Thursday, May 24, 2007
Discrimination Surfaces in WOW
Non English speaking gamers are claiming racial discrimination in the hugely popular World of Warcraft video game. WOW is classified as a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game and is an online computer role-playing game in which a large number of players from around the world can interact together or against one another in the same game at the same time. At last count Blizzard the developers of WOW stated they had 5 million active monthly subscribers.The problem starts when players try to join groups. wow power leveling As part of the game play for WOW players are required to form groups of 5 or more to be able to finish certain levels of the game. Now if you have a number of friends who also play WOW you can make arrangements to meet up in the game to complete these required group tasks. For all others players they will need to build groups by using the games message system where they can send a request out to fellow players to form or join a group of players for a certain task.There is a common belief among English speaking players in WOW that most non English speaking players are gold farmers. This is a type of player who is only playing the game to profit, not for the “love of the game”. Gold Farmers are largely despised by players who feel they take away a certain purity of the game.To combat gold farmers, players are requesting anybody who wants to join a group to type one or two lines of English. If the sentences or grammar are not proper English these players are rejected from joining this group. This has recently been creating a lot of backlash among non-English speaking players with feel they are being discriminated against based on their language. wow power leveling Other players in WOW claim that the English test has nothing to do with discrimination, but more to do with being able to communicate effectively with your fellow team members. They say you would never build a real life arm with people who do not speak a common language.One player cites that over 1.5 million WOW players are from China alone, with the majority of these players being non-English. While their has been recent publicity about the gold farm factories in china, it by no means justifies thinking that every Chinese or non-English speaking player is a gold farmer.This WOW player states that he does not know how to stop this racial discrimination, but believes if people could just try to keep a more open mind and trust people a little more; this would go along way to bring some racial harmony to WOW and the World in general.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
What NOT To Do If Your WoW Account Gets Banned
Some people, I swear! After hitting up my favorite World of Warcraft news sources today I have came upon a pretty interesting story. Now remember that I have absolutely no viable sources to back up this story so it may not be true but some part of me believes it is.Evidently, some kid used some different cheats to play World of Warcraft...that is including a stolen CD key. So, no surprise to anyone his account got banned.wow power leveling He then decided to try DUMB IDEA #1, which was bribe Blizzard to let him back into WoW. It was claimed he bribed them with $3,000 from Paypal. No clue where that money "may" have came from.Of course, Blizzard denied the bribe so our hero tries something a little bit different...DUMB IDEA #2: He then sent Blizzard an email stating that he would end his life if they didn't let him back in the game.If this story is true or not it is probably the best way to handle something like this.Blizzard of course, got serious with this kind of threat.wow power leveling First off, they sent him an email with phone numbers for various different crisis centers.A few hours later, police ended up at his doorstep. They identified the kid by the IP address he was using for his internet connection. On Blizzard's part this was the best way to handle this. I bet though the kid was just being dumb and would say anything to get his account re-activated.I bet he won't do that anymore. Who knows if this story is totally true or not and who really cares.I have known people that would be dumb enough to try this stuff so it wouldn't surprise me one bit if it is real.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Outsourcing your 'Warcraft' skills
According to an estimate from a company called Power-levels.com, it would take someone starting from scratch 768 hours to reach the highest level you can hit in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.
Or, for someone who had already topped out at level 60 in the original WoW, it would take 384 hours to get to the top level, 70, of Burning Crusade.
That's a lot of hours, and if you're one of the many people with limited time who still wants to play online games like WoW at the highest levels, Power-levels.com and a growing number of competitors may have just the solution. wow power leveling That is, if you're OK with breaking the rules, as well as what some say is the spirit of the games.
These game consultants sell what are known as power-leveling services. Essentially, that means that for a fee, they will take over your account in any one of a large number of online games and put in the work required to get you where you want to be.
That level 70 Burning Crusade power-up costs $556. The jump from level 60 to 70: $239.
For some time, high-level wannabes have been able to go to places like eBay to purchase entire accounts from retiring players. In doing so, they acquire special weapons, armor, tools or spells with the aim of getting to a place in a game beyond what they could do without help.wow power leveling
But in the wake of eBay's decision to delist all auctions for the assets of online games, some may be wondering where else they can turn. The power-leveling companies think they have the answer.
"They give us their character name, their password and they tell us which level they want us to reach for them," said Flora Chen, manager of Guy4Game, a power-leveling company based in Canada that also has operations in China, Korea, Japan and Mexico. "Some just want to reach levels as fast as possible, so they say to (play for them) 24 hours a day."
Outfits like Guy4Game, Power-levels.com, Power-level.net and GmLvl.com say they're pulling in serious business. wow power leveling For example, GmLvl.com says on its Web site that it employs more than 2,000 people solely for the purpose of helping clients get where they want to be. By comparison, Guy4Game's has a staff of 150 full-time workers.
Chen said Guy4Game has a client list of more than 100,000 customers, though there is no way to verify that number.
There's no telling how many power-leveling companies exist: online searches using various terms easily produce dozens. But that such an industry exists--for dozens of online games--is noteworthy, particularly because publishers of online games like World of Warcraft, EverQuest and City of Heroes don't allow their players to engage in such behavior.
Against terms of service"Sony Online is aware that it happens, and we do not condone it," said Courtney Simmons, head of public relations for EverQuest II publisher Sony Online Entertainment. "It is against our terms of service...You (cannot) give anyone else access to (your) account."
Blizzard Entertainment, publisher of WoW, takes the same position as Sony Online.
"Making use of a power-leveling service," Blizzard said in an e-mail statement Monday, "is a violation of our account-sharing policy. wow power leveling This policy is discussed in World of Warcraft's terms of use, which players agree to prior to playing."
Blizzard added that because customers paying power-leveling services give over full access to their accounts, there is no way to prove that the services perpetrated any fraud (if a customer has such a complaint) while those accounts were in use.
Fraud or no fraud, if a customer wants to jump to level 70 of Burning Crusade and have a flying mount and a high riding score, but doesn't have the time to achieve such a goal, he can have someone else do it for him.
Chen said Guy4Game's clients ask for all kinds of things. Some want to rise to their desired level as fast as possible. Others want steady progress, but still want to be able to play when they want. So they ask to have access to their own accounts for certain hours of the day. The rest of the time, Guy4Game is in charge.
Similarly, some players demand to deal with power-leveling service representatives who speak English, or Japanese, or Korean. wow power leveling That's why Guy4Game has employees in those countries, Chen said.
In the eyes of regular players, however, those who utilize power-leveling services aren't sticking to the spirit of the games.
"Using a service to level a character is pretty universally regarded as a 'lamer' move," said Eric Haller, a San Francisco investor and long-time WoW player. "You will definitely not earn anyone's respect if they know you have paid for your levels."
In fact, Haller said he thinks the general perception of people who use power-leveling services, as well as those who buy well-stocked characters or advanced weaponry off of eBay or other secondary markets is that they are unfairly cutting corners.
"I think it is perceived as a form of cheating," Haller said. "Not necessarily in the sense of breaking the rules, but more in the sense of being a somewhat weak player who is unable to use (their) skills to acquire things. (It's) sort of like it is confusing to me why someone would pay $50 for a game and then $20 for a guide to walk them through it.wow power leveling Isn't the fun in the play?"
To Simmons, the problem behind power leveling has to do more with logistics than with fun. That, she said, is because Sony Online Entertainment gets customer service complaints all the time from players who have had their accounts stolen or compromised after using power-leveling services. Sony won't ban players who get caught using contractors, but they're on their own with customer service problems.
Or, for someone who had already topped out at level 60 in the original WoW, it would take 384 hours to get to the top level, 70, of Burning Crusade.
That's a lot of hours, and if you're one of the many people with limited time who still wants to play online games like WoW at the highest levels, Power-levels.com and a growing number of competitors may have just the solution. wow power leveling That is, if you're OK with breaking the rules, as well as what some say is the spirit of the games.
These game consultants sell what are known as power-leveling services. Essentially, that means that for a fee, they will take over your account in any one of a large number of online games and put in the work required to get you where you want to be.
That level 70 Burning Crusade power-up costs $556. The jump from level 60 to 70: $239.
For some time, high-level wannabes have been able to go to places like eBay to purchase entire accounts from retiring players. In doing so, they acquire special weapons, armor, tools or spells with the aim of getting to a place in a game beyond what they could do without help.wow power leveling
But in the wake of eBay's decision to delist all auctions for the assets of online games, some may be wondering where else they can turn. The power-leveling companies think they have the answer.
"They give us their character name, their password and they tell us which level they want us to reach for them," said Flora Chen, manager of Guy4Game, a power-leveling company based in Canada that also has operations in China, Korea, Japan and Mexico. "Some just want to reach levels as fast as possible, so they say to (play for them) 24 hours a day."
Outfits like Guy4Game, Power-levels.com, Power-level.net and GmLvl.com say they're pulling in serious business. wow power leveling For example, GmLvl.com says on its Web site that it employs more than 2,000 people solely for the purpose of helping clients get where they want to be. By comparison, Guy4Game's has a staff of 150 full-time workers.
Chen said Guy4Game has a client list of more than 100,000 customers, though there is no way to verify that number.
There's no telling how many power-leveling companies exist: online searches using various terms easily produce dozens. But that such an industry exists--for dozens of online games--is noteworthy, particularly because publishers of online games like World of Warcraft, EverQuest and City of Heroes don't allow their players to engage in such behavior.
Against terms of service"Sony Online is aware that it happens, and we do not condone it," said Courtney Simmons, head of public relations for EverQuest II publisher Sony Online Entertainment. "It is against our terms of service...You (cannot) give anyone else access to (your) account."
Blizzard Entertainment, publisher of WoW, takes the same position as Sony Online.
"Making use of a power-leveling service," Blizzard said in an e-mail statement Monday, "is a violation of our account-sharing policy. wow power leveling This policy is discussed in World of Warcraft's terms of use, which players agree to prior to playing."
Blizzard added that because customers paying power-leveling services give over full access to their accounts, there is no way to prove that the services perpetrated any fraud (if a customer has such a complaint) while those accounts were in use.
Fraud or no fraud, if a customer wants to jump to level 70 of Burning Crusade and have a flying mount and a high riding score, but doesn't have the time to achieve such a goal, he can have someone else do it for him.
Chen said Guy4Game's clients ask for all kinds of things. Some want to rise to their desired level as fast as possible. Others want steady progress, but still want to be able to play when they want. So they ask to have access to their own accounts for certain hours of the day. The rest of the time, Guy4Game is in charge.
Similarly, some players demand to deal with power-leveling service representatives who speak English, or Japanese, or Korean. wow power leveling That's why Guy4Game has employees in those countries, Chen said.
In the eyes of regular players, however, those who utilize power-leveling services aren't sticking to the spirit of the games.
"Using a service to level a character is pretty universally regarded as a 'lamer' move," said Eric Haller, a San Francisco investor and long-time WoW player. "You will definitely not earn anyone's respect if they know you have paid for your levels."
In fact, Haller said he thinks the general perception of people who use power-leveling services, as well as those who buy well-stocked characters or advanced weaponry off of eBay or other secondary markets is that they are unfairly cutting corners.
"I think it is perceived as a form of cheating," Haller said. "Not necessarily in the sense of breaking the rules, but more in the sense of being a somewhat weak player who is unable to use (their) skills to acquire things. (It's) sort of like it is confusing to me why someone would pay $50 for a game and then $20 for a guide to walk them through it.wow power leveling Isn't the fun in the play?"
To Simmons, the problem behind power leveling has to do more with logistics than with fun. That, she said, is because Sony Online Entertainment gets customer service complaints all the time from players who have had their accounts stolen or compromised after using power-leveling services. Sony won't ban players who get caught using contractors, but they're on their own with customer service problems.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Wow Powerleveling Guide
As a result, independent films win much of the glory and awards—and studio films win most of the gold, taking world of warcraft gold cheat in well over 80 percent of the box-office proceeds.” the nyt profiles indieflix “at a time when audiences are ebbing, piracy is threatening profits and at-home downloading takes gas mileage out of the movie-going equation, a company that helps filmmakers and audiences find each other on the internet may be as natural a step in the evolution of cinema as portable dvd players or reserved seats. wow power leveling Fast, world of warcraft gold cheat reliable, and friendly community. I have been wondering what is it that gives the world of warcraft gold cheat music all the power it has. In the long world of warcraft gold cheat run, the indie as it exists today is going to disappear.
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Ll just invites it by publishing world of warcraft gold cheat their real time numbers without marketing spin.
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Btw, its world of warcraft gold cheat not for seo my robots.txt blocks em.txt blocks wow opwerleveling guide em .wow power leveling ( note : every 2 levels, ex, 2, 4, world of warcraft gold cheat 6, 8, you will be given new abilities. )In twitter, messages are broadcast to cellphones, im clients, web accounts and world of warcraft gold cheat the public timeline, rss feed, any or all at once depending on the sender and subscriber settings.
I world of warcraft gold cheat personally, blaah blaah blaah. On the ground, volunteers also climb the nest trees and band eaglets with world of warcraft gold cheat a metal leg band, take blood samples to check for disease or contamination, and collect vital information on eagles that have been injured or died. wow power leveling
Vael eventually tracks nefarian to world of warcraft gold cheat blackwing lair and fights him, but loses. I am curious about your world of warcraft gold cheat middle of the road approach.
Ll just invites it by publishing world of warcraft gold cheat their real time numbers without marketing spin.
My view is dont try to move the elephant, beacuse its big, heavy and has a very long memory world of warcraft gold cheat for the way we do things around here.
Btw, its world of warcraft gold cheat not for seo my robots.txt blocks em.txt blocks wow opwerleveling guide em .wow power leveling ( note : every 2 levels, ex, 2, 4, world of warcraft gold cheat 6, 8, you will be given new abilities. )In twitter, messages are broadcast to cellphones, im clients, web accounts and world of warcraft gold cheat the public timeline, rss feed, any or all at once depending on the sender and subscriber settings.
I world of warcraft gold cheat personally, blaah blaah blaah. On the ground, volunteers also climb the nest trees and band eaglets with world of warcraft gold cheat a metal leg band, take blood samples to check for disease or contamination, and collect vital information on eagles that have been injured or died. wow power leveling
Friday, May 18, 2007
What NOT To Do If Your WoW Account Gets Banned
Some people, I swear! After hitting up my favorite World of Warcraft news sources today I have came upon a pretty interesting story. Now remember that I have absolutely no viable sources to back up this story so it may not be true but some part of me believes it is.Evidently, some kid used some different cheats to play World of Warcraft...that is including a stolen CD key. wow power leveling So, no surprise to anyone his account got banned.He then decided to try DUMB IDEA #1, which was bribe Blizzard to let him back into WoW. It was claimed he bribed them with $3,000 from Paypal. No clue where that money "may" have came from.Of course, Blizzard denied the bribe so our hero tries something a little bit different...DUMB IDEA #2: He then sent Blizzard an email stating that he would end his life if they didn't let him back in the game.If this story is true or not it is probably the best way to handle something like this.Blizzard of course, got serious with this kind of threat.wow power leveling First off, they sent him an email with phone numbers for various different crisis centers.A few hours later, police ended up at his doorstep. They identified the kid by the IP address he was using for his internet connection. On Blizzard's part this was the best way to handle this. I bet though the kid was just being dumb and would say anything to get his account re-activated.I bet he won't do that anymore. Who knows if this story is totally true or not and who really cares.wow power leveling I have known people that would be dumb enough to try this stuff so it wouldn't surprise me one bit if it is real.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Power Leveling in World of Warcraft
Ages ago, when i found second life, i realized that it was rooted in the same world of warcraft gold tips basic fundamentals as blogging, podcasting, and videoblogging and we could see a darker side of diy media. wow power leveling From: your_log_in_sucks posted with world of warcraft gold tips all due respect, you are in correct, enclosed is a link to prehistoric giant seals that anatomically speaking, had necks well in excess of three feet.Your lame excuse world of warcraft gold tips may pass for one person but all 23 of you.wow power leveling I find, however, world of warcraft gold tips that in the needs-based segmentation (ie. Check world of warcraft gold tips my book page for more info.Technorati del.icio.us furl world of warcraft gold tips blinklist ma.gnolia yahoo.The male always follows the female world of warcraft gold tips to predators. The publication of a new orbit world of warcraft gold tips on january 15, indicates the comet is moving in a long-period orbit with a period of about 37 thousand years. ^ ^; wow power leveling i happen to think this world of warcraft gold tips picture is cute for the simple facts of the facial expressions shown in this and that everyone who commented saw this was going to happen.Remove from heat; world of warcraft gold tips let cool. This tacktick of hyping the product resulted in a queue to sign world of warcraft gold tips up for the online portion.This tacktick of hyping the product resulted in a queue to power leveling in world of warcraft sign world of warcraft gold tips up for the online portion. wow power leveling A writers toolkit by rudy rucker personal rebalancing brain dump the iphone will not be your new mobile world of warcraft gold tips computer rss feeds of bookmarklets. It makes my life so world of warcraft gold tips much better.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Finally, the Warcraft wait is over
By MATT SLAGLEAssociated Press DALLAS -- Each day, millions of people around the world gaze at their computer screens to explore a dangerous fantasy world of treasure-filled dungeons and flame-breathing dragons, a land where mortal enemies lurk around every corner. wow power leveling It's the World of Warcraft, the most successful online game ever, and it's a world about to get a whole lot bigger with today's release of a $39.99 enhancement called The Burning Crusade.
From China to the United States, from Australia to Europe, more than 8 million registered users now pay up to $15 a month to gather with hundreds of other real people who masquerade as digital avatars in the never-ending fantasy world of Azeroth.
The Burning Crusade adds new locales such as Karazhan, Hellfire Citadel and Tempest Keep to Azeroth, and presents a spiraling war against demonic forces where the game's two opposing factions — the Alliance and the Horde — will face powerful new enemies.wow power leveling
Trey Hancock, 26, has been shooting fireballs and frost novas to crush his mortal enemies in the video game World of Warcraft since it first launched in 2004. In his years of playing, the Houston resident led a guild of more than 200 people and raised four characters to the current top level of 60 — including his main character, a mage named Oraj.
Like many others, Hancock said he took a break in anticipation of the expansion, where his first goal will be to take Oraj to level 70.
"I haven't played for the last week because I know once it comes out, I'm going to be playing it nonstop," he said.wow power leveling
It's just the sort of enthusiasm the company behind the game, Blizzard Entertainment Inc., is banking on.
"We were going to be happy if we got a million worldwide subscribers; we didn't feel like that was shooting the moon," said Rob Pardo, Blizzard's vice president of game design and the lead designer for World of Warcraft. "The way it blew up is far beyond our wildest expectations. But now that we are at the mark we are, we feel there's still an ability to grow that customer base even further."
Released in November 2004, World of Warcraft brought several new elements to the genre of massive multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPGs. wow power leveling Most significant, it was simple to play and a had high level of polish, according to Jon Wood, managing editor of the gaming Web site MMORPG.com.
"I think Blizzard looked at what was out there and found out what worked and what didn't work," he said. "The truth of the matter is, the game is very polished. The fact that it's very smooth and easy to learn has put them out front."
Pardo said polish has always been the mantra for the game's creators.
"It's extremely complicated, all the things we have to get right," he said. "We were on track for a Christmas release, but we really felt like we should make sure the product's right for our customers."
Warcraft's popularity has transcended video game culture and spawned a series of action figures, comic books, novels and trading cards.wow power leveling
The game was even the focus of a recent South Park episode where Eric Cartman and friends balloon into overweight, pimply video addicts bent on defeating a rampaging player who threatens the very existence of the game.
The pop culture references extend into the game world, too. If you type "/dance" as a male Blood Elf, for example, your character will strut around with moves similar to the überdorky hero of Napoleon Dynamite.
"We're all entertainment geeks ourselves," Pardo said. "Part of our design process is having fun and putting in those references. It's kind of our way of giving homage to the things that inspire us."
David Daryani, owner of Tru-Gamerz video gaming center in Dallas, said his customers regularly queue up to play the game, especially on the weekends. As a longtime WoW player himself, Daryani, 38, said he hasn't played much lately but was looking forward to seeing the new content and returning to his favorite activity: player versus player combat.wow power leveling
"If you have a bad day, you get on and say 'I'm just going to kick some Alliance butt,' " he said. "It just relieves some stress."
From China to the United States, from Australia to Europe, more than 8 million registered users now pay up to $15 a month to gather with hundreds of other real people who masquerade as digital avatars in the never-ending fantasy world of Azeroth.
The Burning Crusade adds new locales such as Karazhan, Hellfire Citadel and Tempest Keep to Azeroth, and presents a spiraling war against demonic forces where the game's two opposing factions — the Alliance and the Horde — will face powerful new enemies.wow power leveling
Trey Hancock, 26, has been shooting fireballs and frost novas to crush his mortal enemies in the video game World of Warcraft since it first launched in 2004. In his years of playing, the Houston resident led a guild of more than 200 people and raised four characters to the current top level of 60 — including his main character, a mage named Oraj.
Like many others, Hancock said he took a break in anticipation of the expansion, where his first goal will be to take Oraj to level 70.
"I haven't played for the last week because I know once it comes out, I'm going to be playing it nonstop," he said.wow power leveling
It's just the sort of enthusiasm the company behind the game, Blizzard Entertainment Inc., is banking on.
"We were going to be happy if we got a million worldwide subscribers; we didn't feel like that was shooting the moon," said Rob Pardo, Blizzard's vice president of game design and the lead designer for World of Warcraft. "The way it blew up is far beyond our wildest expectations. But now that we are at the mark we are, we feel there's still an ability to grow that customer base even further."
Released in November 2004, World of Warcraft brought several new elements to the genre of massive multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPGs. wow power leveling Most significant, it was simple to play and a had high level of polish, according to Jon Wood, managing editor of the gaming Web site MMORPG.com.
"I think Blizzard looked at what was out there and found out what worked and what didn't work," he said. "The truth of the matter is, the game is very polished. The fact that it's very smooth and easy to learn has put them out front."
Pardo said polish has always been the mantra for the game's creators.
"It's extremely complicated, all the things we have to get right," he said. "We were on track for a Christmas release, but we really felt like we should make sure the product's right for our customers."
Warcraft's popularity has transcended video game culture and spawned a series of action figures, comic books, novels and trading cards.wow power leveling
The game was even the focus of a recent South Park episode where Eric Cartman and friends balloon into overweight, pimply video addicts bent on defeating a rampaging player who threatens the very existence of the game.
The pop culture references extend into the game world, too. If you type "/dance" as a male Blood Elf, for example, your character will strut around with moves similar to the überdorky hero of Napoleon Dynamite.
"We're all entertainment geeks ourselves," Pardo said. "Part of our design process is having fun and putting in those references. It's kind of our way of giving homage to the things that inspire us."
David Daryani, owner of Tru-Gamerz video gaming center in Dallas, said his customers regularly queue up to play the game, especially on the weekends. As a longtime WoW player himself, Daryani, 38, said he hasn't played much lately but was looking forward to seeing the new content and returning to his favorite activity: player versus player combat.wow power leveling
"If you have a bad day, you get on and say 'I'm just going to kick some Alliance butt,' " he said. "It just relieves some stress."
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