League of Legends, like any game, has a number of hidden easter eggs and surprises waiting for the most inquisitive players to discover. Interestingly enough, a lot of these easter eggs are hidden in plain sight. For example, Zilean is named for the game’s design director, Tom Cadwell, who goes by “Zileas’, an old screenname of his. Cadwell’s claim to fame is a science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, credits on Blizzard’s Warcraft III: Reign of Fire and Warcraft III: Frozen Throne, as well as World of Warcraft by the same developer. An impressive resume to say the least, and it’s no wonder he’s been included as a bonus in the game.
Fiora, a champ in the game, is inspired by the famous European sword master Fiore dei Liberi. Liberi is one of the few masters of western swordsmanship whose works have been preserved. We don’t know a lot about the history of European martial arts thanks to the early invention of gunpowder, but the fencing techniques of Liberi have survived throughout the ages thanks to preservation by Renaissance scholars. The prolific historical figure is subtly referenced in League of Legends with a champion bearing a name similar to his own first name.
If you grew up in the 1990s, you no doubt played either Mega Man or Mega Man X games on the NES, SNES, Playstation, or any other console. Tristana uses a weapon known as the Buster Shot in League, and this is obviously a reference to the Buster Shot utilized by Mega Man throughout the franchise. A great tribute to one of the best video game heroes of yesteryear. Mega Man’s franchise has befallen an unfortunate fate due to the incompetence of Capcom and the departure of series creator Keiji Inafune in recent years.
In terms of hidden secrets within the game itself, hang around for about 30 seconds after winning Howling Abyss and you will be greeted by the icy voice of Lissandra, who will explain a little bit of backstory. Great flavor for an awesome map! It’s great when the developers integrate more lore into the game by adding these kinds of moments, and I hope that we see more similar content in the game in the future, although the main priority of the developers definitely seems to be keeping everything balanced.
Some of the first champions designed to be featured in the game include Annie, Sivir, Sion, and Singed. They were the earliest-designed champions to be used in the early concept design for League of Legends and they have remained a steadfast part of the roster ever since. Suffice it to say, a lot of champions have been added to the count between then and now, but we’ll always keep the originals close to our hearts (except Teemo, because he’s an annoying PoS.)
