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US gov't hunting extremists in WOW

Sat, 10 May 2008 04:10:40 +0100

"A new data-mining report from the US Director of National Intelligence has revealed that top spies are developing software that they hope will detect violent extremists in online worlds, as reported by Wired. Mysteriously titled The Reynard Project, the software will study the way gamers behave online, and for the second stage will ""automatically detect suspicious behaviour and actions in the virtual world."" So, it hopes to discover what ""normal"" massively multiplayer online gaming behaviour is like, and set off alarm bells if people are deviating. The ultimate aim is to catch all those violent extremists who have been using their time to infiltrate World of Warcraft. The report has been approved by Congress, and if it ""shows early promise,"" it may become a full project. Umm....we are not supposed to have any freedom in this country are we. This is starting to get ridiculous beyond belief. Now we are going to be monitored in the video games we play too. What next. Implant chips into our brains that alert the authorities to any negative thoughts we may have at the time about absolutely ANYTHING. Not cool at all. lmao! whats too much is too much. but i guess desperation doesnt know boundaries. plus the article is vague as all hell. they are basically telling us we are being watched, but why , not really. what is extreme behavior. if i am a ganker and a heavy pk-er am i am an extremist. or wow I mean this could be something good and useful but than again considering whos involed and how did they explain it, it seems like a very disgusting new way of privacy invasion! just an easy way to monitor 11 million ppl...shameful!!! Those who say they are just trying to protect us... haven't you ever heard Ben Franklin's quote... ""Those who desire to give up freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserver either one."" " "Building upon that research, and perhaps adding an extra layer of complexity, a new study out of Nottingham Trent has found that 54 percent of all males and 68 percent of all females ""gender swap""--or create online personas of their opposite sex.

The study found that males and females had different reasons for gender swapping, with female gamers primarily seeking to avoid ""unsolicited male approaches"" and male swappers finding that they are treated far better by other males. In the words of one male participant quoted in the study, ""Nerd + Boob = Loot."" Titled ""Gender Swapping and Socializing in Cyberspace: An Exploratory Study,"" the study was conducted by Zaheer Hussain and Mark Griffiths and surveyed 115 participants, 83 of which were male and 32 female. guild wars gold The survey was conducted through various MMOG-enthusiast forums, and the researchers noted that flaws to the study may include the relatively small sample size and the self-reporting format. ""What makes these findings important is that in most instances, the gamer has the opportunity to choose the gender of his or her character and to develop other aspects of the character before beginning to play,"" concluded the researchers. wow or ""Choosing to gender swap may have an effect on the gamer's style of play and interaction with other gamers and could even have an effect on guild membership."" Researchers also noted that the study supported previous findings that ""suggest the female persona has a number of positive social attributes in a male-oriented environment."" Yep, this is true. lineage 2 adena I am a male and play as a female character. You will always be treated better when doing such. Also, people who say this is gay obviously have no idea what they are talking about, and need to stop repeating what they heard other people say years ago. gold wow Choosing to play as a female avatar has no reflection on ones sexuality. Some people just like to be treated nice, some like the way female characters look better, and in some cases you don't even have a choice.

(FFXI for example) " .

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Nintendo Kyoto, Infinity Ward named best devs

Sat, 10 May 2008 04:08:55 +0100

"In February, game industry luminaries congregated en masse on two separate occasions to share ideas, schmooze, and honor the best games of 2007. For the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' part, top award winners at the D.I.C.E. Summit included Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4 and Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft. Two weeks later, the Game Developers Conference counsel heaped accolades upon Valve Corp. for the deranged first-person puzzler Portal, which came packed in with The Orange Box. Not content to just make great games, it now appears many of these award winning studios are also great places to work, according to a recent study conducted by Game Developers Conference organizers CMP Group by way of Think Services for Game Developer magazine and its Game Developer Research division. In conducting its study, Think Service combined sales and marketing stats with survey data gleaned from game developers and other professionals within the industry. Perched atop the rankings was Nintendo's Kyoto studio, which is responsible for top-selling Nintendo DS and Wii titles Wii Sports, Wii Play, and Brain Age and its sequel. According to CMP, survey respondents called out the studio's focus on quality in particular. Coming in at second was the Activision-owned studio Infinity Ward, which was praised for its working conditions, professionalism, and attention to quality. Rounding out the top five were World of Warcraft purveyors Blizzard Entertainment; Electronic Arts' Canada outfit, which handles FIFA Soccer 08 and NBA Street: Homecourt; and Valve, which most recently developed The Orange Box and operates the online distribution mainstay Steam. Bethesda, you're kidding me right. The same developer that lets you manipulate the world of lame AI in Morrowind and Oblivion. Sure they have a great idea, and because of the sheer scope and size of the world people tend to be more forgiving, but really the only way to play those games is to define your own rules.

or wow Otherwise it is just too easy to manipulate the AI and all that is broken... And bioware hasn't had a game worth talking about since KOTOR. " "For most developers, hosting a convention dedicated solely to the company's wares would be considered audacious at best. Of course, when that developer is Blizzard Entertainment, and every game touched turns to gold--irrespective of how long that alchemical process takes--one massive event per region is hardly enough. world of warcraft powerleveling With BlizzCon and the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational occupying North America and Asian markets respectively last year, the Irvine, California-based superdeveloper is pitching camp in Europe for the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational convention and tournament. The first-of-its-kind Blizzard event for Europe is slated to run June 28-29 at the Porte de Versailles Exposition Centre in Paris, France. Tickets are priced at €70 (about $110), and go on sale Thursday, March 20 on the developer's official Web site for the event. wow po In addition to invite-only tournaments in which professional gamers will vie for $100,000, the 2008 Blizzard Worldwide Invitational will host a number of casual tournaments, cosplay contests, live musical performances, and developer meet and greets. Attendees will also receive a swag bag that contains an exclusive WOW in-game pet as well as ""a beta key for an upcoming Blizzard Entertainment game."" At last year's events, Blizzard's devout were first enraptured by the long-awaited reveal of Starcraft II in Seoul and then sent into a bona fide tizzy on the debut of World of Warcraft's next expansion--Wrath of the Lich King--in Anaheim. This year, speculation is rife over whether Blizzard will use the event to unveil its new, original massively multiplayer online game. eve isk There's also speculation, fueled by several job postings on the developer's Web site, that the next installment in the infernal Diablo franchise could debut.

In a study conducted by Jane Barnett and colleagues at Middlesex University, psychologists found that gamers were more likely to be calm or simply tired after playing, rather than itching to go outside and kick someone's head in. The researchers surveyed 292 male and female online gamers aged between 12 and 83 and had them play the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft. wow powerleveling They were asked to complete a survey about anger, aggression, and personality prior to and following a two-hour session of WOW, which is only rated T for Teen in the US and 12+ in the UK. Mostly, the researchers found that people were more tranquil after a good bout of Azerothian bloodletting. ""There were actually higher levels of relaxation before and after playing the game, as opposed to experiencing anger,"" Barnett said in a statement before adding the caveat, ""This did very much depend on personality " .

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EU says OK to Acti-Blizzard union

Sat, 10 May 2008 04:07:53 +0100

"Today, Activision and Vivendi Games cleared yet one more hurdle lying in the path of their $18.9 billion merger. The European Commission, which is part of the European Union, has approved the deal under its antitrust guidelines, concluding that an Activision Vivendi mash-up ""would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it."" According to the EC's report, the merger's reach was measured on both a horizontal and vertical scale. In terms of horizontal competition, the EC deemed the Vivendi-Activision union would ""continue to face several strong, effective competitors, such as Electronic Arts, and the game console manufacturers, such as Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft."" Addressing vertical synergies, the EC noted that Vivendi's ownership of Universal Music Group would give Activision an advantage in licensing music but concluded that other publishers would continue to have access to a ""sufficiently large portfolio of music rights from alternative suppliers."" The EC also noted that the merger would not impact wholesale distribution competition of PC games in the UK. In February, soon-to-be Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said that the merger was progressing as anticipated and was expected to conclude by June. To secure its 52 percent controlling stake in the newly formed conglomerate, Vivendi has undertaken several financing initiatives, including securing loans to the tune of €4 billion (about $6.3 billion) by January as well as banking an additional $1.4 billion earlier this month from the issuance of corporate bonds to various banking institutions. Au Contraire, naive conservative one... In case you haven't seen the latest statistics, the current economic system has only worked to widen the increasingly growing gap between the rich and the poor. The middle and lower-income brackets have been taking it up the (you know what, rhymes with ga$) for the past two centuries as the rich get rich, and the poor -- poorer.

It is precisely mergers like these that concentrate wealth in increasingly fewer hands.. (And, I might add, lead to increasingly shoddy and unoriginal production value in videogames -- See: EA buying out Westwood Studios, EA in general, ...) I fail to see how the EU does not see this merger as a significant threat to decent competition in the industry.. Oh no, they'll face competition from ONE company EA..... That sounds like a credible threat that will server the consumers interests.. Right. WRONG! There is nothing to prevent these two companies from driving up prices by acting in unison for both their mutual interests, either as a cartel or not... wow po The industry WILL be stifled... One more reason for me to support the small, break-away start-ups like ArenaNet (that broke away from Blizzard a few years ago...) " "ANAHEIM, Calif.--Following two very public leaks in Germany and the US, Blizzard Entertainment surprised virtually no one today when it announced the second expansion to its wildly popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft. Titled the Wrath of the Lich King, the expansion will add a passel of new content to the game, which now boasts a staggering 9 million players worldwide. The announcement was made by Blizzard's Frank Pierce this morning at BlizzCon, the Vivendi Games-owned publisher's annual fan event. wow First, he briefly talked about some content updates that introduce guild banks and integrated voice chat via live content updates. Then he discussed Zuluman, a new 10-person instance in the Ghost Lands featuring Forest Trolls battling against Blood Elves. He looks like an understanding fellow... Then, after coyly mentioning that Blizzard's ""dev team has been working on bigger things,"" Pierce officially unveiled Wrath of the Lich King. guild wars gold The expansion will open up the continent of Northrend--first seen in Warcraft III--to WOW players for the first time.

The expansion's storyline will center on the lich king Arthas Menethil, who was prominently featured in the expansion Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Arthas has ""merged with the spirit"" of another lich king, Ner'zhul, the former orc shaman and Undead Scourge leader introduced in Warcraft II: The Tides of Darkness. gold für wow kaufen Now, the joined ghostly monarchs have ""set things in motion that could threaten all life in Azeroth,"" according to Pierce. Wowhead and Thottbot on Ad Strike Apparently, players will be introduced to the story as soon as they set foot into Northrend. BlizzCon venue, the Anaheim Convention Center. Wrath of the Lich King will raise the level cap in WOW to 80 and will add new abilities and talents to all classes. wow gold It will also introduce the Death Knight hero class and a new profession--inscription--that will let players permanently enhance spells and abilities. The expansion will also add new character-customization options, such as hairstyles and dances.

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BlizzCon, QuakeCon, and SOE face off

Sat, 10 May 2008 04:04:02 +0100

"Even with the PC Game On event on an indefinite hiatus, PC gamers still have three major online gaming conventions to look forward to this year. Unfortunately, getting to them all may be a bit of an issue, as BlizzCon, QuakeCon, and the SOE Fan Faire are all happening this weekend. BlizzCon's front door. BLIZZCON Bolstered by its 9 million-player-strong World of Warcraft base, Blizzard's semiannual community event leads the convention circuit, taking place today and tomorrow in Anaheim, California. QuakeCon and the Sony Online Entertainment Fan Faire both opened their doors yesterday and will run through August 5 in Dallas, Texas, and Las Vegas, Nevada, respectively. As the developer of several of the most popular gaming franchises in the world, Blizzard's BlizzCon event is expected to draw massive crowds from its massive and loyal fan base. While not typically associated with claustrophobia, the spacious Anaheim Convention Center has been descended upon by human hordes filing in shoulder to shoulder to compete in tournaments both competitive and casual, as well as to strut around in their cosplay garb, listen in on developer panels, and get the latest details on upcoming Blizzard products such as Starcraft 2, which will be playable at the event. As part of this year's grab bag of goodies for attendees, Blizzard has promised World of Warcraft in-game loot, as well as a beta key for an upcoming Blizzard product. That ""product"" is likely World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion to Blizzard's massively multiplayer online sensation sensation World of Warcraft. Following two high-profile leaks, Blizzard vice president wasted little time unveiling the add-on this morning concurrent with its official Web site going online. SOE FAN FAIRE Blizzard archrival Sony Online Entertainment will be hosting its own fan appreciation event this weekend at the Rio casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Held annually since 2003, the SOE Fan Faire offers players the chance to park their digital avatars for a weekend and venture out into the real world to meet and greet like-minded players as well as members of the SOE development team. As with BlizzCon, the SOE Fan Faire features panel discussions, cosplay contests, game-themed events, and more. Hoping to trump the furor stirred up by Blizzard's newly announced WOW expansion, SOE president John Smedley will be announcing a brand-new online game tonight during the SOE Fan Faire Community Address, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Pacific. wow geld SOE currently has recently added several MMOG's to its burgeoning stable, including it's internally developed stealth action persistent online shooter The Agency as well as the recently acquired Vanguard: Saga of Heroes from Sigil Games and Flying Lab's Pirates of the Burning Sea. The Carmack holds court at QuakeCon 2006. QUAKECON Rounding out the trifecta and occurring in tandem with SOE's event is id Software's fragfest QuakeCon. Now in its 12th season, QuakeCon returns to the first-person shooter capital of the world--Dallas, Texas--for its yearly tribute to id Software's seminal shooter franchises. wow gold More than 6,000 FPS fiends are descending upon Dallas' Hilton Anatole Hotel with their PCs in tow to take part in what's billed as the world's largest LAN party. A number of tournaments will also be held during the event, including the first ever featuring Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, and this year's QuakeCon Championship Tournament clocks in at a cool $100,000, courtesy of event sponsor Nvidia. Tonight, id cofounder and technical director John Carmack will take the stage with id CEO Todd Hollenshead to deliver the QuakeCon keynote address. wow powerleveling Some expect the duo to reveal id's first game featuring the id Tech 5 engine, an announcement many thought would occur at this year's E3 Media & Business Summit.

" "As of today both Wowhead and Thottbot have gone on strike from their advertising networks. (the people who pick what ads go on the site) They state the reasons as -Ads that contained trojans -Ads that automatically redirected the user to their page without clicking the link -Ads that flashed different colors to get attention, beeped or tried to trick the users into tricking where annoying I agree with these two sites that these advertisements have gotten out of control, even this sight has had a couple of ads that have gone overboard to grab attention (You have won two free iPod Nanos anyone. wow gold verkaufen ). Do you think this will make any impact on the ads these sites ad networks put on their sites or is this just a long shot in the dark by these websites. Links that explain the reasonings follow: I can't believe Thottbot is still that popular. lotro gold I spent a good time of my in-game youth advertising this site to everyone I came across. And that was back when Thottbot was infamous for its relationship with IGE. I've only visited the site a couple of times.

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