A detailed map of Stormwind vendors and trainers

Thanks to all those who’ve provided positive feedback on these maps. I thought it was time to cover Stormwind, so here it is.

(full size version here)

Ref	Name	Vendor/s or other key NPCs	Trainer/s
A	Stormwind	Guild Master (Aldwin Laughlin)
	Visitor’s Center	Tabard Designer (Rebecca Laughlin)
B	Trias’ Cheese	Mistress of Cheese (Elaine Trias)
		Apprentice of Cheese (Ben Trias)
C	Pestle’s Apothecary	Reagents (Kyra Boucher)
		Alchemy Supplies & Reagents (Keldric Boucher)
		Morgan Pestle
D	Everyday	General Goods (Thurman Mullby)
	Merchandise	Trade Supplies (Edna Mullby)
E	Weller’s Arsenal	Weapons Merchant (Marda Weller)	Weapon Master (Woo Ping)
		Weapons Merchant (Gunther Weller)
F	Lionheart	Cloth Armor Merchant (Carla Granger)
	Armory	Leather Armor Merchant (Lara Moore)
		Mail Armor Merchant (Aldric Moore)
G	Auction House	Auctioneers
H	The Gilded Rose	Innkeeper Allison
I	Stormwind	Bankers
	Counting House	Guild Vaults
J	The Empty	Bow & Gun Merchant (Lina Stover)
	Quiver	Bow & Arrow Merchant (Frederick Stover)
K	Barber Shop	Barber (Jelinek Sharpshear)
L	Unnamed	Flight Master (Dungar Longdrink)
M	Fragrant Flowers	Florist (Bernard Gump)
		Herbalism Supplies (Felicia Gump)
N	Canal Tailor	Clothier (Lisbeth Schneider)
	& Fit Shop
O	Gallina Winery	Wine Vendor (Julia Gallina)
		Merlot Connoisseur (Roberto Pupellyverbos)
P	Unnamed	Enchanting Supplies (Jessara Cordell)	Enchanting Trainer (Lucan Cordell)
Q	Unnamed	Librarian (Adair Gilroy)
R	Unnamed	Inscription Supplies (Stanly McCormick)	Inscription Trainer (C. Stanford)
			Lexicon of Power
S	Pyrotechnics	Fireworks Vendor (Darian Singh)
T	The Slaughtered	Bartender (Jarel Moor)
	Lamb
U	Downstairs in	Master Shadoweave Tailor (Jalane Ayrole)	Warlock Trainer (Demisette Cloyce)
	Slaughtered Lamb		Warlock Trainer (Ursula Deline)
			Warlock Trainer (Sandahl)
V	Ancient Curios	Arcane Trinkets Vendor (Charys Yserian)
W	Essential	Reagents (Owen Vaughn)
	Components
X	Larson Clothiers	Hatter (Evan Larson)
		Robe Merchant (Wynne Larson)
Y	The Blue Recluse	Bartender (Joachim Brenlow)
Z	Wizards’ Sanctum		Master Mage (Maginor Dumas)
			Mage Trainer (Jennea Cannon)
			Mage Trainer (Elsharin)
2	The Park (East)	Stable Master (Sylista)
3	Unnamed		Herbalism Trainer (Shylamiir)
4	The Park (Central)		Druid Trainer (Sheldras Moontree)
			Druid Trainer (Maldryn)
			Priest Trainer (Nara Meideros)
5	Stormwind Harbor	Ship to Auberdine (Darnassus)
	(South West)
6	Stormwind Harbor	Ship to Valiance Keep (Borean Tundra)
	(North West)
7	The Finest Thread	Nil
8	City Hall	Stormwind Census (Royal Factor Bathrilor)-(U)
		City Architect (Baros Alexston)
9	The Argent Dawn	Nil
10	Stormwind	Orphan Matron Nightingale
	Orphanage
11	Righteous Plates	Mail Armor Merchant (Agustus Moulaine)
		Robe Vendor (Theresa Moulaine)
12	Just Maces	Staff & Mace Merchant (Gregory Ardus)
13	Cathedral of Light	Scarlet Crusade Emissary (Brother Crowley)	Priest Trainer (Brother Benjamin)
		Reagents Vendor (Brother Cassius)	Priest Trainer (Brother Joshua)
			Priest Trainer (High Priestess Laurena)
			Paladin Trainer (Katherine the Pure)
			Paladin Trainer (Arthur the Faithful)
			Paladin Trainer
			(Lord Grayson Shadowbreaker)
14	Unnamed	Stable Master (Jenova Stoneshield)	Pet Trainer (Jerrena Mekenda)
			Hunter Trainer (Einris Brightspear)
			Hunter Trainer (Ulfir Ironbeard)
			Hunter Trainer (Thorfin Stoneshield)
15	Deeprun Tram
	Entrance
16	Dwarven District	Engineering Supplies (Billibub Cogspinner)	Engineering Trainer (L. Sparkspindle)
	(North)
17	Unnamed	Guns Vendor (Thulman Flintcrag)
18	Unnamed	Axe Merchant (Kathrum Axehand)	Weaponsmith Trainer (B.Steelhand)
19	Unnamed	Mining Supplies (Brooke Stonebraid)	Mining Trainer (Gelman Stonehand)
20	Dwarven District	Blacksmithing Supplies (Kaita Deepforge)	Blacksmithing Trainer (T.Deepforge)
	(Central)	Locksmith (Benik Boltshear)
21	Stormwind Keep	Battleground Battlemasters
22	The Silver Shield	Shield Merchant (Bryan Cross)
23	Thane’s Boots	Cobbler (Mayda Thane)
24	The Protective Hide	Leatherworking Supplies (Jillian Tanner)	Leatherworking Trainer (S. Tanner)
		Bag Vendor (Alyssa Griffith)	Skinning Trainer (Maris Granger)
		Leather Armor Merchant (Seoman Griffith)
25	Limited Immunity	Heavy Armor Merchant (Osric Strang)
		Mail Armor Merchant (Wilhelm Strang)
26	Honest Blades	Blade Merchant (Heinrich Stone)
27	Heavy Handed	Two Handed Weapon Merchant
	Weapons	(Gerik Koen)
28	Pig and Whistle	Tavern Keeper (Reese Langston)	Master of Cooking Recipes
	Tavern	Barmaid (Elly Langston)	(Kendor Kabonka)
29	Command Center		Rogue Trainer (Osborne Night Man)
	(Outer)
30	Command Center		Warrior Trainer (Ilsa Corbin)
	(North East)		Warrior Trainer (Wu Shen)
			Warrior Trainer (Ander Germaine)
31	Champion’s Hall	Officer Accessories Quartermaster
		Jewelcrafting Quartermaster (Capt O’Neal)
		Weapons Quartermaster (Lt Jackspring)
		Mount Vendor (Lt Karter)
		Armor Quartermaster x 3 (one upstairs)
		Apprentice Armor Quartermaster
		Veteran Armor Quartermaster (Lt Tristia)
32	SI:7	Shady Dealer (Jasper Fel)	Rogue Trainer (Lord Tony Romano)
		Poison Supplies (Sloan McCoy)

Popularity: 1% [?]

A detailed map of Silvermoon City vendors and trainers

(Once again – apologies to non-World of Warcrafters) It’s time for a third map. This time it’s a Horde map: Silvermoon City. As always, comments on omissions very welcome. Enjoy.

Ref	Name	Vendor/s or other key NPCs	Trainer/s
A	Inn	Innkeeper (Jovia)
B	Inn (upstairs)	Cooking Supplies (Quelis)	Cooking (Sylann)
C	Bank	Silvermoon City Commendations (Officer Dawning)
		Bankers
		Guild Vault
D	The Bazaar	Shield Merchant (Winthren)
	(South)	Plate Armor Merchant (Tynna)
		Mail Armor Merchant (Keeli)
E	The Bazaar	Reagents (Zalle)
	(West)	General Goods (Sathren Azuredawn)
F	The Bazaar	Axe Vendor (Feledis)
	(North-West)	Blade Vendor (Rahein)
G	The Bazaar	Leather Armor Merchant (Noraelath)
	(North-West)	Blunt Weapon Merchant (Welethelon)
H	The Bazaar	Horde Cloth Quartermaster (Sorim Lightsong)	Tailoring (Keelen Sheets)
	(North)	Tailoring Supplies (Deynna)
		Apprentice Tailor (Galana)
I	The Bazaar	Fireworks Vendor (Bithrus)
	(North)
J	The Bazaar	Bag Vendor (Rathin)
	(North-East)	Clothier (Andra)
		Cloth Armor Merchant (Zyandrel)
K	The Bazaar	Tradesman (Parnis)
	(East)	Battleground Emissaries
L	The Bazaar	Auction House
	(Central)	Auctioneers
M	Walk of Elders		Druid Trainer (Harene Plainwalker)
	(North)
N	Walk of Elders	Wand Vendor (Zathanna)
	(Upper West)	Alchemy Supplies & Reagents (Velanni)
O	Walk of Elders	Battleground Emissaries
	(South-West)	Minstrel Manager (Michael Schweitzer)
P	Walk of Elders	Guild Master (Tandrine)
	(South)	Tabard Vendor (Kredis)
Q	Walk of Elders	Leatherworking Supplies (Zaralda)	Leatherworking (Talmar)
	(South-East)		Skinning (Tyn)
R	Walk of Elders	Jewelcrafting Supplies (Gelanthis)	Jewelcrafting (Kalinda)
	(East)
S	Walk of Elders	Fishing Supplies (Olirea)	First Aid (Alestus)
	(North-East)		Fishing (Drathen)
T	Auction House	Auctioneers
U	Bank	Bankers and Guild Vault
V	Inn	Innkeeper (Valandra)
		Wine & Spirits Merchant (Vinemaster Suntouched)
W	Royal Exchange	Battleground Emissaries
	(Central)
X	Fastriders’ Square	Gunsmith (Mathaleron)
	(Inner-East)	Bowyer (Celana)
Y	Blood Knight HQ	Weapon Master (Ileda)	Paladin Trainer (Champion Bachi)
			Paladin Trainer (Osselan)
			Paladin Trainer (Ithelis)
Z	Blood Knight HQ	Arena Master and all Battlemasters
	(Inner)
2	Fastriders’ Square	Stable Master (Shalenn)	Pet Trainer (Halthenis)
	(North)		Hunter Trainer (Tana)
			Hunter Trainer (Oninath)
			Hunter Trainer (Zandine)
3	Fastriders’ Square	Engineering Supplies (Yatheon)	Engineering Trainer (Danwe)
	(South-West)
4	Fastriders’ Square	Blacksmithing Supplies (Eriden)	Blacksmithing Trainer (Bemarrin)
	(Central)
5	Fastrider’s Square	Mining Supplies (Zelan)	Mining Trainer (Belil)
	(South)
6	The Sanctum		Warlock Trainer (Zanien)
			Warlock Trainer (Alamma)
			Warlock Trainer (Talionia)
7	Murder Row	Poison Supplies (Darlia)	Rogue Trainer (Nerisen)
	(North-East)		Rogue Trainer (Elara)
			Rogue Trainer (Zelanis)
8	Court of the Sun	Enchanting Supplies (Lyna)	Enchanting Trainer (Sedana)
	(North-East)	Inscription Supplies (Lelorian)	Inscription Trainer (Zantasia)
		Lexicon of Power
9	Sunfury Spire		Priest Trainer (Lotheolan)
	(West)		Priest Trainer (Belestra)
			Priest Trainer (Aldrae)
10	Sunfury Spire		Portal Trainer (Narinth)
	(East)		Mage Trainer (Zaedana)
			Mage Trainer (Inethven)
			Mage Trainer (Quithas)
11	Outside City Gates	Flight Master (Skymistress Gloaming)
	(West)

Popularity: 3% [?]

A detailed map of Shattrath vendors and trainers

(Again – apologies to non-World of Warcrafters). Due to the huge response to our Dalaran Map, it’s time for another. This time it’s Shattrath. As always, please post an omissions on the comments.

Ref	Name	Vendor/s or other key NPCs	Trainer/s
A	Terrace of Light	Nil	Portal Trainer (Iorioa)
	(East)		Portal: Exodar
			Portal: Silvermoon City
B	Terrace of Light	Nil	Portal: Thunder Bluff
	(South)		Portal: Ogrimmar
			Portal: Undercity
C	Terrace of Light	Sha’tari Quartermaster (Almaador)	Portal: Isle of Quel’Danas
	(West)	Jewelcrafting Supplies (Ontuvo)
		Weapons and Armorsmith (Anwehu)
D	Terrace of Light		Portal: Stormwind
	(North)		Portal: Darnassus
			Portal: Ironforge
E	Terrace of Light	Sha’tari Recruitment Officer (Yuula)
	(Outer East)	Flightmaster (Nutral)
F	Bank (Aldor)	Aldor Quartermaster (Endarin)
		Aldor Inscriptions (Saalyn)
		Aldor Apothecary (Haldor the Compulsive)
		Banker and Guild Vault
G	Bank (Scryers)	Scryers Quartermaster (Enuril)
		Scryers Inscriptions (Veredis)
		Scryers Apothecary (Xorith)
		Banker and Guild Vault
H	The Seer’s Library	Keeper of Sha’Tari Artifacts (Arodis Sunblade)	Enchanting (Volali) (U)
		Keeper of Sha’Tari Heirlooms (Veynna Dawnstar)	Master Enchanting (Bardolan) (U)
I	Scryer’s Tier	Wine Vendor (Alamaro)
	(Rear)	Reagents Vendor (Amshesha Stilldark)
		Enchanting Supplies (Yurial Soulwater)
J	Scryer’s Tier	Dagger Vendor (Mahir Redstroke)
	(East)	Fence – Gem vendor (Lisrythe Bloodwatch)
		Innkeeper Haelthol
		Stablemaster (Ilthuril)
		Trade Goods (Trader Endernor)
K	Scryer’s Tier		Master Inscription (Lanloer)
	(Shattrath East)		Master Enchanting (Andiala)
			Master Jewelcrafting (K. Silvermane)
			Master Mining (Hanlir)
L	Scryer’s Tier	General Goods (Nalama)
	(Inner East)	Staff Vendor (Urumir Stavebright)
M	Scryer’s Tier	Wand Vendir (Quelama Lightblade)
	(Inner West)	Sword Vendor (Selanam the Blade)
N	Scryer’s Tier		Master Herbalism (Botanist Alaenra)
	(West)		Master Alchemy (Aelthin)
O	Scryer’s Tier	Specialty Ammunition Vendor (Archer Delvinar)	Master Leatherworking (Daenril)
	(Shattrath West)		Master Tailoring (Miralisse)
			Master Skinning (Irduil)
			Master Blacksmithing (Barien)
			Master Engineering (Engineer Sinbei)
P	Aldor Rise	Engineering Supplies (Technician Halmaha)
	(South)	Stable Master (Oruhu)
		Food and Drink Vendor (Garul)
		Innkeeper (Minalei)
Q	Aldor Rise		Master Inscription (Recorder Lidio)
	(Shattrath South)		Master Enchanting (Zurii)
			Master Jewelcrafting (Nemiha)
			Master Mining (Fono)
R	Shrine of	Keeper of Sha’Tari Artifacts (Asuur)
	Unending Light	Keeper of Sha’Tari Heirlooms (Kelara)
S	Aldor Rise	Staff Vendor (Ahemen)	Master Jewelcrafting (Hamanar)
	(North)	Jewelcrafting Supplies Vendor (Inessera)
T	Aldor Rise	Specialty Ammunition Vendor (Marksman Bova)	Master Herbalism (Jijia)
	(Shattrath North)		Master Alchemy (Alchemist Kanhu)
			Master Leatherworking (Korim)
			Master Tailoring (Weaver Aoa)
			Master Skinning (Dremm)
			Master Blacksmithing (Onodo)
			Master Engineering (Technician Mihila)
U	Lower City (West)	“Dirty” Larry
V	Lower City	Alchemy Supplies (Skreah) – first level	Master Alchemy (Lorokeem)
	(’Treehouse 1′)	Poison Supplied (Karokka) – top level
W	Lower City West	Blade Merchant (Lissaf)
	(’Treehouse 2′)
X	Lower City (North)	Fish Merchant (Oloraak)
Y	Lower City (East)	Wind Trader Lathrai
Z	World’s End Tavern	Haris Pilton – ‘Socialite’	Rogue Academy Proprietor
		Bartender and Barmaid	(Lonika Stillblade)
2	Lower City		Armorsmith Trainer (Zula Slagfury)
	(Inner East)		Weaponsmith Trainer (K. Grimblade)
3	Lower City	Arena Battlemaster (Kixi the Shiv)
	(South East)	Arena Battlemaster (’Backstab’ Bindo Gearbomb)
4	Lower City	Horde Battlemasters
	(Inner South East)	(all battlegrounds)
5	Lower City	Trade Goods (Ernie Packwell)	Master Leatherworking (Damari)
	(South)	Leatherworking Supplies (Cro Threadstrong)	Cook (Jack Trapper)
		Spellfire Specialist (Gidge Spellweaver)	Master Skinning (Seymour)
		Mooncloth Specialist (Nasmara Moonsong)
		Specialty Tailoring Supplies (Eiin)
		Amazing Amulets (Griftah)
		Engineering Supplies (Viggz Shinesparked)
		Reagents (Fantei)
		Blacksmithing Supplies (Aaron Hollman)
		Fruit Seller (Granny Smith)
		Enchanting Supplies (Madame Ruby)
		Cooking Supplies (Jim Saltit)
		Lower City Quartermaster (Nakodu)
		Bread Merchant (Muffin Man Moser)
		Meat Vendor (Brendan Turner)
		General Goods (Eral)

Popularity: 3% [?]

A detailed map of Dalaran vendors and trainers

For non World of Warcraft players, you may want to skip this story, but for those who do partake of the odd hour of WoW, you’ll know how frustrating it can be at times finding vendors in cities. Today, I was trying to find a particular vendor in Dalaran and couldn’t find them, so went Googling for a detailed map. I realised there was nothing as visual as I preferred, so spent a couple of hours putting this version together. Every vendor and trainer I could find is in the list (please leave any omissions in the comments) – enjoy!

Ref	Name	Vendor/s	Trainer/s
A	Tanks for Everything	Blacksmithing Supplies	Armorsmithing
		Plate Armor Merchant	Grand Master Blacksmithing
		Shield Merchant	Weaponsmithing
B	Forge of Fate	Nil	Nil
C	All That Glitters	Mining Supplies	Grand Master Mining
	Prospecting Co.
D	Like Clockwork	Engineering Supplies	Grand Master Engineering
			Goblin Engineering
			Gnome Engineering
E	Legendary Leathers	Fur and Leather Trader	Grand Master Skinning
		Leatherworking & Skinning Supplies	Grand Master Leatherworking
			Elemental Leatherworking (U)
			Dragonscale Leatherworking (U)
			Tribal Leatherworking (U)
F	Talismanic Textiles	Mooncloth Tailoring Specialist	Grand Master Tailoring
		Spellfire Tailoring Specialist
		Tailoring Supplies
		Shadoweave Tailoring Specialist (U)
G	First to Your Aid	First Aid Supplies	Grand Master First Aid
H	Simply Enchanting	Enchanting Supplies	Grand Master Enchanting
		Shard Trader
I	The Wonderworks	Toymaker
		Clockwork Assistant
J	The Threads of Fate	Cloth Armor Merchant	Cobbler (U)
		Clothier	Haberdasher (U)
			Cloaks (U)
K	Cartier & Co	Jewelcrafting Supplies	Grand Master Jewelcrafting
	Fine Jewelry	Jewelry Vendor
L	The Agronomical	Alchemy Supplies	Grand Master Alchemy
	Apothecary
M	Unnamed	Herbalism Supplies	Grand Master Herbalism
N	The Scribes’ Sacellum	Ink Trader	Grand Master Inscription
		Inscription Supplies
O	The Legerdemain	Innkeeper
	Lounge	Assistant Innkeeper (U)
		Barmaid
		Bartender
P	Aimee	Pie, Pastry and Cakes
Q	The Bank of Dalaran	Banker x 3
		Guild vault
R	Barbershop	Barber
S	One More Glass	Wine Vendor
		Bread & Cheese Vendor
T	Magical Menagerie	Pet Supplies
		Stable Master
		Exotic Mount Vendor
U	The Violet Gate		Portal Trainer
			Mage Trainer
V	The Hunter’s Reach	Bowyer
		Gunsmith
		Specialty Ammunition
W	Aerith Primrose	Flower Vendor
X	Dalaran Visitor Center	Guild Master
		Tabard Vendor
		City Historian
Y	The Arsenal Absolute	Sword Merchant
		Axe & Polearm Merchant
		Mace Merchant (U)
Z	Glorious Goods	General Goods
		Trade Supplies
2	Langrom’s Leather	Mail Armor Merchant
	& Links	Leather Armor Merchant
3	The Militant Mystic	Wands Merchant
		Staves Merchant
4	Curiosities & Moore	Trinkets & Charms Vendor
		Relics Vendor (U)
		Offhand Offerings (U)
5	A Hero’s Welcome	Innkeeper
		Barmaid
		Brewmaiden
6	Applebough	Fruit Vendor
7	Sisters Sorcerous	Reagent Merchant
		Magical Goods Vendor
8	The Silver Enclave	Emblem of Valor Quartermaster (U)
		Emblem of Heroism Quartermaster (U)
		Emblem of Conquest Quartermaster (U)
9	The Violet Citadel	Kirin Tor Quartermaster (U)
		Caverns of Time Portal
		Purple Parlor Portal
10	The Silver Enclave	Portals to all cities and battlegrounds
11	The Underbelly	Poison Vendor
	Entrance (leads to)	Tools of the Trade Vendor
		Reagents & Magical Goods Vendor (number 11 is missing off map sorry – entrance is just below G & H
12	Krasus’ Landing	Flight Master	Cold Weather Flying

(You can view the full size version here)

If enough people find this useful I’m happy to put one together for another city.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Metaplace impressions

At The Metaverse Journal, we’ve followed Metaplace closely and covered its beta phase previously. Senior contributor Tateru Nino was asked to put Metaplace through its paces to ensure we haven’t been too starry-eyed about its potential – Editor.

Still in beta, Metaplace still has some rough edges and glitches, but it is certainly coming along very nicely.  The look and feel of Metaplace mostly calls to mind the isometric 2D games of the mid 1990s. That’s very much the look and feel of much of it, though it is in a considerably higher resolution than the game titles of yesteryear.

You could be forgiven for thinking its areas as strikingly similar in some ways to the tactical maps of the old X-Com game series. It runs conveniently in a browser, and is entirely Flash-based, downloading what it needs, when it needs it.

Metaplace is divided into worlds. Each world being more or less a variably-sized map, viewed in a variety of ways and interconnected into a larger, multidimensional abstract geometry. There’s no broader landscape, and no particularly enormous spaces. Like – say – Richard Garriott’s Ultima VII, there’s an internal sense of the three-dimensionality of objects, but it is primarily a two-dimensional experience. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Metaplace’s strengths appear to be largely organized around social and gaming. Metaplace strongly supports the creation of spaces, particularly gaming spaces. Objects are almost trivially easy to create within metaplace, and the system actively supports a variety of relatively painless ways to get content into the system.

If you want, for example, a boat, the system will offer to take your search to Google 3D Warehouse, where you can simply select one of the available models, and Metaplace will do all the heavy lifting to import it for you. A useful variety of behaviours can be added to objects with just a few clicks, and no-scripting, and there’s support for more intricate systems as well.

Views of spaces can be customized, UI widgets can be added. There’s a great deal of support for building game-spaces, and if I were able to spare the time for making a game, Metaplace is definitely where I’d want to be doing it.

Metaplace tracks experience (‘metacred’, actually) and assigns levels, keeping track of the basic types of activities you indulge in. People can tell at a glance if you’re a socializer, explorer or builder by nature – though hardly anyone actually seems to pay attention to that. You gain metacred and presently also coins (for the economy prototype) by, well, socializing, exploring and building, basically.

Some issues still present themselves, of course.

The economy and monetisation of the platform is still in the early stages. It’s “soft-launched”, if you like, and users are still in the early days of getting to grips with the potential of the platform. Much of the content you’ll see is still under construction.

The urge to right-click – for context menus and the like – is almost overwhelming, but of course that just brings up the options for Adobe’s Flash Player. Some of your basic tools can be a little erratic. Sometimes your mouse scroll-wheel will function to zoom in or out of a scene, and sometimes – well – it just won’t. Even left-clicking on things can be somewhat erratic.

Likewise, we’ve had a few issues with setting properties on objects and getting those to actually stick. The further you are from Metaplace in network terms, the more erratically it seems to behave.

That said, Metaplace is still early in the beta stage, and we’ve got every confidence that its various teething problems will continue to sort themselves out. We’re definitely looking forward to seeing how the platform, the economy and the user-generated content all develop.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Australian classification of MMOGs

Massively’s Tateru Nino has written a fascinating piece on the issue of games classification in Australia. Specifically, she’s confirmed with the Federal Attorney General’s Department that:

“Where a sale is within the jurisdiction of the relevant State or Territory legislation,” Heffernan informed us, “it is a criminal offence under those laws to sell unclassified computer games. Enforcement of those laws is a matter for the States and Territories.”

There may be no surprise in that to many people, but Tateru’s discovery is that most MMOs have no displayed evidence of having applied for Australian classification. After doing some digging for the story, she believes it’s a case of oversight combined with governmental miscommunication.

Personally, I find it hard to believe that the major MMO publishers wouldn’t understand that Australia had a classification regime. The claim is that such publishers were advised in the past that MMOs didn’t need to comply, which is plausible given their nature in comparison to a standard 1-person game at the beginning. Now, MMOs are so widely used it’s a problematic argument to uphold. Behemoths like Blizzard’s World of Warcraft and its expansion packs aren’t labeled with any Australian classification – an unusual thing unless historic advice has been provided to say local classification wasn’t required. WoW in particular has nothing to fear from classification given how innocuous its gameplay is and its well implemented moderation options.

It’s more an issue of principle: the government only assesses applications made to it, there’s no proactive work done on ensuring new releases are classified. There’s an obvious problem here – if a less responsible publisher arrives on the scene to release an MMO that would rate R18+ , it can still hit the shelves if that publisher doesn’t apply for classification rather than being refused classification if they did apply. As Tateru mentions in her piece, Australia has the farcical situation of having no R18+ or X18+ categories for games, so everything at that level is refused classification. Add to that the fact that State governments are responsible for enforcing the law and it’s not hard to see how this situation has arisen.

Essentially, the current voluntary application process combined with no ‘adult’ games ratings and the old Federal / State blameshifting actually fosters an environment where a non-ethical publisher would be mad not to release their MMO product unclassified. If they’re ever caught (which seems unlikely unless the MMO is beyond the pale), there’s a growing precedent of other MMOs selling tens or hundreds of thousands of locally unclassified copies. I’d have thought that would be one hell of a defense.

Hopefully the Australian Attorney General’s department has another look at the issue, particularly the lack of adult game classifications, because the status quo is becoming more untenable as MMOs continue their growth in popularity. The risk is that a crackdown will occur without an expansion of the classification options – that would be nearly as bad as the status quo.

Update: Tateru Nino has posted a follow-up story on the issue

Popularity: 10% [?]

Anthropology in World of Warcraft

WoW Insider have a very interesting interview with Alex Golub, an Assistant Professor within the Anthropology department at the University of Hawaii.

Golub is well underway in research on culture of raiding in World of Warcraft, with the final product expected to be a book in 2010. There’s some discussion on behaviour in raids, gender differences and effective communication strategies. One of the most fascinating aspects is Golub’s take on ‘real-life’ versus online behaviour:

One thing about studying WoW and other virtual worlds is that it has made social scientists realize that “real” and “in the same room” are just not the same things. Everyone in my guild knows each other in “real life,” because real doesn’t mean “physical world” — it means “things that people care about,” or as an anthropologist, I’d say, “things that people in a culture care about.” There is a guy in my guild who works in a cheese factory, turning over 90-pound blocks of cheese all day. I bet I know him better than he knows the guys in the control room measuring cheese temperatures or whatever, even if he sees them every day.

Read the full article here.

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