..Meepo, Meepo, Meepo, Meepo and occasionally late to the party Meepo.
Don't worry, I haven't gone stir crazy. I've just been introduced to a game that has literally taken over my life, meaning that I've become - occasionally late to the party Meepo.
Gaming is not a new past-time. I started with the wonders of CoD4, progressing quickly into WoW circa WotLK. Having had a few other hits and misses along the way I had settled into running a large successful raiding guild and occasionally sniping my way through a BF3 map or two...
"Where are you....where are you....where are you....BOOM! Headshot!"
Running a guild is demanding, I'm the first point of call for any issues and have the responsibility of delegating to the officers. So, I was planning on spending our raid teams' summer break AFK. Until *drumroll* I got sent a DotA2 invite.
As I've already said, I am kinda a late-comer to the game. The original DotA being released in 2003 and its stand alone sequel having been out for eight weeks before I even took notice, although, it seemed longer due to how much time certain members of the raid team were dedicating to it :P.
DotA2 fits into the MOBA - or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena genre. Two teams of 5 each select their favourite hero, or more riskily let the game randomly select you one, from a pool of 102. Each hero has different skills, and requires different items to perform the role they set out to play.
The picture above shows ALL of the possible items, although in personal experience you only have enough time and gold to buy 4-6 of these.
It is a session based arena game, with each match lasting approximatley 30-60 minutes, although games have been known to be a long way either side of these margins. There is one arena, with The Radiant fighting upwards from the bottom left hand corner and The Dire coming from the top right hand corner, but due to the fact that there are 102 heroes and only ten in the match, no two games are ever the same.
The game ends when one team of heroes, alongside help from AI-controlled creeps destroys the other teams Ancient; a large structure sitting in the middle of their base. So, alongside destroying the opposing Ancient, you, as a team also need to defend yours......Defense of the Ancients....geddit?
Returning to roles, each hero is set out to perform one or two particular roles. The carry, for instance, carries the rest of the team by getting the most kills and therefore becoming more dangerous to his/her opponents, as with any good game, or even real-life (RL) situation, a carry is only as good as his support. Turning a long story short, teamwork is heavily depended upon, communication moreso, and if your hero fulfills the role they set out to be is essentially up to your team.
As with all good games, it has developed it's own sub language, cries of "push mid", "stop feeding, you're making him fat" or "ooh, crap, ulti, run!" have filled our VoIP server recently, much to the dismay of the non-DotA2 players. It is a language born of necessity, with words often being shortenend as there is an urgency to portray as much information as possible in the shortest possible time. Ulti = Ultimate Ability Incoming (i.e a shit-ton of damage or an unavoidable stun).
I'm not going to lie, it is a difficult game to master, it requires the knowledge of most if not all character abilities, and the varying effects buying items will have on these, plus the capability of playing as part of a team, with the brains to adapt your play to fit with the other heroes on your side. But, it is rewarding.
It is completely free to play, no outright cost, no monthly subscription, with the oppurtunity of buying items to individualise your favourite characters appearance but not their abilities. Meaning that this game is a level playing field. It is completely dependant on skill and teamwork. There are tense moments, just before a team fight, or when you're watching the opposition destroy your ancient after being team wiped, but it is also gloriously funny, Sand King getting stuck in trees anyone?
It is complicated, downright cruel and difficult to master. However, with deep and rewarding team play, and an ever changing but yet consistant environment it's also fun. Which, after all, is the aim of a game...right?
- Harley
QOTP - After a certain point, money is meaningless. It ceases to be the goal. The game is what counts - Aristotle Onassis
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