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Defense of the Ancients (often referred to as DotA) is a custom map for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, based on the "Aeon of Strife" map for the Blizzard title Starcraft. It is a team strategy game focused on hero combat. The objective is to destroy the opponents' base using one's own Hero along with allied heroes and allied AI-controlled fighters called "creeps". Sharing concepts with role playing games, the player levels up their hero and uses gold to buy equipment in an effort to best the opposing team.
The map was developed with the World Editor of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, but was updated upon the release of The Frozen Throne. While there have been many different variations on the original concept, the most popular version at tournaments is DotA Allstars, which has been maintained by several authors over the course of its development. Since its release, Allstars has become a feature at several worldwide tournaments, including Blizzard Entertainment's Blizzcon and the Asian World Cyber Games, as well as the Cyberathlete Amateur and CyberEvolution leagues.
History and development
The author of the original Defense of the Etits eventually stopped development of the map, but not before making the source open for other developers. Numerous variants were created based on the original, but Allstars became the de facto standard of the map.
Based off the original map, Allstars was developed by an author under the alias Guinsoo; with the release of the 6.x version of Allstars another developer named IceFrog took up development. IceFrog is now the main programmer for the map, doing anything from implementation and balancing to debugging. With successive versions, features, heroes, items, abilities, and graphics are added or updated and bugs are fixed. On the DotA Allstars forum, users can post ideas for new heroes or items, some of which are added to the map.
In the more recent versions of DotA Allstars, AI versions have been released for the official stable maps. Although normally DotA is meant to be played between human players, AI scripts have been written to allow the computer to control heroes. Its purpose is to help human players train and to improve their skills. The AI versions are available for download on the main DotA Allstars download page. AI releases, as they are not authored by Icefrog, are sporadic.
Gameplay
DotA pits two teams of players against each other. Each team has a base in opposite corners of the map, which is defended by towers. In the heart of each base is the "Ancient", a building which must be destroyed in order to win the game. Thus, teams fight against the enemy team as well as computer controlled units and defensive structures.
Each human player controls a single Hero, which is a powerful unit with unique abilities. In Allstars, players choose one of eighty-eight heroes available between the two teams, each which have different spells, strengths, and tactical advantages over other heroes. DotA allows for a maximum of ten players in a five versus five format and an additional two slots for referees or observers, and games are usually played with even numbers of players on each side.
As gameplay revolves around the use of individual heroes, it does not require one to focus on resource management and base-building, which is common in traditional real-time strategy games. Instead players focus on strengthening their heroes. Killing computer-controlled creeps earns the player's experience, and when enough experience is accumulated the player gains a level. Leveling up improves the hero's toughness and the amount of damage it can inflict, as well as allowing players to upgrade their spells. In addition to accruing experience, players also manage a single resource, gold. The typical resource-gathering of Warcraft III is replaced by a combat-oriented money system; in addition to a small periodic gold income, heroes earn gold by killing creeps, base structures, and enemy heroes. With their gold, players buy items to strengthen their hero and gain additional abilities. Certain items can be combined along with 'recipes' to create more powerful items. Buying items to suit one's hero is an important tactical element of the game.
DotA Allstars offers a variety of game modes, which are selected by the game host at the beginning of the match. The game modes dictate whether people can choose their own hero or be assigned one randomly, as well as the difficulty of the game. Many game modes can be combined (for example, an easy difficulty level and a random pick), allowing for even more flexible game options.
Recognition and popularity
DotA has experienced increasing visibility and popularity. Blizzard officially recognized DotA Allstars as its first Spotlight Map entry in the Battle.net Hall of Fame, a recognition given to only six other maps in the Hall of Fame's history. The game was later featured by Computer Gaming World in a review of new maps and mods in Warcraft III. Allstars has also become recognized at tournaments, becoming an independent tournament item at the debut of Blizzard's BlizzCon convention in 2005. Dota Allstars was also featured in the Malaysia and Singapore World Cyber Games 2005, 2006, and the World Cyber Games Asian Championships 2006. DotA is now included in the game lineup for the internationally-recognized Cyberathlete Amateur League, and the CyberEvolution league.
The game has become a hit in many parts of the world, especially in the Philippines, where it has in some cases replaced Counter-Strike as the most-played game. It is also popular in Sweden and other Northern European countries, where the DotA-inspired song "Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA" by Swedish musician BassHunter reached the European 2006 charts at #116 and cracked the top ten Singles Charts in Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Fans also created the artwork displayed while the map is loading.
References
- ^ Tok, Kevin (2006-01-25). "Defense of the Ancients 101". gotfrag.com. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
- Tok, Kevin (2006-01-25). "Defense of the Ancients 101, Page 2". gotfrag.com. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
- ^ Lim, Marco. "Hey Now, You're an All-Star..." Starcade: Philstar.com's Official Gaming Site. Retrieved 2007-03-01.
- ^ Lodaya, Punit (2006-02-09). "DotA: AllStars Part 1: The Basics". techtree.com. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
- ^ Lim, Marco. "Hey Now, You're an All-Star... Pg. 2". Starcade: Philstar.com's Official Gaming Site. Retrieved 2007-03-01.
- King Feare (2007-06-28). "DotA AI F.A.Q." dota-allstars.com. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- "Frequently Asked Questions". dota-allstars.com. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
- "DotA-Allstars.com Hero Database". Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- Lodaya, Punit (2006-02-09). "DotA: AllStars Part 2: What Do I Do?". techtree.com. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
- "DotA-Allstars.com Items Database". dota-allstars.com. Retrieved 2007-03-01.
- Batchelder, Matthew (2006-06-12). "DotA Game Modes". Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- "Battle.net Hall of Fame". battle.net. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- CGW staff (2004-09-01). "WarCraft Maps Go Mod". mywire.com. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
- Blizzard (2005). "Blizzcon '05 Tournaments". blizzard.com. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- "About WCG Asian Championships". worldcybergames.com. 2006-08-05. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- "CyberEvolution - Warcraft 3: Defense of the Ancients - Series 1". cevolved.com. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- Lim, Marco. "Hey Now, You're an All-Star... Pg. 3". Starcade: Philstar.com's Official Gaming Site. Retrieved 2007-03-01.
- "Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA". norweigancharts.com. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- "Bass hunter - LOL <(^^,)>". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- Stanley, Lau (2006-08-27). "DOTA Loading Screen Wallpaper". Retrieved 2007-02-19.
- "DotA Allstars 6.36 Change Log". elliottback.com. 2006-10-25. Retrieved 2007-08-09.