Some animations in League of Legends may trigger epileptic seizures. A player has now reached out to Riot about this.
What is it about? In the LoL forums, a concerned player explained that the new finisher animation could trigger a type of epilepsy. The photosensitive epilepsy (PSE).
This is a form of epilepsy triggered by visual stimuli, mostly light flashes. (via spektrum.de)
The finisher animation was reintroduced during the Mid-Season Invitationals at LoL. To unlock the animation, players must first complete a few missions. Afterwards, the graphic appears over the bodies of eliminated opponents.
As the player reported in the forums, this flashing house animation is strong enough to trigger photosensitive epilepsy.
This is the problem: The player said they would like a feature in League of Legends to disable this animation. But such a feature does not exist.
In their post, they wrote that they understand that epileptics are in the minority among LoL players. However, League has brought them so much joy that it breaks their heart that Riot does not take epilepsy seriously when developing and designing new game mechanics.
There are only a few things in the game that trigger their epilepsy, the player wrote. Many they can avoid. Like the champions Lux and Lucian, whom they ban.
This is how Riot Games responds to the post
The Riot team took notice of the post in the forum, which has been actively discussed with over 100 comments.
The first response from Riot: Game designer Xenogenic from Riot Games responded to the post. He apologized that the effects cause such problems and that there is no option to disable them.
The way we use finishers in Summoners Rift and ARAM is new. We did not have the time or bandwidth to have our engineers revise this function so that a toggle option could be released with the animation.
We discussed this at length and concluded that we would rather introduce it without a toggle option than not release it at all. But we knew this would cause a certain level of frustration and risk.
Again, I apologize that League is currently less enjoyable for you.
Source: Xenogenic in the LoL forums
The second response from Riot: Riot Games later replied to the website Kotaku that they would now disable the animation. They take photosensitive epilepsy very seriously. They will now engage with the player to fully understand the situation.
Additionally, Riot addresses the response from game designer Xenogenic:
The mentioned “risk” is not related to potential problems for people suffering from epilepsy.
“To clarify the initial reaction of the Rioter: We would never release a product that we believe could harm players. Our first internal discussion about a toggle function for the feature revolved around whether players might find the finishers too distracting. Not because we thought finishers could cause harm.”
By disabling the animation, Riot must now consider how to reward players for participating in the event. They are still figuring out how this will happen.
Will Riot also make adjustments for the new champion Yuumi?
