Big names in the ESports community:
DreamHack (Counter-Strike, StarCraft, DotA, Street Fighter, Battlefield, and others played professionally.
Major League Gaming (MLG) (StarCraft, Halo, League of Legends, Soul Calibur, and Mortal Kombat being played professionally)
The IGN Pro League (League of Legends, StarCraft)
For those who don't know about StarCraft:
Day[9]
DjWHEAT
Husky
HD Starcraft
Tasteless and Artosis (Tastosis)
DotA and the MOBA Genre - Multiplayer Online Battle Arena:
Originally developed as a modification of the competitive Warcraft 3 game, Defense of the Ancients (DotA) emerged as a high-octane variation of "Real Time Strategy" (RTS) games, with DotA itself having been inspired by a custom game mode for the original StarCraft, Aeon of Strife (AoS). MOBA games focus on online, massively multiplayer, high-action Player versus Player combat. Since Aeon of Strife, a deluge of similar games have been released:
Demigod - Standalone game that enjoyed moderate success. Available via Steam.
League of Legends (official site) - An enormously popular though widely regarded as "less technical" recreation of DotA created, in part, by some of the same team who developed DotA. Now, the game is played professionally worldwide and offers over 100 characters (champions) to choose from. Offers 3v3 and 5v5 game modes. Free to play. Has itss own client, available through the official site.
Heroes of Newerth (official site) - A true-to-its-roots, nearly carbon-copy of the original DotA offering intense 5v5 combat. Considerably more technical than LoL, HoN is also played competitively worldwide. Free to Play. Has its own client, available through official site.
Bloodline Champions (official site ) - The consistently fastest-paced game of the bunch, Bloodline Champions pits up to ten players against each other in (up to) 5v5 combat. Free to Play.
DotA 2 (official site) - Coming up sometime this year, DotA 2 is the stand-alone successor to the original Defense of the Ancients being developed by the video-game powerhouse Valve. It will be as similar to the original as possible - Defense of the Ancients original designer IceFrog is on boad. Will be available via Steam and possibly free-to-
DjWHEAT
Husky
HD Starcraft
Tasteless and Artosis (Tastosis)
DotA and the MOBA Genre - Multiplayer Online Battle Arena:
Originally developed as a modification of the competitive Warcraft 3 game, Defense of the Ancients (DotA) emerged as a high-octane variation of "Real Time Strategy" (RTS) games, with DotA itself having been inspired by a custom game mode for the original StarCraft, Aeon of Strife (AoS). MOBA games focus on online, massively multiplayer, high-action Player versus Player combat. Since Aeon of Strife, a deluge of similar games have been released:
Demigod - Standalone game that enjoyed moderate success. Available via Steam.
League of Legends (official site) - An enormously popular though widely regarded as "less technical" recreation of DotA created, in part, by some of the same team who developed DotA. Now, the game is played professionally worldwide and offers over 100 characters (champions) to choose from. Offers 3v3 and 5v5 game modes. Free to play. Has itss own client, available through the official site.
Heroes of Newerth (official site) - A true-to-its-roots, nearly carbon-copy of the original DotA offering intense 5v5 combat. Considerably more technical than LoL, HoN is also played competitively worldwide. Free to Play. Has its own client, available through official site.
Bloodline Champions (official site ) - The consistently fastest-paced game of the bunch, Bloodline Champions pits up to ten players against each other in (up to) 5v5 combat. Free to Play.
DotA 2 (official site) - Coming up sometime this year, DotA 2 is the stand-alone successor to the original Defense of the Ancients being developed by the video-game powerhouse Valve. It will be as similar to the original as possible - Defense of the Ancients original designer IceFrog is on boad. Will be available via Steam and possibly free-to-
Is there a way to get better at these types of games without getting pounded by the pros? Something like a "campaign mode" equivalent? I haven't played many online games, but when I did, any time I came into a new environment with a lack of knowledge the other gamers were upset I was around. It made the high level aspects of WoW a real bummer and was a big part of the reason I quit.
ReplyDeleteI can't vouch for DotA 2's or Demigod's matchmaking, but Heroes of Newerth (aside from the steep learning curve), as well as StarCraft and League of Legends all have skill-based matchmaking. League of Legends includes a leveling system for newer players, and StarCraft has a campaign but it doesn't translate 100% to the multiplayer.
ReplyDelete