Bots, Glider, and WoW
Glider is a botting program for World of Warcraft which plays one's WoW character for them. Blizzard has recently decided to crack down on Glider and so legally put a stop to it. This legal action has sparked a debate regarding bots and the utilization thereof.
The simple solution to this conflict is that using Glider violates the World of Warcraft EULA and so Blizzard ought to be able to shut down Glider. However, rather than focus on the legal components of the story and cite to one another sections of the EULA I think a more interesting discussion could be had by focusing on the reasons for which people use Glider and the impact of Glider on the WoW community.
What do you think? Is it problematic for Glider to turn WoW into Progress Quest? Are players justified in using a botting program to bypass the need to farm gold and items? Is use of Glider indicative of some flaw in the game? Ought Blizzard offer its own version of Glider?
Feel free to take your replies beyond WoW. What of botting itself? What of, by extension, the utilization of codes, exploits, character builders, or other means by which players bypass certain aspects of the game?
Discuss!
6 comments:
I think the worst argument is: "I put in the time to get to 70. You should have to put in the time as well."
I think that sense of earning one's place is problematic; it places part of the joy of reaching an end on the effort required to get there. When others can bypass that effort (though bots) the individual who invested the effort feels cheated.
I have put forth a lot of time and effort to get my gear in WoW. If someone else could obtain the gear I have without that same investment of time I would feel cheated. But this feeling is based upon the notion that somehow my playtime has been an investment in a character which itself is indicative of an achievement. In some sense I believe that my character in WoW has an inherent meaning.
And, really? That's a pretty delusional and idiotic position to maintain given how trivial these games really are.
But when a person thinks that there is meaning in the game they are blinded to the triviality and harbor this delusion of meaning and purpose.
Which is pretty stupid.
My great grandmother lived in Greensboro Vermont, and her house has stayed in the family. When we visit, we shop at a place called Willie's, an ancient general store with uneven wooden floors and a single gas pump outside. It's a nice change to go to Willie's because even if it's only an illusion, it seems like a real place with people who are really interested in owning a general store. If there were a Wal-Mart in Greensboro, Willie's would probably disappear as people traded their unique store for a corporate branch with lower prices and clerks who are just trying to get through their shift.
The difference between a local store and a chain is, to me, somewhat similar to a player made character and one that is the result of a bot or a trainer. It can take a lot of work to make a bot, but once it works, the work is over not only for the bot maker, but for everyone who decides to use it. Before long the world is overrun with copies or franchises and the people who care about the game or store-owning are pushed out to make room for guys who are just trying to make a buck or get some loot.
If Blizzard wants to be Vermont and make sure that no Wal-Marts are built, then I support them, because they're doing their part to ensure that the practically worthless things aren't made completely worthless.
@MA17: that is a really good analogy. i would disagree with the use of the word "useless" because there is some value, however fleeting and artificial, to WoW accounts and the people who play them.
If there wasn't value, than people wouldn't play the game, nor would people run bots/trainers or buy gold or accounts on ebay.
it is far less tangible than the "real" value in economic terms. in cultural studies we have a concept called "cultural capital." At first this applied to the value an education had to a person. Educated people know about Plato and Philosophy, literature etc. This knowledge translated into a value that help one get a better job, more money and raise socially. Later on people began applying it to other sorts of knowledge; this knowledge did not have value in a broad community, instead within a niche community.
WoW characters work the same way. You get standing in culture of WoW in two ways: high level and Loot One can get this stuff either though work (education) or through bots/trainers/ebay. To a wide community either can pass for the same value to a community. But ones someone find out that you bought a level 70 character on ebay (or used a bot) - that capital is lot. You lose standing in the community (or part of the community)
I like the Wal-Mart / Vermont analogy. But I don't know how much of that is an illusion.
I have over 50 days /played on my character which translates to 1200 hours. When a person has spent that much time playing a character it would be quite bizarre for them to not have a sense of attachment.
But if a player could make a character or obtain a character similar to mine without those 1200 hours of playtime then...
And that is the question. Because we can go so many different places from that situation.
Knowledge
Some might argue that in playing a character for 1200 hours one gains knowledge of how to play that character. But this is not necessarily the case. Plenty of dipshits have played for longer than I and still do not know how to play their class. Additionally, 1/2 of that playtime, for me at least, was spent getting my character to 70. If I had spent 1200 hours at 70 rather than 600 hours at 70 it is possible that I would be more knowledgeable of playing a level 70 character.
The point of the game
Some might argue that the point of the game is the experience of leveling a character, of finding and exploring new areas as one obtains new gear and skills. But this could easily be changed. If everyone botted or if players could start the game with level 70 characters and full Tier 6 gear then the focus of the game would switch from the pursuit of that gear to what one could do with that gear.
Spoiling the game for others
If another person uses a bot then my gameplay experience is somehow lessened.
I often use this sort of argument but I'll happily admit that often it is simply the case that I'm being an asshole. Example. There are items in the game (Badges of Justice) that can be used to buy higher quality gear. Before the latest patch these could only be obtained from certain high level instances to which not everyone had access. Now Badges of Justice are available from far more instances, drop in greater number, and are rewards for quests that any jackass with a level 70 character and a pulse can do.
And that pisses me the fuck off. Because I did the difficult instances pre-2.4 and so amassed a collection of Badges of Justice so that I could have better gear. But now far more people have access to these Badges and they are far easier to obtain. Other people don't have to jump through the hoops I had to jump through to get the treat.
But that right there? That's just me being an elitist asshole.
And in a lot of ways that is the source of bot-hate. Players argue that since they had to jump through hoops and spend hours leveling and gearing their character then everyone else needs to do that as well.
And if we are to learn anything from the Badge of Justice example it is that one need not jump through the same hoops to obtain the same treat.
I don't know which side of the argument is justified. But I'm pretty sure that both sides use their arguments to mask what is fundamentally a selfish argument. Pro-bot players want to make reaching the end game and obtaining loot easier. Anti-bot players want to ensure that their status can be maintained over "lesser" players.
And I think an uninvolved third party would look at the situation and just walk away.
I would assume that from Blizzard's point of view, not having bots is just good business. Given that they rely on monthly subscriptions for their income, it makes sense for them to maintain the system that requires 1200+ hours to make a great character and retains the resultant feeling of attachment one must certainly feel with that character. It wouldn't make sense for them to allow anyone to streamline the process as that would probably translate to fewer months spent playing.
Also:
You know, with Diablo II there's single player, open multiplayer, and closed multiplayer (realms). The last being the one that is most strictly overseen by Blizzard to prevent cheating, with the character/inventory file residing on Blizzard's servers for this purpose. It might be nice if WoW had some sort of equivalent system in place to allow people who want to hack a maxed out character to do so without compromising the perceived integrity of closed multiplayer.
The profit argument is interesting because it delves into why people play the game. If a player could start with a level 70 character and high level gear would people still play for as long as they do? Would a person spend 1200+ hours playing the game if they already had the highest level loot?
I don't think WoW would work as single player. But a few realms where people could make level 70 characters with Tier 6 gear would be interesting. Though, those would probably eventually turn into PVP servers. And, really, that's what the new Arena Tournament is.
Hmm.
People who play to play probably wouldn't bot.
People who play to increase their epeen through gear probably wouldn't stick around long once they had obtained that gear.
I think the only people who would bot and then play for prolonged periods of time would be the Player-vs-Player crowd.
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