Dota 2: Do we Need Mainstream?

by TastyJack Tuesday, September 09, 2014 0 comments

I've been following the professional scene for Dota for a very long time now. If you had told me when I first started watching that DotA would have a prize pool of 11 million USD, I would have laughed. What a lot of people don't under is that the professional scene in DotA 1 has never had the smooth ride that a lot of other esport titles have had. Dota 1 never got the recognition at major competitions like WCG, ESL, simply because we never had the support of a major game company. Because, Dota 1 was a mod, a lot of companies would refuse to have Dota All-Star tournaments.

As such, Dota has always been more community driven and community based than other games. We were the ones that drove DotA forward, so that we would have the tournaments that we wanted like SMM and ESWC. We told Ice Frog what needed to change and it would get changed. 

The story of DotA has always been the story of an underdog. For example, the community was destroyed when LoL was announced. It felt like a betrayal when prominent DotA community members went to LoL. The community shrunk and got smashed. For a long time, community power seemed like it wasn't going to be enough to keep the game together. 

When Valve came along with the promise of Dota 2. Even then, the community knew that DotA had a long way to go before we became mainstream in the gaming community. 

If the aim of DotA was to become accepted into the gaming community, we have well and truly done that and more. DotA, is now in a unique position where we can break into the mainstream public. The question I want to ask is whether we should try break into the mainstream public.

The community has done so much for the game in the past 4 years.  We held Valve accountable for Diretide, we propped up community members that we liked like SirActionSlacks and Sheever. We destroyed the reputation of those like Sayuri and Speed Gaming International's manager and funded BTS. Dota Cinema recently passed 1 million subscribers.

The community continues to drive the game direction into the future; this is clear. To make sure we don't mess up we need to look to the past to see what we've done right and what we've done wrong. 

Dota has always succeeded because we ensured the game, above everything else stayed fun. We tried only to please ourselves. When WCG ignored DotA for other titles, we dealt with it and moved on. When LoL destroyed our community base, we took the beating and moved on. We always sought to ensure the game we played was enjoyable and believed that everything else would follow. Now, with Dota 2 getting so big, we are trying to please the public. 

I feel we are trying too hard to do this and forgetting what makes our game great. Look at ESL, Frankfurt. The organisers hired a giant stadium to have a small tournament. The weeks before was filled with hype and people saying how it was a huge step forward for the community. When it actually happened the games were lack luster and the game format was disappointing. The crowd did not have the effect that I would liked to have seen. Dota should remain focused on the gameplay and the game.

Look at the Summit, they ran a tournament without all the hype and prestige. They just focused on what they knew; keeping it simple and doing simple well. They kept the atmosphere fun and relaxed. The success of the tournament can be seen for itself. The community is more than willing to watch the games without the frills and confetti. DotA can sell itself without all the other extras.

With its massive prize pool and the huge hype surrounding it, TI4 was no doubt amazing. . For me however, TI3 was more memorable. It was a combination of Kaci, of the panel, the casualness of the interviews, the interaction between fans and players, the community and the atmosphere during that time was what DotA has always stood for. TI 3 was more enjoyable as a spectator because it was informal. 

Really, in the end, I don't understand why DotA is heading in this direction. Why are we seeking the approval of others and the mainstream community when we've done so well without it?