Some of you may recognize the name Jon St. John. Yeah, he has a badass name in real life, but he’s also done voice acting for one well-known and incredibly delayed badass: Duke Nukem. Well, Jon St. John has a new project, and one that could be of interest to LoL players. He’s doing voice acting for Valve’s version of DotA.
I don’t really have any details, and frankly, the DotA moniker comes from JSJ, not from Valve. What we do know is that Valve hired IceFrog (the mind behind DotA (along with Zileas)) to make something to please DotA fans. Jon St. John posted to his Twitter account this weekend that he has been doing voice work for DotA at Valve Software. I’m not sure why he would call out the name of the game without hearing it from Valve, and if they didn’t give him the go ahead, you can bet he wouldn’t be talking about it.
This doesn’t necessarily mean a whole lot for the LoL community, but it could be bad news for any HoN fans out there. I’ve played a bit of HoN and been completely unimpressed, so it’s not like the name DotA will kill a game like LoL. It could kill HoN, though, especially with the kind of money Valve has. What could be a problem for LoL is just that – the money.
Valve could very easily sweep in on LoL territory with more bank, more developers, but more importantly, more support. With better server uptime and the bankroll to back a quicker development cycle, Valve could make a dent in the LoL player base. That’s not to say Valve will do that, just that it could with the resources it has. Valve was notoriously slow with some of the TF2 developments, though, even if TF2 has a massive player base. Let’s also not forget that IceFrog did work on HoN, and we can all see how well that’s going.
In short, I think it’s totally possible that Valve is working up a DotA clone and it has the potential to make a bit of a stink for the big players in the MOBA world. There are so many variables, though, that Valve has a long way to go before
Posted in: league of legends, News
Tags: dota, hon, icefrog, league, league of legends, lol, valve
Just out of curiosity, how many of you have played HoN and how does it compare to LoL? I haven’t played it because I have limited gaming time and I’m not sure I want to shell out money when LoL is enjoyable 80% of the time.
I played it just before it launched and I was unimpressed. The graphics are “good,” but they’re a total wreck. It’s very difficult to see what’s going on during any fight, very hard to last hit minions, and despite most heroes being DotA clones, the text for each skill is so lore-ridden that you don’t really get a good understanding of what it does.
I also hated the shop system. DotA was hard enough to learn with all the combo items and the secret shop out in the woods. Luckily, I learned DotA from my brother, so I could ask him where stuff was. With HoN, I just don’t have the patience to try to figure out a store like that.
I gotta say, I’m glad you gave up as fast as you did. If you cannot figure out a simple shop system, (which is hot keyed), how would you even play the game? Its funny how the fan base is so polarized when its come to HoN and LoL. I like both personally, but when its comes to DotA, HoN is definitely doing everything right being an exact clone. The only thing anyone ever wanted was for an update to the graphics, and the UI. LoL took out so much, I play it only when I’m drunk or high, and sometimes if I just do not feel like trying so hard. No denying, free port, player spells, its almost a Disney version of DotA. The ONLY thing thats better about LoL than HoN is the community, but thats because its a different game. Losing is the same as winning in LoL, and everyone is terrible…. When DotA 2.0 comes out, Ill just have to say fuck HoN and LoL, 30$ for the past year is nothing, and justifiable till its released.
Heh, I tried HoN in beta and it was ugly and annoying to play as hell. Hard to see things, muddy graphics, etc. Also, the few people I played with were complete and total expletives. Usually in betas you get a decent crowd. HoN had, without a doubt, the worst (by far) beta crowd I have ever gamed with.
So yeah, definitely a different strokes/folks thing.
Don’t you think it’s a little strange to point out polarization between player bases and then say things like “everyone is terrible?” To each his own. I think the shop system in HoN is pretty terrible – the tooltips are tiny, there’s a stat system to acclimate to (yes, carried over from DotA). As a former DotA player I figured it out, but I had to work for it. From a new player’s perspective, HoN feels very exclusive – from the community down to the complexity of the store. Personally, I don’t think that’s a good thing. Disney for me.
I tried HoN before and after release. I was unimpressed by the interface, mainly, and how hard it ws to pick up. People new to the game would get completely stomped, and despite being a DotA player, i had trouble figuring out the shops, hotkeys, etc. Not to mention the community is pretty horrid. Gameplay was alright once you got the hang of it though.
And i thought that IceFrog just gave them permission to use the idea and take from his characters, not that he actually worked on it?
I beta tested both LoL and HoN and played DotA for a few years. I dont like HoN BECAUSE its an exact clone of DotA, all the names and items are different and makes it impossible for an experienced DotA player to jump in and play with out going back to square one and studying the item names going “ohhhh thats BFly!” or “that one is Pudge”. LoL, on the other hand, adds to DotA with the player spells, runes, and masteries and completely new heroes.(ok, a few skills did find their way into LoL, like Pudge’s Hook) LoL hands down!!!!