Mathias Klang has posted about an interesting development in the increasing complex interaction between the real and the virtual worlds. Swedish game developer MindArk has been granted a banking licence by Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. MindArk are known for developing and managing the remarkable Entropia Universe, which is the “first Read more
Before being attacked by the Lynne Trusses of the world, the title of Vernor Vinge’s Rainbows End is not missing an apostrophe. The book is named after a retirement community which was chosen by either “an everyday illiterate or someone who really understood the place.” Vinge is part of a Read more
An interesting development in the latest cybercrime trends has been a marked increase in attacks against online games and virtual worlds, as I have posted previously. One element that I have missed in the discussion about game hacking has been the methods with which cyber-criminals obtain login details and passwords Read more
(via Matthew Bozarth) A WoW insider joke I had to share. Has the Ice Stone melted?
It seems like as soon as this blog’s Technorati ratings go up, we start getting flooded by virtual gold sellers. I don’t know if it’s because of my earlier confession to having purchased WoW gold, or just random attacks. Last night’s gold spammer was particularly prolific, leaving messages in 20 Read more
How big is Azeroth? How long would it take you to walk from one end of Kalimdor to the other? How tall are the buildings in Thunder Bluff? What is the height of the Alterac Mountains? A level 29 Warlock set out to find out the answers to these and Read more
(Via Colin Miller) NCSoft, the producers of virtual worlds such as Lineage, City of Heroes and Guild Wars has been sued by virtual platform developer Worlds.com, which holds several patents on 3D environments. Back in December, Terra Nova had reported that Worlds.com had announced that it would be enforcing its Read more
(via Pangloss) The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) has published a report about the prevalence of cybercrime against virtual world inhabitants. The report states that: “2007 was the year of online gaming fraud – with malicious programs that specifically target online games and virtual worlds increasing by 145% Read more
Yesterday was the official “bash virtual worlds” day in the UK press. With the launch of the latest World of Warcraft expansion (Wrath of the Lich King), news sources went overboard in the coverage of thousands of costumed geeks queuing outside Oxford Street’s HMV; at some point the game’s launch Read more
Internet news sites are abuzz with the report that a Japanese woman has been jailed after reportedly “killing” her virtual husband’s avatar after a virtual divorce. A 43-year-old Japanese piano teacher was virtually married to a 33-year-old office worker in the online game Maplestory – a cutesy Korean manga-style world. Read more