Blizzard Sues World of Warcraft Bot Maker

[Andy Chalk]

Blizzard Sues World of Warcraft Bot Maker

World of Warcraft [http://www.blizzard.com/], claiming it infringes upon the game's End User License Agreement.

Unlike most bots that are single-task only, Michael Donnelly's BBC [http://www.mmoglider.com/default.aspx]report, Blizzard is claiming the bot infringes upon the game's copyright, and also potentially damages it. In its submission to an Arizona court last week, the developer said, "Blizzard's designs expectations are frustrated, and resources are allocated unevenly, when bots are introduced into the WoW universe, because bots spend far more time in-game than an ordinary players would and consume resources the entire time."

Donnelly, however, claims the software does not infringe Blizzard's copyright because no copy of the World of Warcraft client is ever made. He also claimed that he was completely unaware of any looming legal action until the appearance at his home of a lawyer from World of Warcraft publisher Vivendi Games [http://www.vivendi.com/corp/en/subsidiaries/index_games.php], who told him a complaint would be filed the next day unless he agreed to immediately stop selling Glider and return any profits he made from the software.

Donnelly said more than 100,000 copies of the program have already been sold at a cost of $25 each. Both sides have submitted legal summaries to the court, and are now awaiting a summary judgment in the case.


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[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

I'm siding with Blizzard on this one.

 

[fl3sh]

Agreed, that kind of crap wrecks the game for everyone.

 

[sammyfreak]

Except the chinese economy.

 

[Melaisis]

Pft, its a known fact (And any WoW player would tell you the same thing) that WoW really begins when you hit level 60.

Actually, in retrospective, I enjoyed more of the crawl up to 60 than actually being 60. Then again, I did play on a very welcoming RP-PVP server but when I hit the maximum level, the world turned from a fun-filled place of adventures and hacking the Horde to pieces with 70 other people; to a desperate, lowly place where all I was condemned to do was sit there and spam taunt at bosses in poorly-scripted sequences. I think because of these bots people miss out on the real gaming experience a lot.

Oh, and on even more of a side note: No Australian servers for WoW? Please; you guys have an estimated 20 million population. That's not even a half of the United Kingdom's. Yet we still have to share our servers with the Dutch, Polish, Russians (but not for much longer!), Austrians and Turkish. Suck in your gut and be thankful you only have to be on servers with people who have just slightly different accents to you - not an entire language barrier or four.

 

[General Ma Chao]

Botting makes no sense to me. You download a bot so you can do something to amuse yourself while it plays the game which is "something meant to amuse". (Thank you, Yahtzee) I enjoyed my time in WoW and I don't regret it. It didn't feel like a chore to me at first. Everything was new. I had never played MMOs before. But when my guild expected me to grind instances for stuff just so I could be present for raid bosses, I realized that it was now becoming a chore. That was when I left. If it feels like a chore, DON'T PLAY IT!

 

[Andy Chalk]

I just don't understand the mindset behind the use of something like this. You pay a monthly fee for a game and then you set your computer up to play it unattended? What exactly is the point?

 

[Echolocating]

I just don't understand the mindset behind the use of something like this. You pay a monthly fee for a game and then you set your computer up to play it unattended? What exactly is the point?

I think there's a point at which the player becomes bored with the game, but hasn't really reached an end-game within their minds. The game becomes more habit than true enjoyment (also sunk-cost fallacy?) and the thought of grinding makes them want to puke... but the desire to remain competitive still lingers. Thus, the bot program does have legitimate appeal. It might not be just for crazy people who don't know how to "play WoW."

Then again, I've never played WoW... so maybe it's not a unique and riveting experience that soon grows old before you expect it to causing you to wonder why you're wasting your life on something so mindlessly repetitive, yet beautifully crafted.

 

[Girlysprite]

Pft, its a known fact (And any WoW player would tell you the same thing) that WoW really begins when you hit level 60.

[...]

That?s allot of fucken money for turning people into digital zombies. A yes, Blizzard may say, we made WoW so you could play it in moderation, but any WoW player knows you can't just play WoW in moderation. It's something you have to dedicate yourself to.

First; I never reached level 60, and I play for a year now. I like it. People who say that the game doesn't 'start' until level 60 seem to be a bunch of powergamers to me.

Second: Yes you can play it in moderation. How else do I play for a year and still not reach level 60 with a character? Doing a simple quest takes an hour, maybe two. That including the walking, flying and getting back. That seems moderate and casual enough. But people just don't know when to stop.


Now as for the 'ebul money grabbing' thing...It's just illegal to make money with their product. It's that simple. You aren't allowed to sell ingame gold for real money, it's illegal to sell your characters for real money, and logically, it also isn't allowed to sell programs created for that game for real money.

Besides, programs like this ruin the game for other people. It's a cheat, a hack. It creates unfair advantage to other people that play the game normally and try to enjoy it instead of choring it out. It ruins in-game economy. So way to go Blizzard, you do the right thing by suing that program maker.

 

[Anniko]

Legal solution to a social/technical problem? GG Blizzard, you fail.

Solution to this problem, since it's both a social and technical problem, is a technical solution. They've already got their spyware on peoples computers, why not just ban accounts that have glider.exe running when worldofwarcraft.exe is running?

Now as for the 'ebul money grabbing' thing...It's just illegal to make money with their product. It's that simple. You aren't allowed to sell ingame gold for real money, it's illegal to sell your characters for real money, and logically, it also isn't allowed to sell programs created for that game for real money.

There's nothing illegal about making money with WoW, Blizzard just doesn't like it.

 

[bulletproof12]

i completaly side with blizzard here. they made it and so they should decide what people can and cannot use ingame program wise. especially if it is ToS thing, and if your making money on a bannable ingame offense your a tard.

 

[sammyfreak]

Legal solution to a social/technical problem? GG Blizzard, you fail.

Solution to this problem, since it's both a social and technical problem, is a technical solution. They've already got their spyware on peoples computers, why not just ban accounts that have glider.exe running when worldofwarcraft.exe is running?

Now as for the 'ebul money grabbing' thing...It's just illegal to make money with their product. It's that simple. You aren't allowed to sell ingame gold for real money, it's illegal to sell your characters for real money, and logically, it also isn't allowed to sell programs created for that game for real money.

There's nothing illegal about making money with WoW, Blizzard just doesn't like it.

Actualy, i think it falls under breech of contract.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

LOL @ botnoobs.

Seriously, what's the point of being "level 60" if you don't know the game well enough at that point to use all the flashy powers/abilities? Maybe Blizzard hasn't implemented it best, but the point of the lower levels is to teach players how to play the game gradually. I don't play WoW but it's water-cooler talk here in the office... and it's painfully obvious to those players who has earned their levels by playing and who's bought/botted their way up. (Ahem. "How I mine for fish?")

Just play the game, dammit, and stop fixating on that one number as some sort of "proof of prowess". (Hmm... h3rb@l l3v3litra, anyone?)

-- Steve

 

[Arbre]

Or, on the other hand, why waste hours of your life doing mundane and most meaningless acts in WoW?
Let the bot do that shit, and once you've lvl 60, then you can have fun.
You have no experience? Oh, buggers, you'll train, but now at level 60, and you won't have to literally die in front of your screen doing shit for the sole purpose of upping statistics in a MMO.

Go Bot!

 

[Joe]

Wherein I shamelessly self promote:

A interview with the only guy that was talking about this a while back [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/interviews/1231-Marcus-Eikenberry-on-WoW-Glider-Lawsuit].

 

[Anton P. Nym]

Or, on the other hand, why waste hours of your life doing mundane and most meaningless acts in WoW?

Or, on the gripping hand, why waste hours of your life, money, and electricity to have a bot play a game for you that you don't enjoy? (A point I didn't cover because Malygris got there first.) Would it not be better to go find another game that isn't so grind-tastic if you don't like grinding?

I'll stand by my position that botters are sad pandas paying a premium to appear better at a game that they truly don't seem to enjoy playing too much... and incidentally make the game experience worse for those who do enjoy playing it.

-- Steve

 

[Melaisis]

Wherein I shamelessly self promote:

A interview with the only guy that was talking about this a while back [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/interviews/1231-Marcus-Eikenberry-on-WoW-Glider-Lawsuit].

Ironically, that subject is now actually very useful considering the current situation. Is Marcus thinks Donnelly has enough funds to fight, then will we be seeing a 'Blizzard vs. Donnelly' case very soon? It could be one of the biggest in videogame history if both sides pour in all their resources.