Post by Zeli on Dec 5, 2006 8:24:20 GMT -5
source: statesman.com
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ONLINE GAMING
'World of Warcraft' takes 'Second Life' events to the next step.
By David Ho
NEW YORK BUREAU
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
TWILIGHT GROVE, World of Warcraft — As the CEO finished his remarks at the news conference, he had one rule for what came next.
"You can ask a question, but then you have to duel me," he said, pulling out a monstrous sword.
A question about collaborative Web sites led to a clash of blades and a frantic fight in front of a luminous green portal that some said had a dragon on the other side.
Though news conferences can turn combative at times, sword fights typically are frowned on.
Not here in the "World of Warcraft," the popular online game set in a fantasy realm inhabited by battling elves, orcs, gnomes and, now, journalists.
Software company Socialtext Inc. held what it called the first "Warcraft" in-game news conference Friday, following the example set by "Second Life," an Internet virtual world that companies including Dell Inc., IBM Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. see as the latest promotional frontier.
In these computer-generated realities, participants create and control 3-D animated characters that interact with other players and the virtual environment. Basic or introductory use is often free.
This new world has recently received a surge of attention from big businesses. In November, Dell unveiled a desktop computer at a "Second Life" event held at its virtual Dell Island factory.
Sun Microsystems Inc. announced a gaming strategy in October at its "Second Life" island.
Though companies tout these publicity events as a technological leap beyond teleconferencing, some attendees say the hassle of participating outweighs the novelty.
When reporters attended a "Second Life" town hall meeting with former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner in August, many newcomers had trouble making their alter egos sit. At the Sun event, the virtual audience members flew onto the stage.
But some media have embraced the virtual worlds.
The whole trend is "definitely deserving of some satire," said Ross Mayfield, chief executive of Socialtext, a California firm that makes business software.
His company looked to a different venue: the "World of Warcraft," a sword and sorcery game from Blizzard Entertainment Inc. with more than 7.5 million players.
Unlike "Second Life," "Warcraft is definitely not meant to allow real-world events to happen that are outside the game design," Mayfield said before his conference. There he arrived as a powerful paladin named Master Sergeant Kalevipoeg.
The news conference's invitation laid out rules including "no ninjas" and "do not dance unless you are an orc."
It also banned "Chinese Gold Farmers," a gamer term for the reportedly millions of people, mostly in China, who play "Warcraft" for profit by accumulating game booty and selling it for real money to Western players who want shortcuts to game success.
Attendees talk in a fashion similar to instant messaging.
Before escorting one reporter in the guise of a novice Night Elf hunter to safety through a dangerous forest, Mayfield's paladin said the news conference was almost a complete success.
His only regret: "I was really hoping the dragon would come out of this portal and kill us all."
'World of Warcraft' takes 'Second Life' events to the next step.
By David Ho
NEW YORK BUREAU
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
TWILIGHT GROVE, World of Warcraft — As the CEO finished his remarks at the news conference, he had one rule for what came next.
"You can ask a question, but then you have to duel me," he said, pulling out a monstrous sword.
A question about collaborative Web sites led to a clash of blades and a frantic fight in front of a luminous green portal that some said had a dragon on the other side.
Though news conferences can turn combative at times, sword fights typically are frowned on.
Not here in the "World of Warcraft," the popular online game set in a fantasy realm inhabited by battling elves, orcs, gnomes and, now, journalists.
Software company Socialtext Inc. held what it called the first "Warcraft" in-game news conference Friday, following the example set by "Second Life," an Internet virtual world that companies including Dell Inc., IBM Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. see as the latest promotional frontier.
In these computer-generated realities, participants create and control 3-D animated characters that interact with other players and the virtual environment. Basic or introductory use is often free.
This new world has recently received a surge of attention from big businesses. In November, Dell unveiled a desktop computer at a "Second Life" event held at its virtual Dell Island factory.
Sun Microsystems Inc. announced a gaming strategy in October at its "Second Life" island.
Though companies tout these publicity events as a technological leap beyond teleconferencing, some attendees say the hassle of participating outweighs the novelty.
When reporters attended a "Second Life" town hall meeting with former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner in August, many newcomers had trouble making their alter egos sit. At the Sun event, the virtual audience members flew onto the stage.
But some media have embraced the virtual worlds.
The whole trend is "definitely deserving of some satire," said Ross Mayfield, chief executive of Socialtext, a California firm that makes business software.
His company looked to a different venue: the "World of Warcraft," a sword and sorcery game from Blizzard Entertainment Inc. with more than 7.5 million players.
Unlike "Second Life," "Warcraft is definitely not meant to allow real-world events to happen that are outside the game design," Mayfield said before his conference. There he arrived as a powerful paladin named Master Sergeant Kalevipoeg.
The news conference's invitation laid out rules including "no ninjas" and "do not dance unless you are an orc."
It also banned "Chinese Gold Farmers," a gamer term for the reportedly millions of people, mostly in China, who play "Warcraft" for profit by accumulating game booty and selling it for real money to Western players who want shortcuts to game success.
Attendees talk in a fashion similar to instant messaging.
Before escorting one reporter in the guise of a novice Night Elf hunter to safety through a dangerous forest, Mayfield's paladin said the news conference was almost a complete success.
His only regret: "I was really hoping the dragon would come out of this portal and kill us all."
