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WoW Insider's Weekly Webcomic: Safe Passage
Welcome to another edition of WoW Insider's Weekly Comic, Safe Passage. This comic takes place post-Cataclysm, so there will be minor spoilers. The first strike! A frost trap has been thrown onto the fire, blanketing them in darkness. She strikes, now within her natural element. Check out the full comic right here, and tune in next Tuesday morning for a new page. You can also see all the previous pages in the gallery below. %Gallery-102091%
Byron the Tauren Rogue: And here's your lovely parting gift
Before Byron snuck off into the shadows, he told me to give you all a little something to remember him by. "Now," you ask. "what could you possibly give anyone that wasn't obtained illegally?" That's easy: IM icons! You are all more then welcome to use these swanky icons for things like forums, Twitter, or your absolute favorite site to talk about WoW! Also, if you somehow missed the ending of Byron, the review, or you don't even know what I'm talking about, why not try catching up a little bit? %Gallery-101950%
Byron the Tauren Rogue: The cow, the legend, the gnome
When I approached the editors of WoW.com to ask them if they'd be interested in letting me do some work, I was thrilled when they agreed and took me on. The creative freedom I got was incredible: "Write us an idea, and if it's all right, you can do it." Thus, Byron the Tauren Rogue was born. Now, the legend of the tauren rogue is just one of many jokes within the WoW universe, like the cow level, or skilled ret paladins. Even though I was told that this idea was "done to death," I really wanted to try out the lovable oaf sort of character. What I didn't expect is what it would turn into. The general synopsis of Byron is as such: Byron is a young, male tauren who dreams of becoming the first rogue of his kind. His friends -- skilled rogues themselves -- dare Byron to sneak into Stormwind and steal the Shield of Fordragon. If he can acquire it and safely escape the city, then he has more than proven himself.
WoW.com's Weekly Comic: Byron, the Tauren Rogue
Welcome to another edition of the WoW.com Weekly Comic, Byron the Tauren Rogue! Well, here we are: the end of Byron. Our story ends with Byron, the bovine hero, watching a raid take place upon the ever-assaulted Crossroads. He has chosen his path but swears to use it to protect those who need to be protected. He is now one with the shadows, always watching over his beloved Horde. I wanted to thank all of you for sticking with this story from the beginning. While I'll be the first to admit it got off to quite a rocky start, I feel that this comic has evolved a lot, and I'm ultimately happy with where it led. Next week, I'll be featuring an article which, among other things, will be an overview of the entire series. I'll talk about the characters, the story, the writing and many other points. I hope to see you all back again! For those who are worried -- don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'm taking a small, two-week break to write the next story and pen out a couple of fun little Byron-related goodies. Byron may come back one day, as this next story will be completely unrelated, but who knows? From the Byron crew, we all thank you for reading. Take care! Check out the full version right here, and tune in next Tuesday morning for a new page. You can also see all the previous pages in the gallery below. %Gallery-77825%
EA: Byron regulations may delay games for UK
Electronic Arts' UK general manager, Keith Ramsdale, tells GI.biz that the proposed game rating alterations asked for in the Byron Review will delay game releases in the country. Ramsdale believes the changes are an "unnecessary layer of administration" to the process. The main change requested in the Byron Review is that any game above a 12+ certification would need to be reviewed by the BBFC; currently the organization only takes on games flagged to have sex, violence or criminal activity. Ramsdale asks that the government poll consumers on the matter. Meanwhile, publishers continue to back the continent-covering PEGI system. As it has stated before, the BBFC is financially compensated by publishers for its work, and so doesn't expect to encounter problems when hiring more staff to keep up with a greater influx of games. So, not only will the group hire more people to keep up with the work load, but the new rules would also be a cash boom for the organization.
ELSPA comments on UK's Byron Review
After the Daily Mail's startlingly incompetent take on Dr. Tanya Byron's recently published review of games and internet media in the UK, we're more than happy to see less dubious discourse emanating from the Entertainment and Leisure Publishers Association. Speaking to MCV, ELSPA director general Paul Jackson cited several concerns with the report, chief among them being its recommendation of two, potentially confusing ratings systems."The way the proposals currently stand, there will be a BBFC standard on packaged goods – the number of which will presumably get smaller as gaming goes more online – and there will be the PEGI standard online when you're downloading," said Jackson. "We think it will be clearer if there was one standard." Jackson suggested that the report needed to be more "future-proof" and more considerate of the growing number of games being sold online. "It's incredibly important that we protect children and to do that we need to future-proof this process, but it's not quite there yet."Also not quite there yet is the director general's belief that the industry alone should foot the bill for a consumer ratings education campaign. "I want to make it completely clear that a public marketing programme has been key all along in the educational process," he said. "We'll be talking to the Government about who pays for what. We're very keen to play our part, but all of the stakeholders needs to step up to the plate."
UK TV presenter delivers 'chilling verdict' on violent games
Call it a hunch, but we're not convinced that UK television presenter, Anne Diamond, is an ideal choice to "review" games which she says make her "hair stand on end." Though she brushes off several titles which are "so mindless it would be hard to see them as a destructive influence," the ones with "gratuitous use of violence and bloodthirsty imagery" really draw her ire. Honestly, we'd be bitter too if we had copies of Dead Rising LODGED IN OUR SHOULDERS. In a response to Thursday's publication of a Dr. Tanya Byron-led review of video game violence, the UK's Daily Mail has delivered a one-two punch of sensationalist misinterpretation ("allowing children to play on computers unsupervised is as dangerous as letting them play outside on their own") and misguided scaremongering, offering the task of analyzing and rating already-rated violent video games to Diamond. Her "chilling" verdicts are all neatly assembled below a snap of kids playing the infinitely sinister Mario Kart 64. After glossing over Dead or Alive 4 (she wasn't keen on playing as "a martial artist in the fantasy Ninja-style mode"), she becomes truly horrified by a game that "wallows in violence for violence's sake." This dubious honor goes to Resident Evil 4 which, in case you forgot, is about "a cataclysmic chemical attack" spawning legions of zombies which "don't stop until you shoot them in the face or slash their arms off." "This game shouldn't be allowed to be sold, even adults," says a Diamond in the rush to pass judgment. After being "stabbed to death with pitchforks amid fountains of [her] own blood," she calls it quits and declares, "This kind of violence can only be bad for you." Well, that's what the healing herbs are for, Anne. [Thanks, Duncan]
Dr. Tanya Byron explains her report findings, stance on games
Following her report (which follows all of the Manhunt 2 ruckus), UK psychologist Dr. Tanya Byron sat down to discuss some things with Next-Gen. While we don't know much about her, what with us living across the pond and all, she does come off as kind of grounded and level-headed about all of this.It seems that she's very much for adult content in games, just that the adult content in question should only be accessible by, you know, adults. "There's a huge moral debate around content in videogames," she says, "I'm very clear, that wasn't the remit of my review to pass judgment on that and I do believe that content for adults is content for adults. It should be rated that way."She goes on further to add: "I can understand that gamers fear that there will be a 'you can't play these games anymore.' I've not said that, I'd never say that, and certainly if I heard people beginning to use my review to try and imply that I will be very quick to say that that was not and will not be a recommendation of mine."While we're not resident of the UK, we're incredibly interested in where this is all going. Ratings improvements can be made worldwide, we're sure, and we'd like to see a world where it doesn't take an incredibly-long time to release a game because a bunch of uninformed people are too busy arguing about how it's going to train your kid to kill.
Byron calls for more BBFC action, ratings system overhaul
As you all probably know, following the whole Manhunt 2 thing, noted psychologist in the country Dr. Tanya Byron was knee-deep in an investigation into the effects of games and internet media on children in the UK. Her verdict? The BBFC should have a bigger role in rating games (right now, they only intervene on games flagged with violent, sexual and criminal content).Her solution involves a new 12+ classification, as well as the BBFC handling just about all duties involving rating games. But, as anticipated, she's also endorsed the PEGI system, as well. She hopes that the PEGI ratings can go on the back of the game's box, with the BBFC classification being displayed on the front.This is all just the tip of the iceberg, however. Her report has lots more interesting information, so for the rest, head on over to Game Politics.[Via Joystiq]
UK's Byron Review recommends expanded game ratings system
A report concerning the effects of games and internet media on children, led by one Dr. Tanya Byron, was released in the UK today. Among its recommendations are a change to the UK's video game ratings system, which would see the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) assuming a more prominent role in game releases, rating more titles and establishing a new 12+ classification. Currently, the BBFC only examines games flagged for violent, sexual and criminal content -- adopting the lower age limit would undoubtedly result in a dramatic increase in workload.Though Byron hopes that more film-like ratings will ease confusion among befuddled parents, the report also suggests the incorporation of Europe's PEGI rating system, with its notice appearing on the back of a game's box and the BBFC's on the front. Any retailer ignoring these ratings and selling games to a child under the printed age limit will also find itself on the wrong side of the law, as the report would deem such an act illegal. You can read a thorough layout of the report over at Game Politics.
