Dota 2 is the latest chance for gamers to peek into the fascinating world of copyright law.  Defense of the Ancients is a community created modification for the 9 year old Warcraft III.  The mod was created in the editor that Blizzard released with Warcraft III and went through different revisions under different creators.  Some of the individuals involved with the creation or maintenance of the mod have since gone off and formed their own companies that recreate the mod with different graphics and characters under different names.  Valve decided to get involved in the D.O.T.A. clone game by making “Dota 2” but Blizzard decided to sue them.  It’s all very fascinating.

In addition to being a lawsuit simulator Dota 2 is also a game.   

Players are grouped into teams of five.  They choose a character from a large list with varying powers and attributes then try to destroy the other teams “Ancient Fortress”, obviously not the same thing as the “Ancient” from Defense of the Ancients.   Continue reading →