Return of the RTS continued - DotA 2!!!

This week I have an update to my last post about the return of the real time strategy game as a popular genre in computer gaming. This week popular video game development company Valve, of Half-Life, Counter-Strike and Portal fame as well as the popular Xbox 360 franchise Left 4 Dead, announced that they have signed on and begun development on
DotA 2, a sequel to the ever popular fan made mod of Blizzard's Warcraft 3, Defense of the Ancients. Valve is working with and has given all creative decisions to the self made game developer IceFrog who as been the designer of DotA for the last few years as well as heading the official DotA website DotaAllstars.com which has since been shut down due to Icefrog's leaving. IceFrog has since made his own DotA headquarters at playDotA.com, which he has just begun to use promote the new game which is set to release in 2011.

DotA Game in Progress

I've mentioned the game League of Legends and DotA in my previous post and for those who don't know what LoL or DotA are, they are team based tower defense games that are based in a real time strategy engine but also incorporate elements of role playing games, such as leveling up and buying/building items and upgrades. They are fast paced and competitive and can be a lot of fun.

I have high hopes for this new version which will be a complete, standalone game. It will be the first time the DotA brand will be freed from the now ancient Warcraft 3 engine which is over 7 years old, but Valve plans to bring more that just graphics to the table. They will be implementing things which would have been impossible in the Warcraft engine, such as an improved AI for computer controlled characters, improved voice acting, integrated Voip (voice over IP), and a more sophisticated and intuitive ranking system to make team battles more fair.

Valve games has had a long history of turning out great games as well as their own fan-made game mod that made it onto store shelves in their popular first person shooter franchise Counter-Strike, which was originally a mod for Valve's Half-Life.

With DotA 2 Valve promises to keep all of the key elements of the game play, as well as DotA's list of over 100 different characters, the same so that it will be instantly recognizable to a veteran player. They are also looking to attract new players by giving more detailed in game guides as well as proposing a coaching system which will pair up veterans with newer players.  As a fan and one time avid player of DotA I will be waiting to see more of this new adaptation of an old favorite.