Well, Co* is a prime example of emergent play, in my opinion. From the day it was released, players have been going off on different paths, doing things Cryptic never expected, intended or imagined. Costume contests. Badge hunting. Market manipulation/finance building through the market. PDP/Pocket D RP socialization. Archetype bending. Proc monster/buzzsaw builds. Self-imposed restrictions such as playing without travel powers, deleting a character if X happens, beating the Hamidon under certain conditions (as few players as possible, for instance). Some approaches were deemed incompatible with the long-term health of the game, like dumpster diving, but overall, throughout the years, both Cryptic and Paragon (and now HC) went the extra mile to broaden and strengthen the emergent model. When they saw a new avenue of play coming into focus, they typically embraced it. They listened, watched and supported what we were doing, and tried to give us as many ways to play Co* as there are people playing it. I may never comprehend the emotional context which constitutes fun, but I can recognize when something's amazing, and this game, the way the developers have always channeled it to support emergent game play, is definitely amazing.
I'll also note that what we have today wouldn't exist if Blizzard's approach had become the norm earlier than it did. It's clear, in retrospect, that that is why the game was ultimately shut down by the publisher, it simply didn't fit with the new paradigm and it couldn't be shoehorned into it, no matter what they tried (the last few Issues before the blip indicate that they did try). I wouldn't have come to that realization if it weren't for your comments, so thank you for giving me another opportunity to learn and grow.