Video games are usually considered fun pastimes and great distractions by non-gamers. These people do not carry the mindset that it is possible to take games to the next level, to make them complex, complicated and competitive to the point of making a career out of it for some. It may then come as a surprise when Valve (a popular video game developer) held The International 2013, a video game tournament with a prize pool of over 2.5 million dollars. This tournament invited 16 top-tier teams from all over the world to compete in a 5 versus 5 match up in a game known as Dota 2. Most people would consider this ludicrous, why give this much money to people who simply play videogames? To answer this question one must delve not only into the depths and the complexities of what makes Dota 2 have these amazing qualities but also into the pool of Esports in general.

Many people despise video games, they believe they are mindless wastes of time which require no skill or thought. These people have probably played their share of Angry Birds or Cut the Rope and might think that this is all that games can offer. These people have not been witness to the gems of the genre, video games which require long and hard cognitive ability combined with patience and teamwork. Dota 2 is among this genre and it is a beautiful and enthralling entrant. The premise is simple: two teams of five heroes fight to destroy the enemies base. Each real life player on both teams chooses from a roster of over 100 heroes each with different abilities. This combined with the fact that there are over 100 items in the game pushes the game to a new complexity probably never attained by any other game before. The fact that you have to spend a considerable amount of time to become modest at the game is a gigantic factor which will turn some off but will propel others to read, learn and experiment in order to perfect their play and have the most fun possible.
Dota 2 and many other video games boggle minds: what drives these gamers to spend so much time, what is the reward? First of all there is a living thriving community surrounding these games. On websites such as Reddit, and gaming wikis, gamers can unite, participate and share what they love to do with others. This drives the community in dota 2 and thanks to the plethora of free guides kindly written by more experienced players online, new players can climb the steep learning curve more easily. While Dota 2 is a challenge the feeling of accomplishment which comes in response to you learning is incredible and pushes you to learn more, get better and therefore have more fun. Dota 2 has a gigantic reports following with tournaments such as the International 3, this is an example of when the community can come together and watch the best of the best play the game they adore for a giant cash prize. This can also propel others to try the game in order to see what all the fuss ( and frankly giant prize money) is all about.
Video games have been dismissed as simple and boring wastes of time when in reality they are strategic, fun, entertaining and rewarding. Dota 2 is the prime example of this type of game, one with a thriving and helpful community which will bring you into the game and help you get started in one of the best gaming experiences of all time. Dota 2 and gaming in general are fairly underlooked and deserve more recognition for both the strategy and the time commitment required to become successful in the game.