Patch 5.4 patch notes
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The latest patch 5.4 newsBreakfast Topic: Playing at work
by Mike Schramm 
Dec 17th 2008 at 8:00AM
We talked about this a while back, but the coolest thing I pulled out of the "working at Blizzard" article last weekend wasn't the on-site gyms, valet parking, subsidized cafeteria, or the amazing swag, it was than when your boss walks in the room at Blizzard, it's totally OK if you're playing a game. Of course, as a freelance writer, I've got a little freedom to play with any free time I have, but my free time comes in small amounts these days (I only made it to 78 this weekend) -- being able to play WoW at work (and have it count) would be great.Of course, some of you play WoW anyway (or just read our site -- don't worry, we won't tell your boss) even if you're supposed to be doing something else. And some jobs (security guards, IT tech support, a few call centers) lend themselves well to playing WoW during breaks, or just when the boss is not looking. What's your situation? Are you not near a computer to play WoW on at work, do you bring your own external drive in to play during lunch, or are you constantly alt-tabbing in case the boss stops by?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 7)
DaRat Dec 17th 2008 8:19AM
I play WoW at work at lunch, on my breaks, and on some con-calls where I just need to monitor the conversation. But, I do so on my personal laptop with my mobile broadband connection.
maephisto Dec 17th 2008 8:20AM
Sadly I've laptop capable of running WoW without any problem... i said sadly, because we're behind a proxy that blocks every connection on "strange" ports (like 3724 :D).. and moreover WoW doensn't natively support proxies...
Runningclam Dec 17th 2008 9:56AM
Try openVPN :)
Ulug Dec 17th 2008 12:32PM
What if you put a cheapo router between your laptop and the ethernet port? It wouldn't look any differently if you spoofed the same mac address and let it take the dhcp address. You could port forward and nat through any hole they've made.
Though if they have any monitoring happening at OSI 7 then you'll probably be getting a visit from a very entertained network engineer and dour HR representative! :p
Maephisto Dec 17th 2008 4:45PM
mmm i need to try the OpenVPN solution... while I don't understand what's the point of putting a router between me and the proxy... if the router asks for WoW server instead of me, it's always the proxy which is in charge of resolving its name (through the DNS) and however the proxy wouldn't accept the connection towards Blizzard's servers... remember, even the ports are closed...
the only thing that worked till now was creating a local socks proxy with some programs like AutoTunnel or MyFreedom... but the free services really suck and I get terrible lag...
RS Dec 17th 2008 8:21AM
Does researching game mechanics, reading blog (like wowinsider) looking up gear, developing a wow blackberry theme (8100 model not the 8800 model version) and talking to coworkers about WoW count as playing?
For the amount of time I catch myself focused on out of game content, and regular work, I have no time during the day to actually play the game.
I don't think I'd really want to play either. During the day, when at work, is when I do my planning and such. So that later that night I'm free to just play and not have to alt-tab as much.
Right now I should be looking at some code from a guy in Europe for a project I'm on. Instead I'm here. Either which way, I'd consider I'm 'playing' WoW at work.
RS
Irshalthra Dec 17th 2008 10:36AM
I too do not "play" at work, nor do I intend to load WOW at work. I do however also plan my WOW life at work. I check into what gear I want, quests I need to complete, reputation needed, etc.
I find this type of stuff VERY easy to drop should I need to do something else.
SLAYER Dec 17th 2008 8:41AM
I could try to do this, but our work comps are window xp, 2.4ghz 256 ram,(yes 256 ram). A shared video Intel graphics.
We can barely run our own stuff, let alone run wow.
Avro Dec 17th 2008 9:07AM
I'm also working in the IT.
I have been playing wow at work now and then.
Got a great notebook (office notebook) for it, to play..
But a while ago i deleted wow..., wow isn't worth being fired ...
Checking guild forum, and wowinsider WAY to much tbh
Bloodletter Dec 17th 2008 8:24AM
No, I think it's important to have working time, and WoW time, separate from each other.
Ohnoto Dec 17th 2008 8:27AM
I have WoW installed on my work computer. My bosses don't care if I have it installed as long as I am only playing WoW on break times.
Tim Dec 17th 2008 8:28AM
I used to work afternoon shift, where my job was to monitor data transmissions. Everyone else was gone from the office by 6, and I had to be there until 11.
I would take my laptop to work, and regularly logged 4 hours a night at work. I was kind of sad to get the transfer to day shift.
shake Dec 17th 2008 8:29AM
lol, i did this for 2 years since i was developing a game addon for a company
Justin Dec 17th 2008 8:30AM
Are...are you guys watching me?
I do PC/Network support and I'll sneak in a few minutes of frostweave or ore farming or some AH time or some tailoring powerleveling every now and then. ESPECIALLY on really slow days.
chris Dec 17th 2008 8:35AM
I dual box quite covertly and successfully at work (when i'm not overly busy with anything of course)
Thing I found that makes it easy is a mod called bosskey, works a lot faster/more reliably than alt tabbing, and covers WoW with a terminal type screen when you press the tilde key.
If you have your windows taskbar hidden + use windowed mode and drag the top of the title bar off screen it's quite inconspicuous.
only recommended this if you don't work around a bunch of tech heads though.. fortunately at my work I am the IT department.
silverdragon Dec 17th 2008 10:24AM
If you get fired or caught, let us known, lol. Otherwise, good luck!
Billi Dec 17th 2008 8:36AM
I recommend http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/bosskey.aspx for those who play at work.
Barnister Dec 17th 2008 8:36AM
Nah, my job's too fun and important to waste my time on WoW while being on the job. Even in downtimes, there's always ways to work.
WTFO Dec 17th 2008 8:37AM
I am project manager/system engineer and work from home. My boss and several people in the company all play WoW, have been since April 2005. My boss plays infrequently throughout the day, as do I. As long as the work gets done, he doesn't care and has never said anything about anyone playing during "work" hours.
The downside is, our guild sucks for doing instances and groups and we have never done any raiding. I am afraid /gquit would result in /jobloss.
Other than that, I have a pretty sweet deal. Now if I can just reduce wife aggro.
crontab Dec 17th 2008 8:41AM
Work from home = ftw