A Background for Defense of the Ancients (DotA)

DotA 2, the awaited sequel to the hugely successful original DotA is set to be released this year. In this short article, we will take a look at a brief background of this marvelous game that is catching the gaming world by storm.

DotA (Defense of the Ancients) is categorized as an action real-time strategy mod of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and the subsequent expansion, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Each opposing teams in DotA strives to destroy each other's Ancients, the most important structure located at the opposing ends of the map.

Each player is given a hero assisted by AI controlled fighters. The heroes can be upgraded with gold to better equipment can be bought.

Over the years, the popularity of the game exceeded expectations. Tournaments were held including ones sponsored by Blizzard. DotA Allstars was one of the most important tournaments, being used as a pattern for the Malaysia and Singapore World Cyber Games back in 2005. The internationally recognized Cyberathlete Amateur League and CyberEvolution included DotA in their game lineup.

In Asia, gamers from Thailand and the Philippines love the game. It is also a favorite RPG game in Sweden and other Northern European nations.

The game did not quite bloom in North America due to lack of championships and LAN tournaments causing many teams to disband over time.

The key to DotA's successful debut was its amazing map created by Steve Feak. Although there would be a number of maps later on, his creation became the dominant version of the map that popularized DotA.

Feak eventually gave way to another developer to continue what he started. Ice Frog, the next developer added new features, fixes, and heroes.

While there are no official support for the game, Defense of the Ancients is being maintained by an official forum. Users can post their suggestions for more items or heroes, which would eventually be added to the map.

There are also a few versions of the game where enemy heroes are controlled by AIs.

So far, DotA Allstars has become the most successful tournament boasting over 1,500,000 registered members and a million unique visitors every month around the world.

While still in infancy in some parts of the world, many gamers in other developed countries like Australia and other countries in Europe are also catching the fever.

Defense of the Ancients is undoubtedly one of the hottest gaming news right now. In October 2009, Ice Frog decided to work for Valve Corporation to develop the next installment, DotA 2. The game is basically DotA in many ways although heroes and aesthetics are working as direct ports to the original mod.