Julian Samal

Director of Voice-Over & Narrative Design

As the head of Dialogue, Voice, & Narrative Design at Riot Games overseeing League Studio, I lead a large central service group of diverse creatives for four live games in the League ecosystem and toolset:

As the director of this group, I collaborate closely with Art, Design, Creative, and Product leaders across Riot to translate the vision into powerful, memorable moments that tangibly move the story of Runeterra forward through numerous creative mediums and vehicles of character expression. Some of these include:

  • Crafting powerful seasonal story moments with spellbinding conclusions that bring players together to celebrate their favorite characters

  • Bringing new original characters to life through casting, direction, and design

  • Large tentpole seasonal beats with a focus on fun and fandom

  • Crafting alternate universes where our iconic characters are reimagined as KPop stars, cyborgs, and everything in between

  • In-game adaptation of TV, film, and other linear media (i.e. Arcane)

  • Esports events, cross-overs, and World Finals

  • Premium skins and other cosmetic content

  • Minigames, metagames, and fundamentally new game modes

  • In game text, item naming, client content, and NPC dialogue

  • Comics and motion comics

Part 1: Overview of League Studio Dialogue

Part 3: Crafting an Iconic Voice Identity Through Processing

Part 2: VO Best Practices for a Competitive MOBA

If you’re interested in a deep dive into the end-to-end philosophies and processes I employ in leading the dialogue vision and strategy for the League of Legends family of games, check on this series I put together for Riot’s official channels.

Part 4: Building Bespoke Tech Features