Travis DeSimone.
Corsair.
If anyone reads this section, then they know that I am a big fan of alternative business models in the world of multimedia. Whether it be micro transactions for a movie that circumvent the big publishers, or a band releasing their album on a “pay what you like” model, I am a big fan of new trends in digital distribution. It is free to play with the option to purchase purely cosmetic effects. This is one of the things that first drew me into League of Legends.
League of Legends is a MOBA ( multiplayer online battle arena ) in which teams of 5 players choose a character with a set of skills and battle each other in order to advance to the enemies base and destroy it. The game may seem simple from the description but it is extremely complicated. Minions are destroyed to earn gold, to build items, to kill other players harder. While you are doing this you are constantly fighting the enemy team as you all try to advance down the main maps three lanes, trying to destroy enemy towers and kill neutral monsters to gain buffs.
LoL came from several developers of Warcraft III and the Beta came out in 2008. LoL has been released on a worldwide scale and has a large and healthy international community. On top of all this, people play LoL professionally, earning tens of thousands of dollars at tournaments. With inventive gameplay and fun champion design LoL might just be the best online game available, definitely the best free game.