Vince Reid’s interests in gaming led him to explore conversations related to approaches to game design.

I’ve never played an MMO for more than a few months, but I’ve played League for almost two years now. I’ve somehow avoided the moment when I realize that the game I’m playing has grown stale and repetitive. Why is this? I’m not the only one. I know that since I’ve started playing, League’s playerbase has grown at a tremendous rate. So what about League makes us want to play yet another match? I don’t believe that it’s the players or at least not just the players. I’ve played WoW and Aion with some of the same people I now play League with, and their presence only delayed my departure from those snooze fests. Maybe I like League because it’s free. I always disliked when I had to pay $50 just to get the game and then had to pay $15 for a monthly subscription. But League isn’t entirely free either. League has an in-game store, and I’ve definitely spent more than $50 in it. Maybe, instead of looking at just one thing, I should look at League from several angles. What do I like most about the game? The regular updates, the professional tournaments, or the simple fact that I can win?

Vince used the results of his freewriting to direct his attention to discussions about how the game he had been playing, League of Legends, had succeeded in keeping players’ interest. The discussions he found in blogs and on Web sites led him to learn more about the decisions made by the designers of the game and why they kept the game interesting.