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Sony patent application aims to put names to faceless MMO players, organize real-world meetups
Dear MMO players, Sony's getting worried about your indoor tan. Really. The electronics giant's even gone so far as to file a patent application to get you out of your parent's basement and into the great outdoors. Alright, so the move isn't altogether altruistic -- it's more of a means to a promotional end -- but from the looks of this USPTO doc, the company's outlined a method to create a program that would encourage gamers to head into the daylight for organized events where everyone knows your online name. Of course, there'd be rewards and other incentives (trophies, perhaps?) on hand to coax you out of that Snuggie and help foster a sense of community. Not to worry, though, Bunim / Murray haven't got their MTV-friendly reality cams targeted on this concept, yet.
GDC China 09: Netease speaks on combating botters
GDC China 2009 is currently in high gear until tomorrow, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about some of the panels today! One of the highlights for the MMO industry was certainly the talk given by Yunfeng Lin, the design director at NetEase, on keeping up with botters and bot programs.NetEase, the operator of the three Westward Journey games, Flyff (and here's the American version of Flyff), and the 100 pound gorilla that is World of Warcraft, is in a very unique position to speak on the troubles botters present to online communities. Westward Journey and World of Warcraft both draw huge numbers of people in China, but that also means they draw a huge number of botters.
