love strategy and action games compared to board and mini games.

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1 HOW THE GAME ATTRACTS THE FILIPINO YOUTH? The first factor why it attracts the youth is the type of game involved. Filipino gamers The Culture of DOTA in the Philippines love strategy and action games compared to board and mini games. Joshua Frankie B. Rayo Department of Computer Science University of the Philippines Diliman It has a very different gameplay compared among other games. Also, it is a multiplayer game; people can play with others up to 10 persons per game. These are the heroes of DOTA, there are so much to choose from. They are divided into three groups, the Sentinel, the Scourge, and the Neutrals. Also they are divided further by their

2 The Culture of DOTA in the Philippines Joshua Frankie B. Rayo Department of Computer Science, University of the Philippines Diliman Abstract. The culture of DOTA (Defense of the Ancients) has taken the Philippines to storm because of its very creative gameplay that caused millions of Filipino students hard for them to avoid playing the game; and it is also evident from media to the internet. This game has brought such intense effects to the Filipino youth and its everyday life; up to the point where they are affected physically, psychologically, and their respective careers. Because of DOTA, the computer shops in the country have been growing massively since its release; the youth are gathered there to play informally and to show their enthusiasm and foster friendship, teamwork and camaraderie. It follows the booming computer shop industry and culture in the country. Also, some people handle DOTA tournaments to encourage other people and make this gaming industry to grow in the country. Because of the addiction of the people playing the game, they also express DOTA through the arts and music, language, internet and the social networks. INTRODUCTION C omputer gaming is one of the most favorite hobbies and pastime of the Filipinos aside from watching television and playing sports, until the Blizzard Entertainment released Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Icefrog, Eul & Guinsoo released the DOTA custom map for Warcraft. The invasion of DOTA in the Philippines is very massive, that millions of Filipinos are getting involved into it. Many other people are encouraged and influenced to play this strategy game that led to their addiction. The culture of DOTA in the Philippines sets a Filipino gamer apart. -Sir Malacaman, 2012 Due to the popularity of this game, many players indulged themselves into it; some spend lots of hours playing it over and over again and that s why it sets a Filipino gamer apart. Majority of the gamers in the Philippines are playing DOTA and regarding it as their specialty compared to playing other games like Ragnarok, Tantra, etc. These factors make playing DOTA to become culture here in the country, and it continues to flourish since SCOPE AND DELIMITATION This paper only establishes an understanding about the culture of DOTA in the Philippines, specifically in Metro Manila. It will tackle the origin and background of DOTA and simply present its gameplay. Also, this paper will give you an idea how DOTA exist in the Philippines and how it attracted the Filipino youth. Also, this paper will differentiate playing DOTA in an informal and formal setting. It will also discuss how DOTA invades the everyday lives of the people. Lastly, it will briefly describe the good and bad effects of playing DOTA to the Filipino players. The paper will also present the research methodology executed and the interpretation of the data acquired. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY D rawing inspiration from a popular Starcraft mod known as Aeon of Strife, the first version of DotA was released in the middle of 2003 by an individual known only by his pseudonym "Eul" (Feak, 2009). In Eul's original DotA, players could choose one of 32 heroes, and hold up to six items simultaneously from a pool of 39 available options. This rudimentary predecessor of the current DotA paved the way for the future innovations that have led to the success it is today. On May 29, 2003, Blizzard officially released the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne expansion pack which added a breadth of new features to Warcraft III, including a

3 new and improved World Editor. This new tool provided map-makers far more options for customizing items, skills, models, tiles, etc (Feak, 2009). Utilizing these newly released tools, many spinoffs of the original DotA were created with vastly superior sets of features, including the first versions of Steve "Guinsoo" Feak's Defense of the Ancients: Allstars which is the focus of this postmortem. Guinsoo originally began development on DotA Allstars because he was frustrated with bugs and balance issues in the version of DotA that was most prominent at the time (Feak, 2007). Contrary to popular belief, DotA started on Reign of Chaos before the expansion, The Frozen Throne came out. It was based on the custom map "Aeon of Strife" from Starcraft, a team game focusing on hero combat. There have been many different versions of DotA, but only one shines, IceFrog's DotA Allstars. Since then DotA has come a long way, from terrain changes, balances, bug fixes, new heroes, new items and graphics, IceFrog does it all (Neha, 2007). To do all of the changes, IceFrog built a new community site where everyone can suggest and contribute contents that can help him develop the custom map. Now, you can choose over 100 heroes and choose from over 50 items to equip. The Culture of DOTA in the Philippines The Background and Origin of the Game How DOTA attracts the Filipino youth? Playing DOTA in an informal setting DOTA in Philippine tournaments Gender exclusivity of playing DOTA DOTA Invasion How DOTA affects the Filipino youth? Invention, Production and Gameplay Playing with others and in computer shops 'Trash talking' and 'pustahan' in DOTA Arts and Music Internet & Social Networking 'Pinoy' DOTA Lingo Physically & Psychologically Study career Commitments & Relationships Work My goal is to have a format where everyone that wants to help can contribute in a productive way. -IceFrog, As a computer game player, there are several reasons why I decided to make this research paper. First, the culture of DOTA affects the people concerned. Second, there is only few research papers published about this topic. Third, I wanted to know more about its culture. Fourth, I am also playing DOTA. Lastly, I wanted to share all my knowledge to all the people involved in the culture of DOTA in the Philippines. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK T he following diagram determines the flow of ideas in this research paper, to enable the reader to keep track of what he/she is reading about. Hierarchical representation is used to break down the main topic into several subtopics, from general to specific topics. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY T his research paper is very important to read because playing DOTA in the country is very popular. Second, this paper gives critical knowledge about the topic to the reader. Third, it has wide target audience; any people are suitable to read this paper to understand what the topic is all about. Fourth, the topic is fresh and modern. DEFINITION OF TERMS DOTA (Defense of the Ancients) a custom map game for Warcraft III; released in 2003 by Eul. Custom map is a game that you can modify its features using World Editor. Computer shops are places that contain computer units that you can rent for surfing the net or gaming. Some shops utilize cubicles for the privacy of their users. Some shops sell computer software, hardware or offer repair services.

4 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES A ccording to Kevin Tok (in playing the game), two bases are placed on opposite corners of the map. Three lanes branch out from the bases, and armies for both sides will spawn along these lanes at intervals. The Sentinels are the red Night Elf based team located on the bottom left, and their opponents are the Scourge, the green Undead team located on the top right of the map. Both sides are vying to destroy the Ancient of the other; the World Tree is the Sentinel Ancient, and the Frozen Throne is the Scourge Ancient. Based on Tok s study, he explains the concept, the gameplay, the elements of the game, and its objective. Punit Lodaya, a game expert, describes the base consisting of towers and unit-producing ancients. The units (referred to as creeps in games) are produced automatically on a regular basis, and they go to have a direct clash with the opponents units, and the first fight usually starts at the center of the map. In addition, players get to control a special unit called Heroes, who are stronger than normal units and have special abilities. Each team can have a maximum of 5 players. Lodaya provided a more detailed description of the game, its elements, and how many players are involved. Another interesting study about playing the game is from Michael Waldbridge. He regarded playing DOTA as an underground revolution. He said that DOTA is likely the most popular and mostdiscussed free, non-supported game mod in the world, judging by the numbers. He said that like any other game, the concept is simple and its strategy. The strategy focuses on levelling, getting hero kills, pushing the enemy s base with allied creeps and defending against the enemies. DOTA is a delight to all who play it; it s surprisingly addictive and even pastiche, mixing the highs and lows of gaming and gaming culture. DOTA s quirks, governments, outlaws, and innovation show us that its much easier to renovate for the masses when the masses are involved. The vision of one leader alone is required, but never sufficient. -Michael Waldbridge, According to JV Aquino, playing the game serves as a platform for youth to communicate. Teenagers who don t know initially each other can easily become friends through playing the game, because it provides a common topic for the teenagers to talk about. They can discuss the heroes, the items, and the tactics. Nair Neha argues that It has been widely accepted that in playing the game, the team wins rather the individuals. Competitive DOTA is a completely different world in comparison to casual play, to a more extreme unlike less complex games. Because of this, it is much more interesting to watch. Teams always come up with innovative strategies and sometimes pull off amazing moves in matches that people have never even thought was possible. To the DOTA Community, that is spectator value, the complexity. Neha gives a critical analysis of how DOTA has been evolving for several years. He shows that playing the game requires not only great teamwork and communication, but also creativeness and critical thinking on every aspect of the game. He also noted that DOTA is an evolving game because it is constantly being reworked and it changes constantly. These studies show concrete evidences why the game is very popular in our country. Aside from being a strategy game, it is the game for the masses. The people are not only playing the game, but also they are helping the developers to improve the game. The final output of the game comes from the creative and innovative minds of computer gamers all over the world; that is its very big difference among any other games. Another factor why this game is become popular is the fact that it s free to play; you do not have to pay anything except if you are renting a unit in computer shops. Also, by playing the game you can gain more friends to know and get along to develop social skills and self-confidence. If you want to know more about the game, please see Appendix 1. Jack Rodriguez wrote about the 25 signs of DOTA addiction. Here are some: 1. Whenever you lose a Dota game, you want to grab your weak team mate and punch him in the face. 2. Your left thumb is always on the alt button whatever you re doing at your computer. Maybeyou want to check your facebook friend s hp bar. 3. When you get amazed at anything you call it 'imba'. 'He scored 99 at his math test, imba!.you also call things that annoy you, 'imba. That guy is imba, he is damn fat'.

5 FURTHER STUDY TO THE RESEARCH TOPIC HOW THE GAME ATTRACTS THE FILIPINO YOUTH? T he first factor why it attracts the youth is the type of game involved. Filipino gamers love strategy and action games compared to board and mini games. It has a very different gameplay compared among other games. Also, it is a multiplayer game; people can play with others up to 10 persons per game. It involves teamwork and cooperation to win the game. We know that it is very fun to play team games like basketball, volleyball and others; even back then when were are a child. Another difference of DOTA to other games is the production of computer-controlled creeps. The game does not focus only to heroes clashing, but also on how you control your lane by utilizing the creeps. The second is that it the game employs high quality visual effects. Aside from it has good graphics, the heroes controlled by the players have special abilities, either a special attack or a spell. Heroes have their unique abilities or skills, which make playing the game fair and square. Heroes spells are visually attracting, such as lightning attacks by the hero Zeus, fire attacks by Lina Inverse, ice attacks by Lich and poisonous attacks from Venomancer. Not only that, if you saw the ultimate skills like Macropyre of Twin-Headed Dragon, Epicenter of Sand King, Freezing Field of Crystal Maiden and Sanity s Eclipse of Obsidian Destroyer, you will surely enjoy using those skills that can make your desktop lag for a while. Some heroes abilities and items create an aura that surrounds them. (The complete list of heroes are in Appendix 2.)These are the reasons why some players want to play DOTA; they want to escape in the real world they are living. Lastly, playing the game is free, except for the computer rental. Every computer shops here in the country have this game; it is easy to install and is portable. Everyone love free, right? PC rentals here in our country is going cheaper and cheaper due to the exponential growth of the computer shops. (Rudolf, Ryan. 2009) Due to curiosity of Filipinos, many people are attracted and want to involve in playing the game because of its popularity. Many people testify to their friends that it is worth playing for. Others are even taught their friends and promoted the game. Based on my observation, it is easy to learn, it is fun to play, and it is user-friendly. Even kids 10 years and above knows how to play the game. These are the factors why DOTA stands out among other games. PLAYING DOTA IN AN INFORMAL SETTING P laying DOTA has never been boring when it comes to playing with friends. Sometimes, this serves as the opportunity to bond with your friends. Playing the game does not only develop mental alertness, body coordination and strategy planning; it also develops your interpersonal skills and it fosters teamwork, leadership and camaraderie to be able to win the game. A normal round of playing time ranges from 40 to 50 minutes, depending on the strategy of the team. If one team is good and the other is not, the game can last for only 30 minutes or so. If both teams have good strategies, the game can last for more than 1 hour. But because playing the game for just one round does not satisfies most of the gamers, they start another round again until they finish 5-10 rounds. If you encounter gamers like that, it is a sign of their addiction to that game. Sometimes, gamers are playing the game late at night up to 1am or 2am because they want to develop strategies and enhance their playing skills. Before Warcraft III and DOTA was released, computer shops were already built here in the country for the purpose of providing internet connection and offer services like printing, CD burning, and hardware repair. Computer rentals range from Php15 to Php30 per hour. The shops are still few way back year But after the release of the game and many people are involved in playing DOTA, the demand for computers is greatly increased. It led to the growing industry of computer shops. As the demand continues to grow, people built more computer shops and business competition existed. That is the reason why the number of computer shops in the country is growing geometrically, and it opens almost every month.

6 That is how the computer shop culture in the country has been started. Now, computer rentals range from Php10 to Php20 per hour, and even cheaper if you will avail promos. The competition between computer shops is very tight. This follows the transformation of computer shops into gaming shops. People are now going into computer shops just to play DOTA. The original objective of computer shops has been very misleading nowadays since they are now used for playing DOTA, not for accessing the internet. Computer shops are also instruments to gather DOTA players to show their skills there. Teams are also formed inside the computer shops since they enjoy playing with each other. The purpose of forming the team is to battle other teams in their community. Playing DOTA in an informal setting has never been fun without trash-talking. So what does this mean? trash talk. Noun: disparaging, taunting, or boastful comments especially between opponents trying to intimidate each other. - trash talk (verb) - trash talk er (noun). (Merriam-Webster dictionary) (also trash talking) noun informal: insulting or boastful speech intended to demoralize, intimidate, or humiliate someone, especially an opponent in an athletic contest: -he heard more trash talk from the Giants before the game than during the game -stop the trash talking and stop the violence verb [no object] (trash-talk)use insulting or boastful speech intended to demoralize: -their players do not swear or tussle or trash-talk (as adjective trash-talking) -the worst trash-talking team they had ever encountered Derivatives trash talker (also trash-talker) noun (Oxford Dictionary) That s the exact meaning of the word trash talk and its usage in the Philippines. Opponents try to insult or boast the other team. There are two means of trash talking: either verbally or through the game itself. It can be also in humorous manner (ex. Hoy patalo ka naman eh, hahaha. ) It is also often used with hyperbole, a figurative language that evokes strong feelings (e.g. Natutulog ka ba sa pansitan? ). It is fun to play the game with trash talking. Some also uses foul and strong words. For us Filipinos, trash talking in a humorous spirit creates a good atmosphere that is conducive for players in playing the game; there is an interaction between the two teams not only on their computer monitors, but also on communicating with each other. Generally, Filipinos used trash talk to make fun with each other. DOTA players also trash talk through the game itself. The game has chat feature that can send your message to your allies or to all of the players. Players usually use them to communicate with their teammates secretly, such that no other opponents can hear or read the message itself. It is also used to discuss what the players are going to do; to continue farming or attack an opponent. Some players have also strategies on what message they will send. If a player sends no top to his allies, it means that there is no enemy on the top of the map; the enemy probably returns to his base to buy items or it goes to another lane to help his allies attack another enemy. When a hero controlled by a player dies, it has certain time to respawn; players use this time to say sorry to his teammates or to blame his teammates of lack of support. Being a Filipino, we tend to blame other people because they failed to do a certain task. Generally, the chat feature of DOTA has good features and should be used wisely. Pinoy DOTA Lingo is also used during the game. The players utter phrases and jargons that acts as a command on what they are going to do next. The most popular word in DOTA lingo is imba, short for imbalanced. They use this word to describe a powerful and skilful player. Some people say, imba naman si Mineski! which suggests that Mineski is very powerful and he dominated the game. Another popular jargon is G.G., originated from Starcraft and short for good game. This word has many uses: if a team wins/loses, if a hero dies/pawned another hero. It is the universal word used in different situations. NG means nice game; GLHF means good luck, have fun. GLHF is often used in tournaments. TP means town portal, an item that is used to teleport to another place near allies. B means back, which means to move back and do not fight the enemies. Push means to progress forward, in order to battle the opponents. Farm means to kill the enemies creeps, to earn money and experience. KS means kill steal, used when a player steals a kill from another player by attacking the opponent last before it dies. The word awts! is used when a player fails to succeed in his task; the Tagalog parody of the Engish word ouch! DOTA lingo is not only limited to events, but also in the items used in the game. For example, Mekanism is abbreviated as

7 Meka, BKB for Black King Bar, and DR for Divine Rapier. Some Filipinos are fond of gambling and betting players in the world of sports, so as playing DOTA. Some teams must dominate other teams in order for them to earn money. Usually, pustahan in playing DOTA involves 2-5 players per team. The money at stake ranges from Php100 to Php5000. Not only who are playing the game is involved, but also other people watching the match and betting a player whom they think that will win. There are also some flaws in playing DOTA. Due to its high quality graphics, low-end computers might lag during the game, especially when the heroes cast their most powerful spells (can be executed by typing a single key in the keyboard) and can be the cause of interruption of the game. Another hard thing in DOTA is clicking an item in the inventory before using it, while battling with enemies that require great focus. Good thing, DOTA now comes with DOTA Toolkit that allows user to customize the keyboard settings to use items in the inventory and also help a player cast a spell efficiently. Using the toolkit answered the needs of the Filipinos; DOTA becomes easier to play, so it became more popular. PLAYING DOTA IN PHILIPPINE TOURNAMENTS B ecause of the big potential of the game, some people sponsor DOTA tournaments here in the country. They want to encourage people to play the game, and they also want to popularize it. Almost all of the competitions are held in public places like shopping malls or in private places like tournament rooms. Others do tournaments through Garena, which connects online gamers. The usual registration fee ranges from Php100 to Php1,000 per team, and cash prizes ranges from Php2,000 to Php20,000 with freebies depending on how many teams are participating. The most popular event handler of DOTA tournaments is the Philippine Garena CyberCafe Alliance (GCA). Competitions are done through Garena itself. Any participating team must play in computer shops/internet cafès that is a member of GCA. Maximum of 2 teams are allowed per GCA Shop. The team must submit a registration form including their GCA Shop Name, ISP/Broadband provider of Shop and Bandwidth, Team Name (which is optional), Players names (5 Players + 2 Substitutes), Garena User Names, and their User I.D. (UID). The registration fee per team is Php700. All players will receive freebies upon registering. The top team will get Php2,000 per player and Php10,000 for their shop; for the total amount of Php20,000. The 1 st runner-up will be awarded Php1,000 per player and Php5,000 for their shop; for the total amount of Php10,000. The 2 nd and 3 rd runners up will yield Php500 per player and Php2,500 for their shop; for the total amount of Php5,000. The competition had a single elimination system; meaning you will be knocked-out of the competition if you lost a game. After the single elimination, the final 4 teams will have their championship match that will be the best of 3 series. Games are now held in the tournament rooms, but over the Garena client. A winner is declared if they destroyed the Frozen Throne / World Tree, or if the opponent surrenders. If the game lasts for 100 minutes, the organizer shall stop the game and decide what team will win based on their performance. The match will begin with a coin toss or roll The one who wins the coin toss or with the higher roll can pick either (a) Sentinel/Scourge side of the map or (b) First or Second hero selection from drafting. Irresponsibility of the teams will not be tolerated (such as missing player, late game, etc.) During the game, proper attitude of both teams must be observed. Severe trash talking or verbal assault will cause the team s loss of the game or disqualification from the tournament. There will be no item and hero restrictions. Backdooring is not allowed. This means that players are not allowed to attack an enemy building without any creep wave. A warning or game loss is the sanction if backdooring happens. Deliberately trapping the opponent to trees is not allowed. The game must not be paused after the players selected their hero. Creep blocking is not allowed; meaning you cannot cast spells to slow your allied creeps or block the way. Creep pulling is allowed; meaning you can pull the neutral creeps to the lane so that the allied creeps will attack them that benefit the hero. Bug exploitation is also not allowed. If the team incurred 3 warnings, the opponent will be awarded as the winner; the team will be disqualified from the tournament if they incurred 6 warnings. Any competitor found to have intentionally disconnected from the game will give that competitor s team a loss

8 for that match. Game saving is also done periodically. The referees decision will always be final. GENDER EXCLUSIVITY OF PLAYING DOTA M ajority of the gamers in the Philippines are male; because most of the computer games here are strategic. Male Filipinos seek adventures and challenges on games what they are playing. Since the release of DOTA, players have gathered in computer shops; most of them are male. But we do not limit playing DOTA for male only. Since it is war-themed, there are rare conditions where you can see a female playing it. But we Filipinos accept that all people are accepted play the game. Even if it is dominated by male, there is no gender exclusivity in playing DOTA. DOTA INVASION Because of the popularity of DOTA in the country, its influence does not just end in the field of gaming. It is not only evident to the youth and the computer shops, but also it occupies its own space in the field of media; it also affects our daily lives. There exist composed poems comparing DOTA and GF (girlfriend) that concludes DOTA as the winner over GF. DOTA VS. GIRLFRIEND (Anonymous) si DOTA isa lang sa mundo, GF napakarami niyan. GF iiwan ka din niyan, si DOTA hindi. si GF nagagalit pagnagdodota ka, si DOTA hindi nagagalit pag naggf ka. si DOTA P20 lang masaya na, si GF baka P200 hindi pa masaya. pagnakakakita ka ng ibang Hero hndi nagagalit si DOTA, pero pagnakakakita ka ng ibang babae nagagalit si GF. si GF pag iniwan mo mahirap na balikan, si DOTA pag iniwan mo, handa ka parin tanggapin. Ano mas gusto mo DOTA o GF? [English Translation: DOTA is one of a kind in the world; there's plenty of GF material. GF will leave you, DOTA will not. GF gets angry when you do DOTA; DOTA doesn't get angry when you're with GF. DOTA is happy with 20 pesos [low maintenance]; GF is unhappy with 200 pesos [high maintenance]. If you find another hero, DOTA does not get angry; if you find another girl, GF gets angry. If you leave GF, it's hard to return to her; if you leave DOTA, it's still ready to accept you. Who do you prefer?! DOTA or GF?!] There is also a poem that is called Oath of Allegiance to DOTA or Panatang Maka-DOTA, a parody of the Philippine poem Panatang Makabayan that is recited every morning in schools. The poem suggests that playing DOTA must be treasured by the players. Panatang maka-dota (Anonymous) Iniibig ko ang larong DOTA Isinilang ako para maglaro ng DOTA. Ito ang ipapasa ko sa aking mga susunod na saling-lahi. Ang hero ko ay kanyang kinukupkop at tinutulungan Upang maging malakas, matatag at kapaki-pakinabang. Bilang ganti ay kakarnihin ko ang mga kalabang hero, Pagli2ngkuran ko ang napili kong base, Ipagtatangol ko ang napili kong base kahit mag megacreeps pa ito, Hindi ko pipindutin ang F10 kahit na matatalo na kami, Sisikapin ko maging isang tunay na maka-dota sa isip sa salita at sa gawa. [English Translation: Oath of Allegiance to DOTA: I love DOTA. I was born to This is the game I will pass on to my next generation. She cares for and helps my hero to be strong, courageous and useful. In return, I will butcher my opposing heroes. I will serve the base I chose. I will defend my base even if its mega creeps. I will not press F10 even if we're about to lose. I will strive to be a true DOTA lover in thoughts, in words and in deeds.] Playing DOTA also made a space in the field of music. As evidence, rapper/singer Dino R. and K-Tin composed a song, Mas Mahal Mo Ba ang DOTA, that expresses a typical Filipino relationship under the influence of DOTA. Chorus: (Girl)Bakit ba ganyan mas mahal mo pa ang DOTA Gabi gabi pagtulog ko ay kayakap lang kita Paggising sa umaga'y tinakasan mo na Tapatin mo nga ako Mas mahal mo ba ang pagdodota mo? (Boy)Pag gising sa umaga almusal ko na ay DOTA Kahit wala nang pera ay handa akong gumyera Umaasa na akoy makaisa Ikaw ay pumusta dudurugin ang kalaban 4on4 or 5on5 that shit will never matter you will lose motherfucker I'm a farmer And I'm a killer Good game ka na bumawi na lang bukas Repeat chorus (Boy)Isa dalawa tatlo magpupush mirana ko Hindi mapipigilan nakamanta na ako Pumapana, sapul ka nanaman, tangina ka patay ka nanaman bitch! Hinahabol may leap yan boi hindi maabutan kahit faceless void

9 Tumi-tp na asa ka pa again tangina ka babalikan kita Repeat chorus (Boy)Hindi kailangang magselos pa Hindi naman kita pagpapalit sa DOTA Anu bang ligaya ang dulot nyan Wala ka nang pakealam Matulog ka na lang Repeat chorus There is another original song that is composed by Aikee and Vanessa, DOTA o Ako. It expresses the boy s and the girl s side of their relationship affected by DOTA. (Boy)si DOTA nag iisa lang sa mundo, si GF napakarami nyan si GF iiwanan ka din nyan, si DOTA Hindi Si GF nagagalit kapag nagdodota ka, si DOTA hindi nagagalit kapag nag GF ka si Dota 20 pesos lang masaya na, si GF baka 200 pesos baka di pa masaya pagnakakita ka ng ibang hero, di nagagalit si DOTA pero pag nakakita ka ng ibang babae, nagagalit si GF si GF kapag iniwan mo mahirap kang balikan, si Dota kapag iniwan mohanda ka pa ring tanggapin Ano mas gusto mo? Dota o GF? Chorus: (Girl) anong pipiliin mo DOTA o ako anong mas gusto mo pagkasama kay yun ang nasa isip anong pipiliin mo DOTA o ako at ano ako sayo anong mahalaga mahal mo ba akong talaga (Boy)Defense of the Ancient tayo ng magdota umulan o bumagyo kahit naka bota tawagin na ang tropa let s start the countdown everybody push get ready for gangbang pumatak na ang dugo within 3 minutes ang bilis makabuo parang basketball lang make me like mike sa dami kong kills ako y naging god like yo! line stand paki push yan pagkatapos nyan tayo ng mag Roshan nice strategy para bang menisky and skills are type para bang si Aikee the sword the for the last hour panalo ang kuhain basagin na natin ang puno ng mulawin good game maybe next time sir imba sorry chiken na sir (Repeat Chorus) Kapag naglalaro anong ligaya ang nadarama nalilimutan ang problema at pag nadarapa di ako nagdadrama tingnan ang pagkakaiba kapag sinaktan ka ng girlfriend puso ay nagigiba kapag meron kang pera kapag meron kang tf ang DOTA 20 pesos the rest mapupunta kay GF di ka kayang mahalin ng DOTA kailanman yan ay nagbibigay libang kahit sa sinuman ano bang nakita mo sa DOTA na wala ako kaya ka bang mahalin ng DOTAng sinasabi mo ang DOTA ay laro na pwede mong paglaruan wag mong itulad sa akin na nasasaktan ano bang nakita mo sa DOTA na wala ako kaya ka bang mahalin ng DOTAng sinasabi mo ang DOTA ay laro na pwede mong paglaruan wag mong itulad sa akin na nasasaktan (Repeat Chorus 2 times) Ang DOTA ay isang larong imbento ito ay libanga ng mga tao ngunit mag-aral muna ng mabuti para sa kinabukasan mo upang sa hinaharap maipagmalaki mo DOTA also invades the internet and online social networking life of the Filipinos. There are so many resources in the internet that can encourage people to play the game. Some people embedded screenshots and replays of their astounding game and show it to all of the people to gain pride and reputation. There are also websites and forums that offer game tutorials like playdota.com that provides the people complete tools on how to play the game. Forums help Filipinos share their own ideas and gather more information; they can gain more friends. They include screenshots, replays, guides and reviews. If you want to play DOTA with online gamers, Garena Philippines, an E-sports publishing company, helps connect online gamers regardless of their location. Facebook pages that are related to DOTA are liked; also public groups are also joined by the Filipinos. Some examples are Ibagsak ang Edukasyon, Ipang-DOTA ang baon!, Kamukha mo na si Gondar!, DOTA o GF? The two poems mentioned earlier are also embedded into images, which in turn became viral in the internet (see Appendix 3). Because of DOTA fever, it also invades our language. Some words being trash talked are now belongs to our language. In fact, some of them are also used by people who do not The word imba can be used universally to describe a person or a thing which is extraordinary. The word GG is also used by Filipinos to describe an event which is about to end. The creativity of the Filipinos is very visible on these examples. The songs send a message and warning to the youth on what effects on players are incorporated in playing DOTA. It serves as a warning for the youth to be aware of the consequences of playing the game. Also, the indescribable events in our everyday lives are given a term to define them. As the popularity of DOTA continues, its invasion also continues.

10 HOW DOTA AFFECTS THE FILIPINOS? W hen the gamers play DOTA, they are also exposed to its consequences either advantageous, or disadvantageous. This point, the paper will present the effects of DOTA to the Filipinos, not only for those who play it, but also to all of the people in the environment. Playing DOTA can affect a person s physical and psychological aspect, careers and relationships with other people. DOTA can be regarded as a good game, because it helps the player improve his body s coordination, specially the head, eyes, ears and hands. It also motivates the players to think critically; to devise strategies how they can win the game. The player s reflexes are also improved like fast typing and mental alertness. It also enhances the creativity of the player; the tone of the game will depend on your items in the heroes inventory and he must use it wisely. Some people play the game to eliminate stress; it is relaxing in a sense that you are having fun during your spare time. Some aspects of the game can also be applied in our everyday lives. It is better for the students to spend their time playing computer games like DOTA than to smoke, drink alcohol and take drugs. -Aquino, 2012 Because playing DOTA can be addicting, some people stayed for many hours just to play the game. It can lead to excessive eye exposure that can be the cause of poor eyesight. Also, formation of the eye bags will be evident to the player, when he is playing overnight. Playing overnight can change the body clock of the player, which results to late sleeping and waking up. The player can develop insomnia. In playing computer games, only the eyes, head and the hands are operating. It can lead to player s obesity; since few carbs are burned due to inactive locomotion of the body. In rare cases, the player can lose weight if he experience stress in playing the game, because they did not eat in time. Playing DOTA can also enhance your social life. You can get more friends just by playing in computer shops. It is now the common topic of the gamers, so everyone that is playing it can relate with other people. When you play the game with others, it develops your leadership skills and promotes teamwork and camaraderie. It also temporarily eliminates problems; sometimes, gamers play the game because it provides an escape from the chaotic world they live in. Because of the theme of the game, some people tend to be war freak; they tend to be violent because it is the main intention of every player to win the game. The player who is war freak also tends to abuse other people physically, or verbally. Sometimes, addicted players cannot control themselves to play the game. For example, an addicted student is always cutting classes just to play DOTA in the nearest computer shop. When it happens, the domino effect will follow; he does not have time for studying anymore, he loses interest in his studies, he get low or failing grades, and he is expelled from the school. Some students spend their money in playing DOTA rather than in food, or other expenses in school. The worst case is, when the player does not have quality time to bond with his family and people around him. Another is when the player discovered how to gamble in playing DOTA. Some videos in Youtube show Filipinos playing DOTA but ends in chaos, hurting everybody. Same things happen when some gamers are at work. They tend to play DOTA that will decrease their time in working, until they lose interest and be fired by the employer. Another issue here is the effects of DOTA in an intimate relationship. Almost all of the relationship under the influence of DOTA is ruined. So how do we say that a relationship is under the effects of DOTA? We can say so if the male, or the female or both are playing the game. Since majority of the gamers are male, the female usually sacrifices in a relationship under DOTA. Females usually rant because their partners lack time bonding with them. Males tend to maximize their time playing DOTA than spending with their partners. Modern Filipinas tend to be demanding and strict when they have intimate relationships, that is why some people chose playing DOTA over their partner. Some males tend to be war freak, and tend to abuse their partner physically or verbally. These are the main causes why such songs about DOTA exist. It implies that the game can be a bad element in a relationship.

11 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS & DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE T he researcher conducted a survey about the research topic in three ways: by distributing printed questionnaires, by interview, and by online survey. The respondents are given enough time to answer the questions and to express their opinions. Twenty-four random persons are selected to answer the questions. After distributing and getting all of the results, the data has been organized into tabular form to be able to analyse the results further. I STATISTICAL TREATMENT n analyzing the data gathered, a simple percentage and frequency method was manipulated using the following formula: Where, P is the total percentage, F is the frequency, and n corresponds to the total number of respondents. PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA This chapter presents the questions of the survey and the results of the data gathered. Question 2. How old are you? Age distribution Frequency Percentage years old % years old % years old % Question 3. Where do you live? Answers Frequency Percentage Outside a city % In a city % Question 4. Are you studying? Answers Frequency Percentage, in high school %, in college % No, I m working % No, I m neither studying nor working % Question 5. Do you have you own computer at home? Answers Frequency Percentage % No % Question 6. Do you play DOTA? Answers Frequency Percentage % No % After question 6, respondents that play DOTA will proceed to the next part of the survey. The others will proceed to the last part of the survey (see Appendix 3). Question 7. From whom you discover DOTA? Answers Frequency Percentage Family % Friends % Classmates % Other % *From this question, the number of responde nts is 19. Respondents may select more than one answer, so percentages may add up to more than 100%. Question 8. Did you find it interesting or it s just a junk? Answers Frequency Percentage % No %

12 Frequency Question 9. Did you remember the first hero you used? Answers Frequency Percentage Vengeful Spirit % Crystal Maiden % Rogue Knight % Lone Druid % Lina Inverse % Treant Protector % Storm Spirit % Dwarven Sniper % Skeleton King % Lightning Revenant % Drow Ranger % Invoker % Witch Doctor % Question 10: Who is your favorite hero? Answers Frequency Percentage Ursa Warrior % Goblin Techies % Storm Spirit % Sacred Warrior % Windrunner % Shadow Shaman % Lycanthrope % Skeleton King % Shadow Fiend % Grand Magus % Venomancer % Phantom Assassin % Sand King % Geomancer % Mirana Nightshade % Troll Warlord % Earthshaker % (None) % Question 12. How many hours do you play in one session? Hours per session Question 13. Which do you prefer? 17% 68% 32% Heroes from the Sentinel 68% Heroes from the Scourge 22% 32% 61% Agile heroes Strong heroes Intelligent heroes Short-ranged Long ranged Question 11. For how long do you play DOTA? more than 5 years 4 years 3 years 2 years 6-12 months 0-6 months 26% 74% Hitter Supporter

13 Rate of enjoyment Question 14. What are the impacts of playing DOTA to you? (Optional) A. My grades get low/ failing B. My grades get high C. My grades are stable D. I have more strategies and techiniques in gaming. E. I don t have time to study/ do household chores F. I am being nocturnal. G. I did not eat in time. H. I am doing more things than before. I. I have more self-esteem. J. Other Question 17. In what types of computer shops do you play it? (Optional) 41% 18% 41% Ordinary computer shops Ordinary, aircon(ed) computer shops Premium computer shops J I H G F E D C B A Question 15. Do you play DOTA with other people? Question 18. Is playing DOTA gender exclusive? 0% 100%, only men are acceptable to, only women are acceptable to No, all are accepted to play DOTA. Question 19. Is it true that DOTA interferes an intimate relationship? (Optional) % 57% No 5 0 With my family With my friends With my classmates With "dayo" With others Question 20. Please rate your enjoyment and contentment in playing DOTA, as 10 being the highest. Question 16. Where do you play DOTA with other people? At home At computer shops Other Frequency 6 8

14 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA A s you have noticed, the results of the survey says much about the culture of DOTA in the Philippines. It supported the arguments presented in the previous chapter. It says that majority of the people who play DOTA are students with ages Most of them discovered the game by their friends and classmates. Out of the respondents who play DOTA, only two said that it was not interesting. In short, almost all of the people said that its intricate. In the case of the respondents, their average time when they began to play is around 3 years ago. They play for an average of 3 hours per session. In studying the culture of DOTA in the Philippines, it is important to have surveys because the responders from different places, different careers and different walks of life represent the whole country. As the researcher observes, the first hero used by the respondents is usually long-ranged, in order for him to adjust with the environment and to keep away from harm. In fact, Dwarven Sniper is the usual hero chosen by the beginners. It is also observed that the favorite heroes of the respondents are what is called hitters of the game. The hitter heroes are regarded as the carry of the team; it usually assaults the enemies directly. In fact, Shadow Fiend is the most popular hitter in Philippine DOTA.On the other hand, the supporter heroes do indirect damages to the enemy like stunning, silencing, disabling, poisoning or slowing them. In order to create a very good team, the heroes must have a supporter. The responders prefer heroes which are hitters, long-ranged, agile and belongs to the Sentinel. Such heroes are Dwarven Sniper, Morphling, Mirana Nightshade, Drow Ranger and Vengeful Spirit. As you can see from Question 14, the main impact of DOTA to the respondents is they develop critical thinking; it enhances their strategy and techniques in gaming. Most of them are playing frequently with their friends other than with their family, classmates or other people. They play mostly in ordinary computer shops, because they can accommodate at most 10 players. All of the respondents that there is no gender exclusivity in playing DOTA, and 6 out of 14 respondents who answered question 19 agreed that DOTA interferes in an intimate relationship. To end this section, the responders rated playing DOTA with an average score of 8.32/10. The complete result of the survey is on Appendix 4.

15 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION T his research paper actually shows how DOTA influenced the Filipino people not only the gamers but also the people who do not play it. As you can see in the arguments presented, we can conclude that the culture of DOTA in the Philippines is rich, because it affects our daily lives and serves as a connection between the gamers. In the first place, there are no other games which has the same gameplay of DOTA; it s origin, Starcraft, has never been popular here in the country. People continue to embrace its influence and apply it to our everyday lives. It covers vast array of topics, which every people should know such as its origin and its concept. Every people should also know how gamers behave when they are playing informally and formally. People should also know that there is no gender exclusivity in playing DOTA. People should also know how DOTA invades the country, and its effects to us. If every people know all of these, he can establish a clear understanding regarding the topic. He can clear things out, and know people s opinions about it. He can also help other curoius people of what is the game all about. The main purpose of this paper is to inform and remove negative thoughts about DOTA to the reader. Everyone must not be alarmed, but rather be informed. Since the game was released, everything followed like a domino: the rise of the computer shops and its culture, the popularity of the game, the hosting of several DOTA competitions, and its total invasion in the country. Jack Rodriguez wrote an article about balacing studies and playing DOTA. He presents 8 ways to control time between studying and playing. Pay attention at school; play moderately; pay attention to your game; observe the factors that can affect your studies; know when not to play; don t mind the insults; cutting class is a drug; know when to quit. These eight simple ideas can greatly help a student in organizing his time. Parents can also guide their children if they will be informed about playing DOTA. The trend of gamers in provinces is that the more they are expert in playing the game, the more they flunk at school. But in the cities it does not mean that you flunk at school it you are expert in playing DOTA. As you can see in the survey, some people Time is also very essential when it comes to work. I ll recommend that employees must not play while at work; because 1 game is not enough to satisfy him. Just play at your vacant time while you are not at work. Aside from playing DOTA, there are more worthwile tasks that you can do like playing sports, helping in household chores, helping the community and serve the people. Every person in a relationship must also understand what consequences will happen if one of them is playing DOTA. As said earlier, time is very important in a relationship, and one must reduce the time in playing the game. Also keep in mind that DOTA cannot be compared to your partner; it is only a game while your partner must be treasured of. Their partners must not be replaced by a game. Just like any sport, DOTA should not be treated as a priority. Play it for fun and play moderately. -Rodriguez, Jack The game promotes many advantages to many individuals that can boost their self-esteem and social skills. But also, we must not forget the risks that can brought bad effects to the gamer. Everything has its own advantages and disadvantages. It s up to you if you will adapt to its dynamic effects brought to the country. It s up to you if you will embrace it or not. It s up to you if you will use it for good or for bad things. At the end of the day, you yourself should decide whether you will explore the game or not. What s very important thing is setting priorities in everything you do: in studies, time management, relationships and at work. We must be conscious of our time, because we cannot go back to correct our mistakes anymore. Also, DOTA is only a game. So what s the point if you are expert or not? The point here is, the culture of DOTA is generally not harmful; rather it serves as a significant challenge to the youth, to filter responsible persons and make a twist to the individual s journey to success.

16 WORKS CITED Aquino, JV. The Effect of DOTA to Filipino Students. (March 18, 2012) Students Ask A Filipino! : Why is DOTA more important to a Filipino teenager than his GF? (January 11, 2011) askthepinoy.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-is-dota-moreimportant-to-filipino.html Dino R ft. K-Tin Mas Mahal Mo Ba Ang DOTA ang_dota.html DOTA vs. GF (Poem) askthepinoy.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-is-dota-moreimportant-to-filipino.html Icefrog. DOTA Website News. (May 15, 2009) playdota.com/forums/blog.php?b=73 Lodaya, Punit. DotA AllStars. (February 09, 2006) archive.techtree.com/techtree/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=7125 7&cat_id=541&page=1 Nair, Neha. Why Defense of the Ancients? (October 30, 2010) Panatang Maka-DOTA (Poem) Philippine Garena CyberCafe Alliance (GCA) DOTA Blitz Tournament: Competition Flow PINOY DOTA LINGO: A Collection of Filipino Dota Terms Pinoy Tumblr. (June 30, 2010) Rodriguez, Jack. Balancing Studies and DOTA. (April 01, 2011) Rodriguez, Jack. Top 25 Signs of DOTA Addiction. (February 25, 2011) itsme-gaming.blogspot.com/2011/02/25-signs-of-dotaaddiction.html Rudolf, Ryan. DOTA Philippines Most Played PC GAME? (March 02, 2009) Tok, Kevin. Defense of the Ancients 101. (January 25, 2006) Vanessa & Aikee - DOTA o Ako Waldbridge, Michael. The Game Anthropologist: Defense of the Ancients - An Underground Revolution. (May 30, 2005) _anthropologist_defense_of.php

17 APPENDIX APPENDIX 1. HOW DOTA LOOKS LIKE? Figure 1 (Left). DOTA Loading Screen. Before you play the game, a loading screen will show to be able for the computer to setup resources of the game. Figure 2 (Right). That is what the terrain looks like. It shows Mirana Nightshade killing the creeps. APPENDIX 2. WHO ARE THE HEROES TO CHOOSE FROM? Figure 3. These are the heroes of DOTA, there are so much to choose from. They are divided into three groups, the Sentinel, the Scourge, and the Neutrals. Also they are divided further by their primary attributes: strength, agility and intelligence. Heroes spells are visually attracting, such as lightning attacks by the hero Zeus (6 th, Sentinel Intelligence), fire attacks by Lina Inverse (9 th, Sentinel Intelligence), ice attacks by Lich (7 th, Scourge Intelligence) and poisonous attacks from Venomancer (9 th, Scourge Agility). Not only that, if you saw the ultimate skills like Macropyre of Twin-Headed Dragon (10 th, Neutral Intelligence), Epicenter of Sand King (8 th, Neutral Strength), Freezing Field of Crystal Maiden (1 st, Sentinel Intelligence) and Sanity s Eclipse of Obsidian Destroyer (9 th, Scourge Intelligence), you will surely enjoy the game. Every hero has its strengths and weaknesses, so forming the team is crucial to make.

18 APPENDIX 3. DOTA INVASION Figure 4 (Left). This image that contain the Oath of Allegiance to DOTA or Panatang Maka-DOTA became very viral in the internet. Also, Figure 5 (Right) shows the poem DOTA vs. GF, which tackles the issues of DOTA in relationships. APPENDIX 4. SURVEY RESULTS This is the complete results of the survey. It also includes the opinions of the respondents regarding the topic involved.