Through playtesting, I realized how important animations and visuals are for a game like this. Most of the games I've made in the past are basically walking simulators, so I'm used to the environment being one of the most impactful parts of the game. When taking on the challenge of making a more mechanical game like this, I didn't initially expect visuals to have as much importance. After getting some feedback, it really confirms how much more life the game has when the player has something interesting to look at, as well as it helping to inform the player of more information.

As for changes I'm planning on making as a result of playtesting, I initially planned on just graying-out the buttons so the player knows when their abilities are on or off of cooldowns. However, I've realized that may not be enough information for the player, so while I haven't been able to fully implement it in this iteration, I plan on adding a cooldown bar or possibly a countdown near or on top of each ability so the player receives more information on how long they have to wait before getting their abilities back, instead of blindly having no idea of whether they have to wait 30 or 2 seconds to get their ability back.

Upon further thought, when taking note of all the UI elements I'm planning on implementing, if I do have time to add a visual cooldown to the abilities, I think I would go with a transparent overlay that slowly fills up (or down) over each ability, rather than a number or percentage nearby, as this might be distracting to have so many numbers on the screen in so many places. I think a simple bar would be a lot cleaner, and fit the overall aesthetic well, without adding too much unnecessary information to the player.

I wish I could have gotten more progress done on this art build, but I significantly underestimated how long it would take to produce each frame for each animation. I suppose I could make them less detailed, but this game is a way to showcase my art skills, so I'd prefer to not have to sacrifice the quality of the art.

So far, this obviously isn't finished, but this is a preview for how the animations will work. These are only just sketches--which is why she isn't wearing any armor, doesn't currently have any hair or a face, and is only in black and white--and I'm planning on creating more animations, one for each ability, as well as effects (such as being stunned, dying, etc.) for both Kayle and Morgana. Once I have all of these as sketched-out versions, I plan on going back through them all and adding color and details to each frame.