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gaming + (6)

New feature for online MMO puts the player's facial expressions and movements into the game avatar in real time. The player only needs a normal webcam to make the feature work. It also allows the player to alter their voice to fit the character they're playing.
posted by crunchland on Aug 9, 2012 - 25 comments

After starring in First Kid with the immortal Sinbad, Brock Pierce was left wondering what to do with the rest of his life. He decided to set out and make his fortune accumulating and selling items in EverQuest and World of Warcraft.
posted by reenum on Dec 10, 2010 - 54 comments

Are you a gamer-widow? Here is your lonely corner of the internet, with forums and resources to help you find help. Inspired by AskMe.
posted by hermitosis on Mar 28, 2007 - 86 comments

"Virtual Virus Sheds Light on Real-Life Behavior." A researcher at Tufts University's Center for the Modelling of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Nina Fefferman, is studying the behavior of World Of Warcraft players during the recent plague that broke out in Ironforge (discussed on Metafilter here.) But Dr. Fefferman is not the first academic to study MMORPGs seriously. Edward Castronova, an economist, arguably pioneered the field with his 2001 paper Virtual Worlds, in which he argues that the economy in Everquest produced a GNP per capita somewhere between that of Russia and Bulgaria. (He has followed up that paper with many more on similar subjects.)
posted by dersins on Oct 5, 2005 - 9 comments

Dorkstorm: The Annihilation The ten geekiest hobbies
posted by ColdChef on Feb 8, 2005 - 53 comments

Remember Shawn Woolley? In November of 2001, Shawn committed suicide. His mother blamed EverQuest. Others placed the burden on internet addiction. But nobody blamed his computer ...

Nobody, that is, except L K Tucker. According to Mr Tucker, the blinking lights on Shawn's computer triggered an episode of SPVP (Subliminal Peripheral Vision Psychosis ) -- and he may not be the only victim. SPVP could be the culprit behind other college suicides and student disappearances. It manifests in ICUs, yoga sessions and in airplane cockpits -- but rarely in the office. Why, you ask? Because of Cubicle Level Prevention, my friend. Cubicle Level Protection.
posted by grabbingsand on Feb 7, 2005 - 15 comments

Game Theories: Are these virtual worlds the best place to study the real one? The Gross National Product of EverQuest, measured by how much wealth all the players together created in a single year inside the game. It turned out to be $2,266 U.S. per capita. By World Bank rankings, that made EverQuest richer than India, Bulgaria, or China, and nearly as wealthy as Russia. (by Clive Thompson)
posted by hoder on May 17, 2004 - 11 comments

At the recent Digital Games Research Conference held at the University of Utrecht, Netherlands, Florence Chee and Richard Smith presented a paper on Everquest and its implications for addiction policy. Here's the full text and a decent summary here.
posted by Ufez Jones on Nov 7, 2003 - 5 comments

Step #1: play Everquest twelve hours per day. Step #2: shoot yourself in the head. This being America, step #3 is of course: have your mother sue Sony on your behalf. She expects to uncover documents proving Sony knew Everquest is addictive, but maybe she'll just discover why she didn't do more to help her epileptic son as his life spiraled out of control.
posted by tiny pea on Apr 2, 2002 - 29 comments

Everquest kingdom richer than Bulgaria. Norrath, the setting for the online game Everquest, has been found to be the 77th richest country in the world, sandwiched between Russia and Bulgaria. Research carried out in the United States shows that virtual internal markets, combined with illegal online trading on auction websites, mean that Norrath has a gross national product per capita of $2,266, bigger than China and India.
posted by ncurley on Mar 30, 2002 - 16 comments

Everquest claims a child's life, from the fatal neglect of a game-addicted father. Sentenced to 15 years in prison, the deadbeat dad squeezed his 9-month-old son and left him in a utility closet for over 24 hours while he played online. According to the prosecution, his son's crying was distracting him from the game.

I've been addicted to games before, and Everquest definitely has a reputation for being one of the most addictive games ever, but this is just evil.
posted by waxpancake on Jan 5, 2001 - 10 comments

Everquest guide suicides. Or maybe not. No one's really sure. Is this why they call it "Ever-Crack"? [ From Salon via Flutterby. ]
posted by baylink on Nov 27, 2000 - 16 comments

EverQuest is just a game right? At what point do you play it so much that is becomes your life? And just what does it take to be a player?
posted by john on Nov 21, 2000 - 5 comments