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The fourth annual Games for Health Conference will be showcasing the expanding role of video games in the Health profession. Video game technology is being applied in the field for rehabilitation, training and to encourage exercise.

Some highlights of the conference will be familiar to most gamers. A new version of Activision’s Guitar Hero is being introduced, which will be used in the rehabilitation of arm amputees. The results of studies based on the “Corrupted Blood Syndrome” form Blizzard’s World of Warcraft are also being presented.

Attendees will have the chance to play training games like 3DiTeams and the K.I.C.K. (Kid’s Interactive Creation Kiosk). 3DiTeams offers emergency health care training to medical professionals in virtual worlds. The full press release follows the break.

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Hey buddy, want some WoWcrack? You know you do. Its cheap too, and when I say cheap, I mean free. Follow me into this dark alley and I will give you the goods - make sure no one sees you and that you are not followed or else the deal is off. You aren’t packing heat or wearing a wire are you? Ok cool, let’s do this then.

All of my stuff is premo and pure and it is a new strain of WoWcrack sure to please even the most discerning of tastes. It is called Wrath of the Lich King and I have nine different types.

• The first one is an interview with designer J. Kaplan & Producer J. Allen Brack about what World of Warcraft’s upcoming expansion has to offer.
• Next we have the first footage of air-to-air battles featuring vehicle combat.
• I also have an extended look at new zones (Northrend) and more vehicle combat
• Here I have the Howling Fjord which is one of Lich King’s two starter zones, including the Utgarde Keep instance and the new Tuskar race.
• Then I have this sweet bit of stuff that contains footage of the Borean Tundra which is the Lich King’s other starting zone, along with Howling Fjord. This clip shows both the Alliance and Horde towns, and the Nexus level 71-73 instance.
• Dragonblight is some really good stuff too where you can catch a glimpse of Wyrmrest Temple, the Nerubians, and Naxxramas.
• Like trolls? Then you will love Zul’Drak - the former troll empire has fallen on tough times. It’s not just for ice trolls any more.
• Sholazar Basin is the sister zone to Ungoro Crater. That crashed ship? Hemet Nessingwary’s. Good times to be had with this one
• Last but not least I have the Grizzly Hills where the Venture Co. has set up shop in Northrend, and so have the Furbogs (they live in the fallen, mini-world tree).

So what will it be then? You will take all of them? You are hardcore indeed my friend! Make sure you tell your friends about me, and as long as they are not narcs - I will do my best to supply them with more WoWcrack when it becomes available. In the meantime, if they need more information on my wares, they can check out previous posts on Wrath of the Lich King here. You can also get more of the goods after the break.

Enjoy my friend, but just be careful you don’t OD on all this WoW.

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Blizzard and Upper Deck have teamed up to put out “The Art of  the Trading Card Game” for the World of Warcraft TGC. The Book is a 11″ x 9″ hardcover with more than 300 full-color images. The featured art is from the first year of the WoW TCG and includes unpublished sketches and concept art. The book is available from the The Upper Deck Store f,or $49.99 which I guess is pretty decent as far as coffee table books go.

As an artist, one of my favorite things about trading card games is the art on the cards. If it’s good, I’m more likely to take an interest in the game while sub par art will most likely drive me away. The problem is it’s reduced so far down to fit the cards, that much of the detail that goes into the art is lost. I use these kind of books as references for my own drawings. There’s no doubt I’m going to be looking into this to add to my collection.

via World of Warcraft TCG

The World of Warcraft Insider has an article on the latest expansion for the Burning Crusade; Fury of the Sunwell. The Sunwell is the culmination of the Blood Elf and Draenei storylines. It will the reveal the fate of the final member of the triumvirate of Illidan, Vashj, and Kael’thas. Players will also be introduced to a new “ultimate bad guy.”

World of Warcraft lead producer J. Allen Brack and art director Chris Robinson give players a lot of info on both Fury of the Sunwell and the Wrath of the Lich King. However the focus is on the evolving art style of the game and how it works with settings, scenery and architecture. They talk specifically about the style for the Sunwell and therefore the Blood Elves at the height of their power and the contrast with the style of the Northrend area. Items and armor for both these areas will be thematic and will be easily recognizable by players as trophies from a specific area.

For the full picture of the Sunwell and a preview of Northrend, check out the insider interview on World of Warcraft.

An interesting film spotlighting the lives of MMO players will make its debut today at the Boston International Film Festival. The documentary, titled Second Skin, takes a critical look at the reasons why people play these games, the sorts of social connections that develop from play and highlights some personal storys from its subjects to show just how pervasive MMO games are becoming. The film also addresses the subject of game addiction thanks to the experiences of one of its participants.

Here is the trailer thanks to the YouTube.

More information on the film and an interview with its creators can be found on the Boston Herald’s webpage here as well. Unfortunately this small piece does not really review the film so much as promote MMO players as potential addicts. They completely ignore the positive parts of the film to focus on Dan, a recovering MMO addict.. a very disappointing approach from what is becoming a rote tactic by the mainstream media.

GamePolitics as always has an excellent opinion piece on the article as well.

Those interested in attending the Boston screenings can see the film twice:
Thursday, April 24th @ 9:30pm and Friday, April 25th @ 6:45pm

Its a shame to see a promising game begin to falter. Last week’s announcement regarding server consolidation for the recently launched Pirates of the Burning Sea MMORPG might not be the best sign that the game is doing well. Regardless it sparked a discussion between Ron and I about why MMORPGs fail today and thus this week’s Podcast was born. Then the topic moves to my recent trip to Chicago to meet with Wizards of the Coast about the future of Dungeons & Dragons. If you’re interested in more info on D&D 4E be sure to check out The Analog Gamer.

The rant and rave section of the podcast features a rant at a very special audience and Ron implores Sony to fix the horrible problems with the Playstation Store and its downloads.

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

There’s good news for all of you that have signed the petition demanding that Uwe Boll stop wasting film. Blizzard is in total agreement. The “director” has admitted to being shown the door after proposing one of his infamous adaptations based on the World of Warcraft.

But if you’re not going to make a faithful adaptation, why make an adaptation at all? Apparently, the folks over at Blizzard wonder the same thing, since they practically laughed Boll out of their offices when he approached them about making a World of Warcraft adaptation, the director confessed.

“I got in contact with Paul Sams of Blizzard, and he said, ‘We will not sell the movie rights, not to you…especially not to you,’” Boll revealed. “Because it’s such a big online game success, maybe a bad movie would destroy that ongoing income, what the company has with it.”

I’m sure it was a case of open mouth exchange feet, but I can’t get over Boll’s inadvertent admission that it would have been a bad movie. Finally some honesty in Hollywood.

via MTV Movies Blog

Blizzard has clinched an agreement with The9 and Soft-World the insures China will be getting the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King expansion. The9 handles Blizzards WoW support in mainland China while Soft-World is its contact for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. More details about the release of the expansion will follow at a later date.

via World of Warcraft

While this doesn’t help to peg a release date for the second expansion for World of Warcraft, we know that Wrath of the Lich King is at least in playable form. Blizzard staff and an extremely lucky select few (accompanied by a nice NDA, of course), are – right this very second, as I’m typing this and as you’re reading this – running around, killing things in Northrend that you’ve never even so much as dreamed of.

WoW Insider was able to confirm the news last week through anonymous sources. As I said, this isn’t indicative of the game being a certain number of months away from release. Blizzard rarely releases things too early, so don’t expect to see Wrath of the Lich King rushed out before the holidays.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t hope they do get it out by then.

It’s been almost a year since I last heard about this, but it seems the guy who created an “Avatar Machine” machine is back. Marc Owens created this bizarre suit with a camera strapped behind it to conduct a psychological experiment on how people change their behavior when they feel detached from their own bodies. The goggles over his eyes display the camera’s view to mimic the perspective of a third-person video game. Recently, Owens decided to travel to Japan with the suit to walk the streets and, well, pretty much just hassle anyone who wandered by. The video takes a turn for the hilarious though when he’s accosted by some tough Japanese greaser-looking dudes. I’m not really sure though if this experiment proves that people feeling detached from their bodies behave differently or if Owens was just an annoying idiot to begin with.

(Fun Fact: This video is ten times more hilarious with “Greased Lighting” playing in the background.)

Via BoingBoing

Are you an MMO player? Are you fed up with gold farmers who inflate the in-game economy? A man by Antonio Hernandez most certainly is, but he’s taking more drastic measures than most players who go on swear-ridden tirades against those farmers and spammers. Hernandez is taking them to court and seeking to make the case a federal class action lawsuit.

As reported by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the lawsuit is seeking to ban IGE US from selling gold due to it hurting the game’s economy and ruining the game’s experience. As the first case of its kind, it’s difficult to really discern where this case might go, but it would certainly set a precedent.

“The real significance of this case is, ‘What are the rights of the [virtual world] community members when they go online?’” said C. Richard Newsome, Hernandez’s attorney.

The attorneys of IGE, meanwhile, argue that Hernandez and other players have no right to sue because they have no ownership or property rights within World of Warcraft. They also say the lawsuit fails to specificy actual damages.

Miami attorney James M. Miller, who is representing IGE, claims that IGE US is no longer in the virtual gold business, but one quick trip to IGE.com will have you seeing World of Warcraft’s name or logo scattered all around the page. Hell, even the first four words of the page’s title are “IGE, Buy WOW Gold.” What was that again, Mr. Miller?

As for Blizzard’s stance, they’re behind Hernandez. “We believe that shutting down gold farming and real-money transfer is in the interest of all World of Warcraft players and that a victory in this case would have a positive long-term effect on the online gaming industry as a whole,” said COO Paul Sams.

While it might seem like a silly notion to take something like this to court, I truly hope Hernandez wins the case. Even if this is a tactic to squeeze some money out of a situation that doesn’t necessarily call for a federal class action lawsuit, I would love to see companies like IGE shutdown and forced out of WoW and other MMOs.

via Eurogamer

By the Gods this man is bold and brazen!

THQ’s Jack Sorenson stated in a recent interview that World of Warcraft has basically peaked and other MMOs are about to get in on some of the MMO loving from gamers tired of the online behemoth.

Speaking to Eurogamer last week at Gamers Day in San Francisco Sorenson stated that:

“However long it takes World of Warcraft to go through its cycle there will always be people on it, probably always be millions of people on it, but does it keep at that peak? And I think that, I wish I could see the numbers, but my guess is that it probably already has peaked - but it’s still a great business. Who wouldn’t want that?”

He went on to speak about THQ’s upcoming Warhammer 40K MMO stating that:

“We haven’t announced a release date, but it’s certainly not imminent and we plan on doing a very high quality job. That’s certainly one thing that World of Warcraft’s proved: not only do you have to do it well, it has to be great from day one. There’s not a tolerance like there used to be, when Ultima came out… All those games were buggy and horrible, and eventually got there. You can’t do that anymore, which has lengthened the cycle for good-quality MMOs. Blizzard based a lot of their, let’s say, RPG characteristics on 40k, which was the original. There’s a lot of commonality there that just comes right out of what Games Workshop has developed - the fiction, and the rest of it is incredibly deep. I think if we’re true to that and do it at a high quality, then people will come. And they can certainly co-exist.”

That was straight from the horse’s mouth, not mine, and if you want to read the rest, click through the link below. I almost refused to touch this with a nice, clean, germ free 10ft pole but I figured you would hear about it sooner or later anyway.

Thanks: Eurogamer

DISCLAIMER: This is post was not intentionally trying to get hard-core WoW fan’s silk panties in a wad - it is only the news as reported so please refrain from bashing the author. The views and opinions of Jack Sorenson expressed in this post do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Gaming Today News Editors, their spouses, significant other, lovers, pets, imaginary friends, game characters, house-elves, multiple personalities, ancestors, neighbors, fifth cousin twice removed, or the evil monkey residing in our closets.

The German workshop group BattleHeat is the focus of the latest World of Warcraft Spotlight for WoW Europe. This “real-life” team of armor blacksmiths have been inspired to use their skills to bring virtual paladin armor to life. These artists crafting dreams with metal and leather.

The armor featured in the interview with BattleHeat’s Tobias is the Tier 2 set for the Paladin. The artisan talks about WoW projects he’d like to take on in the future and gives a bit of information on how the armor is created. According to Tobias, unless you’re very lucky to find a mentor, learning to create armor is a skill that you pick up with trial of error and lots of practice. He talks about the materials involved and average weight of final pieces.

The article shows the progression of building and assembling the armor over several shots. For more pictures of projects BattleHeat has completed including Thrall’s Doomhammer Armor and a few plate mail bikinis, check out the group’s website at BattleHeat.com.

via World of Warcraft Europe

Tuesday was the day the internet went cuckoo. April 1st has always had a strange vibe to it. Some believe it is a day to kick back and have a few good laughs, but I see it as a day where you can’t trust anyone or anything. Nothing could have been more true of this past April Fools Day though, as it seemed the entire internet had come up with their own special practical joke. At first, it was pretty fun to come across some fake trailers and news bits poking fun at current events and the like. Unfortunately, it kind of began to wear thin as the day went on, and it seemed like every other website suddenly thought they were the cleverest bunch in the whole world. Still, some of them I have to admit were just classic. Thus, I’ve constructed this list of the Top Ten Online April Fools Jokes that I saw that day. Continue after the break for a glimpse into internet April Fools Day insanity.

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Gamers are celebrating Jonathan Coulton’s “Still Alive” being released as a free download for Rock Band. Most of us were introduced to this quirky composer when after Valve’s Orange Box was released, or more accurately, after beating the Portal game. Since then “Still Alive” has become the theme song for the slightly mad, love sick AI, GLaDOS as part of the end credits for Portal.

For those of you unfamiliar with machinima it’s the use of CGI, often from game engines, to create machine cinema. Many machinimators combine video games and music that allow them to express their love of both forms of media by creating music videos. I’ve been a fan of machinima since I was first introduced to it. I’ve even endured those primitive examples from the old MTV Video Mods show. However there are many better examples of this creative media such as the popular Rooster Teeth series Red vs. Blue based on the Halo series.

Machinima.com has been around since 2000 and hosts many great videos as well as tips on how to produce machinima yourself. However since “Still Alive” just came out, I thought I’d concentrate on Jonathan Coulton’s songs and some of the machinima based off of them like this gem.

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According to the findings of Jane Barnett and her colleagues at Middlesex University, people who play violent games online actually feel more relaxed and less angry after they have played.The psychologists recruited 292 male and female online gamers, playing World of Warcraft. The players, aged between 12 and 83 years, were asked to complete a questionnaire on anger, aggression and personality and then played the game for two hours. After this time they were they were asked to complete the test again.

The psychologists found overall that the gamers were more likely to feel calm or tired after playing– but there were differences depending on sex, age and personality.

According to Barnett:

“There were actually higher levels of relaxation before and after playing the game as opposed to experiencing anger but this did very much depend on personality type. This will help us to develop a emotion and gaming questionnaire to help distinguish the type of gamer who is likely to transfer their online aggression into everyday life.”

The results were presented at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference in Dublin today.

Its about time someone set the record straight. It is nice to know that hacking, slashing, seeing blood splatters, watching an orc get his head chopped off and griefing fellow players in a violent PvP match is the equivalent of chicken noodle soup for the soul.

Be sure to check back with us because I am sure there will be more on this in the not so distant future.

Via: Press Release

The folks over at Blizzard are very amusing and today they released a batch of funnies in honor of April Fool’s Day - so don’t be fooled by the following additions to your favorite games.

First off, we have the new hero class: The Bard who after “ages spent singing of the heroic exploits of others, the bards of Azeroth are finally stepping into the spotlight on their own terms, proving once and for all that while just about anyone can pick up a sword or cast a spell, only a true hero can vanquish evil with the power of ROCK! ”

Next up we have the Diablo Pinata. Instead of being stuffed with candy it is stuffed with “fully functional replicas of iconic Diablo items and artifacts. Parents will be delighted to know that instead of the empty calories and sugar rushes yielded by typical piñatas, their kids will be getting additional exercise while they re-enact their favorite Diablo moments, such as the burning of Tristram or the slaughter of the Zakarum priesthood, all while using authentic weaponry from the game”.

Then of course we have the new “playable” class for StarCraft II, the Tauren Marine from the obscure planet of Azeroth which was “Found to harbor a dizzying selection of humans, mutants, and aliens in a state of perpetual superstition and conflict. The most physically imposing of these warrior races were the so-called ‘tauren,’ an anthropomorphic bovine genotype with super-human stamina, overpowered racial combat abilities, and bizarrely well-developed horticultural skills.”

Finally, last but certainly not least Blizzard has given us the gem that is World of Warcraft: Molten Core - coming to a console near you. According to the press release for this “must have” game of the future:

World of Warcraft: The Molten Core will include both single-player and multiplayer versions, fully loaded with nine different shapes (and possibly colors) representing the current World of Warcraft character classes. A future expansion will introduce a tenth shape, representing the death knight hero class. Blizzard also plans to include a full-featured voice-chat system, as well as a fully customizable user interface that allows players to personalize their joystick button with several different functions. A free attunement cartridge rounds out the offering, providing instant access to the complete World of Warcraft: The Molten Core entertainment experience.

Blizzard’s World of Warcraft: The Molten Core Collector’s Edition, also announced today, will include tinted cellophane TV overlays, further increasing the array of colors available to players. Additional Collector’s Edition features, as well as details on the upcoming World of Warcraft: The Molten Core beta test, will be revealed closer to release. World of Warcraft: The Molten Core will initially be available for the Atari 2600 platform, with plans for additional console systems to be announced in the near future.

Complete with concept art to the “actual” 2-bit graphics this one is the funniest of them all - complete with trailer.

Be sure and look around the internet folks, because somewhere within its bowels, some poor sap of a gaming site is going to take at least one of these seriously.

To get the full nonsensical effect of the hilarity, click here. Be sure and watch all the trailers - they are totally worth it.

I have a problem. It’s not a serious addiction, in fact its much the opposite of an addiction. I can’t commit.

If the subject of my problem were a woman I’d be the very picture of a man who wouldn’t commit – frequent hot dates with a possibility of long term relationships are tossed to the side in search of the next shiny object or attractive game setting. I dawdle between games like a child with free run of a candy store and no oversight. I just can’t seem to find that special game to break me of my wanderlust.

Now you might not think this a serious problem, I mean after all, who doesn’t play multiple games? But my issue goes beyond rotating pastimes to keep from losing interest. I have a staple game I play – Guild Wars – mostly because its free and doesn’t require a huge commitment of time or energy to hop into any of its settings and grind out a few missions or quests. Guild Wars is like the partner who dislikes your wandering habits but lets you come home whenever you feel like it because it knows it’ll always get what it can while you’re around.
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The second entry of a Mythos beta journal by an anonymous source is up on TenTonHammer. This free to play MMO is described as a mixture of World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Guild Wars.

The first journal entry focused on installation, character creation, graphics and UI. The second part goes into the multi-player aspects including partying and zone instances.

Flagship Studios’ Mythos MMO is currently in closed beta testing. The latest update, Zone 3 The Umbral Peaks, was released earlier this week. Mythos looks like it’s shaping up to be a good game for Diablo fans to follow closely.

via TenTonHammer

Blizzard has opened registration for a special PvP event for World of Warcraft players. Arena combatants have been invited to register for the 2008 WoW Arena Tournament. Not only will competitors earn renown and reputation they can also score cash prizes.

Within a structured format comprising two six-week-long qualifying rounds, players will battle on special tournament realms purely dedicated to the competitive format of 3v3 Arena matches. The characters used on these realms are new level 70s that you create, decked to the brim with PvP armor and weapons. The top teams from each qualifier will battle in regional live events, culminating in the global finals, which will feature a total prize pool of $120,000 — $75,000 of which will go to the grand-prize-winning team!

Tournament registration is open to any active World of Warcraft account. Registration costs one payment of $20.00, which grants one World of Warcraft account access to the tournament realms for the duration of the six-week tourney. Players will be able to create up to three new characters on these realms, instantly level them to 70, and deck them out with a full set of PvP gear. Then form your new 3v3 team and enter the Arenas, where a whole new level of competitive play awaits you. Good luck!

Register for the 2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament!

Certain restrictions apply; not all may be eligible to enter. Read the 2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament FAQ for more details.

Players interested in getting in on the action can register on the World of Warcraft site.