[MUD-Dev] NPR - 'Virtual' Virus Sheds Light on Real-World Behavior

[Zach Collins (Siege)]

>>From "All Things Considered", October 5, 2005 =B7 A recent outbreak
of a "plague" in a popular online game has scientists considering
how the virtual world may provide clues to what people would do in
real-world pandemics. In the role-playing game World of Warcraft, a
"corrupted blood" spell killed characters and affected players in
unexpected ways.

  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3D4946772
  (Streaming audio only)

Text summary:

  Due to a bug, a spell in WoW spread its effects to other
  characters after being cast, causing a deadly epidemic. While this
  bug has been fixed, the reactions of the characters have caught
  the attention of epidemiologists. One such scientist has asked
  Blizzard if she can join up and study these effects; and Blizzard
  has mentioned that this occurrence was actually popular enough
  that they would definitely consider releasing an intentional magic
  plague (with non-lethal effects) as part of an in-game event at
  some later time.

--
Zach Collins (Siege)
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