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The Daily Grind: Is in-game gambling fun?
Recently, Star Wars: The Old Republic released a new update that had, among other things, gambling minigames at an in-game casino. It's not the first MMO to add some sort of sanctioned gambling, although it made me wonder just how much demand there is for this sort of thing. On one hand, I'm all for adding more function and features to the game world, even if it's mostly cosmetic and fluffy. Or especially if it's cosmetic and fluffy. Immersion can't begin and end with combat; game worlds should feel alive in a multitude of ways. Plus, giving players more options during a game session is always something I can get behind. On the other hand, if I wanted to gamble online, aren't my needs already met elsewhere? Isn't this a lot of effort for a minigame that will probably get one or two plays from most people before being discarded? What do you think? Is in-game gambling fun? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Directing the devs for a day in Asheron's Call
Turbine may be best-known to modern MMO gamers for its F2P games Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online, but veteran gamers know that the company has a tiny little subscription sandbox game operating a bit outside of the limelight: Asheron's Call. Yes, AC is still chugging along, thanks in part to the devs' interaction with their small but faithful community. In fact, to reward that community, the development team has in the past asked its players for ideas on how to enhance the game. The catch is that said enhancement has to be something the devs can do in a single day. Today, Turbine has posted up the best of the best ideas from the recent round of submissions from the playerbase, and apparently, AC players want their team working on everything from casino tweaks to tailorable undergarments (really!). Check out the whole list of itty-bitty incoming enhancements on the official forums.
The Lawbringer: Gambling in World of Warcraft
Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Mathew McCurley takes you through the world running parallel to the games we love and enjoy, full of rules, regulations, pitfalls and traps. How about you hang out with us as we discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of the games we love to play? Casinos and player-run games of chance have been around in World of Warcraft since the game's launch, clogging chat channels with advertisements, creating numerous GM tickets because of player fraud, and generally being disruptive in the grand scheme of things. Then there are the gambling outfits within guilds, where we would bet who would die first on Nefarian attempts way back in 2005. I lost a lot of gold back then -- I'm still ashamed to admit it. This week on The Lawbringer, we're going to discuss WoW casinos, gambling within the game, and why Blizzard came down hard on player-run money games. The current policy on the books, so to speak, is that casinos are not allowed in WoW, as a disruption and potential scam for players. There is no way around it -- running a gambling or /roll game in chat will have you dealing with some serious retribution, especially doing it in the open. Today's topic, as usual, is spurred on by an email that I got asking a relatively straightforward question that has some nuance to it. This email comes from a digital bookie looking to make an addon that tracks bets based on real-world events.
Addiction therapists trying to help addicted in the game
Britain's Telegraph newspaper has news about addiction therapists joining the game themselves, specifically to find and seek out players who might meet the definition of addicted to World of Warcraft. They're actually looking for official Blizzard support, too. I'm not sure how much help you can actually provide by chatting with a player in the game ("Hello, it looks like you've been online for the last 16 hours, are you addicted?"), but they want to do it. Dr. Richard Graham wants to launch a program by the end of the year that includes some in-game outreach, and even he agrees that it'll be tough sell. Then again, maybe the guy just wants to play some WoW for free: "While a psychiatrist may excel in what they do in the real world, they're probably not going to be very good at playing World of Warcraft. We may have to work at that if we are going to get through to those who play this game for hours at end." Right. "Work.".
Advertising for casinos banned
The past few weeks have seen a rise of in-game casinos on some servers. I haven't noticed any on my home server of Shadow Council, but on Arygos, where I've been toying with a horde hunter (level 34 right now), I can't walk two steps in Orgrimmar without seeing a /yell advertising a chance to win big. As of April 20th, however, this will now be prohibited. In Blizzard's words, after that date, "any advertising for a casino is not permitted," and players are encouraged to report advertisers to the GMs. I have to say, I'm not sad to see the casinos go. It's a clever way to make money, yes, but I don't like seeing players advertise repetitively, and of course, the house always wins. It's nice that Blizzard was so responsive about this issue. While the new rule doesn't prohibit casinos directly, I imagine it will put a stop to most of them, unless there is some secret network of private casinos out there, with transactions carried on in mysterious raid and party chats, or custom channels. If there is, carry on - that's super-cool.
The Queue: Horsewhipping
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.Afternoon, ladies and gents. I have a follow up from yesterday's question regarding casinos, with further information straight from Ancilorn, a Community Representative over in the EU. Hopefully he doesn't end up getting horsewhipped for a fortnight over it like the last few Blue posters that decided to write to us!Ancilorn says that, essentially, casinos that take an up front entry fee (whether it be gold or items) are against the Terms of Use and will result in action being taken on the casino owner. Casinos and competitions that do not require an upfront fee are legal and legit. Collecting an entry free is the violation here.Now we know! Thank you very much, Ancilorn. You are my hero.enthusedii asked... "When the new Arena season arrives, will the arena points I have currently be reset?"
The Queue: Casinos? In my WoW?
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.If you've been reading The Queue for awhile, you'd know that Adam Holisky and I were taking turns writing this thing each day, but he's been sparse lately. Before we get started today, I just wanted to stop and let you guys know that he's okay, he's alive, but the flooding in his hometown of Fargo has gotten pretty ridiculous. He's been documenting the Fargo Flood on his personal blog the whole way through, so if you're interested, give it a gander.If you have friends or family in the area, or simply want to lend a hand, Red Cross and the United Way have set up some resources for all of you to peruse as well. Keep the people of Fargo in your thoughts, folks. I'm sure having Blackhawks flying over your house loses its cool factor after awhile.Jack Spicer asked..."What's the best/easiest way to get starter gear for PvP at 80?"
Joystiq E3 impressions: This is Vegas
We'll make a promise to you: not once in this preview will we reference the "Things that occur in Vegas" advertising slogan that seems to pop up every time someone mentions the mecca of mischievousness in the middle of Nevada. Except for that one time. No more.This is Vegas is a game dreamed up by an assistant. Senior Associate Producer Trevor Ellington told us the real story behind the Sin City-based open-world humor game: an executive assistant at Midway came up with the idea of a game that replicated all of the wild fun to be had in Vegas, and thus was born TiV. During the demo we saw here at E3, the game presented four various scenarios: Fight, Party, Game, Drive, but by the time the game is released in 2009, they'll all be melded into what's supposed to be a sandbox of a good time.
