Assume the role of an unseen 'summoner' that controls a 'champion' with unique abilities and battle against a team of other players or computer-controlled champions in the immensely popular multiplayer online battle arena League of Legends.
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The Chronokeeper's name isn't some deep lore riddle, it's a nod to Tom "Zileas" Cadwell, one of Riot's early design directors. He'd previously worked on Warcraft III and World of Warcraft over at Blizzard before helping shape League's champion roster, so the studio basically named a time-bending sand wizard after their own guy.
Fiora's whole fighting style borrows from Fiore dei Liberi, an actual Italian fencing master from the 1400s whose illustrated combat manuscripts are still studied today. Riot didn't just steal the technique either, they basically kept his name too, just swapped a letter.
Look at Tristana's cannon-arm and tell me you don't see it. The little blue-tinged buster shot she fires is a pretty blatant wink at Mega Man's arm cannon, right down to the shape of the blast. Riot's never made a huge deal of it, but once you notice it you can't unsee it.
Most people hit the victory screen and alt-tab out immediately, which means they miss this one. Stick around on the Howling Abyss for about thirty seconds after a win and Lissandra herself chimes in with a bit of frosty, aristocratic narration about the three sisters. It's a small touch, but it's the kind of thing that makes the map feel less like a leftover and more like its own little story.
Before League had hundreds of champions, it had four. The mad chemist Singed launched alongside Annie, Sion, and Sivir as part of the original roster, which is a funny thing to think about now that flinging poison in a straight line and running away is still a viable strategy over a decade later.
Senior animator Mike Laygo, who'd previously worked on Lord of the Rings games, has said Aatrox's movement was directly inspired by Balrog and Sauron. It shows too, that same hulking, wing-dragging menace you get from the Balrog in the mines of Moria is baked right into the way Aatrox carries himself.
Poros are already the most beloved thing Riot has ever made, but there's a bonus if you're playing Braum. Keep feeding your Poro-Snax to the same little critter and it eventually sprouts a big black moustache to match its owner. Purely cosmetic, completely unnecessary, and somehow one of the most-loved details in the game.
Karen Strassman voices Zyra, Cassiopeia, Fiora, Shyvana, and Elise, five champions who otherwise have almost nothing in common. She's also done plenty of anime voice work on shows like Gurren Lagann and Code Geass, so if any of them sounded oddly familiar, that's why.
According to esports commentator Leigh Smith, the foley team got genuinely gross to nail Zac's wet, gooey sound effects, apparently mixing dog food and beans inside a condom and slapping it against a wall. Disgusting process, but you have to admit the end result sounds exactly right for a living pile of toxic slime.
Dig into the Journal of Justice and you'll find out Blitzcrank isn't just a giant golden robot punching people into the stratosphere, he also runs a chain of magic cafes on the side. The pitch is "Fleshling Compatibility Services," which is Runeterra's oddly clinical way of describing a matchmaking business for champions.
