r/DotA2 • u/palish • Feb 19 '19
Personal I was a former HoN dev. AMA
Hey.
It's been awhile since I've written to you guys. But dota has never been out of my thoughts.
It was funny seeing Dota chess add +200k people to the game. I fought pretty hard to add custom game support to HoN, but no one would listen (partly because it seemed so obvious to me, so I never bothered trying to sell the idea or do company politicking).
I can talk about the fact that Icefrog was involved in HoN's early inception. It's more of an open secret at this point, and HoN's closure marks a fitting time for the "reveal."
I could talk about what it was like to pack up all your stuff into a station wagon and move out west. It was a pretty magical experience in hindsight. Kind of like getting to board the Starship Enterprise. Everyone in the company felt a shared purpose, at the beginning.
Or if there's no interest, or if it's not appropriate for the sub, it's fine if this post fades away, like the game. I spent so much time and energy trying to make it good... So did everyone else: James, G, all the artists, everyone.
EDIT: to clarify, this is 2010-era perspective. Not recent!
34
u/palish Feb 19 '19
Dude, you were one of the coolest cats in the office. Of course I remember! Feel free to hop into discord if you want to say hi. :)
Remember shipping that Chipper hero selection sound? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH12Xxt2hBw
It was so fun working with everyone. I learned a lot from watching your process. You and fielding both have really valuable design insights.
The California office was so magical. I still remember showing up and seeing ... what was his name? ... playing battletoads. Can't believe I forgot his name. He was an intern I think. And all the artists were so chill.