In a time when the title was barely known, more than 10,000 people started playing League of Legends thanks to it. TotalBiscuit was one of the most prominent content creators in the history of Riot Games’ video game. A legend of YouTube with over three thousand videos uploaded to his channel dedicated dozens of hours to spreading what has become one of the most successful games of all time. He was also involved in one of the first image crises that the developer suffered. An unfulfilled promise for years led to a falling out with the company until, finally, he was able to have his way turning an unpleasant story into a dream come true.
A fundamental content creator for the history of League of Legends
After some time uploading content to his channel about games like World of Warcraft or Starcraft 2, TotalBiscuit posted his first video about the MOBA of Riot Games. It was simply titled “WTF is League of Legends?” and it was about explaining how the game worked and sharing some impressions with the community. It was a hit and now, as we are about to celebrate fourteen years since it was uploaded to the internet, it has accumulated over 3.5 million views. It is a magnificent document –and there are not many– about what the game was like when this YouTuber discovered it. Back then, Season 1 had not even become a reality yet.
During that time, as part of the promotion efforts for League of Legends, Riot Games had included a referral system in the game. Those who invited friends or got other players to start in the title could receive rewards. Most of them were related to the video game. Some currency to buy skins, advantages to progress faster and unlock champions or special cosmetics. However, there were two particularly interesting rewards. One, for recruiting 5,000 players, was to name an item. The other, for doing the same with 10,000 users, was a paid trip to Riot Games offices to design a champion with the team.
This is what League of Legends looked like when TotalBiscuit uploaded his first video. Do you notice how the in-game chat looked back then?
Knowing the success of the aforementioned TotalBiscuit video, it will not surprise you to learn that he was one of the few people in the world to reach over 10,000 referrals. Thus, an item was named in his honor as a reward for 5,000. They became the Rejuvenation Biscuits (Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation). The problem was that Riot Games refused to offer him the second reward. Although he had earned the right to a paid trip to the company’s offices and to design a champion concept –which may or may not make it into the game– alongside the developers, the company did not want to reward him. It was simply a false promise created with the idea that no one would ever actually reach that goal.
It is important to note that at that time, creating content on the internet was barely a factor that companies took into account. We were in the early days of YouTube, when there was still debate about whether it was ethical to make money with videos. Although it is unjustifiable, knowing this fact makes it easier to understand why the developer may have invented a prize that they had no intention of distributing. In any case, the situation led to a confrontation that grew in intensity over time and in which Riot Games abused its power. “They filed a copyright claim and threatened legal action (…) The reason was ‘intellectual property theft’ because I had videos of a minute and a half [showing new skins] without commentary,” the creator explained.
Medieval Twitch, now available as a reward for reaching Honor 5, was one of the referral system rewards.
It took more than two years of confrontation until the League of Legends officials made a 180-degree turn. The developer issued a statement apologizing for the issues related to the referral system and promised an immediate change in attitude. “Riot Games has finally recognized, after several years, that I did not receive my reward for the 10,000 referrals. Good for them (…) I really appreciate that they are willing to acknowledge it, that’s all I wanted,” he explained. The problem that arose then was that he was no longer as involved with the game and did not feel like receiving the prize. However, with great evils come great solutions.
TotalBiscuit had been diagnosed with cancer shortly before Riot Games rectified. A situation that probably helped him come up with the idea. “Considering that I am not as interested in the game anymore, I will talk to them to see if we can donate the prize to Make a Wish or something like that,” he explained. The developers allowed him to do so, and thus both the creator and the company collaborated again towards a common goal: to enable a sick young person (this NGO is dedicated to fulfilling the wishes of children and adolescents with life-threatening illnesses) to work with the developer to create the champion of their dreams. Something that did indeed happen in 2016. “The referral saga has ended happily”, the content creator said.
Riot Games has collaborated on several occasions with Make a Wish. Among them, the creation of Dark Star Cho’Gath stands out.
Sam, the League of Legends fan who received the prize donated by TotalBiscuit, worked closely with Riot Games to create a character named Kadarin. We have never seen an image of this hero, but we do know some of his characteristics. He was a marksman based on a space bounty hunter in the style of Boba Fett who had a overheating mechanic similar to Rumble’s. Speculation, with some sense considering gameplay, suggests that the idea led to the creation of Jhin in the future. It may not be obvious, but when we think about it, the rule of the four basics that characterizes this hero is very similar to the restrictive mechanic of the mech pilot.
Sadly, TotalBiscuit passed away in 2018 after experiencing metastasis that affected his liver and lung. Just a few months earlier, Riot Games renamed his League of Legends item. The item became known in English as “Total Biscuit of Immortal Will,” something like “TotalBiscuit of Eternal Will” if we opt for a literal translation to Spanish. It was a nice gesture that marked the developer’s change and, above all, served to pay tribute to an essential content creator in understanding video games. Although we are only talking about his relationship with LoL here, that is just a small percentage of everything created by a person who, five years after his death, is still remembered as one of the most emblematic figures in the industry.
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