TL Bootcamp Simulator

Welcome to the Team Liquid bootcamp!
Player Statistics
Meeting the players!
Bootcamp Day 2!
Event Menus
Congratulations! You're on the team!
The End

Inspiration

We have always wondered what it is like to be a candidate for Team Liquid and to meet all the various players. We tried to simulate that through our game. We added some health factors and unique scenarios to reflect the current COVID-19 situation.

What it does

TL Bootcamp Simulator is a visual novel game where players can play as a character who is trying out for the Team Liquid League of Legends team. They enter the Team Liquid Bootcamp and play through a series of days to try and increase their stats to make it on the team. There are several different endings depending on if the player makes it or not.

How I built it

We used Ren'Py to build and run the visual novel. Some people used Visual Studio Code for an IDE, others used Atom. Procreate was used to illustrate all the characters and background.

Challenges I ran into

One challenge was using imagebuttons in Ren'Py. We wanted to be able to click on each of the players and have them introduce themselves. However, we had trouble getting an "idle image" for the imagebutton and also calling a Python function through "action" that would change the dialogue window. We could not figure it out in time and ended up just coding in the player introductions so it would run without the player clicking on the people.

We had another idea to use the LiquipediaDB API. We thought it will be cool and unique if we parse the player most recent gameplay to simulate a more realistic VOD/gameplay options, where we provide real feedback based on the data. However, we ran into problems when attempting to incorporate Ren'Py along with the python modules. The dependicies and the required files were not copied over correctly and we could not figure out a valid solution.

Furthermore, the LiquidAPI itself doesn't provide any match specific data such as mouse clicks, KDA, gold earned, etc. We tried linking the liquidAPI with the RiotAPI to get these required information, but in the end, due to the combability issue with Ren'Py and time constraint, we decided to stir away from the liquidDB and focused on improving the game.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

We managed to complete top goal: a simple yet complete game that looks forward to simulate the candidate process of team Liquid. While the LiquidDB did not end up as a part of our project, we were able to gain more experience regarding project design and API usage.

Most of all, we captured some important essences of Team Liquid's team. We are proud to have accomplished such a cute and fun game in such a short amount of time!

What I learned

Overall, it was the first time implementing a visual novel for everyone on our team as well as using Ren'Py to implement it. The learning curve was tough, but the process was fun and a valuable learning experience.

Kate: I learned how to build a visual novel for the first time. Now, I better understand the process of how to build one for the future.Through this, I was able to learn more about Python's variables and commands and also how to use Renpy and Atom for an IDE. This was a fun project to learn and build with the team.

Henry: I gained some experience using Ren'Py and game development. It was also enjoyable to have artwork incorporated incorporate artwork and game mechanic into the project since the majority of my academic and work projects involved purely backend. Also, I learned to better use API and learned to test for software dependencies before building.

Nicole: It was cool to learn how to use Ren'Py. It's amazing what you can make just through coding and creativity. It was fun to illustrate all of the characters and background and a valuable experience overall.

Long: I learned a lot about what it takes to create a visual novel. I additionally learned how to use LiquipediaDB API and how to implement it in future projects. This was a fun experience!

What's next for TL Bootcamp Simulator

In the future, we hope to incorporate LiquidDB to better simulate the training experience for the candidate. For example, for the VOD option it will be fun if we can provide actual data and feedback to the player. We are also thinking to make it more realistic to the actual Team Liquid Bootcamp.

Currently, the only game option is League of Legends since this is the team we are most familiar with. In the future, we plan on adding more teams and events better incorporate the candidacy process for each team. If we solve the issue regarding Ren'Py and python modules, we will be able to fully utilize LiquipediaDB API to parse player information and even gain information on other teams

Adding sound and more artwork to reflect the scenario. Currently there are no audio. The map page also does not have dynamic buttons for options. Stats are also displayed in a text format. In the future, we hope to provide artwork related to these topics.

Adding unique mechanics and scenes. Right now, some "unique mechanics" involve increasing your friendship with a player and hope they are able to vouch for you when you join the team. Later on, it would be cool to actually implement the clickable player introduction and have it all on one scene rather than spanning across multiple. We believe we can further develop the game and introduce more mechanics regarding the health, stamina, and gameplay stat.