Roving gangs that steal your stuff?
by Krystalle Voecks 
Jun 3rd 2007 at 2:35PM
Take, for example, this article from the Washington Post. In the article they say
"In World of Warcraft, the most popular online game, with an estimated 8 million participants worldwide, some regions of this fantasy domain have grown so lawless that players said they fear to brave them alone. Gangs of animated characters have repeatedly preyed upon lone travelers, killing them and making off with their virtual belongings."
As anyone who has played this game for any real length of time can tell you, there is no such mechanic in World of Warcraft that allows anyone to kill someone else and "make off with their virtual belongings." Sure, in the Battlegrounds, if you kill someone, you can loot little trash items/coin. But those are not items that come from a player's inventory -- the items you "loot" are things that are generated in that battleground instance. Once you step outside of those instances, nobody can loot anything from you.
And what about these "gangs of animated characters" that are mentioned? Sure, people tend to like to group to achieve objectives, but even in the absolute worst areas a PvP server has to offer (Stranglethorn Vale, anyone?) I don't think anyone would class the the ganking that goes on there as involving "gangs" that make the area "so lawless." Even talking about NPCs that travel in packs -- like the Courier and her toadies in Eastern Plaguelands, who will most definitely kill most any solo player unlucky enough to run into her -- they don't make off with your belongings at any time. For that matter, I don't think anyone would even consider contacting a GM to complain about being ganked by an NPC -- or another Player if they're flagged for PvP. These fights are all fully within the game's expected and understood mechanics.
The nearest examples that we could figure that they might have meant would perhaps be RuneScape, where you lose everything if a player kills you while you're "skulled." I know in EVE Online you can be killed (or "podded") at any time in any location, and your ship can be salvaged. There was also the old days of EverQuest and Ultima Online when PvP had harsher repercussions that involved losing gear. But World of Warcraft is far removed from those games, as anyone who has played them can tell you.
In short, I'm surprised at the Washington Post for namedropping World of Warcraft in this recent article when the topic of virtual crime (the rest of the article is about virtual rape, virtual pedophelia, and other crimes that are actually being investigated by real world police) has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with WoW. There is no lack of topics to report on in regards to WoW, either. Examples include the recent lawsuit Blizzard started against The Company Who Shall Not Be Named By Me, all the great content in the Black Temple patch, or how about a comparison of the insane profits that Vivendi posted last quarter versus many other companies who have MMO games in their stables. But I suppose they're not as interesting and attention-grabbing as the topic of horrific virtual crimes in video games.
The only problem is that - when it comes to World of Warcraft - the sensational virtual crimes just don't exist.
[via the WoW LJ community]
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Michel Jun 3rd 2007 2:56PM
okay, I will try to be nice to you :
Santa is not a real person
and
Medias just want to profit of famous thing to sell newspaper.
you see, thanks to that little story about "world of warcraft" now you're speaking about them.
well.. in a way, without them, you will not write a story and I will not read it AND the ads...
so everyone is happy. but it's Just a Game. newspaper are a GAME. a travesty of reality to amuse people. in a sad way, a video game is more sincere than a newspaper. it's written "game" on it.
Evil Sheep Jun 3rd 2007 3:19PM
Actually, the closest I've come in an MMORPG to the description the article gives is a game called "Shadowbane". In SB, your corpse can be looted by hostile players and anything in your bags will be taken. The long grinding hours are also accurate, as there are no quests to gain experience.
Just 2 of many reasons I no longer play Shadowbane.
10pound Jun 3rd 2007 3:24PM
No it happened to me, for real, no lie.
Wait...that was just south Boston. NVM.
Rich Jun 3rd 2007 3:34PM
All I have to say about that article is: Thorough research FTW!
NOT
mort Jun 3rd 2007 3:52PM
its nice to know Mr. Alan Sypress or Sipress or whatever, clearly does his research
Tornik Jun 3rd 2007 5:05PM
Welcome to the wonderful world of modern media. If you spend your time wanting or expecting a reasoned, well-researched and balanced investigative report about online gaming and gaming in general from the mainstream media in today's political climate, then the only thing you will get is a lot of wasted time.
Facegriller Jun 3rd 2007 5:54PM
let them know how much their writer needs a lesson in how to do his research:
letters@washpost.com
I just did. :-)
Sufferer
rick gregory Jun 3rd 2007 6:17PM
So think about this... if they can get such a basic point about an easy to check thing wrong... can you trust them when they report on other things? WE caught this because we know for a fact that it's wrong... but a person unfamiliar with WoW would not spot that error. So how many errors are there in stories about local, regional, national and international issues slip by us just because they sound plausible and we don't know in those cases that the fact is a fraud?
Sarah Jun 3rd 2007 6:52PM
That's ridiculous, as silly as this example may be, am I not wrong that the Post has had some trouble in the past with over-zealous reporters not doing any fact-checking or completely making up stories? You'd think they'd be a little more careful, especially with something that "8 million people worldwide" can verify.
Arispere Jun 3rd 2007 7:37PM
Yet another pathetic attempt by the media to trace the causes of real-world ills to video games.
For a time I considered a career in journalism, but then when I really thought about it I was deterred by the fact that to be successful in the business you have to abandon the quest for truth and embrace sensationalism.
Inaraserra Jun 4th 2007 4:01AM
@ Rick
A lot, actually. I was over in the States last summer, and was absolutely shocked at the state of some of the media broadcasts - particularly the 'news' - its completely sensationalist, and lacking a lot of facts, particularly internationally.
But then, I found out that the networks have a difficult time getting viewership for the news broadcasts, but are still forced by their broadcasting license to show them. I guess, in the end, it's just a ratings game to them - and I imagine the same happens with a lot of newspapers, everywhere.
In the end, the sensationalist view that Jack Thompson has been selling the world (the 'gamers are evil, games train young people to kill' view) probably sells a lot more papers than anything positive they could ever write about us.
tallguy59 Jun 4th 2007 4:14AM
Ohyez, delightful modern media. How about that fact... the one where there are no shortage of magazine and newspaper articles going, "MMm, well, global warming MIGHT be happening... but it might not..." while the whole of the scientific community is going nuts, saying, "We gotta stop this, homies!"
... Not in those exact words, of course. It just teaches one not to believe the media. =/
Laurens Holst Jun 4th 2007 5:02AM
"I know in EVE Online you can be killed (or "podded") at any time in any location"
Um, not really. There’s high-sec, low-set and 0.0-space. In high-sec, the second you shoot someone, tens of high-caliber police ships jump in pretty much instantly and destoy your ship in a matter of seconds. So although technically you could pod a very weak ship in the few seconds that you’ve left, it would mean sacrificing a pretty powerful ship, which is not something anyone would really do.
But anyway. Your ship does get shot to bits, and you can indeed loot the items that were not destroyed from the ship’s wreck, and salvage parts from it too. You’ve got to be very careful not to die in that game.
~Grauw
Krystalle Voecks Jun 4th 2007 5:35AM
@Grauw -
While I agree with you that nobody in their right mind would try to pod someone in hi-sec (CONCORD would be up their nose in nothing flat) the point is that the mechanics do exist to technically pod someone anywhere in game. If you're willing to accept the repercussions, you can certainly open fire and try to kill someone/get their stuff. This is a far cry from WoW, where the mechanics the Washington Post writer claims are happening -- being killed and losing all your belongings -- are not possible anywhere in the game.
That said, I was mainly using it by means of comparison of the stark differences with a system where losing everything is most certainly going to happen if you wander into the wrong area alone. Sorry if that didn't come across quite right in the original article!
FireStar Jun 4th 2007 1:13PM
In this article, Alan, the writer has no idea what he's talking about. Don't just stop with the ridiculous world of warcraft statement. He says a guy was arrested for in Lineage II virtually beating people up and selling robbing them and selling their virutal loot for real money. One important thing to note is it wasn't virtual beating, he was going to the people houses, beating them up and stealing their virtual stuff.
unchi Jun 4th 2007 8:47AM
I determined a few years back that the Washington Post has the same level of integrity and ability as supermarket tabloids. I have once again had my belief reaffirmed in just how crappy that paper is. Thanks!
ben1778 Jun 4th 2007 10:13AM
That mistake in the article has probably generated more emails, calls, and letters than any other article they've printed since "U.S. Goes To War In Iraq!"
"You see Bob, the real problem is that I have 8 MILLION bosses. Every time I make a mistake i've got 8 million people coming over to point it out."
I wonder if the email account is full yet? ha ha ha.
Khanmora Jun 4th 2007 10:57AM
Does that info strike anyone else as possibly having it's source in the South Park "Make Love not Warcraft" episode? It is the only thing I can think of that would give the impression of lawlessness in WoW.
Vergs Jun 4th 2007 11:40AM
Here's another one from a PSP game review.
The link:
http://www.houstonpress.com/2007-05-31/home-entertainment/student-bodies/
The quote:
"Like a twisted episode of Quantum Leap, you have taken over the body of a high-school student, navigating halls and hitting on the opposite sex to score points (and digits); think World of Warcraft with booty hunting instead of bounty hunting."
Bounty hunting? There's no bounty hunting in World of Warcraft...
Akks Jun 4th 2007 11:52AM
WAPO is the suxxxour!!!11 I wouldn't let my puppy pee on that POS.