Make-a-wishFoundation
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WoW Archivist: Life and death
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? World of Warcraft is without a doubt a massive cultural phenomenon unlike any other online game to date. It has given us countless hours of entertainment, introduced friends and couples to one another, and touched the lives of millions. For some, the game has made a bad situation better, or even -- in at least one case -- possibly saved their lives. For others, it has cost them everything. Fair warning: This column describes some intense and tragic events. Hans and the moose In 2007, twelve-year-old Hans Jørgen Olsen of Norway and his sister (ten) decided to take a shortcut through a garden on their way to school. The choice would prove fateful. A moose had wandered into the area and promptly took a dislike to the children. "It ran straight towards us when it saw us," Hans told Norwegian news station Nettavisen. "I screamed at it to scare the moose, but I soon realized that it was not going to stop. Then I turned and ran and ran until I couldn't run faster." The charging moose caught up to Hans and slammed into him. His backpack cushioned the blow, but the impact knocked Hans to the ground. Unsatisfied, the moose remained. "We held eye contact for a while," Hans said, "and then it suddenly struck me."
League of Legends runs Make-A-Wish charity campaign
The Make-A-Wish foundation is a charity that helps make seriously ill children's dreams come true. Several months ago, Riot Games worked with the foundation to bring 17-year-old League of Legends fan and cancer sufferer Joe up to the studio where his favourite game is made. Riot was so inspired by Joe's visit that developers decided to give back to the Make-A-Wish in any way they could to make more children's dreams come true. Following on from the success of community donations to the Red Cross during Japan's earthquake and tsunami, this week Riot announced a new donation drive in support of the Make-A-Wish foundation. "From now, May 4, until 10:30 a.m. PT on May 18, 2012, Riot Games will donate 100 percent of the RP sale price for Joe's favorite champion, Jax, and his Jaximus skin to Make-A-Wish. To make it easier to help, we'll also be lowering the price of both the champion and skin by 50% during this period."
Blizzard donates $800,000 from virtual pet sales to Make-A-Wish
Who says Blizzard plus microtransactions equals pure, unadulterated evil? Well, a lot of gamers, for one, but that hasn't stopped the makers of World of Warcraft from gifting a sizable chunk of RMT-related change to charity. Gamasutra has all the details on Blizzard's most recent involvement with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Proceeds from the $10 Moonkin Hatchling pet that was sold during the last two months of 2010 have been donated to the long-running charity, with some $800,000 ultimately going to a worthy cause. Blizzard has also added another in-game pet to its cash shop, and 100 percent of the proceeds from the new Cenarion Hatchling will go to the Red Cross's Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami relief fund. There is currently no word as to whether the company will offer similar assistance to the survivors of the severe storms that killed over 300 people and caused millions of dollars in property damage in the southeastern United States last week.
