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NBA's Jeremy Lin: 'Dota is a way of life'
NBA player Jeremy Lin recently expanded upon his remarks in the documentary Free to Play that "Dota [2] is a way of life." Talking to OnGamer, Lin said that the MOBA brought him, his family, and his friends closer together. "When I say it's a way of life, it's more than just a game, it's a chance for us to play and catch up on life," he said. "It's something that's been really incorporated into our lives for years and years, consistently, no matter where you are." Lin said that he normally played Dota 2 two to three times a week and admires the dedication and drive that exists in the community. In fact, he sees professional gamers in a similar light as professional athletes: "It takes a ton of work, it takes a lot of strategy, it takes a lot of commitment and takes a lot of discipline... You definitely have to understand the game and work on it, hone your skills.
HBO's Game of Thrones advertises for League of Legends
League of Legends will be partnering up with HBO's Game of Thrones for a cross-promotional effort in the coming weeks. Riot Games said that HBO contacted the studio with the offer, saying that there was a shared interest between the two franchise's fanbases. Riot released League of Legends assets to HBO, which will then be turned into a trailer spotlighting both the MOBA and TV series. The game studio gave an overview of the promotion in an interview today: "HBO is doing a three-week activation in advance of their series premiere on April 6th. They're going to be getting some marketing assets, whether that's logo bugs or website takeovers. But we're also working with their team to produce a mash-up trailer. They're giving us some exclusive sneak peaks into footage that hasn't been seen before."
Breakfast Topic: Do you have any MOBA experience?
For those unfamiliar, Heroes of the Storm belongs to the genre that's been referred to as MOBA -- Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. Valve calls its Dota 2 an ARTS, an Action Real Time Strategy, but since they're the only game that uses ARTS, let's stick with MOBA. I don't have much history with this genre of games and for good reason: I'm not a very competitive person. When I try to be competitive, I turn into a raging maniac and I'm not fan of being that guy. Unfortunately for me, MOBAs are an extremely competitive genre. I played two rounds in League of Legends a couple years back and decided to never touch it again. Heroes of the Storm's technical alpha has pulled me in due to its co-op mode, allowing you to play with a team of human players against a team of AI players. Having a strong co-op mode available might make me rage less when I take my chances at PVP. I'm curious how many of you have tried a MOBA before, whether it be League of Legends, Dota 2, the original Defense of the Ancients mode in Warcraft III, or something else in the genre. Are you a MOBA veteran? Never touched one? Touched one but didn't like it? Whichever camp you fall in, are you going to try Heroes of the Storm when you get the chance?
Heroes of the Storm enters technical alpha testing
Heroes of the Storm, the game previously known as Blizzard All-Stars, Blizzard Dota, and Blizzard Entertainment Presents A Bunch Of Guys Hitting Each Other, is technically in alpha. Wait, sorry, that's not right. It's in technical alpha. That means that it's in a phase of testing with an emphasis not on balance or gameplay but on making sure that the fundamental engine works. Testing is currently limited to a very small pool of players, but external players are being brought in to really put the game's network through its paces. Players who cannot wait to get in on the game, even with placeholder graphics and numerous bugs, should make sure that their Battle.net accounts are up to date and have opted in for the beta. Again, invitations will be extremely limited at first, although the roster of testers will expand as time goes by. If this sounds like your sort of gig, make sure you've opted in, and stay hopeful that Blizzard will grant you a coveted invitation mail.
Massively's Valentine's Day roundup
When a mob hits your eye with a big sharpened spike... that's not really amore! In fact, it's downright painful. But it's February -- a time when love is in the air, hearts are aflutter everywhere, and pink and red festoon your favorite MMOs. So in the spirit of the season, go ahead and give that mob an extra-hard love tap, right from... er, to the heart! And don't forget to collect whatever treasures it had for you because we all know Valentine's Day isn't all about the love; no, it's about the loot! Want to know where to get your hands on something special for this holiday? There are plenty of celebrations throughout the MMOverse offering a plethora of events and goodies. Check out some of the various Valentine's events and specials going on now.
The Soapbox: Novel content trumps novel mechanics
Action combat. Interactive conversations. Public quests. Voxel worlds. There are many game mechanics that developers of massively multiplayer online games crow about when promoting their games because these are the things that make their games stand out from the pack. Even if they're not the first to do it, they'll proclaim that they're doing it bigger and better than their predecessors. I don't have a problem with any of this. It's when the developers and their ardent fans gloss over the importance of the actual content these mechanics are applied to that I get annoyed. Mechanics are just a skeleton, and they can't do anything at all without some meat on the bones. Content matters, and good, fresh content will keep players interested long after the novelty of unusual mechanics has worn off.
Dota 2's New Bloom update introduces new heroes and more
Valve's Dota 2 is about to receive another huge update, this one bringing two new heroes and a bevy of other features to the most played game on Steam. The New Bloom festival, which launches tomorrow for all Dota 2 players, includes a new beast to slay, the ability to "offer" unwanted items in the hopes of earning rare armor, and another map aesthetic variant centered on spring themes with East Asian influences. Most importantly, New Bloom marks the introduction of Terrorblade, the demon marauder, and Phoenix, the, ermm...phoenix, both brand-new heroes in Dota's world. Also new with the update: the ability to jump into any downloaded replay and take control of a character within it, changing it from a replay to a live game in which you can attempt to turn the tides of a loss or find a smarter path toward victory. Dota fans should consult the Day One, Day Two, and Day Three announcement posts for full details, as New Bloom includes quite a few other new features and tweaks.
The Soapbox: Stop ganking, you ganking gankers
For me, player vs. player interaction is a necessary component of any online game. The urge to engage with skilled human opponents is the reason I spent countless hours defending flags in World of Warcraft and likely the main motivating factor in my slide away from traditional MMOs and toward MOBAs like Dota 2 and Blizzard Entertainment's upcoming Heroes of the Storm. Simply put, I like a good fight. I especially like a good fight when it occurs unscripted and out in the wilds of the world. If you catch me unaware while I'm grinding out one of TERA's BAMs or plucking gold from an ore vein in Aion, I'll be more than happy to cross swords (or trade frostbolts) with you. Winning or losing isn't important to me; the constant threat of attack heightens my enjoyment of and connection to the game's universe. Unfortunately, open world PvP doesn't attract exclusively those people interested in fair fights. And in the games that make it possible, a certain small segment of players is working hard to ruin everyone else's good time. I speak, of course, of gankers.
Riot claims 27 million daily players for League of Legends
It's no secret that Riot Games's League of Legends is the biggest MOBA on the block, but just how big might come as something of a surprise. Riot has revealed that the League playerbase has now reached 27 million players daily. Player concurrency hits about 7.5 million players during high-traffic hours; for comparison, Valve's Dota 2, which most would consider League's primary competitor, sees about seven million players per month. The high numbers have done wonders for Riot's pocketbook, helping League to generate over $624 million in revenue in 2013.
Potential League of Legends patching problems due to porn filters
Will the UK's anti-sex law cause issues with patching League of Legends? According to LoL's subreddit, some members are seeing an effect from the filters UK Internet service providers have in place by default to block pornographic content for new customers; specific update files that happen to have "sex" in the wording -- VarusExpirationTimer.luaobj and XerathMageChainsExtended.luaobj -- have been blocked. Riot Games informed Eurogamer that there are no reported incidents of this law interfering with the game, but the studio is monitoring the situation. If players run into a problem, they should contact LoL support for help.
Led by mobile and free-to-play, U.S. digital sales see big gains in 2013
The digital games market is still on the rise, generating $11.7 billion in sales in 2013. According to market research firm SuperData, this total marks an 11% increase over digital sales in 2012. SuperData noted that Christmas and New Year's occurring in the middle of the week may have helped spiked end-of-year numbers; December 2013 saw a 36% increase in digital sales compared to December 2012. Mobile titles claimed the largest percentage of the digital pie, representing $3.6 billion in sales. Free-to-play titles were up 45% year-on-year to $2.9 billion. Perhaps most interesting for MMO players is the fact that F2P MMO offerings from games like World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic landed in the top ten, though the top three free-to-play earners in 2013 were CrossFire, League of Legends, and Dungeon Fighter Online. Data used by the firm is gathered by collecting digital transaction data directly from developers and publishers. [Thanks to Hagu for the tip!]
Greg Street is now lead game designer at Riot Games
Greg Street, also known as Ghostcrawler, was the lead systems designer for World of Warcraft for much of the fantasy MMO's life. When he left Blizzard late last year, the rumor mill exploded with speculation on where (and why) one of WoW's most familiar and visible developers might be going. As of today, the mystery appears to be solved. Information on Street's LinkedIn profile, supported by several industry sources, indicates that he is now working as lead game designer at Riot Games, known for the massively popular League of Legends. Street has yet to confirm the move via Twitter or any other official channel.
The Stream Team: Stacking friends in Dota 2
When it comes to MOBAs, teamwork is everything. Adventuring into the solo queue in a game like Dota 2 is an invitation for pain and suffering; stacking a couple of friends in a party results in a much more successful (and fun) experience. Tune in tonight as Massively's Mike Foster recruits a few of his Dota 2 friends and takes a more team-based approach to Valve's immensely popular title. The action starts at 7:00 p.m. EST. Game: Dota 2 Host: Mike Foster Date: Friday, January 3rd, 2014 Time: 7:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below.
Is League of Legends greedy? No, says Riot Games president
Responding to claims that Riot Games is being greedy and lazy for failing to create an updated client for League of Legends, President Marc Merrill posted a sharp-tongued rebuttal on Reddit yesterday. "It's pretty frustrating when people try to position us as greedy," Merill began, "because look at it from our perspective: We build pretty much the first successful free online game in the west that core gamers actually really like and play. We did this by building a really fun game, constantly investing over and over to grow and improve this game and by NOT selling power or being money hungry." Merill said that "millions upon millions" play the game for completely free, which is completely fine with Riot Games, and that the studio does the right thing in the end such as its response to the e-sports contract controversy. "I completely disagree with your greed accusation and yes, it pisses me off because I've spent the last eight years of my life building this company, game, and team to deliver great value and to treat players well," he wrote.
Bridging the gap between casual and pro at the Chicago Dota 2 Winter Open
At Ignite Gaming Lounge in Chicago, Illinois, the crowd is losing its mind. It's grand finals of the Chicago Dota 2 Winter Open, a two-day, double-elimination, 16-team throwdown, and for some reason someone has just picked Meepo. For those of you who aren't in the Dota 2 loop, suffice to say that Meepo isn't a standard hero pick for a tournament. Picking Meepo in a match with $1,000 on the line is a lot like jumping out of a plane and wishing for a parachute -- an incredible, amazing story if it works and an embarrassing, painful death if it doesn't, with the odds heavily on the latter. The announcers, broadcasting the match simultaneously on Dota TV (Dota 2's in-game spectating client) and Twitch, are dumbfounded. The chat channels are exploding. And as everyone witnesses the Meepo gamble pay off in the most incredible way, the excitement only expands and intensifies. But perhaps what's most special about this Meepo pick, about this final game between two local teams that have bested challenger after challenger, is not the risky strategy or the money on the line. What's special is that anyone is watching it at all.
Massively's winter holidays MMO roundup
The holidays are here! That means the hustle and bustle of the season is in full swing, with gifts to get, treats to taste, deals to nab, and plenty of festivities to partake in -- and that's just in the MMOverse! Yes folks, there's a plethora of holiday celebrations out there -- so many, in fact, that it can be hard to keep track of them all, let alone participate to them! If you're trying to catch everything in your favorite games, we're here to help. We've got a round up of the various winter celebrations across the gaming sphere all bundled together right here for you. If something catches your eye, hop in and join in the festivities!
Strife has entered closed beta
S2 Games has announced that its "second generation free-to-play MOBA," Strife, has officially shifted into closed beta. Fans of the genre will recognize S2 as the studio behind Heroes of Newerth, which itself is among the litany of games cast from the original Defense of the Ancients mold. According to the announcement, Strife is "focused on giving players an environment where they're competing with enemies, not their own teammates." S2 claims that existing MOBA issues like in-team toxicity, fighting over shared resources, and drama over designating roles have all been alleviated through the game's design. Strife's closed beta is not region-specific; invites are going out to players across the globe. The game is set for launch some time in 2014, and beta sign-ups are currently live on its official website. For a closer look, check out our hands-on with the game from August. [Source: S2 Games press release]
MMO Mechanics: MOBAs vs. MMO battlegrounds
It may feel as if MMOs have always existed as a core part of our gaming repertoire, but the genre made its indelible mark on the industry just over a decade ago. MMO titans like World of Warcraft, EVE Online, and City of Heroes shaped the mechanics we now use as markers and basic standards for the quickly growing genre, and those mechanics have been reiterated and reforged by the countless additions to the MMO clan that we know and love today. This new MMO Mechanics column aims to navigate the mechanical minefield that is the modern MMO through in-depth opinion pieces, comparative analysis, and a little bit of Irish wit, starting with a peek at what distinguishes MMO PvP battlegrounds from Massively Online Battle Arenas. If women are from Venus and men are from Mars, MMOs and MOBAs must be from different galaxies altogether. Despite the similarities between MMO PvP arenas and MOBA matches, the two take very different approaches to progression, persistence, and matchmaking. This leads to two very separate yet equally engaging ways to test the mettle of your character against the might of a human opponent.
Dota 2's Frostivus celebration is coming
Valve has announced that Dota 2's holiday-themed Frostivus event is on its way, though exact details are still somewhat sparse. The announcement, made via the official Dota 2 website, says only that "Frostivus is coming." The page hints at content to come, including what appear to be new crafting items and some sort of gift exchange in addition to the obligatory event-themed chests. The frosty, snow-covered map of Frostivus 2012 is also likely to return. Fans of Dota 2 will remember that last year's Frostivus event was canceled due to an influx of gift-snatching Greevils. We'll just have to wait and see if the same tragedy befalls this year's festivities.
Developers respond to Riot's streaming restrictions for pro players [Updated]
Riot Games' new contract with professional League of Legends players prevents those players from streaming certain games during the LCS (League Championship Series) season. Banned titles include Dota 2, Hearthstone, Awesomenauts, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and many, many more. News of the contract broke earlier this week. Since that time, a couple of developers associated with games on the banned list have responded to Riot's rules in letters to website OnGamers, which broke the original story. Here's a clip of the lengthy response from Awesomenauts co-creator Jasper Koning: We are disappointed to see Riot impose restrictions on the spare time of its LOL Championship Series players. It's understandable Riot as a company wants to protect its interests, but the way they're doing it now is decidedly unsportsmanlike, anti-competitive, and it sets a bad precedent. And here's S2's (Heroes of Newerth) Marc DeForest: We view eSports differently - it is a platform for competition, growth, and the collective celebration of video gaming passion. We do not view it as a leveraging tool for anti-competitive and monopolistic practices. S2 Games will continue to support the eSports idea as a whole, not just our own specific interests in it. Riot has confirmed the terms of the contract but has not responded to further updates or fan criticism. [Update: Riot has announced that it is changing LCS players' contracts due in part to community feedback. Under the new rules, players will be able to stream any games they want as long as they are not accepting sponsorship from other studios to promote those titles.]
