Dota 2’s lead developer, IceFrog, has always been a bit of a mystery.
He’s kept his identity hidden from the community, but at times, has worked with pros and personalities in the scene to get their opinion on things.
Dominik “Black” Reitmeier and Wehsing “SingSing” Yuen are among those the iconic developer has worked with.
They had a conversation about him during a Twitch stream on Oct. 11 and tried to work out whether he still plays a significant role in releasing Dota 2 patches, and if so, which changes he was responsible for in the latest one.
After humming and harring, Black and SingSing concluded IceFrog was at least partially involved in some of the key changes in the latest patch. “I think he’s partially involved,” said SingSing.
“I feel like that too, dude,” responded Black. “There’s definitely some changes where I’m like, that’s him, and other things where I’m like, no way!”
SingSing agreed. He said the Dota 2 map changes feel like IceFrog’s work, while the minor tweaks on heroes were delegated to other people in the Valve squad.
The duo said they both miss IceFrog having a more ‘hands-on’ approach to the game, like when he used to bounce ideas off players—implying that it’s become a thing of the past.
“We were speaking back then every day… it was super dope,” said Black. “The only reason Invoker is like he is now is because he and I, literally for one month every day, changed him until he was this version.”
SingSing echoed the sentiment, admitting he was why IceFrog decided to tweak Venomancer’s wards so that they’re still attached to the hotkeys they were bound to when respawning.
“Oh yeah, he listens to all these small things. It was so nice,” replied Black. “His balancing approach back then was like, he messaged people that were really good at a specific hero…. he was very receptive.”
Earlier in the year, OG legend Johan “n0tail” Sundstein went on record saying he suspects IceFrog hasn’t been working on the game’s patches for a while now, at least, not in the same capacity he used to.
It sounds like Black and SingSing have come to the same conclusion.
It’s unclear whether it’s because he’s taken an extended break, stepped away from the game completely, or if it’s even true. But the consensus is something’s changed.
