Unless you've been living in the Dalaran sewers, you've probably heard about a little game called League of Legends by Riot Games. What many folks don't seem to realize, however, is that its gameplay is based on an old Warcraft 3 mod called "Defense of the Ancients."  DotA, as it was called, nearly single-handedly popularized the multi-player online battle arena (MOBA) genre, and the rest is history.

League of Legends received its first major content update last week, dubbed "Season One," introducing some  long-awaited gameplay modes, new artwork, a revamped website and a new Champion. The most popular features of Season One are the new competitive gameplay modes; ranked games and "draft mode," both of which allow players to compete for prizes totaling more than $100,000 by the season's end. Players will then have the chance to qualify for the grand finals by competing in a circuit of local, online, and global events, according to developer Riot Games' official Season One announcement page.

This week ZAM interviews Marc Merrill, co-founder and president of Riot Games, to find out more about League of Legends' first major content update. In the following Q&A, we ask Merrill about the overall structure of Season One and learn about the new, competitive gameplay modes. Merrill explains the differences between "normal" and "ranked ladder" modes, and describes the fan-requested "live draft" mode in more detail. We also learn about the possible format of future seasons (will they follow the same model as Season One?) and find out what's included in the $100,000 prize package for future winners in the months to come. Read our full interview with Merrill after the jump, and check out ZAM's League of Legends portal site for more news and game information!