Summary
There are more than a few games that have tried to sell people on being totally different than the last time they tried it. WhenTeamfight Tacticssays it looks different, it means it. Now in the midst of celebrating its fifth anniversary,Riot Games' autobattler has evolved from a riff on a burgeoning genre into one of the games that constantly redefines it. This far into its life cycle, the game has taken on an identity of its own.
That said, this kind of niche tends to be difficult to explain at the best of times, let alone theadded layer of complexity that comes with distinguishing justhow much makesTeamfight Tacticsuniquein its space. While those challenges have certainly arisen for a game that isn’t necessarily the most friendly to beginners, a sticking point in its fifth year has been opening up the floor to allow people to get to knowTFTbetter through tutorials and other newbie-focused content.
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Screen Ranthad a chance to chat about the current state ofTeamfight Tacticsand its future with executive producer Geoff Virtue and technical designer Lynda Tang. They covered what makes this anniversary so special, the challenges and excitement of how farTFThas come, just how far the team is prepared for content in advance (it’s a really high number!)and the concept of a “forever game” that the team hopesTFTcould be.
Then Vs. A Brighter Now For Teamfight Tactics
The Evolution of the Autobattler
Screen Rant:TFTwas at the forefront of the autobattler surge. Now that the genre has become less ubiquitous than it was prior, how do you keepTFTon the radar of people who aren’t actively participating in the genre already?
Geoff Virtue:Our teams have a huge amount of fun working on TFT and brainstorming up new and novel mechanics, champions, and systems. I think this has really been a key area that has helped us continue to attract and grow our audience. If you didn’t connect with the last set there’s something new and novel to try in the next one and there are constant re-entry points with ourrotating events, game modes, and set revivals. One of my favorite parts of development on TFT is that when we start planting the seed for a new thematic for an upcoming set, we think a lot about what resonates with our core audience but also try to incorporate current elements of pop culture. Remix Rumble was a great example of us finding a really cool niche via the music remix tech and also our partnership with Steve Aoki. I think I’ve probably listened to our cinematic and remixes of it a few thousand times now!
So many things have changed withTFTit can be a little jarring to jump back in after being away for a while. What new elements of the game make that process easier?
Lynda Tang: We’re trying out ways to make the game more approachable. In the Set 11 Learnings Article, we mentioned designating specific unit roles to allow for returning players to quickly identify what each unit does in the set. We are also taking a look at our mechanics and figuring out which ones we want to keep versus change or remove. For example, making items pop off of units in Carousel was a small change that made the game easier.There are similar QOL changes that we plan on adding to the game, so keep your eyes peeled for those!We’re also investing deeply in making TFT easier to learn for brand new players, with some in the works features coming over the next few years. The Team Planner feature is also an awesome space we continue to iteratively invest in so that it’s easier to go into a lobby with a game plan and pivot as needed.
What does this anniversary mean forTFTand its playerbase? Beyond, of course, just being a celebration and a good time, which I think has been pretty clear so far!
Lynda Tang: The anniversary is a thank you letter for the TFT playerbase who have been with us for these five years, as well as a pat on the back for the devs whose hard work got us here. It’s also a period where we can be our wacky selves and surprise our players.Our new “Pengu’s Party” game mode has been absolutely crushing it and players are having a blast. It’s a call back to that earlier comment around novelty being so important for players and engagement.
How much content is planned already forTFTin the future? How far in advance do you know, say, that some of these huge meta shifts or gameplay updates are in the pipeline?
Lynda Tang:We have sets planned for the next two years and various other gameplay updates in the pipeline!But we are also always looking for inspiration and trying to adapt and be nimble based on our learnings. That continuous learning mindset is really part of the secret sauce of the team. We try things, experiment and then adapt based off what players like!
The Future Of Teamfight Tactics & Its Players
A Two-Year Content Plan & Plenty Of Room To Grow
Are there any changes too big they’d never be considered forTFTas the game and the genre continue to evolve?
Lynda Tang: We want to verify that the changes we make to TFT preserve the core gameplay.While we occasionally want to analyze the foundation of TFT, I don’t think we’d ever make a change around thegame loop autobattlingor the lean in and lean out moments that make TFT satisfying and relaxing! Sadly, this does mean that TFT will probably never let you control Yasuo in combat – there’s other games for that.
What’s the most important moment inTFT’s history so far that people might not know of or realize the importance of?
Lynda Tang: We made some pretty last minute changes to the combat grid before shipping out Set 1, such as swapping from square grid to hex grid, and also flipping the board from left to right combat to top to bottom! The first one made us stand out from other autobattlers and added some needed variance to combat (since units had two possible enemies they could attack), and the latter helped combat readability a lot. We’ve also had a lot of pivots mid-swing on set development that players don’t often see. One of the weirder ones was for Dragonlands, when we had very few Dragon champions when we entered Production. The team rallied and we scrambled to get many more playable Dragons in because who can have a Dragon set without tons of Dragons!Also Set 8’s mechanic at one point before Hero Augments was this wild experiment withfighting big mechsand Kaiju. It was a really neat concept but having players lose to creep and boss rounds ultimately felt disappointing to them, so we learned not to include that mechanic moving forward.
What do you believe to be the most significant difference between year one and now?
Lynda Tang: The largest difference between year one and now is how we approach the development process. In year one, we weren’t sure about many things: how long the game would last, what form updates to the game would look like (sets vs rotating drip content), what teams and people we needed.It felt like we were building the train tracks as the train was running. Now, we have a much better understanding of how TFT is made and what players are excited about, which lets us make longer term investments and chart a path for TFT’s future. We’ve switched from having a single team that makes each set to now having three set pods that leap frog one and other in parallel. The team has also grown to meet the ambitions of our players! We want to make cool stuff for all of you and we want to make it faster!
What does success look like long term followingTFT’s anniversary?
Lynda Tang: Celebrating TFT’s 10th anniversary!
Geoff Virtue: Agreed!I also love the idea of TFT being a forever game. We drew a lot of inspiration from other beloved PC strategy games that players don’t permanently quit. We want TFT to be like this - play when you want and have fun! It’s okay for you to take a break and when you’re ready to come back, we’ll still be here making awesome sets, new mechanics, and ready for you to pick us back up! Our dream is that you never really quit TFT.
