Lust for League of Legends has reached such a boil now that I can hit our voice server virtually any time I want to and get a game going. Except last night, for some reason. It was almost midnight by the time anyone popped in, and I was genuinely surprised to hear a voice when they did because I'd forgotten I was even connected. I am always hoping this will be the night my computer achieves sentience. Alas.

An elite contingent (a capable mid, top, and ADC) had been otherwise occupied. They were savoring the fruits of this storied Loot Cave in Cosmodrome, essentially a firehose of rare-ass engrams and idiot space mutants, so rich that you literally shoot them until your bullets run out. It's the only reason to stop. It's the only reason to ever stop. We need to entertain the idea that it's the only way you can stop.

They basically had to shut it down. It was short circuiting the entire game; it was reaching up under the dash and yanking out handfuls of wire. But… people loved it. It was like a snowglobe version of Destiny, you could just shake it a few times and see the broad arc gleam before you. That's what was bad about it too, of course. The shape was too beautiful, its wind-tunnel optimized curves made engaging with the experience in other ways feel suboptimal.

People loved it, though. I keep thinking back to that. That doesn't mean it's an optimal design or that it's healthy for the game as a living service. Sometimes you discover things by accident, though, and the weird little culture that surrounded this indicates value. Now that we know it, is there way to gate that rush? Is there a way to fold a version of that experience into the game proper, and still retain control?

(CW)TB out.