For those unaware of what the young adults are playing in the LAN centers/internet cafes around the country, this article will be something educational for you.

DotA All-Stars was one of the most played game in the Philippines after the Counter-Strike fad died out. Basically, DotA is a modification of Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne. The official DotA maps can have 10 players playing at the same time and 5v5 DotA matches can last between 40 minutes to over an hour.

So basically, what the players do is to control a certain hero and try to "push" all the way to the enemy base. Simple concept, yes. But the game itself has a very steep learning curve.

Millions of gamers around the world have played DotA and it was only a matter of time before game developers took notice. There's a market out there for games like this but the question is... How can you make money from it?


Enter S2 Games.
S2 Games is a small-time game development outfit that has released good games that can be played not just on the Windows operating system but can also be played natively on Linux distros and Macs as well.

So basically what they have done is to take the DotA All-Stars concept popularized by Icefrog and port it over to their own K2 engine. Change the character names and the look of the game a bit and you get DotA 2.0.

Heroes of Newerth is DotA 2.0

An example of an in-game screenshot. Please click to zoom in.

It is the HON version of EarthShaker (a DotA hero) using Fissure (a hero skill).
You can also see a Sentinel catapult and the green things called creeps that help you "push" towards the enemy base.

Heroes of Newerth (HON) is currently on the closed beta testing stage.
If you want to get in the Heroes of Newerth beta, you can try your luck at the
Heroes of Newerth fan blog.

If you play DotA, I'd like to hear your views about this DotA clone.

A successful pyramid scheme combines a fake yet seemingly credible business with a simple-to-understand yet sophisticated-sounding money-making formula. The essential idea is that the mark, Mr. X, makes only one payment. To start earning, Mr. X has to recruit others like him who will also make one payment each. Mr. X gets paid out of receipts from those new recruits. They then go on to recruit others. As each new recruit makes a payment, Mr. X gets a cut. He is thus promised exponential benefits as the "business" expands.

- Wikipedia

If ever you have been invited or tricked to a seminar conducted by UNO Marketing Philippines, here is a little insight provided by Maggie of Yahoo Answers Philippines.


Don't listen to any high pressure sales talk from anyone, answer these questions honestly for yourself and you will know whether this is for you or not.

1. Do you have a large enough network to be able to recruit people at a pace that it going to make you money.

2. Do you feel comfortable about getting family, friends and other people you know involved in this?

3. Can you sell? Are you any good at it?

4. Are the products sufficiently saleable for you to be able to make money from commission?

5. Is it the sort of product you would be able or want to sell to your family and friends?

6. Are you happy to function without a regular salary, on commission only?

7. Can you afford to lose the initial outlay if the venture is not successful?

8. Have you thoroughly researched the company and read the good and the bad reports about them?

9. Do you understand that the salaries claimed as possible are only available to their top recruiters who sell promotional and training materials to the network?

10. Are you prepered to lose friends and fall out with family if they are recruited by you and lose money as a result?

If you can answer yes to all these then go for it. If you have any reservations, stay away from it.

I have gone to an UNO seminar after much prodding by a friend.
"Alright, I'll go to that "seminar" of yours but I won't be promising that I'd commit and join."
He gleefully agreed to the bargain and off we went to the UNO office. The orientation started and I listened attentively.
It's a good thing that I listened attentively because it made me realize that this was a weak business model. It was nothing more than pyramiding fueled by greed. So after the seminar, I walked out and then the unexpected happened. My so called friend ambushed me and started convincing me to join UNO.

Being a nice guy, I just listened to all the things he was saying but I told him that I was not convinced. So he asked help from a guy who seemed like an UNO veteran and the veteran started showing a lotta cash. While the guy was busy showing me wads of cash, I remembered an old story by a classmate of mine back in college who got scammed by Legacy. These were the same old tactics. In the back of my mind, I was saying "you gotta try harder than that boy."

The guy then asked me if I had life savings and started hinting that I should use it to pay the fee for UNO. I said no. At that moment, someone called up on my phone and invited me to a free dinner. As I put down the phone back in my pocket, the guy asked "How about your phone? You can sell it."
I smiled and told him as I started to leave "I'll think about."

In my mind, all I was thinking was "These UNO guys should work more on their sales talk."
Those tactics would have worked for ordinary people driven by hype,trusting emotions or greed but they should come up with another strategy for people who know how to think and analyze the situation.

The other thing I was thinking? the dinner invitation! lol.

Anyways, I walked away. I had no plans of joining a pyramid scheme and scamming my fellow Filipinos. Money can be earned without sacrificing your dignity.

Other notable UNO experiences by other Filipinos:
*Their opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect my own opinion.

Allen Yuarata
Michicochico
Kamaru

So after reading all these... what can you say?
Do you think UNO marketing is a scam or not? Discuss.