League of Legends Shares Another Look At Updated Cursor

The team behind League of Legends made a few changes to cursors in PBE v2 recently and provided an update on which alterations happened thanks to all of the player feedback given. Riot Games supplied side by side animations and other references for players to witness, while also sharing more details about the reasons behind some of the changes.

Below are some of the things they talked about in their most recent developer update:

1) Shape change on Enemy Hover

The team first started off by mentioned, “the most common piece of feedback we got was around needing a shape change on Enemy Hover to get that instant feedback. We’ve tried a bunch of different forms for this internally—other color changes, switching to a targeting reticle shape, and a couple others.”

Shape change was the most talked about complaint from players, prompting several versions to go into the creative process. Riot Games continued:

“After those attempts, we’re testing out an update to the existing sword-shape for multiple reasons: It gets us a clear shape change without significant distraction, it can work at similar angles to the primary cursor, and of course we get to benefit from everyone’s existing familiarity with this shape.

That being said, the old sword had a few problems of getting lost in minion waves and during team fights because of its slimmer profile, which is part of why we were looking at other shapes originally. We’re trying to mitigate this by having a flat, bright space in the blade, but are definitely interested in feedback there.”

2) Different Angle

They also talked about the angle of the cursors themselves and how a few of the designs just didn’t quite feel right:

“Since the new cursor has a symmetrical shape, its weight is evenly distributed along whatever axis it is placed upon (45 degrees in this case), avoiding the optical illusion of being pointed at a different angle. This led to the new cursor sometimes feeling like it bent to the left, especially when interacting with flat interfaces like the store. By tilting the cursor so the left edge is on the 0 degree line and the right edge is on the 45 degree line, it should feel more familiar to your experience both in and out of League (the 0 degree angle is what most applications and operating systems use).”

3) New Shape with Internal Cut-Out

“We’re also trying out more of a diamond shape with an internal cut-out. We saw some minor feedback about the first version looking too simplistic, so we’re hoping this version feels more interesting (and more fitting with League’s other UI) without giving up clarity.”

The cursors seen might not be the final version, as they are currently the testing realm for further feedback. Hopefully their latest changes will strike a cord with players and everyone can be happy about what’s in store!