DotA: Why is it so popular?

Well, this is something I've been meaning to do for quite some time. Finally gotten around to actually doing it.

Yay *confetti*

I've been scratching my head and wondering, what would be an appropriate game to have the honor of gracing the first ever post in this blog?

And finally, I got it. The one game that I've been playing almost continuously since 2004.

DotA!! Aka Defense of the Ancients.

Ignore the 2. And the Valve sign. And it says DOTA!

Now I won't bore you with the details of the history of DotA. So here's a link instead:

Dota Development history in Wikipedia

DotA pretty much started an entire genre by itself: Hero Defense, Action RTS or something. I think most gamers haven't really gotten around to giving it an official genre name. Perhaps its name will suffice as a genre name?

It's hard to estimate how many DotA players there are out there. But frankly, it has to be at least in the MILLIONS. Hell, it's probably one of the main reason, if not the only, that Warcraft III is still being played today. Just. For. DotA. Can you imagine that?

So why is it so popular? What makes it so engaging that everyone (Blizzard, Valve, Heroes of Newerth etc) wants a piece of the glory that is DotA?

Well. It's fun. Duh. 

Ok, so its more than just that, but it is not easy to pinpoint the exact reasons that makes it one of the current top dogs in gaming. But lets try shall we?

Unpredictable, intense gameplay

104 heroes, hundreds of items, at least 400 different skills. Two teams of 10 players. In one game.

And one giant pissed-off purple golem.

No two matches will ever be the same. And the outcome, extremely unpredictable. If both teams are evenly matched, then it is even more intense. 

Find a small opening in their strategy and positioning...
Wait for one small mistake from the other team...

Setting a plan...

And when it all comes together, and BAM!! VICTORY!!

I love it when a plan comes together

Victory is especially the sweeter when you and your friends were on the losing end, and manage to flip the game around and emerge victorious instead. Oh yea...


All my friends play it!! :D

Ok, so this is more of a reason for myself. But, honestly, I won't be surprised that a large number of veteran players started off playing DotA for this reason. If you had a lot of friends playing the same game, and they're always talking about the games they had, won't you be tempted to try it too?

But, having experienced friends who play DotA as well is a major bonus in another unexpected way for new players: It lessens the pressure on you (assuming your friends aren't assholes)

DotA has a very high entry level and is very demanding when it comes to gameplay skills, which I admit, after years of playing, I just take for granted: Last hitting, Denying, Ganking, Jungling, Orb Walking, Warding. This is just a small list of miscellaneous skills that DotA players do in-game all the time, sometimes without even thinking about it. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then this is your fellow veteran DotA players can help out with.

But help you I must. If win I want.

In-game, most people won't really teach you how to play the game. Hell, you'll be lucky enough that they have the time to teach you properly. If your friends are nice enough to bring you into the game, then they will be nice enough to actually give you a DotA 101 (once again, assuming your friends aren't assholes). It also makes teamwork a lot easier to coordinate and communicate as well.

And, after every game, you and your bunch of DotA buddies can talk excitedly, or depressingly depending on the performance, about the games you just had. This is another opportunity to learn as they point out what you could do better, or what mistakes you made during the game (assuming they are not asswipes, and if they didn't do any of the three for you, then you need new friends).

And with good memories, this actually helps to strengthen friendships. Heck, I actually made quite a number of friends through playing DotA, and with multiple sessions, actually became quite close with them. 

I think I went off-track somewhere there. *points to a random location in the southeastern direction*

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Whoa, this post was a hell lot longer than I thought. I guess I did have quite abit to write about after all. So, that's my two cents on DotA for now. If I can think of anymore, well...You'll read it here (update: and I did think of something new...)

Adios kids.

CHICKEN!!!!