19 days ago - VALORANT - Direct link

Transcript (by Youtube)


2s When we first started working on Valorant,
5s we had our wild hopes and dreams
8s that this would be a shooter that everybody in the world could play.
12s Alright, I’m going in.
13s Valorant would be something that empowered players’ creativity, empowered their expression.
18s It could change how they think about tactical shooters.
21s When I think about how far Val has come as a game over the last four years,
26s now feels like the right time to bring Valorant to console players.
29s With this console version of the game,
31s we were asking for the team to do was actually just be very curious.
36s What maybe started as some amount of skepticism turned into optimism.
40s And once they had that, then they turned it into a determination
43s that they're going to make something that players truly love.
45s There are components of Val that exist in other games on console.
48s What Val brings that is maybe different is it's highly tactical combat
52s that has high highs and low lows, allows for a tremendous amount of expression from the player.
58s And we believe that is a combination that players on console are hungry for.
62s My name’s Ray. I go by YaBoiDre in-game.
65s I've had a pro background for five years and I am a part of the Valorant game analysis team for Riot.
71s My name's Devin. I go by Demise.
73s I have previous background in Call of Duty’s professional player.
77s I'm also part of the game analysis team at Riot.
79s We are just a group of passionate gamers who have come together
83s and we just give a different look and a different form of insight
86s that designers might not have, from our experience, as like, high-level gamers.
91s Obviously, controllers are very different from mouse and keyboard.
94s So, figuring out how to adapt Valorant to still feel like Valorant on console
98s but through a different control paradigm definitely took a lot of effort
101s and was one of our biggest challenges.
103s I remember there was one specific moment in development when we knew we had it.
108s We'd play best of three match on controller and one of the teams won
112s and then the other team was like, no, we're going again.
114s Like, we're not done.
114s Like, we got to get back out there.
116s And it was this moment of like, oh, people are taking it way more seriously.
118s They're trying to get better.
119s They want to compete and they want to win.
121s To me, that moment of you're not just playing for work, you're playing
123s because the game is really fun is like, oh, we have something.
126s This is what we want players to experience.
129s Valorant is a very mouse-focused game.
132s It requires a lot of dexterity.
133s One of the things that we were really focused on,
135s when we were getting the game to feel really good on controller
137s was to manage the limitations of you're trying to move through the environment
140s with your right stick as fast as you can, but you also need to be hyper precise.
144s Being able to do both of those things with one stick is a very challenging problem.
149s When we first got our hands on Valorant on console,
151s it was a much different experience than we have right now.
153s It was a bit clunky.
155s We needed something to make it easier for players to slow down
158s and hone in on gunfights when they need to.
163s I think our switch to what we call a focus mode,
165s that was a big turning point for us.
167s That was when I kind of had that click.
168s I felt like maybe this could actually work.
170s It's kind of your button you press before you take a fight.
174s Your sensitivity drops down, you zoom in, you become precise.
177s You should feel like you're about to be accurate
179s when you're trying to hit the really long range shot.
180s We've come really far, you know.
182s Things that seemed very impossible,
184s like turning a flash or like shooting a Sova dart
187s are now pretty easy to do with practice.
189s What we didn't want console players to feel like they were getting
193s was a watered down version of the game or something that didn't meet
196s the same level of competition and mastery that we were seeing in the PC.
201s Our gameplay analysis team has extensive backgrounds
204s in both Valorant and console shooters.
207s And that level of nuance, detailed feedback has enabled us to dial in the game,
211s to get it to where it is today.
217s The designers really did a great job of tweaking every agent individually.
222s The agents are an incredibly deep part of this game
225s and every one brings its own unique set of skills and abilities to the table.
230s I think you will like this.
232s A big concern I had coming in was just how little input controller gives us.
237s Coming from PC, you have like possibly hundreds of inputs on a keyboard.
240s We wanted to make sure that every agent on console felt balanced
243s and considerate of the control scheme.
246s Our ability mapping for agents feels like, very intuitive
249s and being able to gain that mastery or that specific character has been like really rewarding.
253s When we talk about competitive games, one of the most important parts
256s of any competitive game is dialing in your settings.
258s Right now, like, we're all going through the process of just sharing settings
261s and just come up with new ideas on ways to play console.
264s We're not trying to force any specific presets.
267s We've added on several presets to ensure that all players coming
270s from all sorts of different console games will be comfortable playing our game,
274s whether that's bumper jumper or something very traditional.
278s You've got to be able to set your settings the way you want to,
281s and we’ve made sure that players get to customize their controls however they want.
286s We believe we have built the right infrastructure,
289s the right tooling to really make the promise of the game shine.
293s Valorant is one ecosystem.
294s It doesn't matter what platform you're on, it’s one community.
296s We didn't want you to have to go create a new account
299s or to worry about where should I go to progress my battle pass?
302s To us, a part of that is making sure that whenever you log into Valorant,
305s it’s your Valorant.
306s We made the very conscious choice of not having cross-play between PC
310s and consoles because we don't want players to have to wonder is the person
315s I'm playing against using a controller or a keyboard and mouse or whatever else.
319s When I watch players experience the love of Valorant in that truly pure way,
324s and it doesn't matter what hardware they're on,
327s that's how we know we've got it.
328s That's what gives us the courage to launch Valorant to console.
332s I think the thing that makes Valorant really unique
335s is just the global community as a whole.
337s Between the game and the esport and the cosplay and the music
341s and the music videos
342s and the incredible passion players show in and out of the game.
346s When console players come into the community,
348s they get to experience that same thrill and that same level of play.
352s We are so dependent on console players joining the beta and telling us,
357s where are we doing it right?
358s Where are we not doing it right?
360s We're excited to engage directly with players
363s so that they can help us grow and make this game amazing for everyone.