DotA: Why is it so popular? Part 2

And we're back again, on the topic of the popularity of DotA and the reasons behind it.

From my last post, I covered two points: the sheer variety and intensity of the game itself; and the fact that there are a lot of people playing it, which would probably include a few of your gamer friends.

But, somehow, I feel that was just scratching the surface of the issue.

Fluffy kitteh interval!

I believe that to get to one of the core reasons for DotA's popularity, we need to go back to its early development history.

It is generally acknowledged that DotA is basically a spiritual successor to Aeon of Strife. Aeon of Strife started in Starcraft, and later made the jump to Warcraft III. But, Warcraft III's version was most likely much more popular, as Warcraft III itself has actual Hero units with RPG elements, which meant making an actual RPG would be easier. Who knew?

Now, this is the point where I believe made the game gain popularity.


The Jump

First, lets study the core games, in this case, Warcraft III. Players who play Warcraft III will no doubt realise that the one thing that will set the pros apart from the norm is Micromanagement, a gameplay skill imported from Starcraft.

Micromanagement in this case basically refers to a players ability to directly control the actions of your units, controlling their every movement, who they are attacking, when to use their abilities etc etc.

Starcraft is much more popular, or infamous depending on your opinion, for this actually (and ascends to godlike levels in competitive gaming, as much as 300-400 actions per minute), but they both require micromanagement if you wanna be truly skilled at playing it.

By the time you finish reading this sentence, JulyZerg has micromanaged
200 Zerglings to give you a heart transplant. And a haircut.

But, the fact is Micromanagement in the -craft series is. Not. Easy. It requires players to be very specific with a few group of units, while managing resources and base building. A lot of players can't handle that amount of detailed work, and some player dislike doing a lot of detailed work on such a minor level.

Then comes along Aeon of Strife made by Eul in Warcraft III.

Random Gamer: Wait, controlling only one hero? Hell, that's easy. Let's do it!!

Aeon of Strife gave players a chance to play the heroes from the Ladder matches without having to worry about Micromanagement, nor base building, and instead, just concentrate on using their heroes to kill other heroes.

This simplifying of the game eventually garnered enough followers to lead into the development of Defense of the Ancients by Steve Feak (Guinsoo), then later, its development was taken over by IceFrog.

IceFrog seen here interacting and exchanging ideas with the man with a plan, Sokka.

Of course, later on, this would lead to DotA actually requiring players to have a different set of skills altogether in order to be considered a good player. But during its early days, it proved to be appealing to players on both sides of the Micromanagement issue (whether they were good or bad at it).

It presented a whole new gameplay concept to a game where being able to order your own units to dance around the enemies (literally) can bring you defeat or victory. It was, for its time, a much simpler alternative to hardcore strategy gaming.


The Birth and Evolution of a genre

Moreover, under Guinsoo and IceFrog, the game received constant updates from the developers, it ensured that the DotA , with each new version, will have some changes from its previous editions. 

Seriously, if you can, boot up DotA Allstars v5.84c (the map version that I started playing DotA with), and compare it with the current map, DotA v.6.72f. The difference is astounding, its almost like two different games altogether.

Like how Katie Holmes transforms into Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Dark Knight.

As long as the updates kept coming at a steady rate, players always have something to look forward to. With that promise, this ensures that the game will not become stagnant and boring, something that a lot of games are unable to get out of and is a major threat to a game's longevity, especially those heavily focused on multiplayer elements.

Major changes come with every few versions, such as major hero revamps, new heroes/items/recipes and, new mechanics; and this can potentially changes the way DotA is played entirely. Players then have to come up with whole new strategies and gameplay styles to adjust to the new changes.

Furthermore, the game has a huge active community, where players can present new ideas and talk about strategies; at the same time, the development team can interact with their fanbase and deliver the things that fans want. This is a relationship that very few big name gaming companies (Valve, Blizzard to name a few) actually have.

That is how DotA survives and grows exponentially: with a decent starting community, word spreads, it brings in more players, and those new players bring in newer ones. It's a snowball effect. Heck, even non-gamers would have heard of DotA , thats how popular it is.

When Starcraft 2 came out with an even more advanced level editor, one of the top maps to be re-created using that engine is, you guessed it (If you didn't, dude, wtf do you think you've been reading up till now?): DotA . Everyone wants a piece of the glory, even Blizzard, eventhough Valve has already gotten IceFrog on board for DotA 2.

And with DotA 2 coming around the corner, the exposure to DotA will be greater than ever before.


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There is no doubt, that DotA is and will remain an influential factor in gaming history. It brought upon a whole new genre and helped to push the importance of a community-centered game to the gaming industry.

This is a short analysis of what I believe to be the reason for DotA 's rise to fame, it's a bit short I know, but hey, it's something no? This is mostly speaking from analysing my personal experience as a fellow DotA fan and a hardcore gamer.

DotA 2 is coming out sometime next year, I can't wait for it. Afterall, its the sequel to one of my most loved games of all time! There are other reasons too of course.

I wonder what it could be...

Till then, I take my leave, I hope my blog has entertained you. I have some n00bs to pawn.

Adios, kids.