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Valve to host 'The International' at Gamescom, a million-dollar Dota 2 tournament
Selling virtual hats must have ended up being a fairly lucrative business venture, as Valve announced today that it will use the upcoming Gamescom trade show to host "The International," a Dota 2 tournament with a million-dollar first-place prize. Let that sink in for a second. A million dollars. To put that in perspective, the first-place prize for Starcraft 2 at last weekend's Major League Gaming Pro Circuit was 5 percent of that at $50,000. According to Valve, "the 16 best Dota teams in the world" will compete in a "group stage, double elimination playoff format" competition over the duration of the show. The tournament will also serve as the controversial action-RTS' public debut, and what better way to get some attention than makin' it rain? When asked to comment, Gabe Newell paused briefly in quiet contemplation before eating a handful of real diamonds.
Steam streamlines updates and downloads with new content delivery system
Steam is cleaning the gunk out of its gears with a new content delivery system, upgrading its download rates and streamlining its publishing process. The new system boasts a larger aggregate bandwidth, meaning Steam will be able to more easily cater to large demands worldwide, and an HTTP delivery system. Updates are getting tuned up in a big way -- instead of re-downloading an entire file to install one update, the new system will only download the changes made to the file, because that's what an update means. It will also be possible to update to a game while playing it. Valve has written new tools for developers and publishers to simplify their behind-the-scenes processes and ship products faster, promising that publisher-side updates will also be streamlined, which is something EA in particular has been quietly vocal about changing. The new system will be applied to "more and more" content over time, beginning "soon" with the release of Dota 2 later this year. You can try it out now by downloading an HD trailer from the Steam Store.
Gamescom 2011 exhibitors revealed, Valve on board
Europe's Gamescom 2011 convention is starting to take shape, with a hefty list of exhibitors revealed by GameCloud. The list includes most of the major players from E3, including Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Capcom, EA. Activision was notably absent from the list, which is odd given that it usually attends the convention. Gamescom will also be sporting some exhibitors not seen at E3, chief among them being Valve and NCSoft. Just what Valve has planned is anyone's guess. Dota 2, perhaps (we've heard it's kind of a big deal over there). NCSoft, on the other hand, is almost certain to show off its upcoming MMO, Guild Wars 2. Rest assured, we'll be on hand to see what the fuss is about.
Valve shares some insight into Dota 2's development
Turning a Warcraft 3 mod into a fully-fledged product is probably a tricky process, especially when that mod has a feverishly devoted fan base. Valve senior project manager Erik Johnson recently spoke to IGN about how the Dota 2 dev team is tiptoeing through this potential minefield, explaining that the core gameplay of the mod will remain unchanged. "We'd be pretty hard-pressed to improve on that," Johnson explained. Valve's additions to the DotA formula will be largely cosmetic, focusing on "infrastructure, art, and providing helpful tools to newcomers so they can figure out what's going on." That seems like a good compromise -- keep the things that hardcore DotA fans already know and love, while giving a leg-up to people like us, who manage to lose DotA matches within mere milliseconds.
Dota 2 FAQ has Icefrog talking AI bots, replays and more
Icefrog himself has answered a set of frequently asked questions on Dota 2's official website, clarifying and detailing a few concerns players have had since the game's official announcement. Much of the questions revolve around players leaving games -- Valve has not only implemented an AI system to take over for missing players, but players will be able to have a "friend of similar skill level" jump in and take over if necessary, or simply jump into current games that are missing players. The bots will also be customizable, so if you want to play against an AI that tests a specific part of your game, like "denying, last hitting, and harassing," there will be specific configurations to challenge those. Replays are also mentioned -- players will be able to examine games in progress from all sorts of angles, watching charts and graphs in real time as the game goes on. There will also be "commentating and editing" features for replays, and the game will make extensive use of the Steam Cloud, keeping keyboard preferences, replay files and other settings available from any computer. Icefrog also says that there won't be any changes for the sake of change in the actual gameplay, and that he will continue development on the original Warcraft 3 mod "for as long as the community wants," but that Dota 2 "represents the long term future for the game." In that sense, Dota 2 sounds like a very direct translation of the original game, though Valve is sparing no expense in adding metagame features to make it a smoother experience for everyone.
Blizzard's Pardo: 'DOTA' belongs to community, not Valve
Intra-industry sniping is, as any commenter will tell you, the fuel that powers the engine of gaming blogs. Imagine our disappointment, then, upon seeing Blizzard's design VP Rob Pardo being completely reasonable when he explained to Eurogamer why he thought Valve trademarking the word "DOTA" was a misstep. "DOTA" is, of course, short for "Defense of the Ancients," a WarCraft III variant created by the game's fan community. Valve recently announced it was working on a sequel to the mod, prompting them to file a trademark for the acronym (but not the full title) earlier this year."To us, that means that you're really taking it away from the Blizzard and Warcraft III community and that just doesn't seem the right thing to do. Valve is usually so pro mod community. It's such a community company that it just seems like a really strange move to us... I really don't understand why [they would do it], to be honest." Pardo's sentiment echoes that of two of the original mod's designers, Steve "Pendragon" Mescon and Steve "Guinsoo" Feak, who spoke out against the trademark in August. Blizzard, for its part, is clearly undeterred by Valve's claim, as evidenced by the fact that it's currently fashioning a StarCraft II mod called "Blizzard Dota."
Alleged Valve employee speaks out on DotA co-developer
An alleged Valve employee seeking to air grievances with his employer and one specific employee has taken to an anonymous blog titled "The Truth About IceFrog." In it, the person -- supposedly working on "an unrelated project" from "IceFrog" -- describes not just a poor working environment with the Defense of the Ancients co-developer (whose real name is said to be Abdul Ismail), but also details "something fishy" regarding his past. Though "IceFrog" apparently told colleagues and Valve execs he never worked at S2 Games -- developers of Heroes of Newerth, a DotA clone -- a handful of online evidence suggests he did at one point (DotA co-developer Steve "Pendragon" Mescon even outright states as much). Furthermore, the anonymous blogger likens "IceFrog's" actions to being "the CEO of McDonald's (DOTA) looking for a job at Burger King (Riot Games), then working for Fatburger (S2 Games), then quitting and going to work for Wendy's (Valve) but outright lying to Wendy's (Valve) of involvement with ANY previous employer," adding, "In the corporate world, this would be the equivalent of stealing trade secrets." As announced this morning, "IceFrog" is currently working on Dota 2 for Valve. When we contacted S2 Games to confirm whether or not a man named Abdul Ismail or "IceFrog" ever worked there, we were repeatedly told, "No comment." Valve representatives didn't mince words, saying only, "It's fake," while League of Legends developer Riot Games offered, "At no time did Abdul Ismail, or anyone known as 'IceFrog,' work at or for Riot Games in any capacity." Now if you don't mind us, we can't fight the sudden urge for a fast food burger. If you've got first-hand knowledge regarding any of the accusations, feel free to drop us a line.
Dota 2 detailed, includes all 100+ characters and new social features
Valve's newly announced Dota 2 will bring back all of the WarCraft 3 mod's hundred-plus heroes, and bring some new social features in as well. A writeup over at Game Informer says that Valve is updating its Steamworks system specifically for the game, and in addition to including in-game features like the ability to point out and recommend certain strategies and items for beginning players, veterans will get rewarded for helping outside of the game as well, by writing and editing strategy guides and tips. There will also be an in-game coaching system available with voice chat and screen sharing, all designed to help a wider audience adapt to the hardcore world of "action RTS" gameplay. As for gameplay, there will be still only one map to play on, though there will be different match types available, some added after launch. "Denying" is in -- DoTA remake League of Legends decided not to include the controversial mechanic in its gameplay, but Valve's version will let you kill your own creeps to prevent the enemy from getting XP. And AI bots will be available, but not for a full singleplayer experience, just to fill in when human players drop out or aren't around. Graphics will of course be updated -- GI says Valve has "a sizable art team" working on the game, and there are other design tweaks as well, like the environments getting the saturation tuned down so players can focus on the gameplay. Characters will have all new voicework, too, and not just toss out one-liners in certain situations, but sometimes even interact when they have a past with one of their teammates or opponents (we already know who one of those voices will be). And Valve promises the game will get the same community support as its other titles like Team Fortress 2, including possibly more hat-related shenanigans. It all sounds quite fun. Too bad we have to wait until 2011 to actually sit in Ventrilo Valve's own voice chat, and play Dota.
Valve announces Dota 2, coming to the PC and Mac in 2011
As expected, Valve has just announced Dota 2 – that's capital D, lower-cased ota – its "massive sequel for one of the most played games in the world." There aren't many details in the short press release found after the break, save for its platforms -- Mac and PC -- and its release window of 2011. The title, which eschews the original's acronymic camel-casing ("DotA"), also avoids any mention of the actual original game's title, which is "Defense of the Ancients." Earlier this year, Valve filed a trademark application for the DotA trademark which led one of the game's original creators, Steve "Pendragon" Mescon -- now working on DotA-esque League of Legends at Riot Games -- to tell Joystiq that he was "surprised that [Valve has] decided to try to trademark the DotA name, because it goes against what [he] and others believe DotA means to the community." Riot Games even counter-filed for the DotA trademark, pledging "to protect the work that [original DotA creator] Eul, Guinsoo and dozens of other modders have done to create the game," adding, "if we were to obtain the trademark, we would keep the game and the DotA name freely available to the mod community." Update: Game Informer got its hands on the game; here's our takeaway of that preview.
DotA developers voice concern over Valve's 'DOTA' trademark
A couple of the developers who helped evolve the popular Defense of the Ancients mod are concerned with Valve's recent DOTA trademark filing, as well as its implications for the future of the game. Steve "Pendragon" Mescon and Steve "Guinsoo" Feak, who helped with the creation of DotA Allstars and now work at Riot Games on the free-to-play DotA-inspired League of Legends, believe DotA should remain a "community-owned product that modders, independent developers and game fans can continue to modify and play as often as they'd like." Mescon said he understands why Valve would want to make a DotA-inspired game, but told Joystiq that he was "surprised that [Valve have] decided to try to trademark the DotA name, because it goes against what [he] and others believe DotA means to the community." He suggested that by trademarking the name, Valve is attempting to take ownership of the name and "exercising control over its future." Mescon believes the "DotA name should remain the property of the community at-large, as it always has." Despite these issues, Mescon said, "We are actually really interested to see what they can do with this genre because we are excited to see companies of Valve's caliber to enter the space that we've been working in for the last few years." We contacted Valve for comment on this piece, but as the company has yet to officially announce the game, we'll just have to continue following this story as it develops.
Valve files 'DOTA' trademark
A few days after voice actor Jon St. John (best known as Duke Nukem) tweeted about doing work on Valve's unannounced Defense of the Ancients, Superannuation has noted a trademark filed by the publisher with the US Patent and Trademark Office for "DOTA." We're following up with Valve again for an official response, but you know how this one goes. It's okay, Valve -- you can talk to us. There's no shame in working on DotA. We're okay with it, nobody is judging you -- we'll still give you bro hugs and use Steam even after you come out with it.
Duke Nukem voice actor recorded for Valve's 'Defense of the Ancients'
We heard a while ago that Defense of the Ancients creator Icefrog had been hired by Valve to work on something that would make DotA fans excited, and now voiceover artist Jon St. John – better known as the voice of Duke Nukem – has tweeted that he visited Valve in Seattle to do some "recording for DotA." Interesting. There have been a few DotA-style games released already, including the popular League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth, but if Valve's collaboration with Icefrog is actually called Defense of the Ancients, it could be even closer to the classic game than any of the full-scale competitors. Of course, the original DotA was a WarCraft 3 mod based on an original StarCraft map, but with Valve on board, this would presumably be a standalone title with plenty of Icefrog insight. We've contacted Valve to see what's up and just how close that announcement might be, and we'll let you know if and when we hear back. [Thanks, Mark B.]
