For a frequent gamer, waiting for an update to finish for their favorite game has become a norm. There are lots of dedicated players that will wait in anticipation for future updates. But for some gamers, waiting for an update to finish could be seen as tedious.

But an update brings many positives to a video game. In a way, every update acts as a step towards completion. Updates also keep the game up-to-date and "fresh" more likely than not prolonging the life of it. 

On July, 'Chinajoy 2017' was held in Shanghai Expo. During the event, Greg Street, the director for the game 'League of Legends', made an appearance for a presentation on the topic of 'updates'. The presentation was titled, "Changing League of Legends Without Too Much," and through it, Street shared how Riot has been planning updates for their game. 

Released in 2009, League of Legends has been in service for approximately 8 years. Regarding the longevity of its life, Street started explaining how he and his team has been updating the game to keep it "fresh" for the users. 

Street revealed that he looks for 3 things before planning a possible update: 
1. See if it's balanced
2. See if it has received complaints from players
3. See if it's mechanically or graphically outdated

Street explained that every update comes with an upside and a downside. For example, an update can fix in-game issues such as bugs. An update can also renew out-of-date graphics and game mechanics. Through these constant updates, Riot was able to gain the trust from their players.

But as the game constantly saw changes, some players had a hard time following. Simply put, the game grew harder to play as time went on. Street also admitted to having removed some features that were enjoyed by their players. To reduce the risk of making the wrong choice, Street has been interacting with players to receive ideas and feedback. What Street wants is perfection.

Street also shared how a new champion is released. According to him, every newly released champion introduced a "new" way to play the game. And due to this reason, he explained that many players had a hard time understanding and playing a new champion. Also, Street mentioned that he is currently slowing down the release of new champions to "perfect" the already existing ones. 

Street also talked about "reworks" that were done to existing champions. For a champion to be reworked, three things are considered. One, if a champion is graphically outdated. Two, if a champion's kit or playstyle is overly simple. And/or three, if a champion just feels bad or awkward while playing. But when updating these champions, Street admitted to losing a portion of the player base who were attached to those champions before the rework. 

The graphical update for the 'Summoner's Rift' and the UI was reviewed as successful for many players. Street explained the thought process that was going on while working on the update. In order to keep the new map as similar as possible to the original, the size or location of walls or other obstacles were left untouched. This allowed players to enjoy the game with up-to-date graphics while keeping the general gameplay exactly the same. The changes to the UI were also accepted with open arms by the players. It increased the field of view and made it easier for players to check team information.

Street then shared his thoughts on the recent update that brought the new 'Honor System', as well as the upcoming update for the new 'Rune System'. Regarding the previous Honor System, Street felt that it wasn't clear enough, as many players completely bypassed the idea of giving "honor" to someone as they felt no need to. Street revealed that he is constantly taking feedback for the currently implemented system as well.

The reason for planning an update for a new Rune System was explained by Street. He wanted the players to experience "fun" while using runes. He also mentioned that this update will be difficult to implement because it will heavily impact the gameplay.  

Finally, Street gave a few examples of updates that will NOT make it to League. Firstly, Street explained that the game will not sacrifice competitive integrity for accessibility. Also, he mentioned that the tradition of champions starting off from the 'fountain' will always remain the same. (He further added that this is to keep the gameplay familiar for the players) 

Street also said that he will not remove the "laning phase" from the game. The main reason for it is to keep individual outplays to happen throughout the map. This allows players to "win the lane" and gain a sense of accomplishment, even if the actual game is lost.

And lastly, Street shared that Riot pictures the Summoner's Rift as something like a soccer field and that they will maintain the current map with no further changes.