MyGaming recently had a chance to touch base with Alex Richardson, the Senior Server Technician for Heroes of Newerth at S2 Games.
When did you start playing games and what are a few of your favorites?
I started playing games on a machine called the Commodore VIC 20 for anyone who can remember. It had very limited graphic capabilities, a lot of games for it were text based, Dracula, Adventure Island, and Tank War was the most memorable. Currently HoN, and I don’t say that because I work for S2 its actually like crack to me, and other than that I have been pretty disappointed with new releases as of late and still play CSS and Titan Quest.
When did you start playing DOTA?
About 4 years ago, my best friend got me into it.
QuickFire questions:
Home PC Specs: E8500, 2x8800gtx, 4g ddr3, ASUS 790i motherboard, 1000wt psu, Cosmos S case
Last game you bought: Prototype
Starcraft or Warcraft: Neither, I’m not an RTS player, but if I had to choose, Warcraft because its fantasy-ish.
CoD 4 or Counterstrike: CSS!
Favorite Band: Many, but I’ll stick with AC/DC
World of Warcraft or Guild Wars: Again neither, MMORPG’s don’t interest me. But if I had to choose it would be WOW only because I know a couple of people who play it.
The Witcher or Fable II: The Witcher, I didn’t get to play Fable II because they didn’t make it for PC.
BioShock or SytemShock: SystemShock
Gaming platforms you own: PlayStation 2, Nintendo 8bit, and a Wii (for my kids, I swear!).
Next game you plan on buying: Dragon Age: Origins
When and why did S2 decide to develop a DOTA inspired game from scratch?
We all loved DOTA but it has a lot of problems stopping it from being what it should be, mostly the limitations of the Warcraft engine and being at the mercy of the host’s connection.
How long has HoN been in development?
About 3 years.
Did you have any idea that HoN would be so hotly anticipated in South Africa?
South Africa was actually a surprise. We did quite a bit of market research but did not see that one coming.
Is there any info you can give us regarding a possible release date?
We will release it when we feel it is ready.
Is a South African authentication server a future possibility?
Anything is possible, unable to say at the moment.
In a combat situation, which is better ranged or melee ?
Depends on A LOT, but I like ranged.
Who is your favorite HoN Hero?
Demented Shaman
Why?
Heals and slows, removes armor from opposing team making them easier to kill, plus he attacks pretty fast.
In your opinion, who is the strongest all round Hero?
Again I think Demented Shaman
Why?
He has a little bit of everything.
Are you a tower rusher or a creep farmer?
Unfortunately I’m a tower rusher and that usually ends up with me dying a lot, I just can’t help it.
Any tips for beginners?
Don’t die. Seriously, do not be aggressive until later levels unless you have a guaranteed kill, focus on getting last hits on creeps, and don’t go past the river without a river-buddy.
Last question – this is for the fans …
In a fight, is there any chance whatsoever that Xerowing (iGame) could take you?
Well if my wife were to hit me in the back of the head with a shovel and my face smashed into the keyboard I would still score a kill on Xerowing, but if my head then rolled to either side and hit the windows key, he would then have a 17% chance to get past my hero’s autoattack 🙂
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