Chinese prisoners were forced into 'gold farming'

China used prisoners in lucrative internet gaming work



World of Warcraft
Chinese prisoners were forced into 'gold farming' – building up credits on online games such as World of Warcraft.

As a prisoner at the Jixi labour camp, Liu Dali would slog through tough days breaking rocks and digging trenches in the open cast coalmines of north-east China. By night, he would slay demons, battle goblins and cast spells.

Liu says he was one of scores of prisoners forced to play online games to build up credits that prison guards would then trade for real money. The 54-year-old, a former prison guard who was jailed for three years in 2004 for "illegally petitioning" the central government about corruption in his hometown, reckons the operation was even more lucrative than the physical labour that prisoners were also forced to do.

"Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labour," Liu told the Guardian. "There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5,000-6,000rmb [£470-570] a day. We didn't see any of the money. The computers were never turned off."

Memories from his detention at Jixi re-education-through-labour camp in Heilongjiang province from 2004 still haunt Liu. As well as backbreaking mining toil, he carved chopsticks and toothpicks out of planks of wood until his hands were raw and assembled car seat covers that the prison exported to South Korea and Japan. He was also made to memorise communist literature to pay off his debt to society.

But it was the forced online gaming that was the most surreal part of his imprisonment. The hard slog may have been virtual, but the punishment for falling behind was real.

"If I couldn't complete my work quota, they would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things," he said.

It is known as "gold farming", the practice of building up credits and online value through the monotonous repetition of basic tasks in online games such as World of Warcraft. The trade in virtual assets is very real, and outside the control of the games' makers. Millions of gamers around the world are prepared to pay real money for such online credits, which they can use to progress in the online games.

The trading of virtual currencies in multiplayer games has become so rampant in China that it is increasingly difficult to regulate. In April, the Sichuan provincial government in central China launched a court case against a gamer who stole credits online worth about 3000rmb.

The lack of regulations has meant that even prisoners can be exploited in this virtual world for profit.

According to figures from the China Internet Centre, nearly £1.2bn of make- believe currencies were traded in China in 2008 and the number of gamers who play to earn and trade credits are on the rise.

It is estimated that 80% of all gold farmers are in China and with the largest internet population in the world there are thought to be 100,000 full-time gold farmers in the country.

In 2009 the central government issued a directive defining how fictional currencies could be traded, making it illegal for businesses without licences to trade. But Liu, who was released from prison before 2009 believes that the practice of prisoners being forced to earn online currency in multiplayer games is still widespread.

"Many prisons across the north-east of China also forced inmates to play games. It must still be happening," he said.

"China is the factory of virtual goods," said Jin Ge, a researcher from the University of California San Diego who has been documenting the gold farming phenomenon in China. "You would see some exploitation where employers would make workers play 12 hours a day. They would have no rest through the year. These are not just problems for this industry but they are general social problems. The pay is better than what they would get for working in a factory. It's very different," said Jin.

"The buyers of virtual goods have mixed feelings … it saves them time buying online credits from China," said Jin.

The emergence of gold farming as a business in China – whether in prisons or sweatshops could raise new questions over the exporting of goods real or virtual from the country.

"Prison labour is still very widespread – it's just that goods travel a much more complex route to come to the US these days. And it is not illegal to export prison goods to Europe, said Nicole Kempton from the Laogai foundation, a Washington-based group which opposes the forced labour camp system in China.

Liu Dali's name has been changed

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/25/china-prisoners-internet-gaming-scam&rct=j&sa=X&ei=kuXeTY-qNMHOgAf40fH3Cg&ved=0CDUQpwIwAA&q=china+prisoner+game+gold&usg=AFQjCNG6csPTZILLDTwJOz4j9wR7pUxGWQ

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Review

An ancient evil lies dormant within Deepholm, the domain of earth in the Elemental Plane. Hidden away in a secluded sanctuary, the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing has waited, recovering from the wounds of his last battle against Azeroth and biding his time until he can reforge the world in molten fire. Soon, Deathwing the Destroyer will return to Azeroth, and his eruption from Deepholm will sunder the world, leaving a festering wound across the continents. As the Horde and Alliance race to the epicenter of the cataclysm, the kingdoms of Azeroth will witness seismic shifts in power, the kindling of a war of the elements, and the emergence of unlikely heroes who will rise up to protect their scarred and broken world from utter devastation.

In now it's third expansion, Blizzard has released World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, and like much of the marketing says about this game it truly has changed the World of Warcraft for the better. For starters, the games travel options have gotten a much needed upgrade. So firing up WoW as if it's you first time, will allow you to open flight hubs in the old worlds. Long gone are the days of miles long treks to get from zone to zone. With this, it also gives veterans a reason to return to older areas being much more accessible than ever before. There are actually quite a few tweaks to the game that have made life easier in the World of Warcraft for this expansion. The starting zones for all classes have been redone to offer a more streamlined and story driven approach. This helps immensely in guiding the newcomer in the game. There has always been a clearly visible barrier to entry in WoW, and that barrier was a very steep learning curve. In Cataclysm, while the core principles of questing for loot and XP are still the central part of the game, they do have a much more linear feel. This leads you down a more defined path, opening new areas in a way that is a more traditional gaming experience than ever before.

Aside from the reworking of the starting zones for the classic alliance and horde character classes, two new races have been introduced in Cataclysm. The Goblins and Worgen are the newcomers to the Horde and Alliance respectively. Notably, these two new races look better than nearly all of the old races. Many of the details in the new character models can make the old ones feel a tad dated. But like all races, these two new ones have unique traits that make them good fits for certain classes. The major reason for playing with one of the new characters are the all new adventures that begin in the starting zones of the new characters. Much more so than before, the game gives your character a bigger role in a smaller story before disembarking onto the rest of the game.

Much of the good that was added to WoW looks to have had the beginner in mind, no? Well there's quite a bit of content for the WoW veterans out there as well. The new high level zones are for the most part, story focused. If you were looking for more on the whole Deathwing storyarc you are going to get that in the new zones. Five in all, and none of them disappoint. And although you may cap out before you finish all five of the new areas, there are certainly some unforgettable moments to be had by seeing them all the way through. New high level dungeons have been thrown in for good measure as well, and while not as large as some previous incarnations, the new dungeons require much more teamwork than before. Tackling them with friends that communicate with each other is the preferable way to go, because running in LeeRoy Jenkins style is gonna get you a case of the black and white real quick. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm offers great content for the experienced player as well as the rookie.

Some lucky drops from mining veins and milling herbs

Getting a blue gem from a vein is fairly common.
Getting extra elemental crystallines is always a plus, 10 elemental crystallines = 1 eternal element.
Getting 3 Icy pigments from milling of 5 Northrend herbs must be super rare!

Rare spawn Fumblub Gearwind and other achievements by Calnara in Borean Tundra

Calnara is a fury specced warrior, leveling in Borean Tundra.
While questing, I encounter Rare spawn Fumblub Gearwind, a very easy kill,
his hit points are just a little more than a normal mob.
Gained achievement of Northern Exposure after killing Fumblub Gearwind,
he dropped a blue leather armor, some golds and cloths.







A popular series of chain quests leads to the achievement of D.E.H.T.A's Little P.I.T.A.
You also get a blue ring as a reward.



Sous Chef achievement from cooking pattern drop.



Finally, Calnara completed her 1500th quest.

Taiwanese gamer “beats” World of Warcraft

It’s impossible to beat the open-world, never-ending MMO World of Warcraft, but one Taiwanese enthusiast today got closer than anyone ever has.

小灰, who pledges his allegiance to the TW-Wrathbringer guild, has the most impressive WoW stats this world has ever seen.

The player has collected every single Achievement in the game and is the first man, woman, or beast to obtain 986/986 achievements completed on the armory.

If your jaw isn’t on the floor yet, maybe these next statistics will help.

Listed on his WoW Armory page are the following mindblowing figures.

He’s killed killed 390,895 creatures, died 8,543 times for a kill to death ratio of 45.75, somehow amazingly accrued 7,255,538,878 points of damage and has completed 5,906 quests for an average of 14.6 quests per day.

Jeebus!

On the lighter side of things, GamePro points out that the player has only handed out 11 hugs and “LOL’d” just once.

I wonder what kind of life this man, woman, or child has. You know, to be able to commit the ungodly amount of hours this feat must have taken.

New dungeon system for World of Warcraft revealed

First details on new dungeon system for World of Warcraft revealed



Between those long bouts of collecting X amount of items or slaughtering Y of a certain enemy, you're bound to hit a roadblock in World of Warcraft when a quest suddenly calls for going through an instance that requires a whole party.

You can ask for help in the game's "Looking For Group" channel but all that comes down to is hoping that someone will see your chat entry, they're what you're looking for, and a whole mess of other factors. Or you would camp out by the instance while eating a sandwich and reading the Steamy Romance Novel you found and hope for passers-by. Blizzard will finally have a remedy for this issue since the game's release to help find groups and reward you too.

Blizzard has posted new details on an upcoming patch that will include various updates and new features for World of Warcraft dungeon runners. The new features were designed for players to have a more enjoyable and smoother experience when resorting to PUG play, or "pick up groups" when friends aren't around. There are also extra rewards to earn when playing in PUG groups and changes to the looting system. Here's the list of all the features that are coming soon:

* Join as Group or Solo - Flag yourself or a group you've made up to that point and add in the details as the role of a tank, DPS, or healer for each individual player. You can now choose as many dungeons as you wish instead of just three dungeons at a time and the matchmaking system will seek out to create balanced groups.

* Cross Realm Instances - Players from other realms can join you for your dungeon run but only through the matchmaker system. You cannot manually select a player from another realm.

* Instance Teleporting - Using the tool will instantly teleport you to the dungeon you want to attempt and you'll be given the added convenience of being placed right back where you initially were when you used the tool. You are also given the freedom to temporarily leave the dungeon to do an errand such as repairing your gear or selling trash items. Only groups seeking members or premade groups of five can use this.

* Smarter Group Matching - The system will do its best to mix in more experienced players with less experienced ones, match party members' character levels as close as possible, and balance out the classes in the party.

* Daily Random Dungeons - Take a chance! Choose a random dungeon at either normal or Heroic difficulty and earn two emblems based on the difficulty you've chosen to gather and trade toward rewards. This also applies to dungeons that were already present before Wrath of the Lich King content was added.

* PUG Benefits - Play in more groups through the matchmaking system and earn extra rewards. A new Perky Pug non-combat pet can be yours through PUG runs.

* Vote Kick - Is someone being troublesome? Get four votes from other members and they're out. Use it when necessary but don't abuse it at the same time.

* Updated Need Before Greed - If you're in a PUG group, take notice: looting only be restricted to Need Before Greed. The Need Before Greed system has also been updated to better grant items to the appropriate classes and also making sure they can even equip the item in the first place. This goes for armor as well.

* Group Disenchanting - Any items not claimed from looting with any kind of group will be available to be disenchanted by any enchanters in the group right from the looting window.

* Looking for Raid - Help yourself to look for raid groups by seeking for them manually. There will also be weekly raid quests available in this update.

No word on a release date, but new content posted on the World of Warcraft website usually means it's coming real soon.

Warcraft movie chronicling Rise of the Lich King in 2011?

Source: The ever-popular Internet Movie Database.

What we heard: Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft universe is nothing if not sprawling, thanks to some 15 years of storyline development across games and novels. The developer's expansive narrative tradition offers a plethora of options for the upcoming movie set in the Warcraft universe. However, as of August's BlizzCon 2009, director Sam Raimi had not announced any details about what parts of Blizzard lore would be the foundation for his film's script.

Now, though, it appears as if details on the Legendary Pictures-backed production have slipped out, courtesy of popular online movie database IMDB. According to the silver-screen depository, the upcoming Warcraft film now bears the subtitle "The Rise of the Lich King," indicating it will draw from the same source material as 2008's best-selling World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King.

The Lich King has proven to be fertile source material for Blizzard. Aside from the WOW expansion, the story of the Lich King was handled in Christie Golden's novel Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, which was named to the New York Times' Best-seller list within a week of going on sale earlier this year.

As its title implies, the novel tells an expanded version of the human storyline seen in Blizzard's 2002 real-time strategy game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and the Wrath of the Lich King WOW expansion. It sees the benevolent paladin prince Arthas Menethil corrupted by the runeblade Frostmourne and turned into an undead lord of unspeakable evil.

One other point of interest from the IMDB listing, Warcraft: The Rise of the Lich King now bears an expected release date of 2011. As part of BlizzCon 2007, Legendary CEO Thomas Tull said that the film would be live-action with a $100 million budget and would be out by 2009--a release date it obviously missed.

The official story: Blizzard Entertainment had not returned requests for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: While often trusted by industry professionals, IMDB is far from a reliable source, given that information can easily be added to the database without a thorough vetting of the material. As such, bogus that anything is official, though the Lich King storyline does seem to be working out pretty well for Blizzard. The critically hailed expansion sold over 2.8 million copies worldwide in less than 24 hours when it launched last November. As of the end of August, it had sold nearly 2 million units in the US alone.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/blogs/rumor-control/909119209/27063427/warcraft-movie-chronicling-rise-of-the-lich-king-in-2011.html