DotA Museum: Museum of the Ancients

Go back in time as we venture through the Museum of the Ancients to read the history of Dota 2.

In here we will try to compile and share all accounts in history of what has happened to this iconic game, how it came to be and how it created a genre all on a caliber of its own. Read through the accounts of all the forefathers' lore and how they impacted the game. Take a quick read on the story of the creator, the founders who left, and the one who kept the dying embers of Dota's future alive when everyone seemed to have forgotten it - giving it a little bit more borrowed time just enough for the last father to preserve it until the era of Rebirth.

The Genesis Script

Where it all began

Hello.. Stranger.

Before anything else, let it be known that this year marks the 13th year of a legendary civil war that divided millions of the population of the world into two warring factions. Let it be known that 13 years ago, two ancient thrones stood with only a handful of heroes and only a hundred followers to man each faction.

How odd is it that two factions could fight each other to the death in defense of their throne – yet embrace one another as brothers in arms? How strange is it that the entirety of the people amongst these factions are very different as an individual, and yet very similar as a community? How extraordinary is it that we could find unity in difference? Our bond is in our differences. Our excitement lies within the battles. Throne rush is in our blood. Team fight is our custom. And ganking is our nature.

We are similar because we are different. Who knew that this civil war had the power to change the world as we know it? And so today, this war, the leaders behind it, and all the heroes in the vanguard who fought an endless battle for us will be honored unto their rightful place of recognition in history within the Museum of the Ancients.

Stranger, allow me to give you praise for being a spirited soul who would venture the path unbeknownst to many. Welcome to the DotA Museum. Together we will unravel the history behind the birth of the unending conflict between the two Ancients. Together we will cast a light over the unsung history of the founding fathers of this great battle. Together we will unfold the story that strung all of us together in the first place. I will be your guide in your visit to the Museum. Again, welcome.

The Beginning.

During a time in the distant past in the year of 2002, a mapmaker under the alias “Eul” created a mod within Blizzard's famous and story-rich RTS game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Reign of Chaos was the much anticipated sequel to the already addicting game of its time - Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. The map Eul developed was based on a mod called Aeon of Strife[mmos.com] which was featured and already existing in a different Blizzard game known as Starcraft. Aeon of Stife was the first of it's kind – and from this “Defense of the Ancients” was born. Basically, Defense of the Ancients is a mod of a mod. And in its purest essence, it is a game within a game. Or is it?

The Universe Awakens.

No one knew, not even Eul the creator himself, that the mod would spearhead the evolution of the gaming world. And after the release of Warcraft III's expansion “The Frozen Throne” in July of 2003, Eul's mod was already well-received and mapmakers created their own different versions of DotA. Among the countless variations that rippled in the wake of Eul's map a certain title made a spark and from that point on, the name DotA Allstars will echo in the years to come – certainly, this was indeed a diamond in the rough. As countless titles of unofficial revamps of the original map gained popularity, the DotA community also grew bigger and bigger. During that same year, Eul also released his official sequel of DotA called “Thirst for Gamma”;however, the mod didn't gain as much popularity, and as a result the sequel was shelved early[lanepushinggames.com]. A sad story. But history doesn't end there.

Eul's Scepter: then and now.

When the stars crossed paths.

Still back in the year 2003, the promising title DotA Allstars was gaining popularity and it was already on its way to becoming a wildfire. Originally, the mod was developed by Meian and Ragn0r who compiled the most popular heroes from all the spinoffs into one map; however, in March 2004 of the following year, a great change was to come – and DotA Allstars would step into another era – an era where item recipes would be implemented. In this particular time-line, the development of all versions starting from early 3.xx – 5.xx was taken over by mapmaker Guinsoo. Yes, the same person who was named before the mightiest clickable item in the game as Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse (then and now)

– which would be later known in Dota 2 as Scythe of Vyse (AKA The Sheepstick). Also, during this particular year's stretch Guinsoo's friend, Pendragon, founded dota-allstars.com the centre of all things DotA. The names sound familiar? Yes? No? Don't be surprised because toward the end of the 3.xx – 5.xx era, Guinsoo and Pendragon would eventually leave the DotA Allstars scene to work for Riot Games to develop League of Legends leaving Allstars to the hands of Neichus and IceFrog. Soon there after, the collapse of dota-allstars.com would become inevitable. Some say that six years of tradition was wiped out. I believe at least four years of history, culture and content was taken down with it. This entire chain of events would become the reason behind the cataclysm[www.giantbomb.com] between the die-hard DotA loyalists, and the exiled Guinsoo and Pendragon.

Dark times.

After the departure of Guinsoo and Pendragon, the development was overseen by Neichus and IceFrog. And the DotA Allstars community would eventually find refuge in their new home at IceFrog's http://www.playdota.com/.

However, before IceFrog, there was a time of darkness. And during this dark times, when the DotA's fire was reduced to nothing but stacks of ashes and flickers of ember, there is a forgotten name buried deep within DotA's history. A man that would serve as the hand that protected these ashes and embers from the blowing winds of the void. The name was Neichus, dubbed respectfully as Neichus the Forgotten but for the sake of history, we shall remember him as Neichus the Keeper. His is a story only a few would know.

DotA Allstars would only be under Neichus for a short period of time as fate would have it, and the community would soon know DotA Allstar's last successor, IceFrog. Not many people know who Neichus is, or who he was for the Dota community, but his short term led DotA to what it is today.

The Renaissance.

Years have passed since IceFrog took over the project, and in the year 2009 his commitment would bear a great fruit. Around this year IceFrog was contacted by Valve with a once-in-a-life-time offer to create a standalone version of the legendary DotA Allstars, which is known today as Dota 2. The new platform would continue on to become an icon not only of a new breed of MOBA game, but also as an icon of success fueled by passion and pure love of the game whose ripples originated from a young man's simple hobby. The OG will always remain in the hearts of many. We will always remember that Defense of the Ancients is where it all began.

And with this, I now lie the history of DotA to rest in the Museum of Ancients.

We'll hear from each other again when I come back with the scripts bearing the story behind the forefathers: Eul, Guinsoo, Pendragon, Neichus and IceFrog.