"Dotes McGotes" – The Silicon Sasquatch Podcast: Episode 47

Silicon Sasquatch

For this episode, we ventured into some unfamiliar territory in an effort to educate ourselves. We're not experts when it comes to competing within the MOBA, or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, genre, but even a casual bystander has to recognize there are some huge things happening within these games and the massive community of players and spectators that have grown around them. Right now, just a couple miles from where I sit, Valve's massive Dota 2 tournament, The International, is taking place with a whopping $10 million (and counting) prize pool. For the first time, Dota 2 is being broadcast on ESPN. Here are our citations and recommended reading for this week's episode:

• Arthur Gies: "Dota 2 made no sense until I saw it as a sport" (Polygon)
• Gearbox PR is attempting to stave off labeling of its upcoming Battleborn as a MOBA. "Is Battleborn A MOBA? Here's What Gearbox Says" (GameInformer)
• Riot Games, maker of League of Legends, is attempting to lower the barrier to entry with a simplified introductory mode. Emily Gera: "League of Legends will be easier for beginners with this new tutorial system" (Polygon)
• And let's not forget the questions of sexism concerning the character design present in League of Legends and Blizzard's upcoming Heroes of the Storm.

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Intro music: "humm ok" by Gablé (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) Outro music: "The Beach! The Beach!" by Holy Coast (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)