If You Squint, These Four DOTA Games All Look The Same

22 responses to “If You Squint, These Four DOTA Games All Look The Same”

1. 

   GamePlayer

   August 16, 2011 at 12:55 pm

   Not taking credit for the image (in the slightest) but funny that I posted this to Facebook yesterday:
   http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=180267502043752&set=a.168368916566944.40861.154161754654327&type=1&theater

   Reply
   1. 

      GamePlayer

      August 16, 2011 at 12:57 pm

      That image has the logos added for anyone who is DotA-impaired.

      Reply
2. 

   Steve

   August 16, 2011 at 1:00 pm

   What does DOTA stand for??

   Reply
   1. 

      GamePlayer

      August 16, 2011 at 1:01 pm

      Defense of the Ancients.

      Although, ironically, what most people refer to as “DotA” is in fact called “DotA Allstars”, it’s just a lot more famous than the original DotA mod.

      Reply
   2. 

      andy

      August 16, 2011 at 4:56 pm

      Defence Of The Asians =P

      Reply
3. 

   Luis

   August 16, 2011 at 1:00 pm

   You sound like a bad journalist is what you sound like. Congratulations

   Reply
4. 

   Steven Bogos

   August 16, 2011 at 1:16 pm

   In short: Yes you do (sound like one of those cranky know-nothings who belches that every first-person shooter is the same because they all have iron sights and the color gray).

   It’s easy to look at something on such a superficial level as a series of screenshots that are DELIBERATELY TAKEN to look as similar as possible, but the differences between these games when you go down into the mechanics of it all is massive. LoL and HoN, despite having the same map, are played almost completely differently.

   It’s like saying Japanese and Koreans look similar so their cultures must be identical.

   Reply
5. 

   rantOclock

   August 16, 2011 at 1:22 pm

   Each of the games has a very different art style but the maps are very similar and that’s because the map is very integral to game it self. It’s harder to change the map than it is to change the actual rules of the game in some ways.

   Maybe comparing it to the endless iterations of Risk and Monopoly will make it easier to understand.

   Personally I think that it’s not the Dota game, map or art style that really needs improving or changing but the community. A task I’m not even sure if Valve is capable of achieving.

   Reply
6. 

   Blake

   August 16, 2011 at 1:40 pm

   League of Legends has had another map since it’s inception that plays very differently, it’s also adding a new map control capture the flag kinda map thing soon.

   Reply
   1. 

      GamePlayer

      August 16, 2011 at 1:50 pm

      It’s adding Arathi Basin.

      (Not saying WoW did it first, just my point of reference)

      Reply
7. 

   whawhat

   August 16, 2011 at 1:45 pm

   I can tell you that these all look ‘the same’ to me and the incredibly dull Warcraft style fantasy setting means I don’t even consider playing them. As for the hideous UI overlays..

   Reply
   1. 

      matt

      August 17, 2011 at 2:10 am

      hideous.. they suit the job, they look pretty normal to me. also, every one of your favorite games was influenced by an earlier game, so stfu about copying

      Reply
8. 

   Ethan

   August 16, 2011 at 1:56 pm

   They all look the same, but the slightest change in game mechanics can change the gameplay. This genre has a steep learning curve, but can be very satisfying if you manage to master it.

   Due to the fact that it has over 100+ heroes, and only a maximum of 10 heroes each game, your team has to devise a different strategy almost every game, which is what makes it challenging, but rewarding if played well.

   Reply
9. 

   brent3000

   August 16, 2011 at 2:23 pm

   <3 LoL 🙂 Better community so far.. DotA and HON have such harsh communities i find 🙁

   Reply
   1. 

      SOX

      August 16, 2011 at 2:49 pm

      So far 😛 Hit 30 and start doing ranked games and it does a nose dive haha. But I would argue it wouldn’t be the same without the brutal communities.

      Reply
      1. 

         Mr Matsuda

         August 18, 2011 at 11:53 am

         But by that point you ARE expected to know what you’re doing.

         Reply
      2. 

         Mr Matsuda

         August 18, 2011 at 11:53 am

         But by that point you ARE expected to know what you’re doing.

         Reply
10. 

    gman

    August 16, 2011 at 2:29 pm

    Just let me clear things up for the guys that haven’t played Dota.

    That particular map style (river in the middle, ramps at that specific location, lower forest and upper forest areas) is the end product of countless iterations of different map styles.

    As you may have guessed, one of the hardest thing the creators needed to get right was balance for both teams. There were many maps before where one side could exploit certain map attributes (yes, sometimes even ONE misplaced tree!) to get an unfair advantage over the opponent, be it vision, vantage point, or cheesy traps.

    The map as it is now is what people would call the “stable” map, suitable for tournaments and the like.

    hope that clears things up.

    Reply
11. 

    Akra

    August 16, 2011 at 2:44 pm

    LoL is the only one that really stands out

    Reply
12. 

    Cooper

    August 16, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    They are all very different games so far. The maps are very similar but HoN has another map which is awesome aswell so it’s not only one map for ever and ever

    Reply
13. 

    blahblah

    August 16, 2011 at 5:36 pm

    I have no idea what a DOTA is.

    Reply
14. 

    Steve

    August 17, 2011 at 12:12 am

    Saying “all FPSes are the same” isn’t even in the same goddamn ballpark as the dota games. They’re not just same genre-lookalikes. They ARE the same game. Exactly the same mechanics and aesthetics too..

    Only reason why there are 3 now, is because the original dota creators (largely) split into 3 separate camps that were bought out or founded separate companies.

    Reply