Demigod is not DotA

So, I've spent the last few days playing Demigod online. Just played my first online match this morning.

I'm not sure I'll ever get around to reviewing the game, but I felt it was worth my time to comment on it at this point.

First of all, this game is NOT that similar to DotA, or Death of the Ancients, a popular Warcraft III custom map/mod. This game is really more similar to the Aeon of Strife games that came before it. For starters, there are many more units on screen in a typical game of Demigod than in a typical game of DotA, and there are more than just melee and archer creeps. There are also angels, which are basically flying creeps, siege weapons (and they appear every wave as opposed to every 3 or 4), and healing creeps. In addition, like in the AoS lines of games (there were quite a few variations), you can upgrade your creeps, adding extra unit types and making them stronger. Like in AoS, these upgrades are essential to winning the game.

In addition, the emphasis in this game seems to be much more on the right click abilities than the left click abilities. What I mean by this is that when you are fighting against other heroes in this game, a higher percentage of your damage comes from white damage (your regular attacks) than spells, which is a pretty significant change. In addition, movement is much slower in this game. It takes forever for your unit to cross the screen (but a screen is a much bigger portion of the map in this game too.

The last thing that makes this game like AoS rather than DotA is the item system. To this point, I haven't seen a single recipe in this game, nor have I seen items with really crazy use effects (like hex staff or wind stick, or even Aghanim's Scepter aka Ult Staff).

When all is said and done, I think that this game is probably less skill intensive overall than DotA. The item system isn't as intricate, the heroes are a little bit blander (but much more customizeable), and the pacing of the game is a little bit slower overall.

That's not to say I haven't been having fun with the game. The graphics are very good, and I did really enjoy the various AoS mods in their heyday. The four "Generals" in this game can be quite challenging to use effectively, though I prefer the four "Assasins", particularly Regulus, aka Sniper. See the screenshot above for more information on how much I like him (In the screenshot, I am JohnnyJohstneft).

In short, if you like DotA but haven't played AoS, played AoS and liked it, or just want to try something new, this game can be quite a bit of fun. The online multiplayer still seems to be a little laggy, but the state of the game has improved substantially in the last few days.

-Jon

Demigod and Customer Service

So, one of the games that I have been looking forward to playing recently is an Action RPG/RTS Lite game called Demigod. At this point, I have not actually played the game (I should be getting a copy of the game in the mail in the next day or two), but issues surrounding the release are certainly worth commenting on.

Demigod has been plagued with a number of launch-day related issues, ranging from Gamestop selling copies early to mass pirating of the game, server instability, and much more. The reviews of the game vary wildly, as many review sites are hammering it for its launch day issues, and different reviewers have different levels of experience with the mod it seems to be based on (Death of the Ancients is a Warcraft III mod that is perhaps some of the best player-created gaming content of all time), and even ARPGs in general.

Through it all, Gas Powered Games and its publisher, Stardock, have been very upfront with the community regarding proposed solutions and their long-term view for the game. See the latest community update here.

This is something that I touched upon yesterday in my Braid review, and would like to talk about in the future using Burnout Paradise, but there has been a recent (am I correct, or does it just seem that way) trend in the industry towards being upfront and honest with the end user. This is awesome.

First, there is an implicit recognition that both parties in this relationship, the developer (or publisher, distributor, etc.) and the consumer, are both human. Take it from me, but there is nothing a game designer/developer wants to see more than people genuinely enjoying his game. Lost in the anti-EA threads and the over-commercialization arguments et al. is the concept that there are real people trying to make an honest living designing games, to go along with the fact that the consumer isn't someone that should be taken advantage with crappy sequels, shovelware, and shoddy games.

So if you enjoy playing a game, take the time to tell your friends about it, participate in forum banter, add positively to the community (no intelligent, mature person wants to read Guild Wars vs. WoW flame fests), or even write a letter to the developer letting them know how much you enjoy their game. I think it is fantastic that fans have been mailing Stardock fan art and even cookies.

In the meantime, I will be eagerly awaiting my copy of Demigod in the mail. I'll give you my impressions on it soon.

-Jon