Artists and programmers playing "Defense of the Ancients 2" ("DOTA 2") better get ready for even more competition, as Valve, the game's developer, announced the "DOTA 2" custom game contest with a $30,000 prize money.
The contest, named "Frostivus," is a winter-themed custom game-making contest, where regular players get to design their own "DOTA 2" map with its own unique game mode and gameplay mechanic. This is different from the usual multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game mode popularized by "DOTA 2's" predecessor. The new custom game can be made by any number of players — as long as they all follow the rules.
As such, the custom game must be multiplayer for a maximum of ten people. It can, however, be competitive, cooperative, or both, if the creators prefer.
Players who are interested in joining may want to start gathering their development teams as early as now though, since the deadline for the said custom game mode will be on Nov. 20. Valve suggested that players let the community test their custom games so as to iron out any bug or glitch that may have been missed in the development process.
Keeping up with the seasonal theme, "Frostivus" is essentially a winter festival for the game. Its origins started back in the game's early days in 2012, where the Greevils, a hostile and fiendish non-player character (NPC) from "DOTA 2," must be defeated in the original MOBA game mode. The seasonal feature was also built around several winter-themed activities enjoyed by different game characters.
Valve has not held a "Frostivus" event since 2013, so this year is actually an exciting turn of events for the players, as most of them have been expecting the event and the new custom game mode since 2015's big "DOTA Reborn" update.
The creator or creators of the winning game mode will be handsomely rewarded with $30,000 from Valve, and their custom game mode will be used in the official "Frostivus 2017" activities.
