World of warcraft

Gameplay
Unlike previous games in the Warcraft series, World of Warcraft is not a real-time strategy game, but is a MMORPG. As with other MMORPGs, such as EverQuest, players control a character avatar within a persistent gameworld, exploring the landscape, fighting monsters, and performing quests on behalf of computer-controlled characters (also called NPCs—non-player characters). The game rewards success through money, items, and experience, which in turn allow players to improve in skill and power. Players level their avatar from level one up to level 60, or level 70 if they have The Burning Crusade expansion (released on January 16, 2007). In addition, players may opt to take part in battles against other players of an enemy faction, in PvP battlegrounds or in normal world zones subject to the rules in place on the particular server (see World of Warcraft Player versus Player for more details). Duels can also be fought between members of the same or opposing factions, although these do not provide tangible rewards. The majority of the quests during the early and middle stages of gameplay can be completed without the help of other players, particularly if the player is at a higher level than that which the quest suggests. Other portions of the game such as dungeons (also called instances) are designed to require cooperation with other players for success. Dungeons are designed either for groups of two to five players, or for raid groups of up to 40 players for the larger and significantly more difficult dungeons. At the highest level, these complex dungeons (and some outdoor encounters) are designed to take raiding guilds a number of hours to complete, usually after many attempts over a period of a few weeks or months before success is achieved. Raid dungeon progress is saved on the server, to allow completion of the dungeon over a few days.

Characters
Characters in World of Warcraft are tied to specific user accounts. User accounts can be used on all servers, or realms. Characters can be moved between servers in the same region (e.g., from one European server to another, but not from a European server to an American one) for a fee. As of this time, one may move a character from a Player Versus Player (PvP) realm to another PvP realm, or a Player Versus Environment(PvE) realm, but one may not move a character from a PvE realm to a PvP realm. The two playable factions currently in the game are the Alliance and Horde both consisting of five different races each. There are a total of 9 playable classes. The Burning Crusade expansion added one new race to each faction (the Blood Elves and the Draenei).

Races and classes
Main articles: Races in the Warcraft universe and Classes in World of Warcraft
Players create characters which serve as their avatars in the online world of Azeroth. When creating a character in World of Warcraft, the player can choose from ten different races and nine different character classes. The races are split into two diametrically opposed factions, the Alliance and the Horde.
The Alliance currently consists of Humans, Night Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes and Draenei (Draenei characters require The Burning Crusade expansion in order to be created.[14])
The Horde currently consists of Orcs, Tauren, Undead (also known as Forsaken), Trolls and Blood Elves (Blood Elf characters require The Burning Crusade expansion in order to be created.)
In addition to the ten playable races there are many NPC races including (but not limited to) Goblins, Ogres, Murlocs, and Naga.
The nine available classes are Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior. The Paladin class was previously only available to the Alliance, and the Shaman only available to the Horde. However with the release of Burning Crusade the Draenei (Alliance) are able to be Shamans and the Blood Elves (Horde) are able to be Paladins, thus removing the previous faction exclusivity. Classes are primarily limited by race: for example Night Elves can only be Druids, Hunters, Priests, Rogues or Warriors.

Character types
There are two types of characters in the game: Player Characters (PC) and Non-Player Characters (NPCs). A Player Character is a player's avatar in the world of Azeroth. The color of a PC's name tag can vary from blue, green, yellow or red depending on faction and Player vs. Player (PvP) status. Non-Player Characters are AI-controlled characters that can only interact with PCs through scripted events or artificial intelligence (AI).
There are three types of NPCs. Friendly NPCs, whose names are displayed in green, cannot attack friendly characters and vice versa. Hostile NPCs, whose names are in red, are either of the opposing faction or are mobs (enemies controlled by AI) and will freely attack any PC with whom they are hostile. Neutral NPCs, whose names are displayed in yellow, are neutral and will only attack if provoked.
Some NPC interaction is affected by the reputation a PC has with them. For example, certain NPC merchants will have more items available for sale if that PC has a higher reputation with the merchant’s faction. PCs’ standing with a faction can be increased or decreased by killing certain mobs or handing in items to certain NPCs. However, PCs cannot gain reputation with opposing factions, so a Horde character cannot gain reputation with any Alliance-only faction and vice versa.
NPCs in major and minor cities can buy and sell merchandise, train class and profession skills, give quests and provide a large number of services that are needed in the game. While some will merely offer advice or further the story, others, such as city guards, patrol around set paths to keep cities defended against attacking PCs or hostile NPCs that may attempt to invade.

Professions
During the course of playing the game, players may choose to develop side skills for their character(s). These non-combat skills are called professions. Professions are divided into two separate categories, primary and secondary.
Primary professions are those skills related to the creation and enhancement of weapons and armor, and can be subdivided into gathering and crafting professions. The gathering professions in WoW are Herbalism, Mining, and Skinning. Crafting professions include Blacksmithing, Leatherworking, Tailoring, Alchemy, and Jewelcrafting (newly added in the Burning Crusade expansion). Crafting professions also have specialization categories that when trained, allow for more diverse items to be created, depending on the character's direction in the game. There is also the Enchanting profession, which allows a character to enchant weapons and armor, and also disenchant magical items in his or her possession. A character is limited to two primary professions.
Secondary professions are skills that serve to enhance the player's experience. The Secondary professions are First Aid, Cooking and Fishing. Characters can learn all three Secondary professions. The Rogue class has two unique secondary professions: Poisons and Lockpicking.

Items and equipment
Player characters can acquire various items in the game. Items can vary from resources such as herbs or raw ores to items to be retrieved for quests. Player characters can also equip different weapons and armor, either to customize their character or improve abilities such as better attacks or defense skills. Item rarity is classified by the color of the item name: grey means poor rarity, white means common, green means uncommon, blue means rare, purple means "epic" and orange means "legendary".

Mounts
Main article: Mounts (World of Warcraft)
A mount refers to an item that, upon activation, changes the character to show that the player is riding an animal, as opposed to the normal movement of walking/running. Players of certain levels and skill ability have available to them the option of acquiring these mounts in order to increase their movement speed on land. Mounts can also be acquired via reputation with certain factions, completion of quests or through special items produced in related material, or as very rare loot drops obtained by defeating bosses in instances. In the expansion pack Burning Crusade, the ability to purchase or acquire flying mounts became available in the expansion areas.

PvP rankings
See also: World of Warcraft Player versus Player.
Upon defeating another player of the opposite faction in a PvP combat the victor earns "Honor Points" which may be spent as currency to purchase various rewards like armor, weapons and mounts. Some rewards require marks of honor from various Battlegrounds as well (a loss in a battleground awards the losing team 1 mark, while a victory awards the winning team 3). A recently added PvP activity (the Arenas) offer gladiator-like combat in a World of Warcraft setting. The Arenas[15] have a separate system from the Battlegrounds. Instead of honor, the Arenas give "Arena Points" which can be spent to purchase items just like Honor Points. There are also "Arena seasons" where, at the end of each season, the best Arena teams in each category(2v2, 3v3 and 5v5) are awarded unique Epic or Legendary quality items. Only level 70 players can participate in rated arena matches. Lower level players can always participate in arenas but no arena points are awarded.
Players can also be rewarded with titles[16] in the Arenas if they belong to one of the top teams at the end of an Arena season. These ranks are (from highest to lowest) Gladiator, Duelist, Rival and Challenger.
With the release of version 2.0, a change was made to the honor system making it easier to obtain certain powerful items. This change was met with mixed reactions. Some criticized the change, claiming that the huge dedication in time and effort that players put forth under the old system had now been cheapened. Others, however, welcomed the change, since they felt the massive amount of time required under the old system was excessive and unhealthy, and was unreasonable for most people with jobs and other responsibilities.
As of March 2007, Blizzard has added a section to their main website where any player on any realm can view their current arena team's rankings called "The Armory" [17]. In addition, this can also be used to view a player's equipped items, professions, and lifetime Honorable Kills.

The world

Geography

World of Warcraft Cosmic Map (Including 'Outland')
The current virtual world is built around two different planets: Azeroth and Outland. Azeroth currently consists of two continents: The Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor.
Kalimdor is the beginning continent for the Horde races of the Orcs, Trolls, and Tauren. It is also home to the Alliance races of the Night Elves, and the Draenei. The Eastern Kingdoms is the beginning continent for the Horde races of the Undead and Blood Elves (added in The Burning Crusade). It also serves as the home of the Alliance races of the Humans, Dwarves, and Gnomes.
Another planet, Outland, was added after the release of The Burning Crusade. It is only accessible to those who have bought and activated the expansion pack. It is initially reached by traveling through the Dark Portal in the Blasted Lands, or by other in-game magical means of teleportation.

Cities
There are four capital cities for each faction and one neutral city.
Horde cities include:
Thunder Bluff in Mulgore
Orgrimmar in Durotar
Undercity in the Tirisfal Glades
Silvermoon City in Eversong Woods; added after the release of The Burning Crusade
Alliance cities include:
Stormwind in Elwynn Forest
Ironforge in Dun Morogh
Darnassus in Teldrassil
Exodar in Azuremyst Isle; added after the release of The Burning Crusade
Neutral cities include:
Shattrath City in Terrokkar Forest, added in The Burning Crusade

Villages and outposts
The Horde and Alliance both have several villages and outposts that serve as quest and flight hubs to players. Horde villages include Revantusk Village, Splintertree Post, Ghost Walker Post and more. Alliance villages include Refuge Pointe, Lakeshire, Theramore and more.
In addition, several in-game factions maintain villages and outposts where either Alliance or Horde (or both) can obtain quests, reputation-based items or flight paths. Such neutral areas may have auction houses and/or banks.
The most well-known neutral settlements are the Goblin villages of Ratchet, Booty Bay, Gadgetzan, and Everlook. Other examples include the posts and villages maintained by the Cenarion Circle, Sporeggar, Argent Dawn, Thorium Brotherhood and other organizations.

Instances
Main article: Instance (World of Warcraft)
Instances, also known as instance dungeons or simply "dungeons", are areas where multiple copies of the same area can exist concurrently.[18] This means that multiple groups can both be doing the same activities in the same location, yet not interfere with one another.
"Instance" can also refer to a particular copy of such an area. Other areas, such as battlegrounds, are also instances, enabling multiple groups of players to participate at the same time.

Major world events
For a time, it was argued that dynamic world-changing events were in extremely short supply in Warcraft. There was an overall feeling that the ongoing "wars" from which the game takes its name were external and out of touch from the player base. The only cross-faction interaction took place during server-crashing city raids and skirmishes in certain "hot spots" around the world such as the popular "Southshore Tug of War" in which Alliance and Horde forces would fight back and forth over the stretch of land between Southshore and Tarren Mill.
The first world events were added in the form of outdoor raid bosses that could be accessed without entering an instance. These bosses were the blue dragon Azuregos of Azshara and the Burning Legion demon Lord Kazzak in the Blasted Lands. These were followed by four green dragons corrupted by the "Emerald Nightmare." In addition, certain areas of Azeroth experience an "elemental invasion" where waves of elemental-class monsters will run rampant for a time or until they are destroyed.[19]
Blizzard has also implemented holiday content that could be considered a world event. Valentine's Day, Easter, Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, as well as New Year's and its lunar counterpart all have their Warcraft-themed counterparts. During these week-long events players partake in holiday-themed quests usually involving humorous references to real-world pop culture surrounding the holiday. For example, one of the Winter's Veil (Christmas) quests involves fighting a creature known as the Greench and rescuing a kidnapped reindeer named Metzen (styled after lead designer, Chris Metzen).

The Darkmoon Faire
In patch 1.6, players were given the opportunity to plunder the first new 40-player raid dungeon added since launch: Blackwing Lair. However, a more peaceful distraction appeared traveling across Azeroth and coming to rest in Mulgore and Elwynn Forest on opposing months called The Darkmoon Faire. The Darkmoon Faire features attractions from across the globe such as the world's strongest woman, a petting zoo for some of Azeroth's most interesting creatures, various games of skill, a fortune teller, a giant human-launching cannon, and plenty of ale.
Players can perform quests for various members of the Faire and receive Darkmoon Prize Tickets in return. These tickets can then be redeemed for items of various quality, from "Month-Old Mutton" to epic-quality jewelry. Additionally, players can occasionally find Darkmoon Cards scattered throughout the world. 8 sets exist at the present time: Beasts, Elementals, Portals, Warlords, Blessings, Furies, Lunacy, and Storms[20]. Collecting all eight cards of a set (Ace through 8) allows the player to combine them into a deck and redeem them for a powerful, epic-quality trinket depending on which set was completed.
The Faire sees sporadic updates and expansions in a semi-regular fashion. The most recent addition was a 'battle' minigame in which players take control of tiny, remote controlled tanks called 'Tonks' which use various weapons to disable other Tonks.

Corrupted Blood plague
Main article: Corrupted Blood
While not an intentional world event, the Corrupted Blood plague nonetheless was one of the first events to affect entire servers. Patch 1.7 saw the opening of Zul'Gurub, the game's first 20-player raid dungeon where players faced off against an ancient tribe of jungle trolls under the sway of the ancient Blood God, Hakkar the Soulflayer. Upon engaging Hakkar, players were stricken by a debuff (a spell that negatively affects a player) called "Corrupted Blood" which would periodically sap their life. The disease would also be passed on to other players who were simply standing in close proximity to an infected person. Originally this malady was confined within the Zul'Gurub instance but made its way into the outside world by way of hunter or warlock pets that contracted the disease.
Within hours Corrupted Blood had infected entire cities such as Ironforge and Orgrimmar because of their high player concentrations. Low-level players were killed in seconds by the high-damage disease. Eventually Blizzard fixed the issue so that the plague could not exist outside of Zul'Gurub.

The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj
Patch 1.9 saw the first true world event in the World of Warcraft. Located in the mysterious insect-infested, quasi-Egyptian themed area of Silithus, Ahn'Qiraj was the capital city of the powerful Qiraji, a race of magical creatures under the thrall of an ancient and terrible Old God who was chained beneath the earth in ages past. A coalition of Night Elves and dragons of the Four Flights fought a war against the Qiraji and their Silithid minions and sealed them behind the Scarab Wall. However, after many centuries the bonds of their prison began to break and Silithus was overrun by the creatures once more. A call for War against Ahn'Qiraj went out and the combined might of the Alliance and Horde sealed away the menace of the Old God for good.
The world event was triggered by a twofold action. First, the entire server population was able to take part in the Ahn'Qiraj War Effort. Players of every level could turn in various items in both Ironforge and Orgrimmar for their faction's respective war preparations. Metals, herbs, textiles, and other commodities were all collected in great quantities. For example, one collector in Ironforge required players to turn in a stack of 20 runecloth bandages at a time. The total number of runecloth bandages required numbered in the tens of thousands. The faster materials were turned in, the faster the War would commence. In the weeks leading up to the opening of the gates many servers were neck-and-neck as Blizzard provided a rankings page to monitor the progress of each realm. In the end the realm Medivh succeeded in being the first to open the gates of Ahn'Qiraj.
At the same time the War Effort was taking in supplies, high level players could engage in a quest chain that spanned the entire world to piece together an artifact called the Scepter of the Shifting Sands. This item would be necessary to ring the Scarab Gong and break the seals holding the Scarab Wall closed. When the War Effort was completed the armies of the Alliance and Horde would march to Ahn'Qiraj. In a spectacular set-piece the armies formed ranks outside the Scarab Wall and the gong was sounded by one lucky person per server. The gates opened and the minions of the Qiraji spilled out in a titanic melee. Additionally, invasions of Silithid insects occurred in almost every populated area of Azeroth.
With the initial event completed the gates were open to everyone on a given server and players were able to access two new raid dungeons: the 20-man ruins zone and the 40-man temple zone and a few new quests.

The Scourge Invasion
The Invasion began with the launch of patch 1.11. Outside each major city and at various high level zones in the game players could encounter floating undead constructs called Necropoleis or necropolises with at least four groups of undead creatures spread out in a diamond formation below. At each point lay a necrotic crystal guarded by legions of undead. Upon destroying these crystals players could render the accompanying necropolis inert for a time and score a "victory" against the Scourge.

The Dark Portal Opens
On January 9, 2007, the Dark Portal in Blasted Lands opened, with demons pouring out. This event signaled the beginning of the World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade expansion, much of the content of which is accessed by going through the portal. The demon leader Lord Kazzak escaped through the portal, replacing his presence with Highlord Kruul who attacked several areas in the game world. The world event lasted for a week before the release of The Burning Crusade expansion.

Realms
World of Warcraft uses server clusters (known as 'realms') to allow players to choose their preferred gameplay type and to allow the game to support as many subscribers as it does. Users may have up to ten characters per realm and up to a maximum of fifty characters per account.[21] There are four types of realms: Normal (also known as PvE or player versus environment), PvP (player versus player), RP (a roleplaying Normal/PvE server) and RP-PvP (roleplaying PvP server). The latter two enforce a set of roleplaying rules - players can be penalized for not roleplaying.[22]
Blizzard posts announcements on the login screen of World of Warcraft and on the official forums about realm status or issues. The status for each realm can also be viewed on their main website.
Player versus Environment (PvE)
On the PvE (also known as Normal) realms throughout most of the world the PvP flag may only be enabled by actively turning it on, attacking a PvP-flagged player or NPC, entering a "PvP Territory" (such as a Battleground), entering an "Enemy Territory" (an enemy faction Capital City) or casting a positive spell on a friendly PvP-flagged player or NPC. The PvP flag will be removed after 5 minutes from the last PvP action. If the PvP flag was enabled using the command the player will need to turn it off using the same command and then avoid PvP combat for 5 minutes.
Player versus Player (PvP)
On a PvP realm, players are flagged for PvP by default. This flag is only disabled when a character is in a friendly faction city or a zone dedicated to newly created characters. All other zones are considered "contested territory" - players are automatically flagged for PvP upon entering a contested zone. Most players will not need to enter a contested zone until roughly level 20.
On PvP servers, a player is limited to creating characters on one faction. This is in contrast to PvE servers, where a player may create both Horde and Alliance characters.
The PvP servers also feature a more "hands-off" approach to server policies, facilitating the state of open war in these servers. Thus, The in-game GMs will deal with PvP related offenses differently than on the PvE realms, and some player actions are allowed to occur. These actions include, but are not limited to, corpse camping, spawn camping, and other PvP related sections of Blizzard's harassment policy.
Roleplaying (RP)
The roleplaying servers use the same ruleset as PvE realms, with the exception that players must act and behave in character, and must follow "naming rules" when they name their character. This means that if players go onto one of these realms, those players act as their characters and anything that is not done in character is then out of character and usually in ((double parentheses)), or preceded by "OOC:" It is also against the rules to be off-topic in all public channels, such as General and Trade.[23] However, it should be noted that this is very rarely enforced (unless brought to a Gamemaster's attention numerous times)[citation needed], and out of character chat is common on RP servers, though usually not in such a blatant manner as on non-RP servers.
Role-playing Player versus Player (RPPvP)
The role-playing PvP realms are an extension to the role-playing realms in that they use the PvP ruleset instead of the Normal (PvE) ruleset. Blizzard did not initially have this server type when the game was launched; it was added later, largely due to player request.

Version history
World of Warcraft runs natively on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. Boxed copies of the game use a hybrid CD to install the game, eliminating the need for separate Mac and Windows retail products. The game allows all users to play together, regardless of their operating system.
Although there is no official version for any other platform, support for World of Warcraft is present in Windows API implementations Wine and Cedega, allowing the game to be played under Linux[24] and FreeBSD.[25]
As of Patch 1.9.3 the game added native support for the newer Intel-powered Macs, making World of Warcraft a Universal application (as defined by Apple). As a result of this, the minimum supported Mac OS X version has been changed to 10.3.9; World of Warcraft version 1.9.3 and later will not launch on older versions of Mac OS X.[26]
Due to the fact that new content is constantly being added to the game official system requirements often change. As of version 1.12.0 the requirements for Windows have increased from requiring 256 MB to 512 MB of RAM and official Windows 98 technical support has been dropped even though the game should still run fine.[27]

Pricing

The current login screen, as of the release of the Burning Crusade
World of Warcraft is priced differently in different regions of the world. Usually, the pricing model is similar to that of MMORPGs previously released in the market.
In the United States and Canada, Blizzard distributes World of Warcraft via retail software packages that originally had a suggested retail price of US$50 at the time of release, but have since dropped to around $20. The software package includes 30 days of gameplay (worth $15) for no additional cost. After 30 days in order to continue playing additional play time must be purchased using a credit card or prepaid game card. The minimum gameplay duration that a player can purchase is 30 days using a credit card, 60 using a prepaid game card. A player also has the option of purchasing three or six months of gameplay at once for a slight (6% to 15%) discount. A player pays about US$0.50 for one day of gameplay.[28]
In South Korea, there is no software package or CD key requirement to activate the account. In order to play the game, however, players need to purchase time credits online via credit card or the ARS billing system. The minimum gameplay duration that a player can purchase via credit card is five hours. A player may also purchase game time by thirty hours or by increments of one week. A player also has the option of purchasing game time by one, three or six months of gameplay at once for a slight discount.[29] As of December 17, 2006, 30 days of gameplay costs ₩19,800 (US$21.46).
In China, because a large number of the players do not own the computer they use to play games (e.g. Internet cafes), the CD keys can be purchased independently of the software package. The CD key, which is required to activate an account, is sold for ¥30 (US$3.75) each. The software packages vary in price depending on the items they contain. In order to play the game, the player would need to purchase prepaid game cards in denominations of ¥30 each that can be played for 66 hours and 40 minutes.[30] This equates to exactly ¥0.45 (US$0.06) for one hour of gameplay. A monthly fee model is not available to players of this region.
In Australia, the United States and many European countries video game stores commonly stock the trial version of World of Warcraft in DVD form priced at A$2 or €2 including VAT, which include the game and 14 days of gameplay, after which the player would have to upgrade to a retail account by supplying a valid credit card, or purchasing a game card as well as a retail copy of the game.
Suggested Retail Price
Monthly Fee
Paid Character Transfer Fee
Europe
€19.99[31]
€11-€13[31]
€19.99[32]
United Kingdom
£14.99[31]
£7.70-£9[31]
£14.99[32]
North AmericaOceania
US$20[33]
$13-$15[34]
$25[35]

Virtual community
In addition to playing the game itself and conversing on discussion forums provided by Blizzard, World of Warcraft players often participate in the World of Warcraft virtual community in creative ways, including fan artwork[36] and comic strip style storytelling.[37] Blizzard furthers this community by offering in-game and out-of-game prizes, as well as highlighting community events and occurrences. Blizzard has also provided incentives for introducing new members to World of Warcraft. In late October 2005 each subscribed player received a 10-day free pass[38] which they suggested be employed as seasonal gifts that could either be used by the current player or given to a friend. These passes would generate a free month's usage if the guest player purchased a full account.
There are various memes, including "Face Melting,"[39] a reference to a very long thread on the priest forums on the World of Warcraft website that consisted of players saying, "You will melt faces as a Shadow Priest in PvP" in different ways. This is because the icon for Mind Flay, a powerful skill used heavily by Shadow Priests, looks like a melting face. Another popular phenomenon in the community are machinima videos such as the one [40] starring a player named Leeroy Jenkins, showing him and his guild in a funny encounter. Leeroy's popularity inspired more videos and tributes in other games, and he was even part of a clue on the November 16, 2005 episode of the TV game show College Jeopardy!.[41] These memes gain notoriety through postings on the World of Warcraft Forums.[42]
As of August 2005, the Dark Iron server has been home to the guilds of web-comic creators Scott Kurtz (PvP) and Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins (Penny Arcade). Kurtz created Panda Attack and Djörk on the Horde side, while Holkins and Krahulik initiated a series of guilds that is now known as the Penny Arcade Alliance. This event is referred to as the Comic Guild Wars, and has created healthy competition between the authors, to the extent of dedicating some of their strips to the subject. Tim Buckley of Ctrl+Alt+Del and the creators of Holy Bibble have also joined in on making guilds for Dark Iron players.

Modifications

A heavily modified World of Warcraft user interface
World of Warcraft includes significant support for modifications to the user interface (UI) of a game, colloquially known as "mods" and "addons". At a simple level it allows full control over the content of toolbars and hot keys, as well as macros to automate sets of operations and the ability to script much more elaborate tools. The range of modifications that are available can be anything from ways to automatically advertise trade skills, to adding extra rows of button bars for spells, skills and more. There are also various humorous mods, including one that reproduces the infamous Leeroy Jenkins sound.[43]
As of the 2.0 release of World of Warcraft, certain modifications and "Addons" no longer function the way they were intended by the addon designer, as the way that an addon interacts with the game has been changed. This has forced all addons pre-2.0 to have to be rewritten. This is such a drastic change to the addons that all players must now download new copies of the addon that they were using. More information on this topic is available in this forum post, made by a Blizzard MVP (Most Valuable Poster).
Addons are created using one or both Lua and XML, and images used for modifications are created using the .TGA (Targa) and .BLP image formats. Blizzard has also released a User Interface Customization tool to support and encourage UI modders.[44] However, Blizzard is unable to endorse or provide support for third party interfaces due to issues that may be caused by them.
Some third-party programs that operate in a stand-alone mode, or independent of World of Warcraft, may be considered exploits, especially if they automate operation beyond that made available using the built-in macro functionality, or pass information in or out of the game. Use of these is against the Terms of Service agreed to when playing the game, and as such, may lead to possible suspension or closure of accounts. Blizzard has stated on the official forums that any modification that uses the Lua programming language will not be considered an exploit, though Blizzard reserves the right to change information available via the Lua language if the modification changes the nature of encounters in the game.[45]

Controversy and criticism
Main article: Criticism of World of Warcraft
Although widely popular (with 9 million players), World of Warcraft has received a moderate amount of criticism. Stories of game addiction to the popular video game are a common source of criticism. In June of 2005 it was reported that a child had died due to neglect by her World of Warcraft-addicted parents.[46] In August of that year, the government of the People's Republic of China proposed new rules to curb what they perceived to be social and financial costs brought on by the popularity of games such as World of Warcraft. The measure would enforce a time limit on China's estimated total of 20 million gamers.[47] The Chinese government and The9, the licensee for World of Warcraft in China, have likewise imposed a modification on Chinese versions of the game which places flesh on bare-boned skeletons and transforms dead character corpses into neat graves in an attempt to "promote a healthy and harmonious online game environment".[48]
Dr. Maressa Orzack, a clinical psychologist at McLean Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts, was interviewed August 8, 2006, stating that of the 6 million subscribers "I'd say that 40 percent of the players are addicted."[49] The 40 percent figure was not derived from a scientific study overseen by Dr. Orzack, but rather came from "a forum that Nick Yee runs". She added in an August 2006 interview that "even if the percentage is 5 to 10 percent which is standard for most addictive behaviors, it is a huge number of people who are out of control."[50] Also, according to Dr. John Grohol, a colleague of Orzack's, "Dr. Orzack is not claiming that up to 40% of World of Warcraft gamers are addicted based upon any actual evidence or surveys of players. This is just her opinion, based upon her own experience and observation of the problem."[51]
After Blizzard started offering free trial gameplay accounts, players started receiving increasing numbers of spam sent by bots in the virtual mailboxes of their characters, advertising virtual gold, honor, and experience selling services.[52] One study shows that this problem is particularly prevalent on the European realms.[53] In patch 2.1, Blizzard responded to this by adding additional anti-spam mechanics including whisper throttling, and the "Report spam" function.

Film adaptation
In May 2006, production company Legendary Pictures acquired film rights to adapt Warcraft for the big screen with the game's publisher, Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard had originally considered hiring a scribe for the film adaptation before teaming up with Legendary Pictures.[54] The companies plan to create a film that would not follow any of the Warcraft games' storylines but still take place in the fantasy universe.[55] According to Blizzard's Chief Operating Officer Paul Sams, the film's budget would be over $100 million.[56]
In June 2007, Legendary Pictures chairman Thomas Tull said that the studio was working closely with Blizzard's designers and writers to adapt World of Warcraft. Tull explained the desire to have a good story for the film adaptation, "I think some of the stuff that makes a game translate well... if there's a lore, if there's a road and story and a world that's been created, and characters that are interesting in a way that's more than just point and shoot."[57] World of Warcraft's lead designer Rob Pardo expressed interest in being able to adapt the intellectual property of World of Warcraft to the appropriate medium of the film. He also added that the designers were collaborating with Legendary Pictures on story and script development.[58]

In popular culture
The South Park episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft" prominently featured World of Warcraft through machinima animation. Blizzard actively collaborated with the South Park animation team in the making of the episode.[59] The episode drew 3.4 million viewers, making it Comedy Central's best mid-season premiere since 2000.[60] The episode was nominated in the "Outstanding Animated Program (Programming Less Than One Hour)" category for the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards.[61]
The September 22, 2006 episode of Stargate Atlantis, The Return Part 1, featured a scene where Dr. Weir distracts geeky scientist Bill Lee by telling him she too is a fan of World of Warcraft.[62]
The October 10, 2006 episode of Help Me Help You, "Fun Run," involves Inger meeting her online husband from the game.[63]
On November 20, 2006, Blizzard announced that major national television stations would begin airing the first World of Warcraft TV spot in North America. The commercial is an edit of a scene from the cult comedy film Office Space with footage of the game and a World of Warcraft box overlaid onto the original footage.[64]

RUNESCAPE=0=)=(HEEHEE

History and development

Three Screenshots from DeviousMUD, the forerunner to RuneScape, which was never released to the public.
DeviousMUD, the forerunner to RuneScape, was created in 1998 by Andrew Gower. The game, which was never publicly released, used isometric graphics. In 1999, Gower completely rewrote the game, albeit with no improvements to the graphics or several other aspects of the game. This version was released as a public beta version for approximately one week before it was withdrawn.[10]
As a Cambridge University undergraduate, Gower worked on a complete rewrite of the game with the assistance of his brother, Paul Gower.[11] The isometric view was replaced by a mixture of both three-dimensional and two-dimensional sprites. The game, renamed RuneScape, was released to the public as a beta version on 4 January 2001[12] and was originally operated from their parents' house in Nottingham.[11] In December 2001, the Gower brothers and Constant Tedder formed Jagex to take over the business aspects of running RuneScape.[12]
On 27 February 2002, a membership service was made available, allowing players who choose to pay a monthly fee to access a variety of additional features including new areas, quests, and items. This service significantly changed the focus of the game.

A screenshot of RuneScape Classic.
As the game became more popular, Jagex began planning major changes to the game. Although initially only a graphical update was planned,[13] the developers opted instead to completely rewrite the game engine, introducing a version that consisted entirely of three-dimensional graphics, with other significant improvements. While in development, this version was known as RuneScape 2. A beta version of the new engine was made available to paying members on 1 December 2003, and the finished version was launched on 29 March 2004.[14] Upon release, RuneScape 2 was renamed RuneScape, and the older version of the game was kept online as RuneScape Classic. RuneScape Classic was restricted to paying members who had recently logged in to the Classic servers on 12 January 2006, due to persistent cheating.[15]
On 16 May 2006, Jagex upgraded RuneScape's game engine, primarily as a back-end upgrade rather than a visible graphical boost.[16] In particular, the amount of memory required to run RuneScape was significantly reduced, allowing the game to be expanded and improved without increasing the loading time for most players. The engine was upgraded once again on 26 June 2007, which according to Jagex allows them to add more complex content to RuneScape in the future.[17]
On 5 July 2007, an article was released in which Andrew Gower told an interviewer he saw a release of RuneScape onto the seventh generation of gaming consoles (the Wii, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3) as "tempting", hinting that Jagex may consider releasing a version of RuneScape onto these consoles in the future.[18]

Servers

RuneScape servers are located in seven countries; USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Australia, Finland and Sweden.
There are about 140 RuneScape servers located throughout the world, which are numbered and referred to as worlds by players and by Jagex. The servers use Unix, Debian GNU/Linux, and Cisco IOS software,[19] and they are located in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, Sweden and Finland.[20] Each of the RuneScape servers allows 2,000 players to connect simultaneously, allowing a maximum capacity of approximately 280,000 players online at any given time. The servers are divided into free servers, accessible to all players, and members servers, accessible by only those players who choose to pay a monthly fee for additional content. Unlike many other MMORPGs, RuneScape allows players to freely switch between servers. Characters are not bound to a particular server, but rather choose which server to access each time they access the site.[21]
In addition to the RuneScape servers, there are two members-only servers for RuneScape Classic, both located in the United Kingdom. Each of these is limited to 1,250 players, allowing a total number of 2,500 simultaneous RuneScape Classic players. Only players who played RuneScape Classic in the six months prior to 12 January 2006 can currently log onto the Classic servers.[15]

Advertising
To support RuneScape's free content, advertisements are displayed above the playing screen on the free-player servers. On 13 July 2006, Jagex signed an exclusive marketing and distribution contract with WildTangent Games,[1] which granted WildTangent the right to handle advertising in and around RuneScape in the United States. The deal also allowed WildTangent to distribute RuneScape through the WildTangent Games Network,[1] a distribution channel, reaching over 20 million consumer PCs.[22] WildTangent has stressed that this agreement will not change the way RuneScape is presented and that they plan to make the presence of the advertisements, vital to RuneScape, as non-invasive as possible. Jagex moderators have stated that there will be no in-game advertisements.[1] Since computer users may use advertisement blockers which may discourage advertisers, Jagex introduced a rule that prohibits players from blocking the advertisements in the free game.[23]

Other languages
On 14 February 2007, Jagex released a German closed beta translation of RuneScape. As of 7 March 2007, it is in a public beta stage while errors in the translation of the game and website are still being corrected. Currently, there are two German language servers online, one for each the free and members versions of RuneScape.[24][25]

Membership

The skills interface shown while playing RuneScape, with member skills outlined in blue.
Membership in RuneScape is an optional service that provides extensive additional content and extra features versus the free version of the game. Most quests and several skills, as well as three-fourths of the world map, are reserved for members. Members can play mini-games with unique rewards, use new items, and have access to improvements for nearly all skills. Paying users also receive additional storage space for their items, priority customer service, and the ability to post on the official forums. Regular game updates are usually reserved for members, save for a few updates each year that affect the free version of the game.[26]
Monthly membership fees are currently set at £3.20, $5.00 US, $7.20 CDN, €4.60, $8.20 AUD or $8.90 SGD, if paid for with a credit or debit card. Other payment methods are available, such as PayPal, cheque or money order, or through players' telephone providers, generally at a higher price.[26]
Members are granted access to members-only servers, which have no advertisements displayed during play. Although members can still play on free servers, members-only content and items cannot be used on free servers. However, these players cannot access any free servers while in a members-only area.
Membership benefits on the German website and game will carry over to the English version and vice-versa.[25]

Gameplay
New players begin in a secluded area populated only by other beginners, Tutorial Island.[21] They are led on a set path where they learn most of the non members skills needed to succeed in Gielinor, the land of RuneScape. After completing the tutorial, players can access information from tutors located in the towns they explore. These non-player characters, or NPCs, can replace some basic equipment items if necessary.

Sound
RuneScape has music, sound effects, and ambient noises throughout Gielinor to enhance gameplay. The music is designed to enhance mood and help to define the underlying cultures of the various locations around Gielinor. Sound effects, such as the "sploosh" heard when a lobster trap is submerged in water, are heard as players train their skills. Ambient noises, such as the cry of seagulls flying over the ocean, occur in logical places. As different locations are visited by the player, new music for that area is unlocked, and can be played back later. Players can adjust the volumes of the music, sound effects, and ambient noises independently of each other.[27]

Graphics
RuneScape can be run with high or low-detail graphics; high-detail mode enhances texture and design, whereas low-detail provides a cleaner look and can reduce lag on older or less powerful computers. In February 2005, Jagex began the process of updating the graphical images in the RuneScape cities and the wilderness, planning ultimately to improve the graphics of the entire free area of RuneScape without causing more lag for people using dial-up Internet connections. [28]
RuneScape places emphasis on granting players the ability to customise their characters by supplying a wide choice in character models. Unlike many games in the genre, player characters are always human; however, players can choose their appearance from hairstyles, body types, facial features, clothing options, and sex.[21] On-screen appearance is further optimised by wearing or wielding items, with each different item having a unique image. Standard weapons of the same class, such as swords, use the same set of animations in combat; however, some special weapons have their own, distinctive animations that differ completely from those of other weapons in their category.
Players' appearances can be changed using special equipment or during particular game events. Transformations into frogs, mushrooms, eggs, and other objects and animals can occur, depending on the circumstances. These "morphs" are temporary, and sometimes allow players to avoid negative gameplay effects or access otherwise unreachable areas; however, they restrict certain activities that human characters are normally allowed to perform.[29]
Every activity performed by a player, such as planting a seed in a farming plot or walking down a street, has its own distinctive animation. Players can also express emotions through the use of emotes, which are specialized animations that can be performed at will. New players start out with most available emotes; some, however, must be earned by completing quests, random events, or holiday events.[30]

Skills
Main article: RuneScape skills

A player collects iron ore using the mining skill.
Skills in RuneScape are the abilities that enable players to perform activities in the game. Players gain experience in a skill when they perform activities that utilise that skill, such as mining ore from a rock to increase the mining skill. In general, the higher the level required to perform a task, the more experience points the player receives, and the more desirable the result. The total skill level of a player partly symbolises the player's status in the game. The RuneScape hiscore tables can be viewed by all players, and players with higher overall levels are well known within the RuneScape community. Upon reaching the highest available level in a skill, members may obtain a special cape, referred to as a "Cape of Achievement", which can be used to perform an emote related to that skill.
Many types of tasks can be performed in the game using skills. Some skills, such as defence and hitpoints, provide combat bonuses, while others, such as woodcutting and fishing, enable the player to collect resources that can be sold for a profit or personal use. Raw materials are converted into goods to be used in combat with skills such as fletching and cooking. There are also skills that allow players to kill certain NPCs, build their own houses, or move around the map with greater ease, to name a few.[31]

Combat

A player and an NPC engage in combat.
Main article: RuneScape combat
Combat is an important aspect of the gameplay in RuneScape, as it is one of the most direct ways of gaining wealth and is needed to start and complete many quests. Combat level, determined by applying a formula to the seven combat skills, is usually referred to simply as "level". Combat level is the only information about the player that is visible to other players while in game. The minimum combat level is 3, which is the starting combat, while the maximum a player can be is 126. Other skill levels increase total levels and overall rankings which can be seen by other players on the official "high scores".[32]
Unlike most games in the MMORPG genre, RuneScape does not require players to choose a character class. Players are not bound to a specific category of combat, and they may freely change between the three styles of combat at any time simply by switching weapons, armours, or the form and focus of attack. Players can carry the weapons and armours of the three combat categories in their inventories, switching between or even combining the styles at will.
Combat is subdivided into melee, magic, and ranged categories. Melee attacks are close range with or without weapons,[33] magic attacks focus on using runestones to cast spells,[34] and ranged attacks use projectile weapons.[35] Most of the game's weapons are medieval or fantastical in nature and feature different strengths and weaknesses.
Players die when they receive enough damage from combat, poison, or obstacles to cause their hitpoints to fall to zero. Players who die reappear at one of two respawn points (the town of Lumbridge by default, though members may change it to the city of Falador upon completion of a quest) with all their skills, including hitpoints, restored to normal levels; however, they lose all but three of their most valuable items that they were carrying at the time of death. A special prayer increases this to four items, but recent player killing, denoted by a skull above the player's head, decreases this to no items and just one with the prayer.[32]

Quests
Quests are tasks that players may complete in order to receive rewards, often access to new items, areas and new spellbooks for the magic skill. These often require minimum levels in certain skills or a minimum combat level to complete them, and a few require the help of another player. In addition, quests are grouped into four categories based on requirements and difficulty. Novice quests effectively act as extended tutorials for new players. Intermediate quests are designed to act as new obstacles on a relatively basic level, while experienced and master quests aim to challenge the more experienced players. Many master quests open up new areas of Gielinor for players to explore. [36] Once a player completes all quests in the game, another achievement cape, commonly referred to as the "quest cape", can be purchased from an NPC. Wearing this cape allows the player to perform a special emote.[37] Many quests require players to kill particularly powerful monsters.
Upon completing quests, players receive rewards that vary depending on the difficulty of the quest. Rewards often include coins, items, access to a new area, or an increase in skill experience. Quest points are also awarded for completing quests, the amount of which varies from quest to quest. Some quests require the player to have a specified number of quest points or to have previously completed certain quests before beginning the quest. Many quests are part of overlapping storylines that become more difficult as the player progresses through them. The longest of these has been in RuneScape since 2002[38] and currently contains several separate quests.[39][40]
On 8 May 2007, Jagex added an "Achievement Diary", which grants unique rewards to players who complete certain tasks. Currently, the feature is only partially implemented, however there are plans to expand it in the near future. Tasks range from very easy to extremely difficult, and rewards include a discount for players in certain shops and areas.[41]

Interaction

Castle Wars, one of the most popular mini-games, is based on capture the flag gameplay.
Many NPCs populate the realm of Gielinor. Although some NPCs, such as shopkeepers, have game functions that require them to be unavailable for combat, most NPCs can be attacked. Attackable NPCs are generally referred to as monsters, regardless of their race. Monsters range from common, low level creatures like chickens and bears to unique, much more powerful monsters like the King Black Dragon, Chaos Elemental or Kalphite Queen. Each type of monster has its own strengths and weaknesses. Demons, for example, have low defence against magical attacks while most dragons have extremely high defence against magic. Monsters may either be aggressive or non-aggressive. The aggressive monsters attack all players who are under twice the combat of the monster. However, in the wilderness, aggressive monsters attack all players regardless of level. Non-aggressive monsters do not attack players until the player attacks first. This can make certain areas throughout Gielinor dangerous or inconvenient to players depending upon their combat levels.[42]
RuneScape also features independent mini-games for its players. Mini-games take place in certain areas and normally involve a specific skill. Mini-games usually require players to cooperate or to compete with each other. Popular mini-games include Castle Wars, which is similar to the real-life game Capture the Flag, and Pest Control, a highly combat-focused mini-game. Currently, all mini-games, with the exception of the Stronghold of Security, are available only to paying members.[43]
Players can fight against other players in player versus player (PvP) combat in certain areas of Gielinor. The most common place is in the Wilderness, where players risk their lives and their items fighting other players.[44] Players can engage in PvP combat without risking their items in mini-games such as the Duel Arena, Castle Wars, and the TzHaar Fight Pits, and in combat arenas or dungeons in player owned houses. Players engaging in PvP combat in the Duel Arena can agree on rules for the duel such as allowing only melee attacks or preventing players from using potions or food during the fight.

Random events

While preparing a meal, a player is interrupted by a random event that requires the player's response. Ignorance of random events results in negative consequences for the player. There are over 40 possible random events.
Random events are short interludes that occur during the game, requiring some form of player input. They were introduced to deter players from using automated programs, known as macros, autoers, or bots, to play the game with no human interaction. The use of such macros is explicitly forbidden and can result in the permanent ban of accounts found to be using them. Postings in the RuneScape forums by Andrew Gower suggest that random events were designed not only to hinder macroers but to alleviate the monotony that can occur while levelling skills for long periods of time (referred to as grinding).[45]
Some random events are simple, requiring a player only to click on an NPC or to leave the area temporarily; others require more sophisticated actions from players, who must respond to these events quickly and correctly to avoid a negative effect, such as being teleported across the map or taking damage. Players are usually rewarded for responding correctly to random events.[46]
Three random events have been removed from the game by Jagex. The tangle vine was removed almost immediately after being introduced as it was deemed too dangerous to players, but was reintroduced as part of the construction skill for player-owned houses.[46] The Dr. Ford event was removed for causing graphical problems within the game program.[47] The "Broken Axe" (axe-head/axe-handle disconnection) random event was removed to "keep the balance right" after the Mr. Mordaut event was added. [48]

Community
RuneScape players represent a wide range of nationalities and ages. Most players speak English to some extent. Players who speak languages other than English tend to gravitate to servers populated by other players who speak the same language; some worlds have larger numbers of players who speak Spanish, Dutch, French, German, or other languages. It is not uncommon, however, to see many languages on the chat screen throughout RuneScape. A German translation of RuneScape has recently been released as an open beta.[24][25]
A set of official forums created entirely by Jagex programmers is available to players on the RuneScape website. On the forums, players are able to participate in game discussions, play player-made forum games, make arrangements to buy or sell items, and interact with the community. Free players can read the forums, but posting on them is reserved for paying members. The RuneScape forums are quite diverse, allowing thousands of players to access them at any given time. Each forum has its own specific list of rules enforced by forum moderators.[49]
Players can submit questions via an e-mail address listed on the website to any non-player character in the game. Selected letters are answered in an update called Postbag from the Hedge, typically at the end of each month. This feature began on 26 September 2005 and has since become one of the most accessed pages of the site. From 24 September 2002 through 9 December 2004, players could submit questions to the RuneScape gods. However, this feature has been discontinued.[50] Players can also submit original RuneScape related artwork, some of which is displayed in a gallery on the RuneScape website. Media featured have included sculpture, comics, drawings, and paintings.[51]
Many RuneScape fansites have been established by players, none of which are supported or recognized by Jagex. In order to provide players with an alternative, official site to get the information they want or need, Jagex introduced the Knowledge Base,[52] which offers information on gameplay, the main RuneScape rules, and account security.[53] However, at least one major fansite has criticised Jagex for not recognising fansites' contributions to the development of its game.[54]
RuneScape has a player economy based largely around items produced using skills. Raw materials are collected using the extracting skills, such as fishing, and are processed into more advanced materials with processing skills, such as cooking. The products produced by processing skills, such as armour or food, are often sold and used by players in combat. Some players also engage in arbitrage, commonly referred to as merchanting, in order to turn a profit buying and selling prices. Recently, inflation from a variety of sources, along with the large number of resources put into the game by macroing, has caused instability in the game economy.[55]
However, RuneScape has been criticised repeatedly for being unfriendly to newer players. This involves the repeated use of the word "noob" as an insult. This is often caused by "begging" in which newer players, thus less experienced, ask for free items. This is caused by the fact that most RuneScape skills require level grinding to level up, so RuneScape is often unfriendly to newer players.[56]

Rules and cheating

RuneScape moderator crowns.
Jagex has put in place a number of rules for player conduct, such as rules against offensive language, scamming, and bug abuse.[57] To enforce the rules, RuneScape employs three types of moderators: Jagex moderators, who are actual Jagex employees; player moderators, who are trusted ordinary players who enforce the rules in the game; and forum moderators, who are trusted players who police the game forums. On the forums, Jagex and forum moderators are identified by gold and green crowns next to their posts, respectively; in the game, player moderators have a silver crown near their name in chat, while Jagex moderators have the same with a gold crown. In addition, any player has the ability to report rule-breaking using a "report abuse" feature; misuse of this feature can result in action being taken against the reporter.[58] However, the effectiveness of Jagex's hunt on abusers has been debated by Twitchguru.[59]
There are also rules prohibiting usage of third-party software to play the game and the sale of game items for real money, known as real-world or real-money trading.[57] In the early days of the game, most cheaters were individual players using special programs that exploited weaknesses in the game's client-server communications by sending false data to the server. In response, Jagex made direct interaction with the client very difficult, so more recently, macro programs like SCAR have been used to automate mouse clicks for repetitive tasks. Random events, requiring human reaction and decision making are one method Jagex employs to attempt to disrupt such programs. According to Jagex, many cheaters are now based in game sweatshops in East Asia, making gold to sell to players for real-world money, an issue in many other MMORPGs. In response, Jagex issued a statement condemning real-world trading, which had already been against the rules. In the statement, they also claimed that they were seizing billions of gold and banning thousands of accounts every week for cheating. Nevertheless, real-world trading and macroing activities still continue.[60][61]