/dev: Dreamscapes and Psychic Detective Senna

As many of you know, we introduced a brand new skin line during Patch 3.1. The Dreamscapes theme is brand new to the world of League, so we invited the designers to share more stories from development and to welcome you all to the universe where reality and dreams collide.

From Patch 3.1, Dreamscapes replaced Hexplorer as the reward for completing the Wild Pass. As the latest in Wild Rift’s debut skin thematics, Dreamscapes has a striking visual style, a new take on a traditional story, and a range of mind-bending concepts. In this deep dive, we’re sharing behind-the-scenes content from our cinematic, in-development images and concepts to introduce how the story came to life, and spotlighting the settings and world of Psychic Detective Senna.

We’re always working on creating more original themes and skins, so please stay tuned for the next Wild Pass!

DREAMSCAPES

In this world, dreams and reality are opposite dimensions, and the barrier between the two has held firm against interference. But now, with that protection infiltrated, psychic criminals hide in dreams and manipulate the thoughts of victims, putting the land in turmoil.

Fortunately, an elite force of clairvoyants, the Psychic Detectives, are still trying to keep order. They are guardians of dreams, searching for clues on one side and enacting judgment from the other. Among them is a powerful individual who has mastered her telepathic powers above all others: Senna.

After a terrible accident trapped her mind in the Realm of the Sleeping, Senna triumphed over the forces in her psyche, waking with unique abilities. Now, as an invaluable officer of the psychic police, she does battle with the inner demons of a dangerous rogue faction.

She believes good can only be rewarded by punishing evil.

THEME AND INSPIRATION

After rounds of discussions and iterations on a theme, we decided to introduce the world of Dreamscapes to players through a story-driven cinematic.

Our dreams are vast canvases, part-real and part-unreal, sometimes appearing fragmented with representations of loss and self-redemption. Dreams are also important literary and cinematic devices, with elements of absurdity and uncertainty. To echo this, the cinematic does not clearly reveal the aims of diving into the victim’s mind. So in the final frame, the silhouette of the detective’s adversary, the “Dream Raider,” would reveal more of their motive.

In the real world, detectives are well-known figures with distinctive characteristics. They are sharp-witted, cool-minded, and sometimes escapists who act as the last resort for the good guys. Plus, they often dress, talk, and act differently than regular folks. As detectives are prone to use any method to deduce the truth, this provided a powerful reason for the champion to traverse dreams.

Naturally, traditional deductions are hard to realize in a psychic setting: there are no “crimes” to solve in the dreamscapes, because there are no rules—so the crime “scenes” are fragments of the victims’ minds.

One way to visually represent the detective unraveling the truth was to directly find clues in an ever-changing maze! We thought solving a “dream maze” was very close to a traditional detective process, and it can also show the twists and turns of a nightmare—we felt it was a good way to solidly connect these concepts together.

After confirming the core truths for our protagonist and the power source, the last question was where they should live. We were inspired by the creative worlds you can find in the cyberpunk and film noir genres, featuring advanced technology and solving crimes.

Then placing our champ into this kind of exaggerated world would be easy for us to deliver the visuals to players in a trendsetting and fashionable way.

SELECTING SENNA

The skin’s core identity was set: A detective that traverses dreams and reality.

At the beginning of the design phase, we thought that this new skin had an opportunity to overlap with the core canon of whichever champ we chose, so we had to be careful and deliberate with our selection.

Senna was the most obvious choice for us. First of all, Senna already has a stylish base look, and like the role of the psychic police, her Relic Cannon not only deals damage but also heals. In her backstory she has both the power of light and darkness, and this trope is a great parallel for dreams and reality. So, it was time to flesh out Senna’s new visual identity!

DESIGNING PSYCHIC DETECTIVE SENNA

Some of the most famous detective stories feature British influence in literature. So in terms of clothing, we referenced the suit style of the Victorian era in the 19th century, which looks simple and sleek, if worn by a reserved gentleman.

After confirming the general design, the next step was the color palette. Yellow was chosen as a primary color—in some ways to reference traditional wool clothing in British fashion. We also liked the nod to sunlight to represent Senna’s honorable allegiance, but with a hint of “warning” as seen in signs and crime scenes. So, yellow was chosen as her primary VFX and ability color.

Second, in keeping with her role in the world, clothing should be subtle and not be over-exaggerated; thus gray, brown, black and white are featured as primary colors, with analogous colors to yellow (like her light pink hair and orange glasses) as accents. At the same time, we refined yellow to a gold for decoration to amp up the style. If you look closely, you can see a hook-and-eye latch on the coat to add a smidgen of rebellion.

Lastly, the pendant on Senna's chest was replaced with a pocket watch, strengthening her identity as a Psychic Detective. With all these changes combined, we landed on a design we hope is appealing and unique among the roster.

To further highlight Senna’s powers, we created new VFX for her abilities. First, the Mist Wraiths produced by her passive are replaced by puzzle pieces! In the concept phase, we also tried footprints and keys, but a puzzle fits the atmosphere of fragmented dreams, and provides a unique sense of collection: Senna can deduce the culprit when she’s finished the puzzle in its entirety.

As for her third ability, Curse of the Black Mist, in order to match the skin design but retain her gameplay clarity, we designed a brand new special effect for her. We recreated the collection page animation’s cityscape, matching the sense of camouflage and emergence. It is important to note that enemies will also display the open or closed eyes symbol above their heads depending on their status. Lastly, when Senna dives into the dream, we designed a warning circle surrounding her mist to make sure enemies know she’s dangerous.

We added many designs that we haven’t attempted in Wild Rift yet. For example, ability VFX based on flattened silhouettes and ornaments combining warning lines and hypnosis, all servicing the theme of Psychic Detectives.

You may have noticed in Senna’s recall that she restores a crime scene, but there’s also something else if you’re investigating closely enough… A small mask has been found among a pile of stones. What could it mean? Well… not all the secrets have been uncovered just yet.

As the first skin in the Dreamscapes universe, a brand new world has opened and more mysteries may still emerge. Are you curious to learn more? If you have the skills, the Psychic Detectives welcome all new applicants.