Feeling silly
Has the Ice Stone melted?
(via Matthew Bozarth) A WoW insider joke I had to share. Has the Ice Stone melted?
Games
Attack of a gold spammer
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
Academia
Starcraft 101
What would be the best way to study war? Academics at the University of California at Berkley believe that the answer is through Real-time strategy game Starcraft. The course description reads: “UC Berkeley students with an interest in real-time strategy games and the competitive gaming landscape are encouraged to participate Read more
Games
Geophysical survey of World of Warcraft
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
Feeling silly
Unfortunate name for rip off
What do you do if you cannot lay your hands on a Nintendo Wii? Go out for a Wee.
Games
NCSoft sued for avatar patent infringement
(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
Cybercrime
IE security flaws
The BBC is reporting that there is a new fatal flaw with Internet Explorer that allows hackers to gain access to a computer and steal passwords. In other news water is wet, politicians lie and Windows Vista is a huge disappointment. Seriously though, this is usually the perfect opportunity for Read more
Cybercrime
Cybercriminals making a killing on magic swords
(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
Games
The evils of virtual worlds
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
Cybercrime
Woman jailed for killing avatar
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