Gameplay
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 original author of Defense of the Ancients was a mapmaker by the name of Eul. After the Warcraft III expansion The Frozen Throne was released, Eul did not update the map, instead choosing to make the code open for other developers, and so the original Defense of the Ancients' development split away from the development of DotA Allstars. Numerous variants were created based on the original, but Allstars became the de facto standard of the map.
Based on 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. With successive versions, features, heroes, items, abilities, and graphics are added or updated and bugs are fixed. For example, in version 6.48, Icefrog added a feature which automatically changes the terrain from grass to snow. Each release is accompanied with a changelog. On the DotA Allstars forum, users can post ideas for new heroes or items, some of which are added to the map; Icefrog recently added a new hero based on submissions for a "model-to-hero" contest on his site.
Gameplay
DotA pits two teams of players against each other. Each team has a base in an opposite corner of the map. The Sentinel players have their base at the bottom left corner of the map, while the Scourge players are based in the top right corner. The respective bases are defended by towers, present on the three primary lanes with respective individual levels, the first tower starting from the diagonal being the weakest to the towers flanking the "Ancients" being the strongest. In the heart of each base is the "Ancient", a building which must be destroyed in order to win the game. Teams fight against the enemy team as well as computer controlled units and defensive structures.
Each human player controls a single Hero; a powerful unit with unique abilities. In DotA Allstars, players choose one of ninety heroes available between the two teams, each with different spells, strengths, and tactical advantages over other heroes. DotA is very team-oriented; it is hard for one player to carry his or her team to victory single-handedly. Albeit, some heroes do exist who can, given a certain amount of time to level up and obtain the required items to accomplish this task, change the game single-handedly, while simultaneously countering all of the opposing team's 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 or skills. 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 hero pick), allowing for even more flexible game options.
Recognition and popularity
DotA has experienced increasing popularity over time. The game was featured by Computer Gaming World in a review of new maps and mods in Warcraft III, and has been called "the ultimate RTS". 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. The gametype is now included in the game lineup for the internationally-recognized Cyberathlete Amateur League and CyberEvolution leagues. DotA is also slated to appear in ESWC 2008, one of the most prestigious gaming events in electronic sports. LAN tournaments are a major part of competitive DotA play around the world, including Dreamhack in Sweden and ASUS in Russia; due to a lack of LAN tournaments and championships in North America, several DotA teams have since disbanded.
The game has become a hit in many parts of the world, especially in the Philippines and Thailand, where it has 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. The popularity of the song led to a rise in coverage of the game, with non-gaming European publications writing stories about the gametype. Fans also created the artwork displayed while the map is loading.
