Friday, November 28, 2008

Computer graphics now part of art world

This week my subject is a video-gamer, Sam Rossof. He is a post-graduate student at the

University of Victoria specializing in computer graphics.
He is also a champion in a new, and very graphic, universe.
At a time when the leading art galleries exhibit laptop computers and digital projections, the intricately crafted digital universe in which he plays, called World of Warcraft （ Buy wow gold ） , is a very advanced artifact. Art is no longer defined as paint on canvas. These days, it’s more about concepts and interactivity. When I met Sam, I realized that the art of the future will have to consider this creation.
Rossof spoke with me in a sunny Oak Bay kitchen, where he rents a room in the basement. Sam, at 23, is a PhD candidate in the engineering faculty of University of Victoria. But we were here to talk about something else. Last week Sam became a Level 80 Deathknight. In fact, he was one of the very first in the World of Warcraft (WOW).
Sam’s field of study is computer graphics, and at UVic he’s working with his mentor Bruce Gooch. Gooch’s famous algorithm, which can create a cartoon version of anyone’s picture, became an application on the social networking website Facebook.
When he came here from the University of Chicago, Gooch brought Rossof with him. Sam’s life intersects in a big way with World of Warcraft, a world that was invisible to me.
“Yeah,” he offered, “invisible — like a bowling alley is not visible, if you never go in. But this [the World of Warcraft] is big.”
There are 11 million active players, but what is it, exactly?
“It’s a collaborative experience,” Sam said, “a video game that you play together. You talk to people. It’s a context, a context to talk about. It’s more than the game. There are forums, bulletin boards, other channels of communication.”
Computer games have not made Sam antisocial. He has a social life which, I understand, would be the envy of any young man. “I’m wired for being social,” he said. “There is no amount of ’social’ that I am not ready for.”
Unlike most players of WOW, Sam’s interest is more than casual. Using his powerful brain and postgraduate skills he performs what he calls “reverse engineering” on the imaginary world. By acquiring and deconstructing the codes that underwrite the game, information becomes available. Dedicated WOW fans pick it up in stages — the early beta invitations, the preview, sneak peek, the “critics’ first look,” bootlegs of otherwise-privileged information.
Blizzard Entertainment, the parent company of WOW, signs up subscribers who pay a $15-per-month basic rate to enter the world. Sam told me that the corporation also puts on a spectacular convention for fans and “works it up” with the trading cards and a comic book.
But all those details are irrelevant to Sam. In the World of Warcraft, he is a champion.
In the last release of World of Warcraft, Sam entered without expectations and did surprisingly well — fifth place. This time, he thought, he had a shot.
“I thought I’d make a run for it,” he said. “I could do a first — I’d have to take a real vacation from work. I did dry runs to learn how to pace myself — about five days each. The biggest issue, of course, was fatigue. How long could I stay up?
“I learned that three hours was the shortest I could sleep and still wake up feeling rested. Eating food helps keep you up — you burn more energy when you are awake. Drink caffeine, taurine. Take showers — a shower is good for a couple of hours, easy.”
This regimen went on over several months.
The big launch was Wednesday, Nov. 13. When Sam arrived at the Hillside mall at 9 p.m., there was already a lineup. At midnight each purchaser got a disc in a box. There were other things in the box, but Sam didn’t pay attention to them. His game was loaded and active by 12:20 a.m.
He had slept all day before the event, which gave him an edge. So Sam got right to it, there in the corner of his basement bedroom. Ignoring his unmade bed behind him, he communed with gamesters out for good and evil, all through the 19-inch monitor in front of him.
On his desk, the juice boxes piled up.
The laundry piled up. Sam was given over to the World of Warcraft. Between Thursday and Sunday he put in 82 hours.
And so?
“I won,” he concluded. “First. Level 80 Deathknight.”
I am not sure whether cheers were audible. There was no prize, just bragging rights. On his shield of achievements, a new escutcheon appeared: “Realm First! Level 80 Death Knight.”
robertamos@telus.net

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Malware writers target Facebook, World of Warcraft

According to data from McAfee Avert Labs, the monitoring and research arm of security vendor McAfee, malware attacks are growing at astronomical rates and it’s happening for one simple reason: the malware writers are making money.

According to data from McAfee Avert Labs, the monitoring and research arm of security vendor McAfee, malware attacks are growing at astronomical rates and it’s happening for one simple reason: the malware writers are making money.
Data from McAfee indicates 245 per cent growth in the number of malware being developed from 2006 to 2007, with a further 300 per cent growth projected from 2007 to 2008. And year to date, McAfee said the amount of malware generated has already surpassed 2006 and 2007 combined.
“Cyber crime has completely altered the landscape we’re dealing with today,” said Dave Marcus, director, security research and communications for McAfee Avert Labs. “All the malware we’re seeing today is driven 100 per cent by money, and is designed to harvest information we’re going to see sold on the underground.”
Marcus said there’s a fully developed underground system that has developed, almost a malware industry. One group discovers the vulnerabilities, another writes the code to exploit them, another spreads and distributes the code, then another gathers the results and sells them on the open market.
Most malware today is password-stealing trojans designed to steal usernames and passwords, usually banking information. Usually malware developers won’t loot the accounts themselves, said Marcus, but rather sell the information to a third-party for a premium, a phenomenon known as credit card dumping.
Increasingly, said Marcus, social networking is being used to spread malware, and Web 2.0 is fast becoming a malware writer’s best friend. Sites such as Facebook and MySpace are bring “used and abused,” said Marcus, as a platform to send malware out into the wild.
“Facebook is commonly used for the same thing. These sites solved one of the big problems malware writers had: how do they get their malware out to you,” said Marcus. “It’s more important than ever that our technology keeps pace with these kinds of threats, because everything is being distributed through Web 2.0 sites these days.”
It’s not just social networking sites being targeted, said Marcus. Gaming sites are an increasing target as well. With whole economies developing around online games such as World of Warcraft, through the selling or trading of objects and levels, malware writers are taking note. Also, as people tend to reuse the same username/password combination for numerous logins, if malware writers get it once they can exploit it elsewhere as well.
“The amount of malware is being written because of the amount of money they can steal, and because they can do it with impunity, with very little likelihood of being caught,” said Marcus.
McAfee is hoping to give people the tools to fight back with its recently released 2009 line of consumer-level security software. Madhurima Pawar, senior product manager in McAfee’s consumer strategy and marketing group, said McAfee’s goal with its 2009 line was to be instant, silent, and complete.
Pawar touted McAfee’s speed of updates, promising instant definition updates for new threats compared to five to 15 minutes for rival Symantec. Also new is Active Protection. If a file passes the local database but is still deemed suspicious, a fingerprint is taken and is pinged against McAfee’s backend server. The process will be seamless for the user, promised Pawar.
“This is how we’re ensuring with our 2009 product line we’re delivering the latest updates, thus keeping them protected at all times.”
Work has also been done to make the software less intrusive to the user, and less of a drain on system resources. Pawar said McAfee has been able to achieve a 13 per cent performance improvement when running a full system scan over its 2008 edition.
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Let the Games Begin

n these challenging economic times, it may come as a surprise that a well-chosen video game can be one of the most cost-effective gifts possible. Sure, the $60 price tag on some top games can be daunting, but when you realize that the right one can wrangle dozens or even hundreds of hours out of the right player, games can start to look like the smart entertainment investments they are.
But nongamers can get it totally wrong when buying for friends and family. Bad gift-giving usually stems from one basic misconception: If it’s a video game, it must be for children.
Every year, parents who would never dream of buying their children a DVD of “Scarface,” “Platoon” or one of the “Saw” torture movies blithely buy them violent gangster games, bloody war games and gross-out horror games. Then they’re horrified when little Johnny or Jenny ends up spending Saturday afternoon trading expletives with drug dealers and discussing the relative merits of shotguns and flamethrowers. So please, if you would not allow your children to watch R-rated films without supervision, do not buy them M-rated games. Federal studies have shown that the game industry is at least as vigilant as

Hollywood in labeling products that are inappropriate for children. But the system breaks down when parents ignore it.
That misconception cuts the other way as well. The average gamer is now about 30; the first generation to grow up playing games is now around 40. And your 35-year-old boyfriend is not going to be impressed when you show up with the latest Pokémon or the new “Price Is Right” game. The best work being done in games these days is in interactive narratives for and about adults. Engaging with a current top-end game involves much more cognitive processing (a k a brainpower) than merely watching hour upon hour of prime-time television. So show some respect; your favorite gamer will adore you for it.
Here are some of the best games of the year, each of which could be the perfect gift for the right person. The shrewd will notice no sports or music games on this list. That is because those are easier to shop for: pick the desired sport or tunes and go.
GRAND THEFT AUTO IV Ideal audience: well-adjusted adults who want to explore a rich, intelligent, politically incorrect digital rendition of New York City. As long as you can accept that a great work of modern entertainment can revolve around criminals — something long assumed in television and films — then it is almost impossible to deny that G.T.A. IV is one of the most compelling games in recent years. The driving and shooting is fun, but the real star of the game is the city itself, rendered with a loving sense of decay and populated with perhaps the best cast of dysfunctional characters to grace a pixel. For Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 (PC version coming in December). Rating: M for Mature.
SID MEIER’S CIVILIZATION REVOLUTION Ideal audience: families interested in fostering an appreciation of both global history and strategic thinking; also, commuters looking to upgrade from Tetris. Civilization is the top strategy franchise in the history of video games. With Revolution the series moves beyond PCs and arrives on consoles and the hand-held Nintendo DS. The premise remains the same: guide a historical culture from the dawn of history to the space age. Nothing feels better than dominating Genghis Khan and Napoleon at the same time. For Xbox 360, PS3 and DS. Rating: E10+ for Everyone 10 and older.
Warhammer Online Ideal audience: massively multiplayer online gamers who cannot satisfy their bloodlust in World of Warcraft（ Buy wow gold ） Don’t get me wrong; like more than 10 million other people, I love World of Warcraft. But great games can stand some competition, and Warhammer Online, the new online version of the decades-old British fantasy universe, provides it. Warhammer employs many conventions from Warcraft but gives them a new twist in a game that focuses largely on player-versus-player combat, rather than on battling computer-controlled foes. For PC. Rating: T for Teen.
Wii Fit Ideal audience: couch produce of all ages. Nintendo’s best game of the year is not really a game. It’s a light exercise system meant to take just a few calories off. The most surprising thing: it works. For Wii. Rating: E for Everyone.

LITTLEBIGPLANET Ideal audience: aspiring game designers and anyone else with excellent eye-hand coordination. The breakout title this year for Sony’s PlayStation 3, LittleBigPlanet is in some ways as close to YouTube as games have come. In its essence it is merely a “platformer”: you navigate your little beanbag character mostly by running and jumping. The secret sauce is that the game allows users to create their own levels and share them easily with other players online. Rating: E.
DEAD SPACE Ideal audience: people who like being scared. Dead Space is a straight-ahead science fiction survival-horror experience. You, the player, are trapped on a spooky spaceship with a horde of space zombies who want to eat you, or turn you into one of them, or something. You wade through them while engaging in what is charmingly referred to as “strategic dismemberment.” For what it is, though, Dead Space is both conceived and executed at a high level. For Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Rating: M.
FALLOUT 3 Ideal audience: old-school role-playing gamers and anyone who wants to see Washington in ashes. The return of the classic Fallout series is a sprawling re-creation of the Capitol area after a nuclear war. The tone is darker and less slyly humorous than previous Fallout games, but the sheer size and ambition of the game impress. For Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Rating: M.
PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE CURIOUS VILLAGE Ideal audience: puzzle fans. One of the sleepers of 2008, Professor Layton ties together more than 100 beautifully designed brainteasers with an endearing anime-style story. The puzzles themselves are perfectly intelligible to nongamers. For Nintendo DS. Rating: E.
GEARS OF WAR 2 Ideal audience: testosterone-fueled core gamers who like chain saws. When you think about the stereotypical video game, this is what you’re thinking about: big guns, voracious alien bad guys, great graphics, huge explosions, cardboard-cutout characters, silly dialogue and cheap thrills all around. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. For Xbox 360. Rating: M.
FABLE II Ideal audience: emotionally mature children and most fans of delicate entertainment design. This game is rated M not because it is especially violent or profane. It is rated M because in between casting spells and swinging swords you can have children, you can get married (and have affairs if you choose), and you can buy condoms. Shocking, I know. For children who are comfortable with the basic facts of life, there is no reason not to share Fable II. It’s a wonderful game on its own, and it beats handing a child a virtual machine gun. For Xbox 360.
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Thursday, November 27, 2008

TV, Games and Epilepsy

IncGamers favourite psychologist, Dr Guy Cumberbatch has shed some light on the relationship between epilepsy and videogames. Last week, we reported that a Swedish boy had suffered an epileptic fit after playing World of Warcraft ( Buy wow gold ): Wrath of the Lich King for 24 hours. After a hospital visit, a doctor said that the boy had suffered from high concentration, lack of food and sleep. We asked Dr Cumberbatch, director at the Communications Research Group, about the link between videogames and epilepsy, if indeed there is one. “There is such a thing as ‘videogame epilepsy’ which is really a special kind of epilepsy: photosensitive epilepsy triggered by flickering or flashing lights,” he said. He explained although flashing sequences in games can trigger epileptic seizures, the low refresh rate of a television is a more likely culprit, with the higher frequencies (75Hz to 100Hz) being favourable. Dr Cumberbatch also told IncGamers that Ofcom (the Office of Communications), the regulator and competition authority for the communications industry in the UK, has guidelines and rules relating to the degree of flicker on TVs. “Surprisingly, while Ofcom specifies what duration and frequency of flash or flicker is acceptable on broadcast television, the regulator seems to have forgotten to include videogames,” he said. “This really is an anomaly because, compared with watching TV, game players tend to get closer to the screen (too close!) which makes photosensitive seizures more likely.” “However, we need to remember that as a disease category, epilepsy is a fairly common disorder and most often appears in puberty where it is four times more frequent in boys than in the general population,” he continued. “This means that a fair number of young people will have their first seizure while playing a videogame simply because this is a common activity.” Dr Cumberbatch also explained that in cases where an epileptic seizure was recorded during gameplay, the most likely cause was fatigue from extended play sessions. He advises regular breaks while gaming.
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Excessive gaming not an addiction: Research

Washington, November 26: Majority of young people who seek treatment for compulsive computer gaming are not addicted, according to a research carried out by a treatment center which offers help to people addicted to video games.
Keith Bakker, founder of the Smith & Jones Centre in
Amsterdam, Europe’s only clinic for treating game addiction, has said that 90 percent of the people he sees are not addicts.
After treating hundreds of young gamers since the Smith & Jones Centre opened in 2006, Bakker now realized that instead of a psychological problem, compulsive gaming is a social problem that could be helped better by a stronger involvement from parents and teachers.
Since the opening of the clinic in 2006, Bakker, having treated a number of compulsive gamers, has found that only 10 percent of gamers are true addicts who show addictive tendencies to gaming, as one would to other substances, such as alcohol and drugs. Bakker thinks the traditional addiction counseling is not the way to treat the other 90 percent people who may spend four hours a day or more playing games such as World of Warcraft ( Buy wow gold ).
“These kids come in showing some kind of symptoms that are similar to other addictions and chemical dependencies,” he said. “But the more we work with these kids the less I believe we can call this addiction. What many of these kids need is their parents and their school teachers - this is a social problem.”
The clinic has started to alter its treatment program for the compulsive gamers to focus more on developing activity-based social and communications skills to help them rejoin society. Bakker suggests that parents can be the best solution for stemming excessive gaming.
“This gaming problem is a result of the society we live in today. Eighty percent of the young people we see have been bullied at school and feel isolated. Many of the symptoms they have can be solved by going back to good old-fashioned communication,” he added. “In most cases of compulsive gaming, it is not addiction and in that case, the solution lies elsewhere.”
Bakker suggests that compulsive gamers can leave gaming behind and rebuild their lives if we offer them a place where they feel accepted and where their voice will be heard.
Video game addiction, also called video game overuse, is a proposed form of psychological addiction composed of a compulsive use of computer and video games, most notably massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs).
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Sex text teacher told she faces jail

A PRIMARY school teacher who sent a series of sexually explicit texts to a 14-year-old boy has been warned by a judge that she may be jailed.
Lynn Walls, 42, began sending texts to the victim, who lives in
London, after making contact with him through the hugely-popular interactive computer game World of Warcraft. She also encouraged him to send graphic replies to her messages and described in disturbing detail what she would like to do to him.
Walls, who teaches at a primary school in County Durham, was arrested after the boy’s father found the texts and contacted police.
Yesterday Walls, of Rose Street East, Penshaw, Sunderland, pleaded guilty at Newcastle Crown Court to inciting a child to engage in sexual activity in November last year. She was remanded on bail after sentence was adjourned for a probation report.
Walls, who is currently suspended from her teaching post, was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register. The length of time she must register will be determined when she is sentenced.
Judge Guy Whitburn, who described the case as very disturbing, told Walls she would get maximum credit for her guilty plea. But he warned: “A custodial sentence cannot be ruled out.”
Last night a Durham County Council spokesman, who refused to reveal which school Walls teaches at, confirmed that she remains suspended from her duties.
World of Warcraft ( Buy wow gold ) is one of the biggest interactive internet games in the world and has 11 million subscribers who go online to take part in the role-playing fantasy.
Created by Blizzard Entertainment, it involves a fictional universe in which the games are set and in which players can take each other on using their own specially-created characters. An upgrade earlier this month attracted massive interest from players. Gamers were first introduced to the universe in the original Warcraft: Orcs and Humans.
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Gaming not an addiction, parents to blame

Compulsive gaming a response to feelings of anger and isolation.
The issue of ’gaming addiction’ has been hitting tabloid headlines of late, following the recent release of a new expansion pack to Blizzard’s mighty World of Warcraft ( Buy wow gold ) earlier this month.However, a specialist from Amsterdam’s Smith & Jones Centre claims that compulsive gaming is NOT an addiction and should not be treated as one.Keith Bakker is the founder and head of Europe’s first clinic to work with young gamers. He and his staff prefer to consider compulsive gaming as a social rather than a psychological problem in the young people they work with.”These kids come in showing some kind of symptoms that are similar to other addictions and chemical dependencies,” Bakker told the BBC, talking about the youngsters he works with, many of whom seem addicted to MMOs (WoW being by far the most popular of the genre).Parents and teachers failing”But the more we work with these kids these less I believe we can call this addiction. What many of these kids need is their parents and their school teachers - this is a social problem,” adds the addiction specialist.”Eighty per cent of the young people we see have been bullied at school and feel isolated. Many of the symptoms they have can be solved by going back to good old fashioned communication.”The root of the problem in under-18s, in Bakker’s considered and experienced opinion, is bad parenting. Not addictive videogames.”It’s a choice… These kids know exactly what they are doing and they just don’t want to change. If no one is there to help them, then nothing will ever happen.”The Smith & Jones Centre has carried out research which strongly suggests the compulsive gamer’s feelings of anger and powerlessness pre-exist the desire to play MMOs and violent videogames.”In some cases these people find each other in the gaming world and form a bond based on those feelings of alienation and anger,” the BBC reports.
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World of Warcraft Movie Still in the Early Stages

World of Warcraft （ Buy wow gold ） is definitely a huge game these days. With over 11 million paying subscribers every month, the game dominates the MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) market and enjoys a vast amount of popularity with the fans.Its latest expansion pack, entitled Wrath of The Lich King, has only confirmed the success of the game, as it has registered over 2.8 million units sold in the first 24 hours, making Blizzard, the company behind it, extremely pleased. After all, the best selling PC game in history is something every developer would want to have in its trophy case.All of this attention with WoW has made a few analysts wonder about the old plans regarding a movie based on the action of the popular game. In response to those questions, Frank Pearce, the director of product development at Blizzard, has revealed to MTV Multiplayer that the project is still in the first stages of development. He went on to say that Legendary Pictures, the company tasked with the creation of this movie, is still looking for screenwriters.”Legendary Pictures is currently trying to assign some names to write the screenplay and find someone to direct it, so it’s still really early in production,” Pearce said. “They want to make sure they get the right talent for those different parts, especially the screenwriting, because that’s the foundation for the movie.”A pretty interesting piece of news, which might make a few fans send their own creations to the movie studio for the chance to get to work on this project. But it’s definitely good to hear that Legendary isn’t rushing this title and ensures that all of the WoW fans will receive a quality experience.Let’s just hope that this movie will wash away the bad reputation that game-based
Hollywood titles have created and will offer movie fans reasons to enjoy this new flick.
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World of Warcraft Goes Atari 2600?

The fictional Atari 2600 WoW release has gone from being just a great joke to becoming a reality.
Initially just an April fools prank from Blizzard, World of Warcraft: The Molten Core was to be the first WoW title to hit a gaming console - albeit a console that stopped being produced 16 years ago. Hilariously, the folks over at Gamer’s University have made the fabled Atari 2600 game a reality.
Though it’s technically a PC port of an Atari game that doesn’t truly exist in cartridge format, The Molten Core is available for free download. The game nails the old school vibe perfectly and is meant to be played by two players at once via joysticks. However, it does work with your keyboard, and the controls can be conveniently re-mapped. The game doesn’t quite follow the specs Blizzard jokingly promised, but it’s an entertaining jaunt nonetheless.
The gameplay description tells all: “You are a mighty warrior and a mystical healer trying to clear the molten core of its evil and collect teh (sic) loots. Warrior - to attack an enemy, move yourself close enough and press your button. Priest - to heal warrior and self, press button while having mana. While fully healed, attack enemies with your wand for extra damage.”
Your quest is to obtain each boss’ loots in order to be “L33T” enough to defeat the next one. Conquer them in the improper order and you’ll fail. Sound bitchin’? It is.
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Felicia Day gives the rules for World of WarCraft romance

This could be one of the geekiest things I’ve ever talked about on Opposable Thumbs, but the content is sure to be relevant to the interests of many, many readers. The Guild’s Felicia Day, who is an avid World of WarCraft player in addition to being female and pretty much awesome, has posted her tips for getting a female’s attention in-game. Her first bit of advice is pragmatic: “Well, most of the female avatars in World of WarCraft are actually guys,” she explains. “So if you’re a guy looking to meet girls, you need to make sure to put the person you’re interested in through that vetting process.”
What other advice does she have for MMO players looking for love?
Don’t be a noob.”Yeah, I hate to say that, but if you’re a noob, you probably won’t get a second glance. Just like in real life when a guy drives a Ferrari, it might not be an automatic thumbs-up, but it does catch the eye.”
Questing is better than gifting. “You could definitely send a gift or two through game mail, but I wouldn’t just keep sending them. Helping someone out on a quest or helping them level up would definitely be appropriate and a good way to get their attention.”
You have to look the part. “Your set pieces need to match because I like a guy with detail. You don’t want to look haphazard. I understand when you’re leveling, you need to take what you can get, but there are always ways to refine the way you look. So tailor your look so it is not horrible-looking together with your set pieces and your equipment.”
Don’t be afraid to meet in real life. “I think you should definitely take it offline. I dated a guy once who had a great speaking voice, but there was just nothing there when we were together. That happens; people have ‘keyboard chemistry’ as I call it in the show, and they get together in real life, and it’s not what they were expecting.”
Be sure to check out the entire interview over at Asylum; it’s good stuff. The idea of women having such strong ideas about what they look for in a man while playing World of WarCraft, is pretty wicked stuff. Does anyone out there disagree with these suggestions? Have you ever found virtual love online? Share your thoughts and stories.
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