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The International Dota 2 Championships invade PAX Prime
Valve's International Dota 2 Championships 2012 will be held at PAX Prime in Seattle, running August 31 through September 2. The International kicked off last year at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, with the winning team, Ukraine's Na'vi, walking away with $1 million.Na'vi has received an invitation to defend its title, along with Chinese team DK; 16 teams will compete overall. The International will be broadcast for free in multiple languages, and Valve will release information about obtaining tickets in the coming weeks.
DOTA 2 patch files hint at microtransactions, more
As is their wont, players have been rustling through some of the test build files for Valve's upcoming Dota 2, and they've found signs of some interesting (but still unofficial) features already. First and foremost, Valve hasn't yet determined exactly what the monetization model for the game will be, but it seems microtransactions will be a part of that model, as there are various announcers (including Half-Life's Dr. Kleiner), character taunts and skins, new hero items, and a few other goodies that may be purchasable either with an in-game currency, or with real money.There are also new kinds of couriers to buy (animal pets, basically, that will ferry items back and forth from your base), and there's one more consumable: Something called souls. A "Repentant Soul" will supposedly get players out of the "low priority punishment queue" when used, which suggests some sort of "pay or be punished" system. Gabe Newell mentioned just such a system last year, where he talked about Valve charging players "based on how much fun they are to play with." In other words, act stupid in game, get punished, and then you may have to pay your way out of jail.Finally, "treasure caches" are mentioned in the files. They'll probably work the same way that Team Fortress 2's crates do, where you get items that need to be unlocked with a key. This is all good news for those waiting for Dota 2 -- since Valve said it wouldn't worry about monetization until the fun was in there first, the game must be almost done, right?
Rumble Between the Junglers: Questions about the DotA name
Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Mathew McCurley takes you through the world running parallel to the games we love and enjoy, full of rules, regulations, and esoteroic topics that slip through the cracks. Behind the scenes, people are moving about, reading papers and commenting on filings and jockeying around the words of a paragraph to make it "feel" nicer. We don't like using the word "community," one might say, because it is a sympathetic word, and we do not need sympathy at this hearing. Thousands of dollars an hour are thrown at the problem for however long the team needs to work on it. I bet there were a few nice late-night sushi orders. These are the stars of the show -- two copyright and trademark filing teams, potentially backed up by a litigation team, positioning over the DotA trademark ownership issue. Last week on The Lawbringer, I gave a summary of what is happening between Valve, Blizzard, Riot Games, and the DotA community, concluding that the fight over who owns the DotA name has to be fought now because of a fight brewing for years as the genre grew. In order to expand our minds just a bit and start thinking like we want to understand the problem, we need to build a framework around the DotA issue with questions about what this is all about. Let's boil the issues down to simple questions.
Rumble Between the Junglers: How the DotA fight began
Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Mathew McCurley takes you through the world running parallel to the games we love and enjoy, full of rules, regulations, and esoteroic topics that slip through the cracks. Defense of the Ancients is a genre all unique to itself. Sure, the concepts are not brand new and the bulk of the original game was created using the Warcraft III World Editor, but the lasting appeal and standing reverence of the DotA genre continues today and shows no sign of slowing down. Part tower defense, part real-time strategy unit movement, this game type has experienced astounding growth all over the world over the last decade. As the genre grows, Defense of the Ancients-style games, or MOBAs (multiplayer online battle arenas), or ARTS (action real-time strategy), or... wait... what are we calling this genre? My initial reaction to the entire naming fiasco was wonderfully summed up by Joystiq's own JC Fletcher: "Which giant company has the rights to the fan-created, community-promoted word 'Dota?'" He's right to be cynical -- justice will be meted out over a word that was born in the Blizzard maps community because of the actions of two super-huge gaming companies. That's not all there is to the story, however. Therein lies the crux of the hot topic of the day -- Blizzard has finally thrown in its opposition of Valve's attempt to trademark the name Dota for its upcoming release of DOTA 2, a literal successor to the original DotA throne. The problem is that there are a whole bunch more facts, people, and anecdotes in this story than most people know. I wrote a short post on the Dota trademark issue a few days ago that served as the basic of basics, what the news was about. Here's the short version: Valve is attempting to trademark a name that many gamers (and companies) consider to be a general term for the genre rather than the proper name for the game that spawned the genre. Hell, it could be both.
The MMO Report: Chocolate makes you fat edition
This week on The MMO Report, Casey delivers a Valentine's Day rant before moving on to the latest news -- namely, The Secret World's release date rumors, Wakfu's PvP, and the sunset of sci-fi sandbox Earthrise. He also rounds up the latest Blizzard headlines, noting the lawsuit against Valve, World of Warcraft's recent sub losses, and the "valiant and pointless exercise" of rebuilding Azeroth in Minecraft. Finally, Uncle Casey's Mailbag provides a forum for the debate over just how we're supposed to pronounce "SWTOR." All this and more in the video behind the break!
Blizzard taking Valve to court over 'DOTA' trademark
Which giant company has the rights to the fan-created, community-promoted word "Dota?" That's up to the courts now. Blizzard has filed a Notice of Opposition with the US Patent and Trademark Office, seeking to block Valve's registration of the word. The word has been used exclusively in reference to a (mod of a) Blizzard game, the document explains. "By virtue of that use, the DOTA mark has become firmly associated in the mind of consumers with Blizzard, including to signify a highly popular scenario or variant of one of Blizzard's best-selling computer games, Warcraft III."Valve, the document goes on to claim, hasn't used the word for anything yet. There's also a lot of history of Warcraft III, which is a really strange thing to read in a legal document. The case is in discovery now, with pretrial procedures taking place throughout this year and into next. We hope this court proceeding doesn't delay either of the games, as those companies are quite capable of delaying their games on their own.
GlaDOS' voice will return in Dota 2
Ellen McLain, the voice of none other than Portal 2's GlaDOS, was probably the most charming celebrity to stroll down the red carpet at the Spike Video Game Awards. Sure, the reality show stars and athletes may have attracted more attention, but McLain was all smiles as she used her operatic voice to talk about how great the limo ride to the show was. "This is so funny," she laughed, "the last time I was in a limo was in LA in 1981 with Rex Harrison! So only thirty years later, I have my second limo ride!" McLain said she too has been charmed, by the fan response to her popular character. "I love the way the fans are wondering who is Chell, is Chell the offspring of GlaDOS and Cave Johnson, all this stuff. And I also think that the Portal games have drawn a lot of young women into gaming." She said that she and husband John Patrick Lowrie, who also does voices for Valve's games, have "gone to some fancons, and the women are so excited, they come in and they're either dressed up like Chell or they're dressed up like GlaDOS." And we haven't heard the last of McLain yet. "Eric Wolpaw told me in the limo," she said, "that it has been announced, John and I have both done voices for Dota 2. So we're going to be in there." "There are a lot of characters in Dota 2," confirmed Lowrie. "There are like 100 characters, so we've done quite a few of them."
More Dota 2 beta invites going out this week
If you haven't already thrown your name in the ring for the Dota 2 beta test, you might want to do so in the next couple ... seconds. Valve has announced that a new wave of beta invites would be sent out this week to select participants who have filled out this Steam survey. Don't forget: If you get picked to test the game, you'll get two extra downloads of the beta to distribute to your friends. As it stands, your best bet isn't to apply for the beta yourself, but just, you know, be really popular.
Dota 2 photo contest winners announced, spectator mode detailed
Remember Steven Addison, the guy who got his username onto a giant billboard to win Dota 2 beta access? Well, it worked! Icefrog has revealed the winners of the Dota 2 photo contest, and Addison is on the list with the photo above. There are plenty of great entries – we're awfully partial to this one – which you can peruse on the PlayDota forums. In other news, the Dota 2 blog has posted quite a bit of info on the game's spectator system. While it will obviously allow players to view match replays, it sounds like it includes a lot of customizable functionality as well. Players will be able to filter replays by certain characters, certain players (friends, pros, etc) and even certain skill levels. For example, if you're trying to learn how to use a certain character, you could search for a replay of a high level player who uses said character. Viewers can even see a replay from a particular player's perspective, including "the player's mouse cursor and input, their camera work, their HUD, their interaction with UI elements, and so on." It sounds like spectator mode could be a great resource for new players and anyone looking to improve their game.
This Dota 2 fan set up a billboard to win a beta key
One Dota 2 fan wanted to win a beta key in a big way in Valve's recent photo contest -- like, really big. The rules stipulated entrants submit a photograph of themselves "holding a sign that reads 'Dota 2' and your 'PlayDotA.com Username' in any creative fashion," and that the image had to be larger than 600x400 px. So Steven Addison put his image on a billboard, because that's what sane people do to get beta keys. Placing an ad on an electronic billboard in Addison's neighborhood normally costs $3,000. Addison and his friend wanted to use the billboard in a student film as well, and after Addison explained their situation, a kind Clear Channel man offered him a small amount of air time for free. We're very happy to hear that, because compared to the other submissions, even $20 seems like too much to have invested in this contest. [Thanks, Barnz!]
Dota 2 launch moved up to satisfy seething fans
Valve Software has plans to launch Dota 2 in some form much sooner than originally intended. "We're going to take the current version of Dota 2, which has The International set of heroes, and get it out there as fast as we can," project lead Abdul "Icefrog" Ismail said in a Dota 2 blog post. The team had originally planned on "adding new features and slowly growing the number of heroes until we reached a level of parity with Dota 1" before launching the pseudo-sequel, but is moving the launch up in order to satisfy player demand. Regular post-launch updates are still planned. Icefrog additionally notes that the game will remain "invite only" for the time being, though he's hoping to minimize that period. It's still unclear whether Dota 2 will launch as a free-to-play title like competitor League of Legends, but it seems we'll find out much sooner than later.
Rumor: Dota 2 client leaked, contains 'ep3' code
You'll forgive us if we're highly speculative about code supposedly unearthed from the leaked beta client for Valve's upcoming action RTS, Dota 2. It supposedly includes information from a folder named "ep3." Now wait a minute, stop huffing -- we know, we know -- and hear us out. As reported by Valve fan site Lambda Generation, the Dota 2 beta client has apparently leaked via Vietnam, and eager fans datamined the code for info, apparently plundering a string of code regarding something called "ep3." As you might imagine, both the dataminers and gaming websites are saying the folder pertains to the comically nebulous Half-Life 2: Episode 3, with the code pointing to two weapons -- an ice gun and a flamethrower -- as well as three "weaponizers" (concrete, liquid, and metal). But wait, why would Valve leave code for another one of its projects in the beta code for Dota 2, especially a project that it refuses to acknowledge exists? In short, Valve's done some similarly cheeky things in the past to promote its games, albeit not nearly as deep as this would be. We've reached out to Valve for word, but don't expect to hear anything official.
Gabe Newell on monetization before game design (spoiler: it stinks!)
Valve Software's upcoming "Action RTS," Dota 2 doesn't have a business model just yet. Valve co-founder and president Gabe Newell says he hasn't even begun thinking about the pricing model. "The primary focus for us at this point is not worrying about monetization, and it's instead worrying about getting the game right," he explains in an interview with Gamasutra. Rather, he explains that his company's goal at the moment is "on building something that cool" for the legion of hardcore MOBA fans, "and then we'll worry about monetization ... we're not going to worry about that until later." Further pressing the point, Newell adds, "Premature monetization is the root of all evil." As the interviewer suggests, however, real world economics force many developers to consider monetization models from the design level. Newell sees this more simply. "I think not sucking is way more of an important thing to pay attention to first," he adds, referencing the Dota 2 model of extensive playtesting and iteration before discussing a financial strategy -- a development ideology that works for a successful company like Valve, but may not be possible (or of interest) to other studios. It is a position we can get behind, however.
Gaming for the gold: Na'vi take the first International Dota 2 Championships title
Pay homage to the kings of the International Dota 2 Championships, Na'vi! These six Ukrainian studs won $1 million over the five-day tournament held at Gamescom, followed by China's Ehome, who landed in second place. The top eight teams competed bravely, so show some respect as follows: 1. Na'vi - $1 million 2. Ehome - $250,000 3. Scythe.SG - $150,000 4. MYM - $80,000 5. (tied) M5, iG - $35,000 each 7. (tied) OK.Nirvana.int, Mith-Trust - $25,000 each Handing out over $1.5 million to the people who love your game enough to make it a career seems like a wonderful advertising strategy from Valve. Maybe eventually it'll be altered to include people who love Valve's games but have day jobs too. Maybe. [Thanks, Aibbi!]
PSA: Dota 2 International Championships finals begin (early) Sunday morning
The International Dota 2 Championships will crown a victor Sunday, starting at 9 a.m. GMT (5 a.m. EDT), broadcast live via the official tournament site. Teams Ehome and Sythe.SG will battle in the loser's bracket for the chance to face team Na'vi for a $1 million first prize. Even "losers" in the International Championships end up winners in our eyes, with second place earning $250,000, third $150,000, and down all the way through eighth place's $25,000. It's just like T-ball, but more lucrative.
PSA: Dota 2 match replays online and available to watch right now
Just a matter of days ago, we had generally no idea what Dota 2 played or looked like, and now Valve has posted full high definition replays for most of the Radiant vs. Dire matches from its "The International" tournament going on at Gamescom. Just click "View (Replay)" on the tournament match page to watch. If you turn up the resolution and send it fullscreen, it's almost like you're actually playing the game. The video confirms most of what we knew about the game itself: It includes "denying" (which DotA successors like League of Legends have tried to eliminate), all the old heroes are along for the ride, and it generally plays just like the old DotA, though with much better graphics. Not shown in the videos are the game's extensive social features – that will apparently have to wait until we can get ourselves into the beta and check them all out.
Dota 2 beta starting soon, game launch targeted for this year [update: Newell says 2012]
Following yesterday's announcement of the Dota 2 public beta, Valve informed us today that the stress testing should begin "a few weeks following Gamescom," the mega-sized games convention currently taking place in Germany. A Valve representative also told us that the company is targeting the Dota 2 launch for the end of this year, but it could be early next. Steam users who registered should keep an eye out for an invite to the beta shortly. Update: Speaking to Eurogamer, Valve boss Gabe Newell stated that he doesn't believe Dota 2 will ship until 2012 %Gallery-130669%
Dota 2 beta registration now open
Valve has posted information about "The International" Dota 2 tournament going on at Gamescom this week, but a bunch of news about lucky Gamescom attendees playing the game isn't nearly as exciting as, you know, playing the game yourself. Along with the tourney schedule, Valve has opened up beta registration to the public for Dota 2. To sign up, all you need to do is head over to the Dota 2 page, sign into Steam and then click "Get on the List" to join. Unfortunately, there's no information about just when the beta will be happening or even how players will be chosen to participate, but since there will likely be a lot of people watching the livestream from Gamescom this week, Valve is likely just grabbing names and Steam accounts of interested parties while it can. Here's hoping you get in and play – but not before we do.
Massively's guide to Gamescom 2011
If you've never been to Gamescom before, let's simply put it this way: It's big. Really, really big. Forget most any convention you've attended; this is likely to be even bigger. Billing itself as the world's largest games event, Gamescom sees well over a quarter-million fans, journalists and exhibitors crowd into the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany to check out hundreds of games and companies. Due to its size and worldwide prominence, Gamescom is a significant event for anyone following the MMO genre (and video games in general). There are plenty of MMO studios gearing up to share first looks, exclusive reveals, detailed Q&A sessions, and exciting hands-on demos for attendees. Naturally, Massively will be paying close attention to all of the news coming out of Gamescom this week. For those attending the convention or merely looking to keep abreast of all of the games, studios, and information forthcoming, we've compiled a guide to the hottest tickets at Gamescom as well as a comprehensive exhibitor list of MMO studios after the break.
Dota 2 Gamescom trailer ponders the nature of heroism [update]
The International is right around the corner, and in order to get you hyped up for the global public debut of Dota 2, Valve has a question for you: "What does a hero truly need?" If you listen to the gorgeously animated wizard/wiseman in the trailer above, a hero's needs depend on their circumstances. Archers may need speed, warriors may need strength, and floaty lightning people obviously need floaty lightning. If you listen to the millions of people anxiously awaiting the start of Gamescom, however, the answer is "immediate, total and unending access to this game." Update: Proving once again that it's impossible to keep something this big under wraps, the deep, dark bowels of the internet have regurgitated these purported in-game screenshots. It's important to note that the veracity of these screens is still uncertain, and that we won't truly know how the game looks until later this week. For now though, let your feverish, detail-starved eyes feast.%Gallery-130669%
