Wikipedia

Dota

(Redirected fromIceFrog)
This article is about the video game series. For the first game, seeDefense of the Ancients.For other uses, seeDota (disambiguation).

Dotais a series ofstrategy video games.The series began in 2003 with the release ofDefense of the Ancients(DotA), a fan-developedmultiplayer online battle arena(MOBA) custom map for the video gameWarcraft III: Reign of Chaosand its expansion,The Frozen Throne.The original map features gameplay centered around two teams of up to five players who assume control of individual characters called "heroes",which must coordinate to destroy the enemy's central base structure called an" Ancient ", to win the game. Ownership and development ofDotAwere passed on multiple times since its initial release untilValvehired the map's lead designerIceFrogand after a legal dispute withBlizzard Entertainment,the developer ofWarcraft III,brokered a deal that allowed Valve to inherit the trademark to theDotaname.

Dota
(Defense of the Ancients)
Genre(s)
Developer(s)Valve
Publisher(s)Valve
Creator(s)Eul
Platform(s)
First releaseDefense of the Ancients
2003
Latest releaseDota Underlords
February 25, 2020

The first standalone installment in the series,Dota 2,was released by Valve in July 2013. A sequel toDotA,the game retains the same gameplay elements as its predecessor, while introducing new support and mechanics, as well as a setting separate from theWarcraftuniverse.Artifact,adigital collectible card gamewith mechanics inspired byDota 2,was released in 2018.Dota Underlords,anauto battlerbased on the community-createdDota 2modDota Auto Chess,was released in 2020.

The originalDotAmap is considered one of the most popular of all time, with tens of millions of players and a consistent presence atesportstournaments throughout the 2000s.DotAis considered a catalyst for the MOBA genre, inspiring developers to create other games similar to it. Likewise,Dota 2is cited as one of thegreatest video games of all time,with an esports presence hallmarked by record-breaking prize pools that culminate in the annual championship known asThe International.The spinoff games by Valve have been positively received, althoughArtifactwas considered a failure as a large majority of its initial player base was lost within weeks with Valve stopping development on it shortly after its release.

Games

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TheDotaseries includes four games that are centered around competitive,online multiplayergameplay. The original version,Defense of the Ancients,is a community-createdWarcraft IIIcustom map developed with theWarcraft III World Editorthat was first released in 2003.[1]The franchise name,"Dota",is derived from the original map's acronym,DotA.[2]Dota 2,its standalone installment, was released as a free-to-play sequel in July 2013.[3]The first spin-off, adigital collectible card gamecalledArtifact,was released in November 2018.[4]The second spin-off, anauto battlercalledDota Underlords,was released in February 2020.[5]

The main installments in the series aremultiplayer online battle arenagames, where the player assumes control over a single character - a "hero" - from a large roster of characters and coordinates with their teammates to destroy their opponents' large structure called an Ancient, while defending their own.[6]Unlike the original version, which is largely derived from the setting of theWarcraftseries, the standalone games share their own continuity.[2]Likewise, the standalone games utilize theSourcegame engine andSteamdistribution platform - both developed by Valve.[7]

Defense of the Ancients(DotA)

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Main article:Defense of the Ancients

The installment which established theDotaintellectual property was theWarcraft III: Reign of Chaoscustom mapDefense of the Ancients(DotA). Independently developed and released by the pseudonymous designer Eul in 2003, it was inspired byAeon of Strife,a multiplayerStarCraftmap.[8]Before everyDotAmatch, up to ten players are organized into two teams called the Scourge and the Sentinel—inspired by the factions fromWarcraftlore—with the former in the northeast corner and the latter in the southwest corner of a nearly-symmetrical map. Using one of several game modes, the players each choose a single powerful unit called a "hero", who they are granted control of throughout the match. Heroes maintain special tactical advantages, in the way of their statistics, attack, and damage types, as well as abilities that can be learned and enhanced through leveling up from combat. Team coordination and roster composition are considered crucial for a successful match.[9]The currency of the game is gold, which may be used for purchasing items that may enhance a hero's statistics and provide special abilities. Gold is awarded to players for destroying enemies and in increments on a rolling basis, while also being deducted for the death of one's hero.[10]Heroes battle alongside weaker computer-controlled infantry units periodically dispatched in waves, who traverse three paths called "lanes", which connect the Scourge and Sentinel bases.[11][12]Each lane is lined with defensive towers, which are not only more powerful the closer they are to their respective bases, but invulnerable until their predecessors are destroyed. At the center of each base is a central structure called an "Ancient", which is either the World Tree for the Sentinel or the Frozen Throne for the Scourge. To win a match, the enemy's Ancient must be destroyed.[12]

Dota 2

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Main article:Dota 2

Valve's interest in theDotaintellectual property began when several veteran employees, includingTeam Fortress 2designerRobin Walkerand executive Erik Johnson, became fans of the map and wanted to build a modern sequel.[13]The company corresponded with IceFrog by email about his long-term plans for the project,[14]and he was subsequently hired to direct a sequel.[15]IceFrog first announced his new position through his blog in October 2009,[16]withDota 2being officially announced a year later.[17]Shortly after, Valve filed a trademark claim for theDotaname.[18]AtGamescom2011, company presidentGabe Newellexplained that thetrademarkwas needed to develop a sequel with the already-identifiable brand.[19]Holding theDotaname to be a community asset, Feak and Mescon filed an opposing trademark forDotaon behalf of DotA-Allstars, LLC (then a subsidiary ofRiot Games) in August 2010.[20]Rob Pardo,theexecutive vice presidentof Blizzard Entertainment at the time, similarly stated that theDotaname belonged to the mod's community. Blizzard acquired DotA-Allstars, LLC from Riot Games and filed an opposition against Valve in November 2011, citing Blizzard's ownership of both theWarcraft III World Editorand DotA-Allstars, LLC as proper claims to the franchise name.[21]The dispute was settled in May 2012, with Valve retaining commercial rights to theDotatrademark, while allowing non-commercial use of the name by third-parties.[22]

An early goal of theDota 2team was the adaptation ofDefense of the Ancients'saesthetic style for theSource engine.[17]The Radiant and Dire factions replaced theSentinelandScourgefrom the map, respectively. Character names, abilities, items, and map design from the map were largely retained, with some changes due to trademarks owned by Blizzard. In the first Q&A session regardingDota 2,IceFrog explained that the game would build upon the map without making significant changes to its core.[15]Valve contracted major contributors from theDefense of the Ancientscommunity, including Eul and artist Kendrick Lim, to assist with the sequel.[23]Following nearly two years of beta testing,Dota 2was officially released onSteamfor Windows on July 9, 2013, and forOS XandLinuxon July 18, 2013.[24][25][26]The game did not launch with every hero fromDefense of the Ancients.Instead, the missing ones were added in various post-release updates, with the final one, as well as the firstDota 2original hero, being added in 2016.[27][28]Since its release,Dota 2has been cited as one of thegreatest video games of all time.[29][30][31][32]It is also the most lucrative esports game of all time, earning teams and players a total of overUS$100 million by June 2017.[33]

Artifact

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Main article:Artifact (video game)

Artifactis adigital collectible card gamebased onDota 2,developed and published by Valve. The game focuses ononlineplayer versus playerbattles across three boards called lanes. Development began in late 2014, with lead designerRichard Garfieldbeing brought in to help make a digital card game due to his experience with creating theMagic: The Gatheringfranchise.[34][35]The game was then announced via ateaser trailerplayed atThe International 2017,a largeDota 2-specificesportstournament organized byValve.[36]Artifactwas released forWindows,macOS,andLinuxin November 2018, with versions planned forAndroidandiOS.[37]While its gameplay and drafting mechanics received praise, it was criticized for its highlearning curveandmonetization model,which some likened to beingpay-to-win.[38][39]The game saw a 95% decline in players within two months of its release, and had fewer than 100 concurrent players by mid-2019.[40]

Dota Underlords

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Main article:Dota Underlords

Dota Underlordsis afree-to-playauto battler,a type ofchess-like competitive multiplayerstrategy video game,developed and published by Valve. The game is based on aDota 2community-created game mode calledDota Auto Chess,with journalists noting the parallel modding origins thatDotAhad fromWarcraft III.[41]It was released inearly accessin June 2019 forAndroid,iOS,macOS,Windows,andLinux,with it planned to be officially released in February 2020.[42][5]One of the many auto battler games that released following the popularity ofDota Auto Chess,critics considered it one of the easiest to get into for newer players of the genre.[43]InDota Underlords,where players place characters, known as heroes, on an 8x8 grid-shaped battlefield. After a preparation phase, a team's heroes then automatically fight the opposing team without any further direct input from the player.[43]A match features up to eight players online who take turns playing against each other in a one-on-one format, with the winner being the final player standing after eliminating all of the opposing players.[44]

Other media

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Ananimetelevision series based on the franchise,Dota: Dragon's Blood,premiered onNetflixin March 2021.[45][46]It is produced byStudio MirandKaiju Boulevard.[47]Swedish electronic music artistBasshunterreleased "Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA"in 2006. The lyrics, inSwedish,are about using thevoice chatprogramVentrilowhile playingDefense of the Ancients.

IceFrog

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IceFrog (born 1983 or 1984)[48]is thepseudonymouslead designer ofDefense of the AncientsandDota 2.[49]His involvement with the series began in 2005, when he inherited the reins ofDotA Allstarsfrom "Neichus", who himself inherited it from Steve "Guinsoo" Feak.[50]IceFrog is also noted for his anonymity, having never publicly disclosed his identity.[51][52]In February 2009, IceFrog revealed on his blog that he was 25 years old at the time.[48]

In 2010, an anonymous person who claimed to be a Valve employee wrote a blog post titled "The Truth About IceFrog", in which he claims that IceFrog had previously worked secretly onHeroes of NewerthforS2 Gamesbefore joining Valve in 2009, as well as stating his identity as Abdul Ismail.[53]A court document regarding the ownership of theDotaintellectual property from April 2017 confirmed Ismail as the identity of IceFrog, as well as his pre-Valve contributions inHeroes of Newerth.[54]

References

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