Friday, March 20, 2009

When Gas Powered Games’ new PC strategy game Demigod is released next month, WarCraft fans are going to find the gameplay pleasantly familiar.

Aside from slaying monsters and engaging in epic quests, Anthropology graduate student Caroline Whippey sees similarities between the mythical characters in the online role-playing game World of Warcraft and the lives of its 11.5-million player base


 

Whippey has played games – including online gaming in recent years - her entire life so it wasn’t a stretch when she decided to focus on the industry for her master’s degree. It was in November 2006, while Whippey was in her final year of undergrad, when she was introduced to the World of Warcraft and she was instantly hooked.

 

Finding little academic literature on the subject, she decided to use her anthropology background to examine how players bring their values, perceptions and experiences to the game when they are playing or interacting with others. More specifically, her research focuses on race, ethnicity and multinationalism, sexuality and gender.

 

“Absolutely people bring their values and perceptions of real life into the game and it affects how they interact,” she says.  

 

In the game, players must choose which side to belong to – the
Alliance or the Horde – which are battling each other for control of the world. Users can participate in a player versus player server, which allows them to fight players of the opposite faction, or player versus the environment server. They can also form guilds or groups of people with common interests, and have virtual conversations with other players.

 

In this world of fantasy, Whippey says a player’s real-life personality can play a significant role in how they play the game.

 

“Most people that I have spoken with or worked with, don’t play another persona. They have their character but they don’t necessarily role play with that. Most people, I find, there is a part of themselves that comes across very clearly.” 

 

With online players hailing from all corners of the world, cultural differences sometimes make their way into the game.

 

“People do make negative comments geared to race,” she says, adding racial slurs have been used in general chat channels accessible by all players. “Usually at least one person will comment and say, ‘hey, that’s offensive.’”

 

Similarly, the term ‘gay’ has been used in a derogatory sense by players during online conversations.  

 

Whippey says some players apply gender-based stereotypes to the male and female fictional characters.

 

“I had a couple of women tell me they preferred for their gender to be anonymous or play male characters because if people knew they were female, they would treat them like they didn’t have as much skill … that whole ‘girls aren’t as good at gaming’ thing.”

 

Players can target others by attacking a lower level or vulnerable character, which is called ‘ganking’ and because death isn’t permanent in the World of Warcraft, some players ‘camp’ out over the body of a fallen character to kill them when they come back to life. “That’s a process of harassment, it can get very annoying,” she says. “If you are choosing to be in that environment (player versus player) it is a part of the game play.”

 

Most social norms that exist in real life translate to the game and regulate what is deemed acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. But, Whippey says there are no significant consequences to breaking these rules other than for other players to rebuff them.

 

Players can feel a sense of bravado and act in a way that would otherwise be socially unacceptable because their true identity remains hidden behind their character.

 

“Part is anonymity because you are playing a character, that’s what people see and they don’t connect whoever is behind the screen to the character. There is no way to know who is playing that person.”

 

For some players, such as those with physical disabilities, anonymity can be empowering.  

 

“Although there is some negativity, there are some positives about a virtual community and people being able to interact. It does cross geographical distances. It is a world where you are judged by what you say and do, not your physical appearance.”

 

As the World of Warcraft continues to expand, Whippey sees her research interests growing with it. She has applied to a PhD program, during which she hopes to further examine the gaming industry.

 

In spite of the similarities with real life, in the end, World of Warcraft “is a game,” she says. “It’s fun and I love it.” 

 

World of Warcraft

Known as WoW. Falls within a classification called massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Developed by California-based Blizzard Entertainment. The game, which follows three previous games from the same series, was released in late 2004 and is the world’s largest MMORPG in terms of monthly subscribers. 

 

Posted by JImmy at 02:52:30 | Permalink | No Comments »

Hands On: Demigod’s Addictive Strategy Gameplay Apes Warcraft

When Gas Powered Games’ new PC strategy game Demigod is released next month, WarCraft fans are going to find the gameplay pleasantly familiar.
Though I wouldn’t go so far as to say it blatantly rips off the popular WarCraft III mod Defense of the Ancients, the similarities make it impossible to discuss Demigod without mentioning its inspiration. Not only does Demigod mimic the concept of using heroic avatars to lead armies (calling them “demigods” instead of “heroes”), the overall feel of combat and gameplay in the newer game is so inherently similar to its predecessor as to be instantly recognizable to those gamers who have experienced both.
The big question now is if Demigod’s graphical upgrade and handful of gameplay changes can prove enough of a draw for gamers when its primary competition is a free add-on download. I’ve played the beta version of its multiplayer mode extensively, and found it to be an addictive experience.
Gas Powered Games is no stranger to mimicking Blizzard’s games; it is most famous for Dungeon Siege, a 2002 PC release that directly mimicked Diablo. Like that earlier effort, Demigod is an obvious attempt to build on the intensely addictive, deceptively simple gameplay found in Defense of the Ancients using contemporary graphics and a handful of gameplay tweaks.
Gameplay in Demigod is a cross between real-time strategy and action role-playing. In other words, it’s a cross between Diablo and WarCraft.
You control one of eight demigods, each of whom is equipped with several customizable combat powers. By killing enemies you gain experience, which goes towards adding new abilities to your demigod. Though each of the available skill trees has a vast number of options to choose from, and each character’s tree is unique, the key to success seems to be focusing on the character and branch that best complements your playing style.
Instead of roaming a vast world all by your lonesome, Demigod pits you (and friends) against an equal force on symmetrical maps, dubbed “Arenas.” The goal in each level is to push your foes back while taking control of certain strategic objectives. Taking wow gold mines, for instance, allows your local portals to pump out minions more rapidly.
These minions serve as the equivalent of an army in a more traditional strategy game, with one big caveat: You don’t have direct control over them. Instead of clicking on a squad and sending them to a certain point, you simply move your demigod and all of his or her devotees will trail behind, ready to attack anything in your path.
Before playing the game, this was one of my biggest concerns. Anything less than fantastic programming would send your pals running in random directions, instead of towards the appropriate melee. The good news is that either Gas Powered Games’ attention to detail or the simplicity of each Arena ensures that the computer-controlled masses almost always do their job. I did count two instances when my posse ran off to some remote location, but considering that I’ve been playing the beta for almost three days straight, that’s a very small number of glitches.
Unfortunately, the beta I’ve been playing does not feature Demigod’s single-player mode. Defense of the Ancients was very successful solely as a competitive multiplayer game, and though Demigod replicates this well, I really would like to see what sort of interactive story it has crafted.
Gas Powered Games has, at least, crafted a rich, vibrant world, particularly in relation to the demigods themselves. Each demigod has an attractive, interesting aesthetic design that suits its role.
The Rook (pictured top), for instance, is a classic “tank” style character best suited to wading into combat and smashing foes up close and personal. His appearance, a gigantic stone golem with catapults built into his shoulders, makes that very clear.
My personal favorite character, The Unclean Beast, looks like an cross between a panther, a bear, a wolf and a corpse. It specializes in poisoning its foes and sucking the life from the living. In a game where players are urged to bond with a single demigod, it’s imperative that each character be interesting. In that regard Demigod excels.
It speaks greatly to Gas Powered Games’ ability to craft a solid game that despite all its derivative elements, I’m still excited for Demigod’s April release. If you’re going to lift from someone else’s game, you could certainly do much worse than one of Blizzard’s. Even this pre-release version handily demonstrates that its developers recognize what made the source material so successful.
As much as I’ve stressed the similarities between Demigod and DoTA, it would be just as easy to make a comparison between this game and chess. Each game of Demigod is one giant, hyperspeed version of chess — you encounter an enemy, they counter your attack, you learn to counter theirs, and so on until one of you loses ground. It’s quite easy to learn. But the huge number of skills and characters means the best players will have spent literally months of their lives learning the intricacies of the system.
Hardcore Defense of the Ancients fans may not see the need to jump ship for Demigod, but anyone who missed that Warcraft mod would be wise to check this out.

Posted by JImmy at 02:47:28 | Permalink | No Comments »

In-Depth: BioWare’s Vogel On The Power Of Speech In Games

Rich Vogel, who serves as co-director of the BioWare Austin studio developing The Old Republic for Electronic Arts and LucasArts, spoke at a recent South by Southwest panel about the differences between layered communications in text and speech.

The good thing about virtual worlds as opposed to real life, says Vogel, is that virtual worlds actually free up introverted people to talk to others. This was something he saw during the early day of Ultima Online.

“The barriers are lifted there for those kinds of people,” Vogel says of players who were handicapped, or simply nervous around other people, and are suddenly able to communicate without their normal difficulties.

When it comes to talking to people you don’t know, “you find that text is much more appropriate than speech. Another thing I’ve learned,” Vogel continues, is that people trust you more when you’re using voice instead of text. “When you hear someone…you get a much better feel for that person.”

Vogel says that most MMO players use voice chat to give combat directions. But he also says that he thinks it’s good for the game to have downtime between combat. “It gives you social time.”

As a manager, he discusses the difference between sending an email to someone on his team, instead of going down the hall and talking to that person. Talking is filled with emotion, whereas text is very sterile. “It makes me think about things. It slows them down, instead of emotionalizing them.” Vogel notes. And the same is true for players.

“Giving people place to go where they have common interests,” predicts Vogel, is going to be a big trend in future. “MMOs are just one way to do that.” He adds that virtual worlds, which don’t give people common goals, will lose users, “because they get bored and leave.”

“World of Warcraft has 12 million people playing because it’s a fun space to be in, and they’re motivated to be there.” Virtual worlds, by contrast, he says: “To me, that’s where the others have failed, [by] not providing that…”

Vogel remains skeptical about user-generated content, saying “We rely on others to entertain us.” Citing BioWare’s Neverwinter Nights series, well-known of letting players create their own levels, he states that only 2 percent to 3 percent of users provide content that’s really good. While it’s good that people are making the content, it doesn’t reach a critical mass – simply because people are not good at entertaining themselves.”

After the panel discussion, Vogel answered some exclusive Gamasutra questions that give further insights into his view of social networks, and what console and online game developers can do to take advantage of a changing world…

Is Facebook going to kill World of Warcraft?

RV: No, I don’t think Facebook’s going to kill World of Warcraft. Because, I think, social networking has it’s own architecture set up for just that one thing. World of Warcraft’s a game. Social things happen in that game, but it’s a secondary thing, it’s not a primary thing in that game. It’s not the mechanic of that game.

It’s an experience designed specifically for a purpose. Where Facebook is an open app.

Are we going to see MMO developers have to adjust the type of game they make, or are they going to continue to make closed, immersive worlds that are very steeped in a specific fiction?

RV: I think closed immersive worlds attract people. A lot of people like direction. There’s a lot of people that like directed content. Because it immerses you when it’s directed. It pulls you in, gives you a story, gives you something to follow: people like that.

Now, what will happen, is they’ll have more social architecture built into MMOs then you’ve ever had before.

How will that look?

RV: How would that look? So, example… you may be able to chat with someone real-time on your iPhone. Or organize a place to meet [through] an iPhone app.

So even though it’s an immersive world, it’s become and more accessible? You can immerse yourself in the world, from anywhere?

RV: From anywhere. And that’s what I think’s going to happen. Web 2.0 applications on community sites forming are happening now, and will continue to happen. Applications, especially for the new iPhone, will happen.

You can find out where you friend is and what server he’s on, and talk to him. Or maybe even…help your friends out during trouble. If they need money, any assistance with the quest, you can go online and do that in real-time.

Will Wright famously remarked that he wanted to make Spore a single-player MMO. Do you think we’ll see more of that on the single-player side and the console side?

RV: More games are online connected. And my opinion is, it’s the future, and anyone that doesn’t go there will be dinosaurs in five years. Because what’s happening is, in the retail market, because of used game sales and other things, velocity of game sales drops dramatically after the first three weeks of launch. It’s a cliff.

Downloadable content keeps games fresh. So you’re going to see more and more single-player games going into downloadable content, or episodic content, or whatever you want to call it.

Are traditional developers working in the industry today equipped to make these products? What should they start doing to prepare?

RV: That’s the problem, right? You have to become not a box company, but service oriented, a community-building oriented company. Communities are very important. And they help things grow virally. People are going to have to change.

How do you change your thinking as an industry, or as a team?

RV: Quit worrying about copy protection, and start worry about how you get the content fresh on a game with downloadable content…but it means having a live team. It means your game doesn’t stop when you ship it, anymore. That’s a model switch that people have to get to.

So all games will become ongoing?

RV: Yeah, I think it’s happening now. If you don’t, you die, right? You see it, used games are going to kill you. That’s why the top 5 — not the top five percent, or ten percent, or twenty percent of games are making money anymore — just the top five are making money.

Could Blizzard add broad social networking elements, or let people get into the game on different platforms in different ways, would that increase the number of players?

RV: Yeah, absolutely. It’s about accessibility. It’s really an elasticity question. It’s about what people are willing to pay for, and what they get. It’s all about ‘is it a value proposition?’ If it’s a value proposition, people are going to buy it.

So the games that succeed in the future will offer the most connected elasticity?

RV: I’d say the future for single-player games as well as online games is value propositions. So if you offer the ability, and it’s accessible by many different ways, and you offer the ability for people to connect easily and get into your game, and they like it and they enjoy it, and they want to give that someone else, and you make that as easy as possible: then it will grow.

Posted by JImmy at 02:36:37 | Permalink | No Comments »

30 Percent of MMOG Players Buy Gold

At least 30 percent of people who play MMOGs buy virtual goods and services, according to a World of Warcraft gold seller who believes that the practice should be licensed and supported by MMOG companies.
Extreme Gold Fan, an anonymous World of Warcraft gold seller and buyer who runs wow gold Facts, a site about “exposing the truth in the World of Warcraft Gold Industry,” has told Eurogamer that he believes that the percentage of MMOG players who participate in real money transactions (RMT) for virtual currency and services is around 30 percent.
He argues that because the practice is so prevalent and, in his mind, beneficial, MMOG companies like Blizzard should stop trying to prevent it but incorporate it into their business by officially licensing and supporting real money transactions. “In my opinion, the industry would be better served if publishers would recognize that lots of gamers - I’ve heard it’s 30 per cent of the player base - like the benefits of RMT, and work with credible companies and allow it to happen,” he said.
Call him an idealist, but Extreme wow gold Fan sees this all perfectly within the realm of possibility. “I don’t see why this is not possible,” he said. “They could make a condition of involvement in RMT that players give them a complete release of all forms of liability.”
Well, 30 percent of all you WoW/Warhammer/etc players, fess up! Have you bought gold or other virtual goods or services? I’ll admit that I’ve done it, not in an MMOG but in Diablo II, where nowadays you never have to spend more than a couple bucks for some relatively top-notch gear.
Posted by JImmy at 02:33:32 | Permalink | No Comments »

A Better WoW: World of Warcraft Patch 3.1 Report

We highlight the major new content and changes in the big, upcoming Warcraft update.
March 19, 2009 - World of Warcraft’s Public Test Realm (PTR) has been up for a couple of weeks now with what promises to be the first major content update since Wrath of the Lich King was released last year. Simply called Patch 3.1, the test build nevertheless has the whole community abuzz with expectation and anticipation. Wanting to know what the hype was all about, we thought we’d make a visit to the PTR to see for ourselves. Ulduar: New Raiding Dungeon Perhaps the biggest feature being introduced in 3.1 is the new raid instance, Ulduar. For the most part, dedicated WoW players have by now gone through as much of the WotLK content as they could, hence the excitement over new high level content.
Ulduar is located in the northernmost part of Stormpeaks. The ruins have been there ever since Northrend opened up, but the raiding instance is only being implemented in this patch. Unfortunately, it’s still a work-in-progress and Ulduar testing on the PTR has been limited to set times in the evening so what we do know about it is limited to information that Blizzard has given out. One thing is sure: Ulduar is definitely not your run-of-the-mill, let’s-go-whack-the-boss type of raid encounter. The “trash mobs” that have always been minor obstacles in the party’s path to the big boss are way more challenging in Ulduar, and need to be taken down with the use of special war vehicles–choppers, demolishers, and siege engines. While this type of combat has already been introduced into regular gameplay in Wrath of the Lich King, this is the first time it’s being implemented in a raid scenario. The first boss encounter will likewise require a combination of old tactics, spells, and abilities plus a strategic use of the available war vehicles. The Flame Leviathan is a gigantic tank with presumably a lot of hit points that can only be worn down by siege engines. Furthermore, according to the intro on the official site, “after wearing down the massive war machine, you will have to launch players onto the tank’s back to destroy its defense turrets and sabotage the Leviathan before you can move on.” Again, this type of gameplay isn’t new to WotLK players, but it makes us wonder how it can be done in a raid context without hampering creativity on the players’ part and still providing a challenge to them.

Dual Spec Players will no longer have to spend on constant talent respecs as dual specs are finally being introduced in this patch. This new feature allows you to maintain a second talent spec that you can easily switch to if the need arises. For example, a Paladin who is geared and specced mainly for tanking can switch to a healing spec if that’s what the group needs. Since glyphs are closely related to talents, the game also lets you choose a second set of glyphs for your alternate talent spec. As of the current PTR build, unlocking this feature will set you back 1,000 wow gold and you can obtain it from your class trainer. You also have to be at least level 40. So how easy is it to switch out gear when you change specs? Well, you can use macros or you can use the new user interface! One of the UI changes being introduced in 3.1 is the Equipment Manager, which allows you to keep up to t en separate sets of equipment.

Gear, Glyphs and Crafting Naturally, a new dungeon means new gear. Tier 8 gear for all classes is being introduced in 3.1. Glyphs, which were introduced in WotLK as spells which permanently enhance certain talents or abilities, are getting quite a bit of change. Depending on your class, some glyphs are being replaced, some eliminated, and more added. Most crafting professions are getting new recipes. Fishing is finally getting some dev love as they try to make it less tedious and more useful. You can now fish anywhere regardless of your skill level but are more likely to catch fish instead of junk in areas that match your skill. In addition, you can now take daily quests in Dalaran, much like the cooking dailies. Plus, there is a very rare special mount (reportedly an Aquatic Riding Ray) that can be fished up in Northrend.
The gather professions (ie. Mining, Skinning, and Herbalism) have also been given a little boost, shortening the time it takes to gather and eliminating the chance to fail at it. Class and Race Changes Two races are getting a boost in their racial abilities. The Draeneis’ Gift of the Naaru is now an instant-cast heal instead of a heal-over-time. And, the Dwarves Stoneform ability now has a shorter cooldown and has been rendered more useful by changing its effect to a cure rather than an eight-second immunity to poison, disease, and bleed effects. The class balancing act continues, with some classes getting more changes than others. The talent trees have all been affected in some form or another, so all classes will definitely get a free respec. Minor But Important A couple of changes may seem minor, but have a huge positive impact on the playerbase. Your horse can now swim! If you’ve ever had to quest in Western Plaguelands or Zangarmarsh, and have been annoyed at your mount’s hydrophobia, this is welcome news indeed. All ground mounts may now swim without dismounting the rider. Flying mounts however, are still afraid of water. Also, the most notable of the PvP changes is that players will now be able to queue for and join a battleground from anywhere in the world–no need to go to a city or the battleground entrance. When the battle is over, or if you decide to leave, the game will put you back at the spot from which you entered. It’s never a bad thing to copy a good feature from another game.
User Interface and More As always, WoW developers continue to enhance the user interface, often adding in features that are already in some popular addons. Worth mentioning is the advanced quest tracker, which now shows an icon of any on-use items related to the quest, so you don’t have to rummage through your bags for that item. All you have to do is click on the icon in the quest tracker box. There is also a new color blind option, which will cause the text “Common,” “Uncommon,” “Rare,” or “Epic” to appear on an item tooltip when turned on. Another UI change that we like is the ability to preview talent changes before committing to them. These are just a few of the many changes and new features in Patch 3.1. If you’re interested in all the details, you can find the full patch notes on the World of Warcraft official website. As with all other patches, Blizzard is keeping the implementation date to itself so we don’t really know when this is hitting the live servers.

Posted by JImmy at 02:31:41 | Permalink | No Comments »

I was a “world of warcraft” Gold-Buyer…a shocking, true-life confession

Stephen Johnson
Nick Ryan at Eurogamer has posted the first of a four part exposé series on the world of gold trading in MMOs.
Ryan asks the question, “Is wow gold selling like pornography: something more of us do than admit? A shameful secret, something indulged alone and at night, in front of the screen; or during a lunchbreak, safely away from a partner, when a quick credit card or PayPal transaction will go unnoticed by others in-game?”
Then he points out that “we all hate ‘gold sellers’. Apparently. Despise them, even. Ask your friends or colleagues: how many will openly admit to buying services from a gold farmer? Not many. And the ones that do probably harp on just as loudly against them as the next person.”
Mythic boss Mark Jacobs seconds that emotion. He posted the following on his blog:
“I hate wow gold sellers/spammers. No, that’s not strong enough, let me try again. I HATE GOLD SELLERS WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING. Ah, that’s better.”
Jacobs’ statement and Ryan’s article both have inspired me to make a disturbing confession. Because I am a man of exceptional personal courage and openness, I will reveal to you a dark and painful personal secret: My name is Stephen Johnson and I am a gold-buyer.
This is my tragic story.
When I was a young, impressionable youth — like two years ago — I used to play World of Warcraft. I spent many happy, innocent hours in Azeroth, leveling up by completing quests, slaying MOBs, raiding dungeons, killing alliance nubs, and otherwise WoWing it up. But then I hit level 40…and it is there that my troubles began.
While I knew that reaching level 40 meant the opportunity to buy a mount, (that was back when mounts came at 40, not 30) and it required wow gold to get my horsie, I never saved my money.
So I dinged 40 and the guild channel filled with “gratz!” But upon joining a group and heading toward a dungeon, my be-mounted compatriots were forced to wait while I tagged behind them, less like a highly trained undead assassin, and more like someone’s asthmatic little brother. As I ran behind the horses toward the Griffon-master, I had time to reflect on the choices I had made that brought me to this point.
Like the grasshopper in the tale of the grasshopper and the ant, I had frittered away my MMO youth, having fun, and trying to avoid spending time doing anything boring. So I hit the magical level 40, and I only had 20 gold, far from the 90 needed for a pony and the requisite pony-riding training.
It is here that I made the decision that forever marked me as an enemy of Mark Jacobs, painting my soul with the scarlet “G” of the gold-buyer. I decided it made sense to transmute 10 dollars or so of real world wealth into fake game wealth, like the alchemists of old changing lead into gold. My thinking (God help me) was that by dropping a tiny amount of actual money, I could pass up grinding, an occupation I despised, and thus avoid hours of “work” in- game. I work very hard in my actual life, and I put away as much money into savings as I can, so I naively figured that when I’m playing a game, I needn’t be worried about making prudent financial decisions.
So clouded was I with a twisted desire for a mount, I never considered the earth-shaking moral ramifications of the transgression I was about to commit.
I shudder now to think of my own depravity. Yes, I pulled out a credit card. Yes, I visited eBay. Yes, I connected with the dreaded Chinese wow gold farming mafia. Yes, I found a gold auction. I gave them the digits, and received my ill-gotten booty. All with none of my guild-mates being any the wiser.
The next day I show up in WoW with my new, illicit mount. I proudly rode all over the place to dungeon and town, perched atop my mighty steed. But it just wasn’t enough for me. I had had my first taste of the dark underworld of gold-buying and I was hooked. I had to have more. I had to re-live the rush I’d gotten from the first gold purchase. After all, the auction house was full of better, shinier equipment than I could afford and other people around me were rich…. So I bought more gold. I bought gold just to give to other people! I bought gold just to buy gold! I couldn’t stop! I was addicted!
Then, in perhaps the most shocking part of my woeful tale, I infected a loved one with my disease. A good friend of mine reached level 40 as well, and he lamented to me his lack of funds in a private message. He wanted advice on good spots to grind gold, and rather than give him the sensible advice of spending 8 hours killing Furblogs, I replied with the words that still haunt me to this day. “Why don’t you just drop 5 bucks on eBay and save yourself the hassle?”
It wasn’t enough for me to sully my own good name, the good name of the World of Warcraft and the good name of gaming itself, I had to involve someone I cared about into my twisted, wicked world. (sob)
As for the end of my story: A couple months later I realized that World of Warcraft is actually pretty lame and I’d rather be doing other things with my time.
So feel free to judge me, game world. Lord knows, I have judged myself harshly for my crime of refusing to waste a lot of time doing boring crap in a game I pay to play. All I ask is that you consider my story as a modern day morality play. A warning to stick to righteousness and light, never break the rules, nor stray from the path that the faceless, multinational, billion dollar corporation that runs your video game world has prescribed for you!
Posted by JImmy at 02:26:32 | Permalink | No Comments »

Mountain Dew forms an Alliance with World of WarCraft

Do you miss Mountain Dew Game Fuel? Or are you a WoW player jealous of the attention Pepsico lavished upon Halo players? Perhaps you plan to be really thirsty at some unspecified point in the near future. 

 

If any of these conditions describe you, you’ll be very happy about this news! This summer, Mountain Dew (which we refuse to call “MTN DEW”) is launching two limited-edition World of WarCraft Game Fuel beverages: “Wild Fruit” flavored Alliance Blue, and “Citrus Cherry” flavored Horde Red, which, WoW Insider notes, is the original Halo 3 Game Fuel! The exact release date has yet to be revealed — we’ll have to distract ourselves with regular Mountain Dew, and the thrilling, extreme-sports-filled lifestyle that comes naturally to Dew drinkers, until then.

Posted by JImmy at 02:15:02 | Permalink | No Comments »