|
TheVillage's Warcraft III -- Frozen Throne (PC)
|
| [February 9, 2008 02:56:40 AM]
|
GAMEPLAY
So I thought I would delve deeper into the mod game playable on Battle.net called DoTA (Defense of the Ancients). After doing a little research it turns out that Dota is the most played game in the Philippines and Thailand and in the top 100 of several other countries. It is based on the original Custom Map Settings mod "Aeon of Strife" for Starcraft. It has had many different developers, which become almost immortalized in the gaming world for their free contribution to gaming. As far as its similarities to Warcraft, it basically stands on its own as a completely different game. Each team of 5 people chooses a hero and tries to turn the tide of battle across a river. With almost 100 unique heroes and hundreds more items to choose from the depth is no less impressive than the original Warcraft game.
DoTA has basically taken over battle.net like WoW has taken over MMORPGs. It is by far the most popular aspect of the game and offers a kind of RPG/RTS hybrid, a combination that works very nicely. I have played my fair share of dota as well, and I must say it has to be the most popular mod ever created in any game or platform. Thats a strong statement, but i honestly believe it. Part of what makes it so enjoyable is the unlimited possibility of ten humans making decisions at once in the same game. That combined with the strategic complexity of the heroes and items offers crazy replay credentials.
DESIGN
The simple fact that human minds are almost always better than AI helps make DoTA incredibly engaging. The innovative combo of RTS elements with a RPG level and ability system makes this game hard to categorize. Its immense popularity stems from its uniqueness.
Constant exhibition of emergent complexity keeps the game incredibly complex throughout. It also spawns entire social networks and fosters a dedicated community. There are several websites devoted solely to Dota strategy and forums. So this community is constantly trying new strategies as new patches update the details and add new features. This serves to provide a kind of constant reward structure outside of the actual gameplay, as new rewards are constantly being added.
This game is a very good example of what you can do with a good idea for design. Dota borrows all its artwork and mechanics from the actual Warcraft but it is undeniably its own game and stands alone completely. An impressive foresight of Blizzard to include such a powerful Map Editor. This game is especially interesting because it symbolizes a new open source approach to gaming where the the input of the gamer is constantly being considered and addressed. The future of gaming is in mods and Blizzard is smart enough to realize it. Why do the work when the gamers are happy to assist you?
read comments (1)  -
add a comment 
|
| [February 9, 2008 02:17:29 AM]
|
SUMMARY
Control Orcs and other medieval creatures to conquer your enemies in this award winning RTS from Blizzard.
GAMEPLAY
So after having played a significant amount of both Civilization and Starcraft throughout my adolescence, I decided it was time to play Warcraft 3. That was 3 years ago. And the game has really been impressive. I played the whole campaign twice through, and was once even ranked on Battle.net for my 2v2 wins.
So what gives this game such replay value? Well, having always preferred games of emergence to the often narrow creative options of games of progression, I took a liking to Warcraft right off the bat. It is much like Starcraft and Warcraft 2 (its predecessor) but the strategic detail is ridiculous. Becoming truly good is a thing that only few people achieve. At my peak I would still occasionally fight people online that were in a different world of skill. The learning curve is not terribly steep, but it is incredibly long. I still play occasionally so after playing again today twice after class(once before and once after!) I feel like it is deserving of an in depth design analysis.
The single player narrative campaign is incredibly engaging, and it just the tip of the iceberg. The Battle.net server constantly provides challenging human opponents, as well as consistent patches and new material. You can play anyone's custom game (or "mod") online as well, including the game "Defense of The Ancients," or DoTA which has almost surpassed the actual game in popularity. You can play with friends whenever you want! So my favorite aspects are the depth and replay value that comes from depth and one of the best multiplayer experiences in gaming.
DESIGN
So the game is designed alot like other RTS games in the genre, but with an RPG twist. The game demands resource gathering building of an army and micro management. But where it differs significantly is with the feature of heroes. Heroes gain levels ala an RPG game and act as units that get better with your skill and careful "micro" skills. This changes the game immensely, adding items and abilities more reward features. The heroes serve to give the game millions of outcomes and insure a unique single game: Something that has never been played before.
The single player campaign has an excellent story line, and serves as a warm up for your online battle against skilled human players. With four different races, four heroes for each race plus 6 other heroes and hundreds of maps there were plenty of hours to lose. The balance between all the complexities is excellent (the constant updating via patches helps) and helps this game provide entertaining gameplay time and time again.
add a comment
|
|
|
 |
TheVillage's Warcraft III -- Frozen Throne (PC)
|
|
Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Friday 1 February, 2008
|
|
