Cataclysm !

       "Cataclysm" is the third World of Warcraft expansion and is currently in development. Cataclysm is currently in closed Beta. This expansion was officially announced on August 21, 2009 at BlizzCon. It will release on Dec.7th 12:01 am. In this expasion, the water has been drastically improved, thanks to some impressive new shader effects. Water can now be configured to display reflections on its surface. This impressive change has helped to redefine many zones. Cataclysm introduces a new technology, terrain phasing, which changes the terrain over time as you complete quests or other requirements. Terrain phasing differs from regular phasing in that it affects the world environment.

Battle.net Authenticator

      Recently, Blizzard just released a new product that to protect their customer's account from hacker, the Battle.net Authenticator and Mobile Authenticator. These products are devices which offer an additional layer of account security. The Battle.net Authenticator is a physical "token," its very small to fit on a key ring, and the Mobile Authenticator is an application which can be downloaded (often for free) on many mobile phones. These devices work by providing a secure authentication code upon command that will be unique to your Battle.net account. After an Authenticator is associated with your Battle.net account, the authentication code will be necessary for each client and Account Management log in, increasing your protection against standard compromise attacks.

Interview with Gary Platner-leader of Environment Artist

The art design is one of the most important project in video games, especially in world of warcraft. Leader of Environment Artist Gary Platner has been work in Blizzard 18 years, he was involved art design of start craft II. In this video, Gary Planter talked about what kind of environment artist change they will add in the third expansion of world of warcraft. Basiclly, they are planning to update the painting, add some details for the moutain, river, character sculpt to make them looks better. He also talked the art style about this game, Gart Platner promoted it will like one person's work and looks completely painting.

why so many people play and enjoy online game?

Playi online game is convenient. You don’t need to go somewhere else during your free time or if you want to have fun. If you have your own computer and connected to the internet, then you can enjoy your online games. also, most of online games are free, except some massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).

According to new figures released by comScore,217 million people worldwide play online games.
and these people can divide to following four types:

1. Leisure player- This person plays games after work or school, just for relax the busy mind.
2.Time Waster - This person plays games just to pass the time, either at work or at home when they have nothing better to do.
3.Busy Minds - The person who plays games for the stimulation needs to have something that is constantly occupying their minds at all times.
4.the Competer - This person plays games to compete against other players. They often find themselves satisfied if things are going their way with the game. therefore, online game is a good source of play against someone, just for competing.

From these we can see some advantages of online games.

However, we must remember one thing: appropriate game time is pleasure，but indulge in it may hurt you.

World of Warcraft - BBC News Coverage, Chinese Gold Farming_1.WMV

people are working so hard to make money for an vittual world. It is very hard for me to accept the truth. It is a very seriously problem for the community to find a way to help these people back to real world!!!

Can you believeit? ---World Of Warcraft: Dancing

Fans sometimes are so crazy about anything that they like. You will ever know what crazy thing they will done!!!!!

How Much is Too Much

I found this news article and i think it shows the serious nature of video game addiction in relationship to World of Warcraft. This is not just kids wasting time, this condition can have deadly consequence.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/06/20/news_6127866.html

I think this story illustrates a valuable lesson. Not everyone will go to this extreme but it shows what can happen when you become addicted to something and can not control yourself. This Video game addiction is no different then an alcoholic drinking and hurting someone or a person overdosing on drugs. I think that people should spend less time in the world of warcraft and more time in the real world.

China imposes online gaming curbs

Gamers in China are facing new limits on how much time they can spend playing their favourite online game.

The government in Beijing is reported to be introducing the controls to deter people from playing for longer than three consecutive hours.

The measures are designed to combat addiction to online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft and Lineage II.

Games are serious business in China. Last year, Chinese players spent almost US$500m on online games.
The government has been encouraging the growth of online gaming. It is hosting a two-day games conference in September in Beijing in the hope of attracting more foreign investment.
But the phenomenal popularity of online games has fuelled concerns that some people may be losing themselves in the virtual worlds of massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG).
In one extreme case, a player killed a fellow player who had stolen his virtual sword. The gamer received a suspended death sentence in June.
The measures announced by the Chinese authorities are due to be introduced from October.

More than 20 million Chinese play games regularly, mainly in net cafes. For the most part they are dimly lit, smoke filled, less than clean but crowded and dark with people waiting to use the computer. Most of the places have the windows covered so players really lose a sense of time. Also there, you will find women who work for restaurants constantly roaming around asking to bring food to players. The cost is so inexpensive that most can afford to spend all day there. They are 24/7 operations with zero controls on minimum age of players. Not mention most of them are students, they are willing to skip school to play the games which is unacceptable.

I think the government should have done this earlier. Many of my friends in China are crazy about online gaming. They can live in a internet cafe for couple days just to play the games, they can eat and sleep right there. I definitely see that spending too much time in a fake world, limits what we are capable of doing in the real world.

Some 1.5 million people play World of Warcraft in China

Ez Internet Timer

No doubt that the Internet can be excellent sources of education and entertainment for kids. But the amount of time kids spend online is a source of frustration for many parents. Initially, parents welcomed the Internet into their homes, believing they were opening up an exciting new world of educational opportunities for their children. However, many parents soon realized that, instead of using the Internet for homework or research, their kids were spending hours instant messaging with friends, playing online games, or talking to strangers in chat rooms.

Maintaining a healthy balance between entertainment media and other activities in their children's lives has always been a challenge for parents. The Internet has made this challenge even more difficult.  Please note that the American Academy of Pediatrics's recommendation that parents limit screen time to no more than two hours per day includes Internet, television, videos/DVDs, and video games. So if you are concerned your child may be spending too much time on the Internet or playing games, Ez Internet Timer will offer a solution

Ez Internet Timer is an easy-to-use internet filtering software that provides you control, schedule and filter Internet activity on your or your children PC.  The program will allow you to scheduler the periods of time when kids or employees will have access to the Internet connection on your computer.  Ez Internet Timer is also capable of blocking various Internet based applications like web browsers, chat clients so you can be sure everyone does exactly what he/she says while working on your PC.

You can download a no-cost evaluation version of the Ez Internet Timer from http://www.internettimer.net and give it a test drive.

Control your online game time

No doubt about it — on line games can be excellent source of entertainment. But too much time on it can have unhealthy side effects.That's why it's wise to monitor and limit the time spends on playing gameson the Internet.

Here are some practical ways to make your online-game time more productive.

• Limit the number of online game hours:
  • Finish the online game during meals.
  • Don't allow yourself to play online game untill finish all of your homework.
• Try a weekday ban. Schoolwork, sports activities, and job responsibilities make it tough to find extra time during the week. Save weekday online game time for weekends, and you'll have time to spend on schoolwork,physical activity, and reading during the week.Of course, you will enjoy plenty of time on your online game in weekend.
• It is smart that It's also a good idea to make sureyou have a wide variety of free-time activities like reading, playing with friends, and sports, which can all play a vital part in helping you develop a healthy body and mind.