like imagine her arm falling off in a joke animation and she stiches it back, or it having fluff out of the skin around it,
Before I read the lore of Ruination when I first saw Gwen I assumed that she was a villain, way to bright colors and happy disposition, she looked too out of place in the event for her to be a good guy. (also reminded me of Nui from kill la kill, very similar designs)
it would have been really cool if throughout the course of the game she becomes more human like, kind of like a kayle style transformation where the state we see her in as default would be like her final form but she would start out a lot more doll like and then she could have some kind of scaling passive and when you reached certain checkpoints she became more human like
I am not gonna sit here and tell you that I didn't want gwen to be an actual doll, because I did. Or that her character isn't criminally under developed, because it is. For me I just love gwen because she fills a character design neiche that is lacking in league. She is this wide eyed protagonist girl with unshakeable positivity. we dont really have that in league. Do I wish the sentinals of light event wasn't a trash fire. yes. HOWEVER Nothing can sway my love for gwen, her relentless positivity and non-sexual design. I think she has some of the most potential for an amazing story of all champs right now. she is orbiting the edges of several stories and could go anywhere and do anything. I really hope we get a short story, or an animation, or maybe a new league event that is better than sentials of light
Gwen's issue is the same as Veigo and Akshan. They were introduced for a big lore event and after that event ended they gave them nothing outside of being apart of the event. Except it's even worse for her. Since Veigo was defeated and Akshan can just keep doing Sentinel work. What is Gwen supposed to do now. She beat Veigo and now what? Legends of Runeterra gave her a story but that isn't cannon (I'm pretty sure). They've never expanded her story with a new champion release since, or added lore to an old champion that includes her. She was just forgotten and thrown away, like a kid would with a doll they don't want to play with anymore. It's not like say the Bildgewater event. Where after a pretty big status quo change they made sure every major character had something to go do or finished off a story for them. Graves and TF's rivalry is settled. Miss Fortune takes over Bildgewater. Gangplank after being usurped and nearly dying is plotting his vengeance. Sure they haven't done much with Graves or TF since but they existed before the event so giving them end point for there story works. They made three new champions for the ruination (Making it from our POV as players the beginning of there story) and all three of them have had basically nothing since.
I don't hate her design, but I will never forgive Riot for not giving us haunted doll that stays a haunted doll. Although I can definitely understand that the reason I'm upset is because I heard haunted doll and had my own ideas of what that would be. A shame, but big scissor cool so we have that at least.
I do like Gwen a lot more when I view her from the angle of what she means to Isolde, and being a second chance for a life that was almost never Isolde's to live. I understand the criticism for her sort of standing out in an odd way in the Ruination setting, but I think there's more ways to view Gwen's existence or looks.
I do not care about Gwen aesthetically at all, but oh my God, her gameplay is so satisfying to play. It really feels like a champion that melts others when you fight against them rather than just one big shot, death by 1000 cuts.
I think they they could easily find something to do with all new ruination champs and i don't think it'd be that difficult either. Gwen could do a viego redemption arc or hang out with yorick. Akshan can go back to shurima and theres so many opportunities there, or he can do a world tour. Or put him in bilgewater. I think he could fun there especially since his whole thing is stopping 'scoundrels' why not put him where there are a buncb of those. Sure their initial arcs have concluded, but that doesnt mean they still cant pursue their initial motivation. Gwen can still seek to live her one life to the fullest and akshan can keep being batman
Gwen's Cafe Cuties skin does a better job at being a doll of a young girl better then her base skin. And her entite kit is everything I ever wanted on Morde, specifically her ults slow and not having to rely on a coriagraphed skill shot to engage an enemy.
Gwen is by far the champion in most need of a short story. Literally anything will do, make her help Yorick take care of the Shadow Isles or explore the world and meet other champs like Lewis or Viktor. Just give her some purpose in life
Her meeting Viktor sounds like a very funny idea i like it
who the f is lewis
Gotta love Lewis
@@angry927 the gator
Don't forget my favorite character, Josh
I'd guess gwen is the part of isolda's soul that is the character she made up to be her imaginary best friend, and that's why she "remembers" being her best friend, and things that happen while she's a doll. She's probably what Isolda imagined her to be
i've seen tbskyen theory on the ball that gwen attends to in LoR and i think is nothing short of genius.
Gwen receives a misterious invitation to the most magical place she's ever been, se dances and finds an gorgeous gentleman, an enchanted prince you might say, then the mist attack, gwen fights it off and saves the ball and her enchanted prince.
It's a fantastical story with aventure, romance and a happy ending, a story really similar to those a child creates while playing with it's dolls.
I agree
My hot take is Gwen should’ve been designed as a support. Her thematic is all about sewing, what about stitching things back together like injuries? The hallowed mist is supposed to counteract the black mist which corrupts everything it touches, so why does Gwen only shield herself? Obviously as she is right now her kit isn’t suited for it, but I still think it’s kind of odd that character based around the hallowed mist and a doll with sewing tools is so inherently selfish in play style
It's funny that you mention the idea of making her a support, in the Ruination event's story progression she was the one to design the characters' outfits and styled their hair.
I think that would make sense but also seems kind of like the cliche or the most common way of looking at it. Which is fine but maybe the devs wanted to be different. Personally I kind of like that Gwen isn't a support makes her aesthetic stick out more. I think she would be even more of a filler character as a support.
@@otterfire4712 right, and in the soul fighter universe she HEALS pyke with her needles
Funny you should say that, the reason Gwen's play rate is far lower than that of most champions designed in a similar fashion is because of how she plays. A lot of girls who enjoy support champions like Seraphine seemed to love her design, but don't enjoy the kayle/Yi Hybrid playstyle. Riot's lacking skin sells on Gwen is most certainly a result of her being designed in a far more scaling 1v9 monster machine with some really easy to punish gameplay.
That would just be cliche and even more hated on as another boring egirl supp champ. I think it’s pretty cool how they used the seamstress aesthetic on a skirmishing champ that would be in the middle of the enemy team literally cutting them apart. It’s the subversion of the ‘supporting mystical dress maker character’ trope that makes her fun; not to mention it makes her matchups generally all these other grisly bruiser and tank champs which is amusing.
Gwen had memories while being a doll due to objects having simple souls in runeterra. This was revealed in one of Riven's stories while in Ionia and a soulweaver repaired a broken bowl by speaking to its soul.
Honestly I think that's just Ionia being goofy with everything having a soul because (as an extreme example) if you litter on the street and don't clean up after yourself your own house can come alive and beat you up
@@GamerJotaro Tbh I feel like the only reason why riot did that "every object has a soul thing" is probably to explain how yordle portals can be made from random objects
It's basically toy story but less extreme
I really like Gwen. She's a little girl's power fantasy come to life. Where all the 'girly' things that she likes are sources of power and agency. She makes my neices happy when I told them her story and showed them her art.
I like Gwen too, especially in the aspect that she represents an innocence and a spark of joy among the gloom setting of the Shadow Isles. Shes a sweetheart
@@Blu_Moon_Owl And I like the interpetation of her LoR story that she's bopping around bringing happiness to the spectral remains of people of the Shadow Isles. Wrapping them up in her fantasies and saving them from sorrow and horror in her Hallowed Mists.
I agree. She also adds an important positive view of Isolde to counter Viego's obsessive version. She's a valuable addition in both archetype (girly power fantasy) and story value (adds to the Viego/Isolde dynamic)
Riot has also talked about why her and lillia were designed the way they were. It was to get women to play jungler and top because historically like 5% of top players were female. And according to riot it worked those 2 champs got alot more women to play top and jungle because those roles finally had characters that appealed to the average female player
@@sirbobulous yea that’s what I was mainly alluding to. Gives her some reason to still be around as a character
i need viego’s character development to essentially be “im not the stepdad, im the dad who STEPPED UP.”
You bring valid arguments Nicky but you forgot Gwen pressed W and is imune
Maybe this would be overlaping too much with Orianna, but if Riot wanted to have Gwen be more of a human looking doll, they could've made her a porcelain doll or even one of those figures you see spinning in music boxes, since her and Viego have music box motifs in their song. That way instead of giving Gwen the slightest hint at stitching, they could keep her proportions and give her like painted features or ball-jointed limbs to convey her doll-ness
I feel like Nicky let's his expectations of what Gwen can be destroy his ability to enjoy what she is. She looks like a doll made human which is exactly what she is. She's flawed for sure but definitely not a bad design she's more designed to embody an archetype rather than challenge. Would she be better with button eyes etc? Sure that'd be awesome but I don't think she really needs to change.
TBskyen moment
@@SB-pt7dyFUCKIN GOTTEM LMAO
tbskyen reference
A doll made human instead of a human doll. A simple difference, but entirely different results. All because of not questioning if we are interpreting the concept correctly in the first place.
TBSkyen moment indeed.
@@SB-pt7dy TBskyen moment? Sorry I'm out of the loop
There is a plotline for the tabletop roleplaying game Chronicles of Darkness called Promethean: The Created that explores what it means to be human, and it uses the legends of Frankenstein's monster, Galatea, Tammuz, and a few others as templates for a created human being, not naturally born but supernaturally given sentience. Gwen reminds me of those kinds of stories but without actually exploring humanity
What i do like about Gwen is that she dosen't feel alot like other League women like Fiora, Vayne, Ahri, etc. in the sense that though she is attractive, she isn't that in a vulgar sense and feels like she's a girls deviantart OC, but a good one, and that to me is what i think makes her stand out from the other League girls as she feels like a character that was made by a woman who really likes Tim Burton, the whole goth aesthetic, with Viego perhaps being their dream prince as this sad, broken, *EXTREMELY* sexy man who yeeeaaarns to have his wife back and woulden't you know it; she has an aspect of his wife in her, causing him to obses over her even though under normal circumstances, he probably woulden't.
(Also i wanna make note; i don't ship them, this is just my impression and interpertation of Gwen as a character and i can understand if you find it creepy if you think of Gwen more of a daughter to Isolde and subsequently Viego, rather than a seperate entity created *by* Isolde who then later gained an aspect of her.)
How the fuck are Vayne or Fiora vulgar in any way? Ahri doesnt even have sexual stuff besides porn fanart anymore and is the only one what could be considered vulgar
My guess on why Gwen isn't more doll-like is probably because we already have Orianna filling the role. Granted she's a robot, but girl with a crafted form by a parental figure is already taken. I do think it would be cool though if Gwen looked more like Herta from Honkai star rail, with the doll joints on her limbs.
Gwen looking more like a character from a stop motion Tim Burton movie would be so much more interesting! She could still have the starry eyed personality and look pretty human, but more doll-like and mildly creepy.
It would have been so charming if she looked creepy and aced just as bubbly and sweet as she does. Give her strange felt or hempen skin, give her button eyes and still have her be super sweet that would be so charming. Hell, if they were dead set on her looking like a Genshin Impact character then they should have done something like they did back in Burning Tides with Gangplank, release her with the creepy doll design then by the end of the story have the Hallowed Mist turn her into her current design, making the doll a skin that would have been amazing!
I love Gwen's design but mostly because of the color palette used for her and her animations. Also the fact that you would not expect her to be this scrappy skirmisher that destroys tanks and 1v9s late game. I do agree that she would have been way better as a doll though, kinda like Oriana but visibly a doll.
Also that Soraka redesign is sick and we need it in the game right now
It would've been great if Gwen's final design was like a plushie version of Orianna
I sure am excited to see nickboy talk about my favourite character in league
surely I won't be annoyed the entire time
I have 3 most played champs. The first is Ekko and i watched the review, it was cool. I'm waiting for Urgot to come out. But for the third... Let's say I don't think he will ever do one, cuz it's the character he hates the most in the entire game...
cry about it.gif
@@thahitscan I will thanks
@@hugocognie1784 is it seraphine or Katarina?
@@Blu_Moon_Owl It's Sera. Is Kata really that big of a deal ? I never saw Nicky complaining that much about her compared to Sera.
Gwen’s design is a guilty pleasure of mine but I understand your point of view and I see her flaws. However, the thing that could have done Gwen so much better is to give her short stories of her trying to find her place in the Runeterra world, her finding a new objective in life and a constant evolution of her character could make her my cup of tea personally.
13:25 My man has been reading every comment on his videos, AND he plays League professionally?! Get a blood-sample, he's immune to toxicity!
That poor Rell man lol, the Varus was just shitting on her in the chat the whole time :(
That’s the life of a support he must be use to it (at least I am 🫠)
I personally dont think they should have gone with a creepy doll simply for the fact that it just would be kinda weird. A creepy scary doll but has the soul of someone whos meant to be good and kind its a tonal whiplash. I do think they should have gone far more with a doll aesthetic but definitely a cutesy doll rather then a creepy one.
Gwen came out at the height of popularity of Genshin and a ton of gacha games all based around very pretty characters. That most shows in her weird design choices, like Nicky pointed out you cant see her cool X stitch button looking eye or her ghost stitches on her model because they are soo small and dont work for a MOBA top down game design. She was not designed for the game she is in, in mind, she was designed to chase trends at the time. Anything showing her concept as a doll is hidden and all we are left with is a peppy spunky anime girl in a sea of them.
I think that not every character needs to constantly have something to do. It's fine that Gwen has now basically completed her mission with Viego and now is free to do whatever because the alternative is worse since we are left with a bunch of characters whose story is now that they are going to take down some bad guy or do something bad or whatever and that doesn't go anywhere for years if ever. If we follow the idea that characters can't compete their arcs we are left with tons of unfinished stories that if you ever want to finish you must also immediately find another thing for that character to do in the future which kinda leaves you back at square one with a story that has yet to be told.
Gwen became what Isolde wanted her to be, and Isolde did NOT want her to be a life-sized doll. Having Gwen be a doll would not be an improvement, it'd be stagnation. And this isn't even mentioning how the living-toy is already covered (Shaco) AND the uncanny-humanoid is also already covered (Orianna). We don't need more thematic overlap in those areas.
As minor as it is, I'm glad Nicky addressed his comments of Gwen being a "sexy anime character" from before. Because while yes, she is an aesthetic trope, she's not meant to be perceived as sexy. It's the Victorian-esque thematic mixed with with a touch of the modern day gothic lolita with the bows and and frilly knee length dress. It just so happens to be placed upon a slender figure with a pretty face, which alone, a "sexy anime character" it does not make.
But it is, at the end of the day, a matter of opinions and personal taste. I like the gothic aesthetic trope, NickyBoi likes monsters/kaijus. Unique choices for unique people
As much as I like Gwen, and I like her a lot (I have played her since release until I had her M7), I have to agree with a lot of the criticism you mention.
Yes, she is very much more of the 'anime pretty face' instead of a doll come to life.
Her story being wrapped up also doesn't help her case.
The scissors make it really difficult for skin design.
But I also like the story idea you came up with, the rehabilitation idea sounds honestly great and would love to see it.
In any case, keep up the good work Nicky.
Kinda related to Gwen. Considering Riot wants to make Arcane canon and to do so they are going to rewrite a lot of lore they have the opportunity to fix the SoL story. They can make all those sentinel skins in to what ifs (except Vayne and Graves but make him a better motive like saving his husband perhaps) and rewrite Gwen, Akshan and Viego (Vex I think is cool the way she is right now). I really REALLY hope Riot takes that opportunity and make the Ruination good and add unique Sentinels that aren't just bastardized versions of champions
She´s supposed to be a heroine, a friend to all children in need. There is absolutely no better way to terrify a child for his entire life than giving a person button eyes. I will never understand that criticism for Gwen, it´s so idiotic to me.
I am a Gwen main so I'm incredibly biased but I will say I agree with you on a lot of points. My biggest complaint with how they handled Gwen was that if she was made to be the counterpart to Viego its unfair how her entire story and arc is focused around him without him being focused around her which is what makes it feel weak and fall flat, is that without Viego, her story doesn't exist but without Gwen, Viego's story is just fine. But as you mentioned her aesthetic just sits well with me at first I hated her gameplay but grew to love it as I got better at the game (and I only play her Jungle now cause Top sucks)
I want to hit on something Nickyboi said and that is if Gwen released earlier she would have been considered a good design. I do believe that is true but because that is true i think a distinction has to be made that acknowledges the reason people dislike her design is because it was done before. I don't agree with that but it would be more honest.
I personally think her design is bad because it doesn't show her as a doll come to life.
I like to think Gwen is wondering around shadow isles, giving the innocent/ damned spirits as a result of the ruination a good time so they can finally be at rest. She perceives them in the form of fractured memories of Isolde’s life. At least that’s what I think LoR made it out to be.
A lot of post ruination is Gwen now trying to find a place in the world after Isolde left and asking herself “what now?” which I think is somewhat unique in LoL as there’s not a lot of champions that have done what they were destined to do and not entirely knowing what to do next.
Also I 100% think she should’ve been more doll looking. If any direction is needed, look at Alpha from Vainglory. From her animation to character story is being at a crossroads at the thought of living their new life as not quite living. Which is exactly how Gwen should’ve been imo.
When I heard they were adding a living doll to league I got really excited as I was a huge fan of Mina in Dawngate back in the day. Gwen’s full reveal was painful in how un-doll like she is. If someone didn’t tell you you’d have no idea what she was just by looking at her.
God I miss Dawngate’s character design. They knew how to make a sentient doll look awesome.
i love how you're just monologuing while your varus is having a temper tantrum
I always had the idea that if people really don’t like the fact that she turns into a human, it would’ve been cool if she had the way Chopper from one piece turns into a human when he needs to, and then goes back to just a little reindeer
I really dislike when people judge character by what they "could be". Gwen is a really competent design at a terrible time and setting. I do wish she has a button eye and some patch skin but, she's still good looks-wise, she just isn't what we want necessarily.
Also LOR does some crazy interesting antics with her, in which needs an animation or such. The Midnight-Ball is awesome.
I like how the video just constantly smash cut into either you barely alive or dead
While your idea of a Viego rehabilitation is a good idea… Riot would 1000% fumble it. They’d try to hamfist some creepy love story or somethin. Like, “She’s like a thousand years old and has the soul of a grown woman in her so it’s ok lmaooooo” is what their excuse would be. It would be Briar all over again.
I cant wait till seraphine casual champ review, its either gonna be roasting seraphine for 10 minutes or a 10 seconds video that just says no
Once again going to say Viego getting a redemtion arc is an amazing idea. And making Gwen a part of that is a wonderful use of her character.
It would be really cool if what ends up happening is after defeating the threat they woke up Viego for (I would like it to be Mordekaiser but that's a different rant) Gwen and Viego return to the shadow Isles, and join Yorick (and Akshan because he needs some relevance) and basically fight the ruination right at its heart, all the while it seems a new Ruined King has taken power... (It's Thresh)
normally, i have gotten tired of redemption arcs lately, but it fits viego well. he became a villain because he went insane from losing his wife, and went above and beyond in an effort to get her back. considering he got a massive humbling experience in that isolde hated what he did, and now he has to live with being sealed away for eternity, gaining the animosity of the one person he was trying to help... that might be enough of an experience to make him reconsider is ways
I just want Riots to make more monsters. There's so much potential for cool stuff and LOR just proves my point every time they release new cards. We've had our fair share of characters straight out of fashion magazines (Which I don't mind if it was just once in a while)
As a huge kaiju fan I 100% agree.
Immediately thought of that scene in Kung-fu Panda where they say Po doesn't belong here
It's worth noting that literally everything in the world of Runeterra has a soul, even inanimate objects, which is why Gwen still has vague memories of her time with Isolde despite being a doll
the fact that i can watch this video while muted and still find it entertaining because of that varus is fascinating to me
Gwen with a Sewn Chaos aesthetic would be cool
We need a Viego redemption arc where he adopts Gwen and Vex as daughters
Ngl, when I first saw Gwen, my only thought was "interesting eye design". But after learning her story, it's like... Yeah, it could be so much unique and interesting...
Eh, China likes anime designs
I started League after Gwen was already in the game and started playing them because I liked the Scissors and her gameplay was fun and goofy. I can see why she may get hate but I enjoy then and there is clear potential for new stories. Maybe she travels to see the world becoming a literally Fairytale Heroine or even trys to help heal the Shadow isle idk just gotta wait for Riot to continue the story. Hmm i think of it like how Leagues Sylas is him at the beginning of his game before his character arc.
I like Gwen, but I would LOVE her to be more doll-like. At the very least button eyes, even if just one like a pseudo eyepatch
I disagree about her having no purpose. I think she has clear goal that LoR showed a bit, which is cut the black mist until it's gone and help the tormented souls stuck in SI and turn them to hallowed spirits and possibly eventually free them and let their souls finally rest.
She can help maokai expand and protect his grove creating a safe place in SI, help Kalista and Ledros reunite and regain their selves using the hallowed mist. She has tons of potential.
Like her gameplay. One of the funniest and enjoyable toplaner
I don't like the Kayle matchup, or really any ranged champ that can maneuver away
Her kit is cool but man when in the right hands, she can shred everyone
@@Dynahièr its an 18 second cooldown at max rank. If you cant play around that you probably shouldnt complain about game design.
i thought of the idea of rehabilitation and thought "wow rehabilitation of viego is a nice idea and he can become a champion in league after that" and then i remember he already is LOL
I may be mixing up when things happened in my head but I want to say part of what led to Gwen's design choice was the fact that at the time the Kpop/Kdrama scene was going through a massive boom in popularity. As I said it may be me mixing up when stuff happened but I somewhat remember her release was around the time fancams were really going around. Obviously champs are in the oven for a lot longer then trends but I do know that trends can affect design choices and league isn't immune to that.
It's sad that the closest we have of a living doll is a oriana skin.
A doll animated by shadow magic that has a "daughter type" imagery and uses sewing kit pieces as weapons? surelly you mean SEWN CHAOS ORIANNA!
I love Gwen.
She's a magical girl oc come to life using her girly powers and innocence to fight against some of the most horrifying and evil threats in Runeterra, directly paralleling Viego, which I really like.
Gwen feels more like a character from Genshin or the like rather than a character from league
As someone who played nothing but monster characters for top lane mains, I actually like Gwen as a breath of fresh air. I play cho gath, mundo, sion, nasus, volibear, rumble, and so on. So to have a melee pretty girl is fun and different. I completely agree though about how they did her story was wrong.
2:15 I love when you make these dunkey references haha
If people knew that gwen had a big secret , a riot employee made a short on it , its called "gwen reveals her big secret " its really interesting
I always find it a little weird when people say gwen SHOULD HAVE BEEN a more moster-like or a less humanoid doll, because her "character design doesnt convey that very well". I understand if you personally would have liked those ideas for her character cause yeah, they sound cool, but i dont agree that that SHOULD have been her character design. Cause the doll element isnt the point of her character, her purpose is to exemplify all the joy and wonder of isoldes childhood, and in a sense to represent a second chance for the best parts of herself to help right the wrongs her husbands is bringing uppon the world. And her character design conveys this very well, the idea of what a child thinks looks royal, distinguished and pretty, with the tatoos to represent what once was, where she comes from. There not an afterthougt. Theyre not central to her design BECAUSE theyre not central to the point of her character, her emotional connection to isolde IS. And the doll part is the vehicle to get to that point. And to say that she SHOULD HAVE BEEN more doll-like as like an objective statement is to misunderstand the point of her character. She is not "A doll" shes Isoldes playmate. THAT is the core of her character. Granted she isnt in many stories and she is handled poorly in like half of the ones she is so i get it why people misunderstand.
In the good universe, riot was making her less creepy doll like because shaco has this role and maybe, in a vgu, he could have something good coming. Maybe he is a shadow isles doll, a rival for gwen or something, she could have a new motivation
I feel like what could have made her a bit more interesting would be if there were damages she received in doll form reflected on her human form. Like the stitching on one of her eyes and/or legs ripped, so now she hops around on one leg or one of her eyes is just blank skin. Just some food for thought.
I completely disagree with the notion of gwen beeing "just another pretty face". Yeah i think a more monster version of her would have been really cool for sure but she looks very different from other female champions. Look at her 3d model compared to most female champs like mf, ashe, janna you know all those big booba waifus and then look at gwen. Shes smaller and more petite over all which if your talking about body diversity in league this is acually kinda rare for a human looking character. Her colors, hair, eyes, stature, weapons, clothing and the way she moves (animations in general) also stick out from the rest and i love the unique aesthetics. Look through the champion list and you'll notice gwen right away because of how unique she acaully looks. Also this more petite girl wielding giant sicissors is just a very cool and fun idea i think and her beeing a meele ap dps champ makes her even more unique in the game.. there is literally no other champ that has these qualities not a single other meele dps mage in the game as of right now. I think its easy to say "well look at all the things she could have been" instead of taking a closer look at whats acually there and how well made it really is even if you personally don't vibe with it. I love illaoi for example even tho shes not my type of champ she looks cool af.
Biggest missed opportunity with this champ was not selling a marketable plushie of her doll form
I really like Gwenda as a character. But she is also like tailored made for my love of magical girls. I can't play her well worth shit tho.
Good video, as always. Even if you are dragging my poor girl through the mud.
I also really wanted to do fanart for this week but ran out of time. Hopefully, it will be done by next week. 😅
They basically gave Gwen old Irelia ult, an ult famous for being whatever as fuck.
I kinda agree with you, I love ghostly characters designs either them being creepy, cute, or both, and when I saw Gwen (in that time, I didn’t know anything about lore) I liked very much of the design, but as of now, I do agree that I could’ve been so much better with a doll like approach
At least with the eventual void event they seem to be releasing things overtime that will eventually set forth the event as opposed to just throwing it all in at once
one thing I think is kind of funny is when he says that gwen or briar feel like someones oc put into the game and I've thought about which ones would fit in league and there are only 2 that I would actually think could find a way in being the spiritual brawler and the vampiric seductress being ionian and noxian respectively
As far as design go, i don't mind the human form. I enjoy the spiritual aspects of it with the eyes and blue hair and stuff but i do feel they could have leaned into it more like improve the stitches, add some spiritual flourish, etc.
I really like Gwanda's design, and I think its easier to appreciate her design if you judge it on its own merits and not on the merits of other champs or the event she was released during. Part of it probably is that she's just aesthetically pleasing to me but if you isolate Gwen from the rest of the game I think it does "doll-brought-to-life" trope really well. I mean that from a purely design standpoint as well, I think her character communicates what she is even if you don't know her lore. Then again I'm always a sucker for the "weapon thats way too big for the character wielding it" trope so maybe I'm blinded by that idk.
Bringing her to life makes her retroactively conscious before it happened, obviously :D
Nicky hates my main, that means he hates ME SPECIFICALLY. Now if you excuse me, im gonna go hunt Mordekaisers now
14:55 ¨did I make Shyvana into Illaoi body type?¨
this game has half its roaster be pretty girls with hourglass figures
TWO muscular ladies won't kill anyone, Nicolas Boi
Whats interesting to me is im pretty much onboard with your Soraka redesign, but I feel like Shyvanna needs a slimmer and sleek design, only because her current sound effects give off a metallic and sharp feeling of presence which I feel like should be represented in the character design as well
My brother in christ is Shyvana was any slimmer, she'd fit into a Paper Mario game
@dekhain3284 I was referring to Nicki's redesign of her which if you haven't seen, has her built like Illaoi
Talking of Briar, i feel changing her story to be one of the roomates of Rell, back in the academy would help both her and Rell. Show what the black Rose is capable of. Creating a bipolar killing machine out of a normal girl. And Rell this way proves the "iron will" she claims by staying sane when every other test subject broke.
I started playing League around the time Qwen came out I think, and I remember her being one of the first champions I wanted to try because I love the idea of giant scissors. It gives me huge Kill La Kill vibes and I'm all for that. For that reason I actually wish they would give Qwen a pentakill skin or something along those lines just so she can really drive home the vibe.
13:10 (Champions as OC's) Briar. She may fit in the universe somewhat cause they made her story around it but like come on. I was so hope for this monstrous vampire made beast champion and then we just get *FEET* and pretty face. Massive disappointment on that end for me. I think her stories interesting for sure but bimbo-fication of a character seemingly because August wanted a loli vampire, and by god hes gonna get one, kinda ruined the rest of the champ for me personally.
12:37 well yes, Gwanda would have been the next opportunity to make a "proper" doll champion...if it was the project from the start.
However, from the artworks and stuff I get hard Nilah vibes, in the sense that
Riot : "Let's make a character design/kit first and then let some talented writer save it from just being...well, that"
I'm of the solid idea that no matter what you do, what you planned for a character to be at first will always be very much visible
When I look at Gwen's concept art, I first think of when I started doing character design as a hobby. The error I always committed is focusing on the first drawing I did and not exploring too far what this character could be. If this was the case with Gwen, to be honest, it's not that big of a problem. I mean, the character is recognizable. I personally like it a lot, and I'm sure a lot of talented artists worked in making her possible. I mean, just look at how good her animations are in-game. Anyway, in short, it's not about what Gwen isn't; it's more about what she could have been. (Also, I'm biased because I'm trans, and playing her gives me euphoria.)
if u think about her story and realize how old Gwen must be if Isolde made her, and in her reveal trailer she was kinda under water: they could have made such a cool, rotten, old and stitched together doll character, who is barely holding on to that piece of Isoldes soul
Anyone else get invested in the Varus being toxic?
bro i started to stop listening to nicky and watching the varus throw a temper tantrum the rest of the game lol
I think Akshan and Vex are fine in the wider context of the Ruination / Viego / Shadow Isles. Akshan had a story before The Ruination (trying to avenge Shadia, even though that was shoved to the side in favor of The Ruination) and Vex as a character in my mind is designed as a character who floats between storylines as a depressed emo kid, and I think having her essentially be a narrative foil to a variety of characters (such as in her short story where her uncle or whatever annoys her and she makes him depressed) fits her very well.
Gwen's story is finished when Viego is defeated because fundamentally *Gwen's entire story is caused by Viego.* The only reason Isolde's soul is shattered is because of Viego. The only reason Gwen got a piece of Isolde's soul and got brought to life is because of Viego. The only thing Gwen needed to do was defeat Viego. Now that Viego is gone she's literally just a prop: a toy soldier wandering around because she has nothing to do anymore.
I would love gwen if she had more doll like animations, like imagine her arm falling off in a joke animation and she stiches it back, or it having fluff out of the skin around it,
Do you think you would have liked Gwen's design more if she looked like a better version of Sewn Chaos Orianna?
Before I read the lore of Ruination when I first saw Gwen I assumed that she was a villain, way to bright colors and happy disposition, she looked too out of place in the event for her to be a good guy. (also reminded me of Nui from kill la kill, very similar designs)
it would have been really cool if throughout the course of the game she becomes more human like, kind of like a kayle style transformation where the state we see her in as default would be like her final form but she would start out a lot more doll like and then she could have some kind of scaling passive and when you reached certain checkpoints she became more human like
I am not gonna sit here and tell you that I didn't want gwen to be an actual doll, because I did. Or that her character isn't criminally under developed, because it is. For me I just love gwen because she fills a character design neiche that is lacking in league. She is this wide eyed protagonist girl with unshakeable positivity. we dont really have that in league. Do I wish the sentinals of light event wasn't a trash fire. yes.
HOWEVER Nothing can sway my love for gwen, her relentless positivity and non-sexual design. I think she has some of the most potential for an amazing story of all champs right now. she is orbiting the edges of several stories and could go anywhere and do anything. I really hope we get a short story, or an animation, or maybe a new league event that is better than sentials of light
I’m waiting for the day you talk about Kayn I’m so happy this series has been going for this long I still have hope 🙏
A friday Gwen review? I am hyped. Thanks for the content Nickyboi. Do you think they should port the Wild rift prestige skin to PC?
tell me you didnt read her champion insight without telling me you didnt read her champion insight
Gwen's issue is the same as Veigo and Akshan. They were introduced for a big lore event and after that event ended they gave them nothing outside of being apart of the event. Except it's even worse for her. Since Veigo was defeated and Akshan can just keep doing Sentinel work. What is Gwen supposed to do now. She beat Veigo and now what? Legends of Runeterra gave her a story but that isn't cannon (I'm pretty sure). They've never expanded her story with a new champion release since, or added lore to an old champion that includes her. She was just forgotten and thrown away, like a kid would with a doll they don't want to play with anymore.
It's not like say the Bildgewater event. Where after a pretty big status quo change they made sure every major character had something to go do or finished off a story for them.
Graves and TF's rivalry is settled. Miss Fortune takes over Bildgewater. Gangplank after being usurped and nearly dying is plotting his vengeance. Sure they haven't done much with Graves or TF since but they existed before the event so giving them end point for there story works. They made three new champions for the ruination (Making it from our POV as players the beginning of there story) and all three of them have had basically nothing since.
I started playing league 2-3 years right on ruination and was amazed by gwen's... hair. now i have 50k mastery 7 because of funny blue hair.
I don't hate her design, but I will never forgive Riot for not giving us haunted doll that stays a haunted doll. Although I can definitely understand that the reason I'm upset is because I heard haunted doll and had my own ideas of what that would be. A shame, but big scissor cool so we have that at least.
I do like Gwen a lot more when I view her from the angle of what she means to Isolde, and being a second chance for a life that was almost never Isolde's to live. I understand the criticism for her sort of standing out in an odd way in the Ruination setting, but I think there's more ways to view Gwen's existence or looks.
I do not care about Gwen aesthetically at all, but oh my God, her gameplay is so satisfying to play. It really feels like a champion that melts others when you fight against them rather than just one big shot, death by 1000 cuts.
I have a feeling that Nicky's next redesign is going to be Gwen.
I think they they could easily find something to do with all new ruination champs and i don't think it'd be that difficult either.
Gwen could do a viego redemption arc or hang out with yorick. Akshan can go back to shurima and theres so many opportunities there, or he can do a world tour. Or put him in bilgewater.
I think he could fun there especially since his whole thing is stopping 'scoundrels' why not put him where there are a buncb of those.
Sure their initial arcs have concluded, but that doesnt mean they still cant pursue their initial motivation. Gwen can still seek to live her one life to the fullest and akshan can keep being batman
Gwen's Cafe Cuties skin does a better job at being a doll of a young girl better then her base skin. And her entite kit is everything I ever wanted on Morde, specifically her ults slow and not having to rely on a coriagraphed skill shot to engage an enemy.