An Analysis of Dota 2 s Captains Mode Drafting Interface

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1 An Analysis of Dota 2 s Captains Mode Drafting Interface Connor Garrett HCDE 301 January 19, 2018

2 Garrett 1 Introduction The purpose of this paper to analyze and evaluate the successes and failures of Dota 2 s Captains Mode draft screen s user interface via the application of three criteria: status clarity, communication tools, and error prevention. Dota 2 is played daily all over the world by hundreds of thousands of people, and a small subsection of those games are played in Captains Mode. This paper discusses the background of Dota 2 and Captains Mode, methods used, results gained and discussions about those results, and ends with a conclusion and final recommendations. Background Dota 2 is a PC video game that was released by the Valve Corporation in The game has approximately 600,000 unique players daily, and about 11 million unique players monthly (Dota 2, 2018). While the base game (which would need a full book to even scratch the surface of) stays the same in most modes, the method in which players select from the game s 115 main characters or heroes changes drastically. Captains Mode is often used by more serious players, as it is the standard mode for tournament play, which occasionally has matches with 7- figure payouts. As such, it s important for the interface to be precise and able to prevent errors. In addition, the mode is also used by players who aren t all in the same place, so it s important for these players to have adequate communication tools. The Rules of Captains Mode Captains Mode is a variant of Dota 2 s traditional All Pick mode. In Captains Mode, teams of 5, each with one captain that is the appointed decision maker, go back and forth banning and selecting heroes from the 112 available in the mode (Dark Willow, Pangolier, and Techies are currently unavailable in Captains Mode). Each team receives 6 bans (which make a hero unable to be selected for either team) and 5 picks (which commits a team to using that hero). These picks and bans must be used in a specific order, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. The standard pick/ban order at the time of writing ( Game Modes, 2018). For each decision, each team receives 30 seconds. If those 30 seconds are exhausted, the team starts to use their 130 seconds of reserve time. This time does not replenish, and if it expires a

3 Garrett 2 decision is made randomly by the computer from all available options (or bans no one if time runs out during a ban phase). This is an extremely undesirable outcome for a team. Methods In order to properly evaluate the success of the Captains Mode UI, three major points were examined: status clarity, communication tools, and error prevention. Status Clarity Status clarity means that players should be able to clearly view and understand the exact state of the draft at any particular time. Basically, a player should have all of the information that they need to make a decision available at all times (Nielsen, 1995). Players should be able to know exactly how much time is left for a decision to be made, as well as which decisions are able to be made at that specific time. For example, if a player wants to consider selecting Oracle for their team, they should be able to quickly tell if Oracle is an available selection, and not already selected or banned. In addition to having the hero pool be clear, players should also be able to quickly tell if they are currently using normal time or reserve time to make their decision, the latter of which is far more valuable. Finally, players need to know what stage the draft is at, and which heroes have been selected by which team. Communication Tools Communications tools is a rather self-explanatory category. Since Dota 2 is an online game, players are often in different locations from one another. Because of this, it s important for the game to offer inbuilt communication tools for players to coordinate on which decisions should be made at which time. These communication tools should specifically allow players to communicate about the most important decisions that will be made over the course of a draft: who to pick, who to ban, and which player will be playing as each selected hero. Error Prevention The final criterion that will be used for this evaluation is error prevention. Error prevention blocks players from accidentally making a selection that they did not mean to make, such as selecting a hero they don t want, or accidentally banning a hero they meant to pick, and so on (Nielsen, 1995). This means that there should be roadblocks set up along the way that allow correct decisions to pass through easily, but while still stopping incorrect decisions in their tracks. This criterion can be vitally important for a game like Dota 2 where matches can be played for 7 figure sums ( The International, 2017).

4 Garrett 3 Based on these three criteria, the successes and failures of Dota 2 s Captains Mode interface will be analyzed. Results and Discussions Before delving deep into the results of the analysis, it s important to have a visual of the Captains Mode interface so that certain areas of it can be properly referred to. The interface is supplied in Figure 2, which will also be referred to as the screen.

5 Figure 2. The Captains Mode selection interface (Garrett, 2018). Garrett 4

Garrett 5 Status Clarity in Captains Mode The draft display in Captains Mode does an excellent job of communicating the status of the draft at all phases of the process.

The first of these two areas is the formally unnamed area near the top of the screen between the hero pool and the two teams.

6 Garrett 5 Status Clarity in Captains Mode The draft display in Captains Mode does an excellent job of communicating the status of the draft at all phases of the process. The current phase of the draft is communicated boldly in two positions on the screen at all times. The first of these two areas is the formally unnamed area near the top of the screen between the hero pool and the two teams. In Figure 2, the phrase YOUR TEAM S TURN TO BAN clearly communicates the current decision that needs to be made. The other major area is the numbered pick tree displayed on the right side of the screen, which shows the current phase, along with all the upcoming and previous phases at a glance. The timer for decisions is also clearly visible at the top of the screen. The hero pool also updates as the draft continues, desaturating the portraits of picked heroes and marking banned ones with a red strikethrough. These elements come together to effectively make the current state of the draft clear throughout the entire drafting process. Communication Tools in Captains Mode Dota 2 offers a wide variety of communication methods for players to use in Captains Mode. The first and most traditional method that is offered is the chat box in the center-bottom of the display. Players can send text-based messages to their teammates (or their enemies) at any time via this box. However, since time is of the essence in Captains Mode, other methods of communication are available. Players can mark the map in the lower left-hand corner of the screen with the position they d like to play, however they can only mark one position at a time, limiting their ability to express versatility without using the chat box. Since the Captain must make all the pick and ban decisions, it is important for suggestions from other players to be visible. This communication is facilitated by Alt-clicking or Control-Alt-clicking a portrait, resulting in the visuals shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4. Figure 4. The visual for a hero that has been suggested as a pick (Garrett, 2018). Figure 3. The visual for a hero that has been suggested as a ban (Garrett, 2018).

7 Garrett 6 While these communication tools are effective, and certainly better than having no tools at all, they unfortunately do not offer the full flexibility that being in the same room as other players would offer. Error Prevention in Captains Mode As stated previously, error prevention is a key element of Captains Mode since high-stakes matches often use the format. While an undo button is a useful idea for many interfaces (Flaherty, 2018), given the competitive nature of the game and the fact that all decisions impact each other, a simple undo button is not an option. As such, several safeguards are provided to attempt to prevent mistakes from happening in the first place. There are two key mistakes that may be made: selecting the wrong hero, and picking a hero that was meant to be banned (and vice versa). The former of these errors is prevented by the addition of a confirmation step in the form of the button at the bottom of the pick tree, which reads BAN FACELESS VOID in Figure 2. This button also serves to prevent the problem of mixing up the ban and pick phase by changing its wording and color (the button is colored in a shade of red during the ban phase). These small touches serve to gracefully and effectively prevent errors. Conclusions Overall, the Captains Mode draft display in Dota 2 is effective when regarding status clarity and error prevention, and is mostly effective regarding player communication. It is used for every game of Captains Mode played in Dota 2, and is thankfully effective overall. The status is always communicated clearly to both teams, there are strong methods used to prevent errors before they happen, and players have a decent set of communication tools which could possibly be expanded. Recommendations Improvements to the interface could be made via the following implementations: Allow for more varied uses of the map, such as allowing players to mark more than one possible position. A second confirmation step when picking/banning could be helpful for some players.

8 Garrett 7 A list of preset phrases available to players could make chat box use faster while still allowing the full versatility of manual input. References Dota 2 (Version 7.07d). (2018). Bellevue, Washington. Flaherty, K. (2018). What the Erroneous Hawaiian Missile Alert Can Teach Us About Error Prevention. Nielsen Norman Group. Retrieved 19 January 2018, from Game modes. (2018). Dota 2 Wiki. Retrieved 19 January 2018, from Garrett, C. (2018). Screenshots of Dota 2. Nielsen, J. (1995). 10 Heuristics for User Interface Design: Article by Jakob Nielsen. Nielsen Norman Group. Retrieved 19 January 2018, from The International. (2017). Dota2.com. Retrieved 19 January 2018, from

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