Editor's note: Mods are what make PC gaming great (I dearly wish that console gamers could join in on the mod fun). I love how some mods reinvent the games they're modding. Brenton says that mods aren't just fun -- they bring innovations to gaming. Do you agree? -Jason

The best thing to happen to gaming in the past 10 years is turning mods into games. OK, this may not the best thing, but this phenomenon is among the top advances made in gaming in the last decade.

From the movement that Counter-Strike started to games inspired by Warcraft 3 mod Defense Of The Ancients, mods certainly garner a large enough audience to result in retail games. And my lord, are these games good.

I recently became obsessed with the DOTA-inspired League of Legends: Clash of Fates, so much so that I set Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the shelf. I've been playing LOL since the closed beta, and I'm still enjoying the awesome gameplay. I've followed DOTA since my days of playing Warcraft 3, but I really wasn't a devoted DOTA player.

I wanted to play DOTA, but I couldn't get into the complex system (80-plus heroes?!). The first question that veteran players ask about League of Legends is what makes this different from DOTA. And the answer is almost nothing, and that's the best thing about it. By turning DOTA into a free-to-play game (or disc game if you want to buy the extra items in the store), LOL brings the mod to more players. It also helps ease you into the game a little bit more with help on item buying and an in-game tutorial.

Is this game better than the mod it's based on? That's to say. It has better visuals and a new art style, but it still feels like the old game. Will it inspire people to change from their old DOTA habits? Probably not, but the reason that makes this game great is that it brings awesome gameplay to new audiences.

Counter-Strike: Source is also a big part of my gaming habit. It's the one game that I constantly go back. I'll polish off some single-player game and immediately head back to the crowded servers. And considering that Counter-Strike is a 10-year-old game, it's remarkable that the servers are still crowded.

Of course, I'm not even playing the premier model of this game. Since Counter-Strike's humble beginnings as a Half-Life mod, it's spawned three different versions: Counter Strike (or 1.6 as many call it), Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, and Counter Strike-Source. Version 1.6 has likely spawned the biggest following of pro-gaming culture.

Millions of people play this game professionally year round. And this is all based off not the publisher's original idea but a modder's idea. Adapting this mod into a game is probably the best thing Sierra Entertainment ever did. The power of this original mod is as far-reaching as any video game out there.

These are not the only games that have come from mods. Team Fortress 2 and Demigod are fine examples of this type of game. All these mods have created great games that distribute great ideas to more than just a dedicated fanbase. These original ideas from modern gamers help push the industry in the right direction with new innovations to already proven gameplay. So to all you computer modders -- I salute you.