Just by sheer statistical reality many of our readers have to have journeyed the world of Azeroth.  1 in every 25 people in the United States plays World of Warcraft, and being that Digital Society has a techcentric focus that rate is most likely drastically higher.

I am personally an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) player, though I have never carried out any battles with the Lich King.  Dare I say that I always considered WoW to be slightly more “arcadey” than I liked.  (I can already hear the hate mail being typed.)  Where I can connect with the WoW faithful is the fact that I spent roughly 6 years actively engaged in Final Fantasy XI Online.  Which second to EVE Online is arguably one of the most difficult MMO’s to advance within in the history of the genre.

Why this is important to the conversation is that because of this simple fact I fully understand the time, both wasted and efficiently used, the trials, hardships, failures, successes, grit, and determination that it takes players of WoW to reach what is commonly known as “end game” of the MMO cabal.  End game is essentially the point in any MMO when a player can no longer increase in level and are then capable of fighting the most notorious of monsters and enemies usually requiring a great league of players working cooperatively to bring down.

This journey to “end game” is much like a fraternity hazing.  This may sound ridiculous to the uninitiated, but those that climb the ladder spend weeks and sometimes months doing so.  The process can even take longer for those that need to stop to collect certain equipment or items necessary to continue their climb.  But there are occasionally methods that come about that allow users to usurp this “grind”.  And generally speaking, the hazed, and additionally, the ownership (i.e. Blizzard) do not find this amenable.

Understanding the pathos of the journeymen (and women) of the realm of Azeroth, and the background of their story and plight, the curtain can then be lifted on the most recent antagonist, the beast known as Glider.

As the front page of mmoglider.com will explain: “Glider is a tool that plays your World of Warcraft character for you, the way you want it.  It grinds, it loots, it skins, it heals… without you.”  Glider is a program that takes siege to certain code in WoW allowing the software, often referred to as a “bot” to play your game while you go to work or school or hang out with your girlfriend (cough) watching a movie.

The concern here is obvious for Blizzard.  The bot circumvents their code.  The concern for much of the player base is obvious.  The bot circumvents the hazing ritual that is part of the games journey up the ladder.  Furthermore, there is always concern that bots will be used to hoard (sorry) massive amounts of in game currency that will then be sold via illegal online gold selling websites and ultimately destable the economy.  For some it’s not such a big deal as Penny-Arcade’s Jerry Holkins points out:

Back in the day, I resented all manner of gold selling on the foundation that it had some kind of effect on my own experience by destabilizing the economy. Is that true? I don’t know, and I honestly doubt it.  It’s entirely possible that I was just dressing up some kind of appeal to a digital manifestation of the Puritan work ethic – the idea that someone, somewhere was getting either their money for nothing, or their kicks for free.  On the other hand, the scenarios described in the WoW Glider FAQ don’t seem unreasonable to me, and solve what I see as problems with the core product. Being able to succeed at all in the higher levels requires specific roles with the appropriate levels and equipment, and a point of failure on the social side of this game can keep you from getting the most out of your subscription. But, I mean, good Christ. It’s not like bots let you play the game without paying your fifteen dollars a month.  It’s not (in the ragged parlance of the youth) “hax.”

Though Blizzard digresses, and of course recently took the issue to court.  Gamerlaw.com has a fascinating break down of the entire trial.  But what really hits home is that in the last year video game law has had major precedents established.

Recall that earlier this year in Vernor v Autodesk that the court decided that “gamers” don’t really own any of their games.  They in fact own a license of said game.

Now Jas Purewal at GamerLaw points out that this case is another revolutionary decision because Blizzard claimed that Glider was a copyright infringement.  The claim was made that since the End User License Agreement (EULA) for WoW prohibits bots, then a copyright infringement had occurred.  The court ruled that it was not a copyright infringement but was simply a contract violation.  However, since Glider was designed to circumvent anti-bot software within the WoW game, Glider had violated the Digital Millenium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) anti-circumvention laws.  So the software is still technically banned.

The end game of this particular case raises some interesting questions.  And future bot makers could actually be legally allowed to sell their bots if their software does not circumvent any part of a games software in order to work.  If that is the case, a bot maker could be legally allowed to sell and profit off of the software even though the individual user of the purchased software would likely be the one in contempt of violating their contract via no third-party software usage of a games EULA.

If you’re a WoW player, or play another MMO, tell us your thoughts on botting in the comments section. Is it something that doesn’t really affect the game, or do you feel that it breaks the game?  If so, in what way? Social, economic, contractual, etc?

[Cross-posted at Digital Society]