World of Warcraft owner Blizzard has been successful in the first stage of their court battle against WoWGlider (now called ‘MMOGlider’). They are seeking the shutdown of MMOGlider, a piece of software which automates WoW game play. The program will automatically fight enemies in the game, helping to eliminate the sometimes tedious grind inherent in many MMOs which is required in order to upgrade the character. The judge in the case has ruled that WoWGlider breaches the terms of service of the game. However, this is only the first stage in the case, which is to go in front of a jury later this year. WoW is unfortunate to have allowed itself to be presented as the ‘bad guy’ in this case, turning up with a lawyer and private investigator at the developer Michael Donnelly’s house, according to the BBC.
The case may well centre on whether it is MMOGlider, or the WoW user, who is breaking the Terms of Service with the use of the MMOGlider. The software is locally installed, rather than accessing WoW directly, and it may be difficult for WoW to demonstrate that the developer is breaking any terms of service by simply developing the program.
It is arguable that the existence of tools such as MMOGlider is an inevitable consequence of the often boring grind required to build up characters in many MMOs. The cynical point of view is that MMOs build in grind in order to make their game more addictive; if, in order to enjoy a game to its maximum potential, a user is required to spend many hours doing simple tasks to build up a character, the user is likely to do that. Grind, one could say, turns what would otherwise be a casual game, into an addictive and immersive experience.
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