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This is to distract me from the election:
So there’s this pervasive belief I see in online spaces that for any given feature/bug Riot should be able to create/fix it easily because Riot is a big company with talented people.
This is why that isn’t true.
/1
So there’s this pervasive belief I see in online spaces that for any given feature/bug Riot should be able to create/fix it easily because Riot is a big company with talented people.
This is why that isn’t true.
/1
Riot is quite large and also does tend to hire talented people, that part is true. We also make decent money! But the reason everything isn’t possible comes down to:
- separation of concerns
- opportunity cost
/2
- separation of concerns
- opportunity cost
/2
Separation of concerns is how large companies run. Riot doesn’t have me working on server infrastructure. The server guys don’t work on UX. But you can take it further: imagine there’s a feature you want for clash in League of Legends...
/3
/3
League is a small part of Riot, has a few hundred people.
Clash is part of the Gameplay initiative on League so ~100 people.
The team that actually makes clash is ~20 people.
The people actually directly responsible for Clash are like....5 folks.
/4
Clash is part of the Gameplay initiative on League so ~100 people.
The team that actually makes clash is ~20 people.
The people actually directly responsible for Clash are like....5 folks.
/4
And those folks work on more than just clash. So when you imagine: “why doesn’t riot stop making skins and make this clash feature!” You now know those aren’t the same people.
And yeah, the skins folks probably could do it, but it would take them WAY LONGER.
/5
And yeah, the skins folks probably could do it, but it would take them WAY LONGER.
/5
They’d have to get all the design and engineering and art and product context and then they’d have to stop what they’re doing. So that’s clearly not the answer.
Ok so why doesn’t the clash team make clash feature?
Opportunity cost.
/6
Ok so why doesn’t the clash team make clash feature?
Opportunity cost.
/6
Any given team is going to have a large list of opportunities and bugs they want to work on. But every time they work on one it means they generally aren’t working on another. That’s opportunity cost. If a team is fixing bugs by definition it can’t really also be building.
/7
/7
Obviously this is a simplification. Teams have multiple people and can tackle multiple things at once. But consider: about 5 people and hundreds of potential things to work on. You get the idea. So we have to prioritize.
/8
/8
Often, those priority calls are invisible to you, the players. They’re usually based on a bunch of factors:
For bugs - frequency, severity, age, impact, cost to fix
For features - how good it is (this is complex) vs cost
/9
For bugs - frequency, severity, age, impact, cost to fix
For features - how good it is (this is complex) vs cost
/9
So yeah, it’s a bummer when stuff you care about doesn’t happen. For what it’s worth, there’s stuff I want for League that doesn’t happen in much the same way.
On the other hand, I know exactly WHY they aren’t happening and I’m stoked at the WHY. Exciting stuff coming!
~fin
On the other hand, I know exactly WHY they aren’t happening and I’m stoked at the WHY. Exciting stuff coming!
~fin
