EFFECTS OF PLAYING DOTA 2 IN THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF GRADE 10 MALE STUDENTS OF TUPI

NHS

A research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Grade 10 English Class of Tupi National High
School

Submitted by: Belonio, Whea Nicole Catimbang, Dave Ryan Estoris, Jenny Bhe Nolasco, Virross Jericho G.
Notario, Roy N. Santos, Misty Kaye S. Sunga, Kimberly P. Tornis, Lalyn Lee R.

November 2016

Chapter I THE PROBLEM

INTRODUCTION It is a common notion to most adults that a number of children, some are even
students, are most likely engrossed in playing computer games, of all sorts, than playing physical sports
and games outside. Also, access to such virtual games are now made very easy by the sprouting industry
of cheap tables, computers, cell phones, and venues that cater them such as computer shops, so playing
often could always be a possibility. And one of these famous, captivating and easily accessible games is
DOTA 2. Although playing may seem harmless, it became a huge dilemma to the society. These past few
years where the popularity of the said game is at its peak, some children were reported to have flunked
in school just because of spending too much time in playing it. Reasons may vary as to why they do, but
it is relevant enough to use the internet cafes during class hours, to deal with it. This study was chosen
because it interests the researchers as to how it can affect the students, who will be affected by the
research, and their academic performance. The effects of playing DOTA 2 will also be enumerated and
discussed in the later chapters of this research paper. The purpose of this study is to understand the
effects of playing DOTA 2 in the lives of the Grade 10 male students of the Tupi National High School
(TNHS) this

School year (S.Y.) 2016-2017. The researchers used the term playing and did not specify addiction solely
because the latter would truly be a one-sided study. This research aims to see another perspective of
the issue.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Gamers consider playing DOTA 2 as beneficial to their social life, while
antagonists, mostly composed of non-gamers, talks about its harmful effects to one’s health and
academic performances. As neutral citizens, the researchers would like to find the actual effects of
“playing” DOTA 2 to high school students by conducting an experiment to Grade 10 boys of Tupi
National High School S.Y. 2016-2017. The researchers would like to explore the idea about how a simple
computer game could stir an issue to the social media years ago. The game was very controversial that it
was even banned in some places in the country, such as Dasmariñas, Cavite. A City ordinance that bans
DOTA 2, or any games alike, in all internet cafes within the said city was issued last November 2014.
Most of the costumers in computer shops were gamers so there had been a significant decrease in the
income of these shops. Some even were closed. Although some of the accusations of the antagonists are
possibly true, there were also information about the benefits of playing DOTA 2 that circulated the social
media after such negative issues appeared. There were even news about the discovery of its medical
benefits. It was reported that an old man became more alert and healthy after constantly playing DOTA
2. The old man was advised by his physician because of
the existing study abroad about its health benefits. When he tried it out and successful results were
shown, he became viral in social media and local television news. This was even featured on Rated K
once in 2014. The researchers used the term ”playing” DOTA 2 rather than “addiction” to DOTA 2
because the latter would only discuss about the disadvantages of excessively playing MMORPG (Massive
Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), and the researcers would also like to discuss the possible
advantages, if there are any.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The study aims to determine the possible effects of playing DOTA 2 to high school student’s academic
performance. In order to do so, it aims to answer the following questions: 1. Among all the male
students of Grade 10 of Tupi National High School, is the number of those who play DOTA 2 significant
over those who does not? 2. Will playing DOTA 2 affect the study habits of the said male students? 3.
What are the effects of playing DOTA 2? 4. Are the effects of playing DOTA 2 significant to the male
students of Grade 10 of Tupi National High School?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study entitled “Effects of Playing DOTA2 in the Academic Performance of the Grade 10 Male
Students of Tupi National High School” is relevant to the following: To the Gamers. This study must be
read and analysed by the gamers in order for them to be aware of the possible effects that will happen
to their academic career if they get too engrossed in playing DOTA 2. It will give them a view of the
effects of Playing DOTA 2, depending on the number of times they play it. To the Non-Gamers. These
usually negates the notion that there are also possible good effects in playing DOTA 2. This study will
help them see the other side of the issue, if there are any, and will make them understand why people
play this game a lot. To the Researchers. This study will feed the curiosity of the researchers and will
them certain information about the relationship of one’s habits, social life, and education to one’s whole
being, that will help them in the future.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The following terms are defined operational and conceptual:

Academic Performance. Activities related to the improvement of one’s capacity to learn in school, about
the things which are essential in the academe; includes but are not limited to classroom participation,
quizzes, examinations, assignments, etc.

DOTA 2. “A Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) video game, played in matches involving two (2)
teams of five players”, each uses hero character, which aims to destroy the other team’s stronghold,
called the Ancient (GosuGamers, October 2016). Gamer. A person who plays any online or offline game,
and is either acquainted or addicted to it. Generally, it could be a male or female, but in this study we
will use this term to identify male students of Grade 10 as gamers. MMORPG. Massive Multiplayer
Online Role Playing Game means a game played online by several number of people acting a certain
virtual role, which consists of either built-in skills or skills still to be built. Chapter II REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE

For a few years after the outbreak of DOTA 2, some studies were also born to either make it or break it.
A few of them had been spotted by the researchers and will be discussed in this chapter.
DOTA 2

A Free-to-Play game developed and published by Valve Corporation was released to Steam, a popular,
world-wide online game server, last July 9, 2013, and was then known as DOTA 2. The game is
downloadable and suitable to operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux. It was
defined by Steam as a “competitive

game of action and strategy, played both professionally and casually by millions of passionate fans
worldwide” just weeks after its initial release. The game was a big hit (Steam Writer and Editor, 2014).
Also, DOTA 2 is a stand-alone game sequel of DotA or Defense of the Ancients, which is also a different
game, and a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game played in matches between two teams,
composed of five players, each occupying separate babes in the “map” and ha a goal of overcoming the
other, achieved by playing as a team through independently controlling a single hero each (Kuziku, E.,
2016).

BANNED IN THE PHILIPPINES

Although Dota 2, just like any other online games, was created to be a harmless game for fun,
entertainment and leisure, it has never prevented itself from issues and controversies leading to its
prohibition due to the actions of the ones playing the said game. Year 2015, Dasmariñas, a city in Cavite,
Philippines, once banned playing Dota in any internet shops on their territory through a city ordinance
published on the said year. Then any internet café that allows gamers to play Dota faces a month-long
suspension of their business. Although shocking to others, this claim is “not completely unwarranted
because two (2) teens were reported stabbed in November 2014 after a fight broke over a game (The
Know, 2015). In the same documentary footage released by The Know, a youtube authorcontributor, to
wit:

“Dear countrymen, we will be pushing on with this town resolution because we believe this is the right
thing to do for children who are often seen causing trouble, cussing, cutting classes, gambling, staying
up late, fighting, and ignoring their studies… those who are playing the game are becoming violent and
are learning to deceive, steal… It is not far a possibility for them to kill or be killed just to play
(Dasmariñas City Ordinance, January 2015).”

It was also mentioned that this means was only executed due to the said City’s love for children and
their future. Aside from the former incident, some Marikina and Manila lawmakers collaborated to draft
a law that will prohibit internet cafes in the Philippines from allowing their patrons to play DOTA 2 and
other games alike inside their shops because of the many parent’s complaints they are receiving. Such
complaints were mostly about how the game affects the performance of the students at school and how
such incites violence among those who played it (Barbosa, G., 23 June 2014). To prove the claims above,
a 16-year old boy was reported to have alledgedly killed an 11-year old boy by stabbing the latter 40
times for hacking the former’s account DOTA 2 account in Malolos, Bulacan. The article entitled “11 Year
Old Boy Stabbed Over 40 Times For Alledged ‘DOTA 2’ Hacking in the Philippnes…” was published online
last February 28, 2014 (Sander, L.). Another report entitled “Boy Kills Grandmother For Interrupting
DOTA Game In The Philippines!...” said that a 17-year old boy beats his own grandmother to death after

the latter had interrupted the former’s game and scolded him last March 2014 in Quezon City (Denaga,
2014). Lastly, according to Inquirer.net, a small village in Dasmariñas, Cavite chose to ban DotA after two
teenagers were stabbed and killed after a fight involving a game last November 2014. This was declared
in an Ordinance known and numbered as “Kpasiyahan Blg. 008-S-2015”, and is entitled “Kapasiyahan na
Nagbabawal ng Paglalaro ng DOTA (Defense of the Ancients) online o offline sa mga internet/computer
shop na sakop ng Barangay Salawag” issued last January 5, 2015. Although by the former statements, it
was implied that the game pertained was Dota Warcraft III mod and not DOTA 2, which is the topic of
this study, there is a notion among non-DotA/DOTA2 players, among them includes legislators, that the
two games mentioned are one and the same, so mentioning this is still relevant to the researchers’
study (Schreler, 22 Jan 2015).

GOOD SIDE OF DOTA 2

“DOTA’s a really big game here in the Philippines, partly because of the presence of Internet cafes
around almost every city and provincial district,” says a Kotaku readr whose name was kept a secret due
to its request. “Unfortunately, based on my personal obsevations, it seems that a lot of players here can
be intense (really, to say the least),” says he (Schreler, J., 2015).

This intense behaviour of the players made the playing of DOTA 2 a little off the norm. This made way to
speculations that the said game is bad for one’s well-being, but some also says otherwise. After the
many negative controversies the world wide web has shown a about DOTA 2, a lot of optimists
countered some of the negative views and defended DOTA through giving their own studies about it.
According to “Benefits of DOTA 2” written by Nikkahlubanga last July 31, 2014, DOTA 2 is beneficial to its
gamers because it exercises the mind by improving critical and strategic thinking abilities, promotes
teamwork, promotes social interaction amongst players, and relieving one’s self from the daily stresses
of life. It was compared to a chess game, only more fun and virtual. According to the author of
WazzupPilipinas, Dota 2 have notable effects such as improving the ability to respond faster and
accurately receiving audio-visual information simultaneously in the fastest time possible, while critically
making strategies, improving the ability to make a choice by ruling out possibilities through studying and
planning the right combinations of skills and weapos to win productively, enhancing the ability to be
aware of things spatially, promoting interpersonal relations and team communications, advocates
multitasking and enhances hand-eye coordination. “DOTA is not just a game.” This is according to the
facebook page known as Psychology Channel. In its article entitled Cognitive Benefits of Playing DOTA2,
Dota 2 has its benefits that are usually cognitive and socially related. But a more significant evidence to
the good-benefits-of-the-game side is the news about how it cured an old man. It became an alternative
for relieving an old person from possible total

forgetfulness. It was reported that a 66-year old man was advised by his doctor to play video games as a
means to relieve stress and also as a mental exercise. When asked by Philippine’s eSports Organization’s
Executive Director, this old man said that his mind began to deteriorate as he grew older. But because of
playing DOTA 2, which he had done frequently through internet cafes, he manages to stay alert at such
an age. This same old man was also featured in the television news through Rated K and TV Patrol in
2015. Such statement is a contradiction to the reported bad effects of playing DOTA 2 in one’s health
(Lee T., 2015).

MODERATION

As Sy (2015) said, “Too much of everything is always not good,” so being addicted to any online games is
bad in so many obvious ways. But why is this study any different from the rest? The main reason why
the group used the term simply “plaing” in coining the study, is because using or imposing the word
“addiction” to it as the main idea would lead to an old and repeated study.
I.

Introduction:

DOTA or Defense of the Ancients is a game that rose in the age of

the modern technology. It is a LAN game or Local Area Network Mode.

DOTA started in early 2000’s in the program Warcraft; it was revised in

around 2006 in the program Warcraft III and later on they launched an

online based application of DOTA which can be played not only by the LAN

Users but also the WWAN Users, it was named as DOTA 2.

DOTA has been a great impact to some group of people in the

society. It affects the students, the creator of the game, the sponsors and

LAN Owners, the National Telecommunications Subscriber and Distributor,

the Players and gamers and most of all are the developers. That entire

group of people in the society that has/is concerned in DOTA has both the

positive and negative affections.

One of the greatest factors on being affected in DOTA is addiction.

DOTA Addiction is considered as one of the deadliest game in the world.

One of the most targeted places in DOTA Distribution is Asia, specifically in

China, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Burma, Vietnam and Malaysia. The

game datum had been distributed in these countries and later on became

one of the most unwanted games by some local and spiritual

organizations.

Addiction to DOTA changes life. Being addicted to this game changes

the flow of your time management. Due to playing, eating is irrelevant; the

satisfaction they get from playing is the same as the satisfaction they get

from eating. As a result, the body’s immune systems are getting weaker

and now expose the different viruses and diseases.

Playing this game also triggers the player to lose his/her temper and

values. It simply because of the different languages used during the game

or what we called “Trash talks”. Trash talks such as fool languages can
really lose their temper and values. As a result, both sides will fight against

each other.

All in all, DOTA really affects the life style of the youth who are in to

this game, although it has one good benefit, but it corrupts the mind and

the way the youth think. It also weakened the body system, money and

moral values were not given importance because of this game (Engineer

Clarence).

The game DOTA has been so famous these days, too and we have

many reasons for us, the authors to conduct a research about this topic.

The purpose of this research is to analyze and identify the factors and

effects that the game DOTA contributed to the students specifically in their

daily activities.

A.

Significance of the study

To the education is an important investment in human in which

dedication and commitment to study serve as the capital. Secondary

education as being the link between elementary and tertiary education, it is

significant to build a strong sense of responsibilities among secondary

students.

To the school administrators this study will provide them a frame of

reference in formulating programs and projects for basic education. This will

provide them the baseline data for the provision of technology resources for

the school. This will strengthened on the strategy of computer assisted

instruction.

To the teachers, the findings of the study may help them understand the

different characteristic secondary age students. This will give them insights

on why students have to leave their classes just to play online games. It will

help them also create a certain teaching strategies using technology. This will

broaden their imagination on the disadvantages and disadvantages of online

games.

To the pupils, the findings of the study may help them understand and

realized that online games have good and bad effects to their studies. This

will help them to balance their time of playing online games with their

academic schooling. It will help them realized how useful the modern

technology in achieving quality basic education.

To the parents, the findings of the study may help them in guiding their

children as far as playing online game and the important of their studies is

concerned. This will help them realized that this technology is one way of

developing the minds of their children provided with limitation to play.

To the computer shop owners, the findings of the study may help them

understand that online games are only a part of total learning of pupils. They

must limit student’s time in playing these games.

B.

Thesis statement

DOTA Addiction can affect the performance of the students in school

especially in their daily activities.

C.

Definition of terms

DOTA – refers to “Defense of the

Ancients”

is a custom scenario for the

real-time strategy game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion,

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, based on the "Aeon of Strife" map for

StarCraft.

-- It is a 3 Dimensional game which can be viewed in all

directions.

-- It is compatible in computers video cards.

Students – refers to the learners Davao Doctors College for the School
Year 2015 – 2016. Addiction – refers to the habitual playing of

DOTA.

D.

Scope and limitations

The researchers want to realize on the things that DOTA can do to

destroy the studies of every student. There are many students and even

some young professional are addicted to Defense of the Ancients or Dota.

This is a kind of computer games that can be played by many players and

is one of the most popular games to young students.

E.

Review of Related Literature

Today millions of students has been playing DOTA games and become

their habits it is so hard for them to avoid playing DOTA games. It is a big

Physical and Psychological effects for them mostly to their studies.

DOTA can make the students addict and are the main reason that

their academic performances are greatly affected. These studies show

concrete evidences why the game is very popular in our country and may

be very harmful. The people are not only playing the game, but also they

are helping the developers to improve the game.

The 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 have the same game play of DOTA; its origin, Star

craft, have never been popular here in the country. People continue to

embrace its influence and apply it to our everyday lives. It covers vast

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.

Even though the General Aggression Model suggests that personality

and situational variables can influence aggression, it is not clear if the

model can be applied to Eastern cultures. The present study examined the

mediating role of low self-control in the relationships between violent

online gaming, Internet addiction, and aggression. We conducted a cross-

sectional study using online self-report questionnaires to assess violent

online game exposure, Internet addiction, low self-control, and aggression

in 211 Chinese male students. We found that the majority of the 10 most

popular games reported by the participants were violent. There were

positive correlations between violent online game exposure, Internet

addiction, low self-control, and aggression. Aggression was not only

directly predicted by violent online game exposure and Internet addiction,

but also mediated by low self-control. These findings support the

development of educational programs and measures to cultivate self-

control in college students and reduce aggression engendered by playing

violent online games. Aggression and self-control, which is conducive to

educational interventions, are related. The implications and limitations of

this study are discussed. With the growth of the Internet, more people

have access to online games. Online gaming is a popular form of

entertainment that influences the quality of life of players (Shen &

through the combination of situational and personality variables

(Anderson & Bushman, 2002).

Despite extensive research on the psychological effects of online

gaming in Western cultures, little research has been carried out with

Chinese participants, even though a recent Chinese video game

marketing report showed that 95% of online games in China contain

violent, aggressive, and provocative content (Yan, 2013). A preliminary

study in China suggested that online game dependency predicted various

problems, such as physical, personal life, and academic problems. These

problems were usually associated with

poor human performance.

Statement of the problem
This study distinguishes some of the different effects of the computer online DotA.
Sub-problems :

What are the factors that contribute to the growth of student’s addiction in playing
DotA? Why do students play DotA?

How frequent does the students play DotA? How much of their allowance is
spent for playing DotA?

Do students play to interact and meet people? Who influenced them to play
DotA?
These results obtained are limited only to HighSchool students of Salawag
National HighSchool.
EFFECTS OF DOTA TO THE STUDENTS OFSALAWAG NATIONAL HIGHSCHOOL
Dear Respondent: Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. This should only take
about 2-3 minutes of your time. Your answers are very important and any information or data
gathered shall be treated with confidentiality.
Please put a check in the box next to the answer of your choice or write in the space provided
as the case may be.
Name: _____________________________ Year: ______ Gender:_____
Age: _____
1.
Who influences you to play DotA?
Friends
Family/Relatives
Self-discovery
2.
Where do you usually play DotA?
At home
Outside home
3.
How frequently do you spend playing this game?
Everyday
Once a week
3-6 times a week
4.
How much time do you spend normally playing DotA in a day?
1-3 hours
4-8 hours
More than 10 hours
5.
Why do you play DotA?
for enjoyment
Passtime
Strongly
Agree
(5)
Agree
(4)
Neutral
(3)
Disagree
(2)
Strongly
disagree
(1)
6.
You would feel incomplete and
lonely if you could not play DotA
7.
Your grades suffer because of
the time you spend playing this
game.
8.
You gain a lot of friends through
gaming.
9.
You prefer playing DotA rather
than engaging yourself in
alcohol, drugs, smoking cigarette
10.
You play DotA to engage in
gambling and to earn money.
Please rate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statements using a
5 point scales where 5 is strongly agree and 1 is strongly disagree. (Put a chec