It was all a blur. The items, the heroes, and even the terrain made me feel lost in translation. After three minutes of trying to last hit creeps correctly I discovered that I was playing the Heroes of Newerth equivalent of Sand King, I went sand storm first, completely on accident but I felt safe with a cloak. After 45 minutes trying to adjust to HoN I was beginning to feel dizzy and excited. I was 4-7, which surprisingly, was not the worst score in the game. So, I was somewhat impressed myself.

HoN came through with all of its promises. The graphics were crisp and frankly, impressive. There was no lag and no leavers, a dream come true for anyone that has ever played a public game on battle.net. After I settled down and gathered a few thoughts I began to examine why I enjoyed it. I came to conclusion that it was essentially DotA, which really means: the creativity of Icefrog.

There is so much to admire about HoN, the graphics, the built in VOIP server, it seems unreal at first glance. I am not counting it out, but removing the element of Icefrog removes the creative aspect of DotA, which is the engine behind the game’s ever-changing dynamic, which makes it fun. The thing that scares me about HoN is, for the most part, every hero, item and idea is taken directly from DotA. HoN is a visually superior, regulated copy of a game that already exists but with less variety.

Many DotA fans can easily adjust the game and appreciate the add-ons, but what makes DotA fun is the constantly evolving dynamic, HoN is still trying to catch up to the latest version. The true value of HoN will not be seen in its ability to compensate for the inadequacies of battle.net custom maps, but in the ability of the creators to break from it and create a quality experience from their own imagination. I can not say they will never do it and am impressed with what has been done, but HoN needs to stop relying on Icefrog to freshen up its look every update.

Another problem with HoN is its ability to gather a fan base. Despite all of the disadvantages DotA may have because of the Warcraft 3 map editor, it does have the advantage of siphoning off players from the standard, ranked, ladder games. A tired melee player goes to the custom section to relax and stumbles upon DotA. That was me five years ago, back when Guinsoo still produced DotA. WC 3 serves is a marketing tool for fans. HoN’s fans are DotA fans. Neither game is mass marketing; there are no commercials or ads for either game. DotA relies on WC 3 and HoN, DotA.

In the defense of HoN, there could be enough fans now to support a community unrelated to DotA. With League of Legends, another AoS game in the picture, more than one developer has solved the problems DotA will never be able to overcome without third party software like ban lists. Not being able to rank, tag, and generally keep track of players is a major disadvantage that HoN and LoL solved. However, seeing the issue as HON vs. DotA vs. LoL may be a short sighted approach to what could become a main stream experience. There could be players that have never played DotA and can now enjoy an AoS game, which has to happen in order to ensure the survival of the genre.

Something that may change the genre further is that Icefrog does not plan to stay on the WC 3 map editor indefinitely. In a Q & A at sk-gaming.com, he spoke about a possible expansion into other engines. “I’ve been actively exploring several options for some time now. Starcraft 2 might not necessarily have what DotA needs to become a better game.” Clearly Icefrog may not stay with Blizzard’s map editor indefinitely. He commented on the issue in his blog:  “Moving to any new engine presents various challenges that need to be considered… My goal and top priority in the future is to solve the surrounding issues that affect the DotA experience in order to allow it to reach new heights.”

The only thing that can be said about HoN or DotA is that they are competing AoS games with different issues to address to ensure a quality gaming experience. DotA is stifled by its engine and the HoN team may not have the creative potential to keep fans interested by developing a unique dynamic. Neither game is near coughing up a last version. Since there are now three AoS games available for the taking the future may not be one or the other but a market for AoS games that can support multiple titles.