City Gamer Learns DotA in the Province
That gamer is no other than yours truly. I’m several days removed from my five-day vacation in Kalibo, Aklan (my clan’s home province), and I’m still savoring the experience. That experience includes, lo and behold, a foray into the sumptuously addicting DotA. And just when I thought I would be leaving all tech- and game-related stuff in the metro!
For the uninitiated, DotA (Defense of the Ancients) is a free mod for the game Warcraft III. In the Philippines, it has become an addiction, rivaling the famous MMORPGs around. Having evolved into this generation’s Counter-Strike (remember it?), you can even consider DotA as a “sub-game” of Warcraft III — packs of gamers troop to Net cafes not to play “Warcraft”, but rather “DotA”. Borrowing some lines from Wikipedia:
Defense of the Ancients, commonly referred to as DotA, is a popular Aeon of Strife-style custom map created for the game Warcraft 3 (by Blizzard Entertainment). The original version of the map was developed for Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos by “Eul,” though it was later unofficially ported to the Warcraft 3 expansion pack, The Frozen Throne. Several variants of the map exist under the name of Defense of the Ancients.
I refrained from playing DotA in the University because I wanted to focus on getting through college. (I have a long history of education-destroying game addiction.) The temptation was there (made doubly enticing because I had many friends going loco over DotA), but I managed to resist it.
Last week, finding myself amidst the company of DotA-stricken cousins with time (and spare change) to kill, I gave in to that temptation. Our pack of about ten studs (uh-huh) scoured Kalibo’s streets for about fifteen minutes, looking for the right Net cafe. I was surprised to find around five gaming holes within close proximity of each other — the rustic town of Kalibo is definitely into the Cyber Age! Last time I was there (circa 2000), Net cafes weren’t that ubiquitous.
So how did my first DotA game turn out? Well, my team lost, no small thanks to my amateurish (and foolhardy) decisions, but I learned the game fast. It’s quite simple at first glance, but actually has hundreds of nuances that you’ll need to master if you’re going to be great at DotA. Modesty aside, I felt good to place third from last (hehe!) in a field of 9. I played around two more games, with more or less the same results.
I’ll be back in Kalibo in August, which means more DotA playing time with my cousins. With that in mind, I’ve begun preparing for the imminent battles, visiting great DotA resources such as DotA-Allstars and DotA Portal. But practice is what makes perfect, so I’m looking to indulge in DotA in the weeks ahead (for newbies like me, download the map here). If only I can fit it in my work schedule…!
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June 23rd, 2006 at 3:17 am
(again,) hahahaha!
i guess it’s fun to do. but i never warmed up to warcraft. icky. >:P
so, why are _these_ mods popular and not the others? does it stand out from the rest? is it that special? heheh.
June 23rd, 2006 at 6:56 pm
it’s a fine mod for those strong in the tactical side (micromanagement, unit combos, etc) but don’t really want to have to worry about the strategic aspects (harvesting, production, etc)
that said, i never warmed up to dota either because of the lac of focus on the macro side of things. i miss the build orders, creeping, unit production, etc. not really a micro guy myself.
June 24th, 2006 at 12:46 am
Last time I played games, I skipped classes for several days in a row (not that I didn’t skip classes when I wasn’t playing games).
I didn’t sleep, too. And I forgot to eat.
Wait, sometimes work makes me do these last two, too.
When Command & Conquer and Warcraft were the in thing (holy crap, I’m old!) I had this incessant itch to click on people and order them to go somewhere or do something. When I was playing Syphon filter, I always saw “head shot” crosshairs on people. Counterstrike? Same: crosshairs all around!
I guess I should never play GTA!
July 2nd, 2006 at 1:16 am
Ia, I preferred other RTS games, too, over Warcraft. Well, Dota removes some of the management problems that players would normally have to think of in the ‘normal’ Warcraft RTS mode. It’s kind of simple, actually — simple madness. Which makes it ultimately fun and addicting.
Jorge, I share your sentiments. I relished on the macro side of RTS, too, especially in Starcraft. But maybe my preference for the mad, rushing Zerg just translated to my newfound delight in Dota…they do share some similarities, hehe.
JAngelo, work can be a game, and games can be work. Don’t worry, C&C and the first Warcraft aren’t that old. Heck, I even got to play them, too! (Oh, maybe that makes me old.) GTA addict here (evil grin)!
July 2nd, 2006 at 4:26 am
GTA? Oh, so that explains the violent tendencies.
July 2nd, 2006 at 4:27 am
Play DOTA in Katipunan! It’s fun and addictive and AAAAAHHH INSANE.
*cough*
Got here from Ia’s blog, then your Isulong entry. Hello!
July 2nd, 2006 at 11:11 pm
Arr! Arr! (I don’t know what it means but just imagine the sound of a pirate grunting!) I’m so amused you got around to meet
stalkPhillip and J, Mia-cha’. ^__^July 3rd, 2006 at 12:23 am
J, why, have I mentioned those tendencies before?
Mia, hi there! Thanks for dropping by
Ia often mentions you in our conversations, and I’m glad to have finally met you (at least virtually, that is). Thanks for the Isulong SEOPH support!
Ia, ‘arr’ is a good start, hehe.
July 3rd, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Yes well I like
stalkingmeeting people!Hello Corsarius and yeeees I’ve heard your name pretty often from Ia too. So it feels a little funny to be calling you Corsarius, but it’s much snazzier than calling you by your surname, I think.
P.S. Ia-cha’ bribed me to link you guys. She owes me her first-born.
P.P.S. I think this is a hint to organize a Diliman-area bloggers’ EB or something already.
July 3rd, 2006 at 3:21 pm
Mia, yeah, I got to agree with that — my surname has already been much abused, ever since the Pisay days. Bloggers’ EB? Why not? Though there must be hundreds of us in Diliman…oops, I forgot I’m not from the area. Ah well, the Diliman Republic is my second home, after all
July 3rd, 2006 at 4:27 pm
Mia, you should attend iBlog3, at least. Mwehehehehe.
I wish at least one of my CS orgs had organized a blogger meetup. UP Law ISP pa ang unang nakagawa. Sigh.
July 4th, 2006 at 2:16 am
@Ia & Corsarius (hm but Kimpo is shorter!): Go arrange! I’ll help you advertise! XDDDD
@Ia: Ia-cha’, when is it? I’ll go if you go. And possibly drag along some people. Hah, I wonder what would happen if there was a College of Science bloggers’ EB! The geekery! It burnnnns!
@Corsarius: Of course there is a distinction between a blogger and someone who just uses his LJ as an outlet for EMO ANGST DESPAIR EXISTENTIAL RAGEEEEE. That distinction would probably cut your estimate in half. (Or even hack it to pieces.)
July 9th, 2006 at 3:25 am
Ia, that would’ve been swell, but let’s face it — UP ISP had the greater resources and connections to successfully pull of a large bloggers’ meet, hehe. Pero sayang nga.
Mia, I think “hack it to pieces” would be more exact!
August 2nd, 2006 at 6:32 pm
[...] I’ll be going on another brief family reunion slash vacation tomorrow to Kalibo, Aklan. As with my last trip to our home province, I’ll be attending a wedding (and playing some rounds of DoTa, I guess). But this time around, I’ll be able to take my work with me, courtesy of Corsarify. [...]
March 9th, 2007 at 12:42 am
Thanks for the kind mention of iblog3. Actually, registration has begun and hope you folks can register at http://www.iblogph.org
May 24th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
[...] Who can forget the frenzied multiplayer SC battles over LAN and Battle.net? I see no multiplayer letdown with StarCraft II. And who knows, we might even see DotA in space! [...]