Would you play Dota 2 on the Steam Controller?

If you’ve played Dota 2 or practically any ARTS or MOBA game before, you would agree that it requires you to use not only the mouse, but a good deal of the keyboard as well. If you consider it like that, playing the game on a game controller would be very tedious. I know it. You know it. Even Valve knows it. But they also think it’s possible, and it has been proven by TrialByGame.

In the following video, he played as Wraith King, one of the simplest heroes in game. He also shows how the commands are bound to the keys on the track pad to execute certain actions like last hitting.

In an interview by Polygon, Valve’s Jeff Bellinghausen talked about how playing Dota 2 on a controller can be both difficult, but exciting, and adds that:

“To be able to play Dota from the couch is a really neat opportunity. It’s also something that’s pushing the performance and resolution of the trackpad.”

Bellinghausen also talked about the Steam API support in Steamworks, which will be made available to developers for better controller integration. But this doesn’t mean that the Steam Controller will become the replacement for control methods in Valve’s games, or for any game playable on Steam.

“Team Fortress 2 players who are really happy with their mouse and keyboard, we’re in no way saying that’s changing or going away,” Bellinghausen said.

“What we’re trying to do is find a way to get close to that performance, but kick back on your couch. That’s the goal, to get close to that performance level.”

True enough, playing Dota 2 from the couch is something new and personally, I would want to give it a try even if I may end up having a difficult time with it. Of course, Valve is aware that the Steam Controller won’t be able to match the current Dota 2 experience one hundred percent. They do believe, however, that they can get up to 90 percent. Now that is something I’d like to see.