One of the really interesting presentations at the PAC was given by the Zynga Director of Security Operations. It doesn't get higher than him and if he knows who you are, it's not a good thing. He is known as the Dark Knight and nothing gets past him. The Dark Knight wasn't there to scare us but to reiterate common sense. If you're doing something wrong that exploits the game to feed into the virtual black market, you should be worried. The Zynga Security Team knows what to look for and nobody is fooling them. If your account is flagged for whatever reason, it will be fairly reviewed before a decision is made.
Virtual Economies exist in any game that enables one player to give something to another. Massively Multi Player Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG's) have the the largest virtual economies and set the stage for black markets (1). It's interesting that the virtual black market parallels the illegal drug business model and is quite predictable. For a better look at what can happen to those who cross the Dark Knight, read these fascinating articles on BBC News and Technolog on msnbc.com. A banned account is the least of Ashley Mitchell's worries!
If you want to report a player for any type of exploiting or profiting from the game, you can do so anonymously at INSIDERTIP@MafiaWars.com.
| Article written by Jennifer Patterson, Creator of the MW Loot Lady Blog, The Mafia Wars Loot Lady Facebook Fan Page and Co-Host of The Informant Podcast. |
lol, but it seems that the dark knight wears frequently a yellow armband with three black dots...
ReplyDeleteWith so many of the folks on the PAC promoting scripts that seems to be an open admission that they are tolerated. Now what would be funny would be instead of a Dark knight a Barney Fife cop. I can see them being testy about the sale of "their" items and they may not be some of the best at testing their stuff before letting the players have it or they are following Microsoft's lead, but I bet they can derive some algorithm software/scripts to detect what they deem to be excessive trading/etc. Lookig forward to more of the articles.
ReplyDeleteI would not say the PAC was promoting Scripts, and neither was Zynga. How this is viewed from a company perspective is "third party" Mods or programs that enable the user to play the game within a reasonable time frame. Script writers from Spockholmes were there and they did touch on what they look for. If a script is taxing resources (calling for a heavy load on info from the server) then this is something they will flag. There cannot be a main stance or 'nod' to say these are acceptable. However, it is understood that the "safe" scripts that are assisting in the game are going to be used and they are not out to SHUT the user down if they are using these 3rd party mods to make game functions easier and time acceptable.
ReplyDeleteIf you are doing anything that affects Z's bottom line they will find u plain and simple. The other scripts talked about were game enhancements, not exploits or cheats.
ReplyDeleteRight I now know how to complain and the big baddie that will shut me down if I do something that puts work on their servers......now as commented before...whats coming and did you get trader "no go" sorted out ie. no reward points to use,,,,so I can get rid of my butterfly knives!
ReplyDeleteThe Whale