It’s been quite a week for the medical world. Last Tuesday, a biohazard research laboratory in New York reported the accidental loss of three mice infected with a variant of bubonic plague. The Avian influenza is spreading rapidly throughout south-east Asia, confounding (and outpacing) Indonesian authorities.
Now several virtual worlds are also finding themselves beset by plague. For example, player characters in World of Warcraft (Blizzard’s popular MMORPG) are being overtaken by a deadly electronic pestilence:
The trouble started when Blizzard programmers added a new instance, which is a separate area connected to the outside world that players can enter and attempt unique quests. One of these instances, Zul’Grub, contained the god of blood, Hakkar. Hakkar was a powerful foe that could cast spells of his own, including a spell called Corrupted Blood. This spell did a large amount of damage to any player within the vicinity of the casting, and the effects lingered on after the spell was over.
What happened next was something Blizzard did not expect. Some of the players who had gone into the instance emerged back into the main world of Azeroth, and started spreading the Corrupted Blood disease to others [with whom] they came into close contact … The infection soon spread into many of the cities and towns in the virtual world.
Efforts by the developers to stem the spread of the disease have been unsuccessful, with several players managing to escape the quarantine zone and continue spreading the disease. Despite this, the growth patterns and transmission topology would make interesting stochastic studies. Findings may even enable doctors and governments in the real world to more effectively contain outbreaks.
Another online RPG, City of Heroes, has its players’ illnesses crossing the divide into the realm of mortal flesh, with players suffering migraines, nausea and, in some cases, epilepsy as a result of a new graphical effect recently added to the game:
Players within City of Heroes from Cryptic Studios are reporting an alarming growth in photo-sensitve seizures after a recent patch … updated [the] ‘Sonic Powers Buff’ to characters [by] enhancing the visual effects associated with the power. …
According to the article, some players were taking advantage of the ill effects caused by the spell in order to augment its effectiveness against sensitive players. I wonder if, knowing of a player’s particular sensitivity, another player who casts the spell could be liable for recklessly causing harm? This would certainly be a new species of remote tortious (and, perhaps, criminal) liability…
Originally by Ars Technica, 10:44 PM
