emergentpunkbuster

BreakingNewGround:InnovationinGames,Play,PracticeandTheory.
ProceedingsofDiGRA20092009Authors&DigitalGamesResearchAssociation(DiGRA).
Personalandeducationalclassroomuseofthispaperisallowed,commercialuserequiresspecificpermissionfromtheauthor.
TheCheatingAssemblageinMMORPGs:TowardasociotechnicaldescriptionofcheatingStefanoDePaoliNationalUniversityofIrelandMaynoothDepartmentofSociologyandNIRSAJohnHumeBuilding,MaynoothRep.
ofIrelandStefano.
Depaoli@nuim.
ieAphraKerrNationalUniversityofIrelandMaynoothDepartmentofSociologyandNIRSAAuxiliaBuilding,MaynoothRep.
ofIrelandAphra.
Kerr@nuim.
ieABSTRACTThispapertheoreticallyandempiricallyexplorescheatinginMMORPGs.
ThispaperconceptualisescheatinginMMORPGsasasociotechnicalpracticewhichdrawsuponanon-linearassemblageofhumanactorsandnon-humanartefacts,inwhichthepracticeofcheatingistheresultortheoutcomeofanassemblage.
Wedrawupontheassemblageconceptualizationsproposedin[16]and[8]andonempiricaldatatakenfromapilotstudywehaveconductedduringtheperiodSeptember-November2008andfromanethnographyweareconductingintheMMORPGTibia(http://www.
tibia.
com)sinceJanuary2009.
ThisgameinparticularwaschosenbecauseCipSoft,thecompanythatdevelopsthegame,launchedananti-cheatingcampaignatthebeginningof2009.
KeywordsCheating,MMORPGs,assemblagetheory,sociotechnicalassemblage.
INTRODUCTIONInthispaperweconceptualizecheatinginMassiveMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayGames(MMORPGs)asasociotechnicalassemblage.
Whilemuchoftheliteratureseescheatingasasetofplayer(orplayers)actionsthatmodifythegametoobtainunfairadvantageoverotherplayers,weproposethattounderstandcheatinginMMORPGsitshouldbeconceptualisedastheresultofanassemblageofheterogeneous(humanandnon-human)elements.
Ouraimistwofold.
Firstly,wewouldliketoillustratethesociotechnicalnatureofcheatinginMMORPGsshowinghowcheatingiscomposedbothofhighlysophisticatedtechnologicalelementsandcomplexsocialelements.
Inthissensetheconcept/theoryofassemblageasproposedinDeLanda[16]constitutesausefulframeworkthatwillallowustocutacrossthetraditionaldistinctionbetweentechnologyandsociety.
Secondly,weaimtopositionourworkwithinthestudiesoncheatinginonlinegamesproposinganon-essentialistandempiricalapproach,thatdiffersfromexistingconceptualizations.
Wethinkthatthetheoryofassemblagewillfulfilbothgoals,andprovideaconcretetheoreticalbasisforfutureempiricalresearch.
Inthispaperweprovideadescriptionofthecheatingassemblage,basedonempiricalevidencetakenfromapilotstudyweconductedduringtheperiodSeptember-November2008andfromthedatacollectedduringavirtualethnography[29]weareconductingintheMMORPGTibia(http://www.
tibia.
com)1sinceJanuary2009.
2ThisgameinparticularwaschosenbecauseCipSoft,thecompanythatdevelopsthegame,launchedananti-cheatingcampaignatthebeginningof2009[12].
MMORPGsareasub-segmentofthedigitalgamesindustryinwhichthegamesarepersistentandthousandsofplayersinteractsimultaneouslyinvirtualworldswhicharehostedandsupportedbycommercialcompaniesinreturnforsubscriptionormicro-payments.
MMORPGsarecomplexsocialandtechnologicalsystemsandwhilewedonotprovideanin-depthdescriptionofMMORPGshere(see[1]and[10])wewanttoemphasizethecomplexandheterogeneousnatureofthesegamesinwhichsocialandtechnicalelementsareinextricablymixed:indeedwethinkthatMMORPGsareaphenomenonthatempiricallybreakstheessentialistdivisionbetweennatureandculture.
Therearetwomainbodiesofliteratureoncheatingindigitalgames(forasystematicclassificationofcheatingindigitalgamessee[51]):thetechnicalandthemedialiterature.
Whereasthefirstemphasizesalmostexclusivelytechnicalsolutionstotheproblem,thesecondseescheatingasacomplexsocialproblem.
Webelievethatthetechnical1Tibiaisa2Dfantasy,medieval,MMORPG.
Ithasanestimatedbaseof300,000playersanditisplayedonmorethan70serversinEuropeandtheUSA.
2TheauthorswouldliketoacknowledgethesupportoftheIrishgovernment'sHigherEducationAuthorityunderthePRTLI4programmeandtheirresearchpartnersonthe'ServingSociety:FutureCommunicationsNetworksandServices'project(2008-2010).
2andthesocialdomainsshouldbeconsideredtogether.
Basedonourobservationsfromthepilotconductedattheandof2008andfromthecasestudyofTibia,webelievethatcheatinginMMORPGsisnotjusttheactionsofplayerswhowishtoobtainunfairadvantagesbutrathertheconfluenceofseveralheterogeneouselements,rangingfromplayeractions,toofficialdocuments,toallthecheatingsolutionsortheanti-cheatingtechniquesthatareofferedovertheInternet.
WeconsidermostconceptualizationsofcheatinginMMORPGstobeinadequatetodescribethesociotechnicalcomplexitywehaveobservedandinthispaperweproposeaScienceandTechnologyStudies(STS)conceptualizationbasedontheconceptofassemblage[8]and[16].
Inthispaperweprovideabriefliteraturereviewofcheatingandwedescribeourapproachtocheatingasassemblage.
Thisisfollowedbyadiscussionofthemainelementsoftheassemblagebasedonourempiricalresearch.
Weconcludewithsomeclosingremarksontheusefulnessofourapproach.
CHEATINGINDIGITALGAMESLiteratureincomputerscienceandengineeringoncheatinginonlinegamesismainlyconcernedwiththedescriptionandformalizationofanti-cheatingtechniques.
InthisliteraturethemaindefinitionofcheatingreflectstheoneproposedbyHuizinga[31]thatdescribeditassomething"harmfulforgameplay"(p.
52).
Herethereisadialecticbetweenthewidediffusionofcheating(thethesis)inonlinegamesandtheconsequentneedforpowerfulanti-cheatingtechniques(theantithesis).
Inthisdialecticthedesiredfinalsynthesiswillbethatofreachinganidealisticandfinalstageinwhichthegamebecomesfair(freeofcheats)foreveryone.
Theliteratureonanti-cheatingtechniquesforexampleincludestheuseofantifraudsystems[3]theuseofcaptcha3(revereseTuringtest)todetectbotusers[27],genericanti-cheatingprotocols[11],techniquesforpreventingsoftwareclientmodifications[44]andalgorithmsusedfordetectingcheating[15]and[22].
Medialiterature,bycontrastassumesthatcheatingpossessesaphenomenologicalrichnessthatdeservestobeinvestigatedassuch.
However,despitethegenuinedesireforamorecomplexdefinition,cheatingisoftenconsideredasintentionalplayeractionsthatrelateoftenexclusivelytothegameplay.
Inotherwords,whatmediascholarsoftenseemtoforgetisthetechnicalelementthat,bycontrast,iscentralinthetechnicalliterature.
Forexample[23]describedcheatinginonlinegamesasasociallearningprocess.
Anotherexampleis[25]whodescribedcheatingasa"non-diegeticoperatoract":anactionwhichisexternaltogameplaybutwhichmodifiestheintendedgameplayexperience.
Thereforecheatingappearstobeasortofinterferencewiththenormalgameflow.
Thisdefinitionof3Acaptchaisaresponsetesttomakesurethataresponseinnotautomaticallygeneratedbyacomputer.
cheatingissimilartotheconceptualizationproposedby[33]thatseescheatingactionsasausefulmethodologicaltoolthatcanbeusedtoexplorethegameandpushtheboundariesofourunderstandingofthedigitalgame.
Inamorerecentwork[34]proposesa"techno-semiotic"approachtocheatingthattheorizesadistinction/continuumbetweenruledandunruledspacesingames.
InthelandscapeofmediaresearchoncheatingthemostcompleteandprobablyinfluentialworkisthebookbyConsalvo[14],inwhichtheauthorconceptualizedcheatingasacentralpointofdepartureforlookingathowplayersunderstandandenactgameplaypractices.
Consalvodescribesseveralaspectsofcheatingindigitalgamesrangingfromwhatshecallstheparatexts4,tomarketaspects,totechnologyandthecultureofgaming.
ForConsalvocheatingissomethingthatgetsculturallynegotiatedbyplayers,cheatersandtheanti-cheatingindustryandsheseemstosuggestthatasingulardefinitiondoesnothelpinunderstandingtheculturalandnegotiatedcharacterofcheating.
InthispaperweadoptasimilarapproachtoConsalvointermsofdefiningcheatingasculturallyandcontextuallynegotiatedandinattemptingtoidentifythedifferentelementsinvolvedincheating.
HoweverConsalvoappearstoassumethatcheatingisanactivitycarriedoutbyplayers,anditisinthisrespectthatweattempttobroadenouttherangeofelementsinvolvedincheatingbyconceptualisingitastheresultofanassemblageofheterogeneouselements.
THEASSEMBLAGETHEORYToplayaMMORPGonehastoacquireordownloadthesoftwareclientandinstallitonacomputer.
DuringtheinstallationprocessaplayerhastoacceptseverallegaldocumentssuchastheEndUserLicenseAgreement(EULA)ortheTermsofService(ToS).
Theacceptanceofthesedocumentsbytheplayerenactsalegalrelationshipbetweenthemandthepublishingcompany,wherethelicensesestablish,atleastinprinciple,whattheycanandcannotdowiththegamesoftware,eitherontheirownmachineoronthegameserver.
Toplayonehastoconnecttheclienttothegameserverandonlyatthispointcanoneplaythegameandinteractwithotherplayers.
Inmostcases,as[14]states,theplayerwillalsonavigatetheInternetsearchingforguides,walkthroughsorforplayinghintsonInternetforums.
Herewealreadyseeaninitialsetofrelationsbetweenheterogeneousparts–rangingfromtheplayer,tothesoftware,tothelicenses-thatconstituteswhatwecancallanassemblage.
CheatinginMMORPGschangesthewaysomeoftheelementsoftheassemblagerelatetoeachotherandinadditionnewelementsenterintorelationswiththeothers.
InfactwhatwehaveisanewconfigurationoftheMMORPG'sassemblage:thisisthecheatingassemblage.
4For[14]paratextsarethesurroundingmaterialsthatframetheconsumptionofdigitalgames.
3Cheaters,forexamplewillexploitsomeofthegameweaknesses,orbuildtheirowncheatingcodeandmacros,oracquirecheatingsoftwarefromtheInternet,orwillexploitknownbugsorevenotherplayers.
Bycontrast,thecompanythatproducesthegamewilltrytoavoidcheatingandprotectitselfandthegameusingforexampleanti-cheatingtoolsandlegaldocuments.
Aswecanseeseveraldifferentelements/partsenterintomutualrelationshipinordertoformanassemblage,andcheatingweargueshouldbeseenastheoutcomeoftherelationsbetweentheelements.
OurapproachtothestudyofcheatinginMMORPGsowesmuchtothe"assemblagetheory"proposedbyDeLanda[16],aswellastotheconceptofsociotechnicalagencement(orassemblage)proposedbyCallon[8],[9]inhisresearchoneconomicmarketsassocio-technicalnetworks.
5Wedefineanassemblage6asanopen-endedgatheringofseveraldifferent,andsometimesincontrast,elementsthatcanrangefrommaterialartefacts,totexts,topeopleororganizations,andthatcanalsoincludeforexamplecitiesorbiologicalorlinguisticelements.
7Therelationsbetweentheelementsoftheassemblagearenon-linear,complexandneverpredictable,butnonethelesstheseheterogeneouselementscanfindanalliance[36],a"sympathy"inDeleuzeandGuattari[17]terms,thatmakesthemgathertogether.
Thinkingintermsofassemblageisfirstandforemostawayofthinkingabouttherelationsbetweenthewholeandthevariousparts:forustherelationsbetweenthepartsthatresultincheatinginMMORPG.
DeLanda[16]clarifiesthattheserelationsarenotlogicallynecessaryasitisforsystemicororganicapproaches.
Indeedintheseapproaches,thatcanbefoundinbothnaturalandsocialsciences,theconceptofsystemisbasedoninteractingpartsthatformawhole,inwhichtherelationsamongpartsarenecessaryandthatthefailureofonerelationleadstothefailureofthewholesystem.
Forexample,theorgansthatcomposeahumanbodyareelementsofasystem(thebody)thatareinnecessaryrelationswithoneanother(ifoneorganfailsorismissingthewholesystemfails).
Insocialsciencestheconceptof"socialsystem"drawsonaparallelismwithnaturalsystems,inwhichvariousinstitutions(e.
g.
religionoreconomy)arenecessaryfortheorderandintegrationof5Callon,inparticular,prefersthewordagencementtothatofassemblage(see[8]foranexplanation),butdefactohealsodirectlyreferstothesamegrassrootsofDeLanda,theworkbyDeleuzeandGuattari[17].
6Deleuzedefinesasassemblageas"amultiplicitywhichismadeupofmanyheterogeneoustermsandwhichestablishesliaisons,relationsbetweenthem,acrossages,sexesandreigns–differentnatures.
Thus,theassemblage'sonlyunityisthatofco-functioning:itisasymbiosis,a'sympathy'.
(quotedin[16]).
7[9]definethesocio-technicalagencementofthemarketascomposedof"rulesandconventions;technicaldevices;metrologicalsystems;logisticalinfrastructures;texts,discoursesandnarratives(e.
g.
ontheprosandconsofcompetition);technicalandscientificknowledge(especiallyinsocialscience:law,economics,marketing,etc.
);andcompetenciesandskillsembodiedinlivingbeings.
".
societies(e.
g.
theabsenceofreligiousvaluesmightleadtoanomy).
Inassemblagetheorytherelationsamongpartsareconceptualizeddifferently.
Indeedinanassemblageparts(e.
g.
organsorinstitutions)enterintothewholeascontingentlyobligatoryelements.
Inotherwords,therelationscanchangeandthepartscanwithdrawfromoneassemblageandenterintootherassemblagesevenwithdifferentroles.
Forexample,theofficeinwhichweworkiscomposedofelementslikecomputers,desks,ourcolleaguesorthebooksandtheshelvesinwhichthebooksarestored.
Eachoftheseelementsisfundamentalfortheofficeassemblagebuttheirroleiscontingent(e.
g.
thesamecomputercanbeusedinanotherofficebydifferentpeopleorathome,oranothercomputercanbeboughtinplaceoftheoldone;ourcolleaguecanchangeworkandbereplacedbysomeoneelseorwecanbeaskedtomoveintoanotheroffice).
Thismeansthattherelationshipsneedtobeapproachedfromanhistoricalandempiricalpointofviewratherthanfromatheoreticalpointasinsystemtheory.
Theassemblageisthereforeemergent(itisnotanessence),meaningthatitistheresultofhistoricalandempiricalrelationsamongtheparts(e.
g.
ourofficeconfigurationscanchangeovertime).
Wethinkthattwoaspectsofwhat[9]describedas"themarketassocio-technicalagencement"areparticularlyusefulinapproachingcheatinginMMORPGs.
Firstly,theassemblageiscomposedofheterogeneouselementsandthefocusofanalysisshouldbeontherelationsbetweenthepartsandsecondly,theassemblagedelimitsandconstructsaspaceofconfrontationandpowercontestations.
8InDeLanda'stheorytheheterogeneouselementsoftheassemblageareaugmentedbyadoubleaxis(seeFigure1).
Figure1:Assemblage:twoaxisandfourargumentsThefirstaxisreferstothematerial/expressivecapacitiesoftheparts/elementsoftheassemblage.
DeLanda[16]followsDeleuzeandGuattari[17]inarguingthatthematerial/expressiveaxisissimilartothedifferencebetweenasetoflawsforregulatinganorder(discipline)andmateriallyexercisingsuchanorder(punish)(seealso[45]).
8Weareawarethatwearemakinganoversimplificationof[9]conceptualizationofthemarketasagencement.
49Furthermore,therelationsbetweenthematerialandexpressivecapacitiesaresymmetrical,meaningthateachinfluencestheother.
Thesecondaxisoftheassemblageisrelatedtotheterritorialization/derritorializationcapacitiesoftheparts.
Territorializationisaprocessthat"increasestheinternalhomogeneityoftheassemblage"[16]whereasdeterritorializationdoestheopposite,decreasingthehomogeneity.
10Thiscanrelatetoaspatialprocess,suchasthedifferencebetweenaface-to-face(territorialization)andacomputermediatedcommunication(deterritorialization).
Butthiscanalsobeanon-spatialprocess.
Thenon-spatialnatureoftheterritorializationiswhatismore(butnotexclusively)importantforus.
DeLandaarguesthatterritorializationcanbeaprocesswhichexcludesacertaincategoryofpeoplefrommembershipofanorganization.
Territorializationisalsoaprocessthatcanreducetheheterogeneityofthepossiblecoursesofactions/relationswithinanassemblage.
Onthecontrarydeterritorializationisaprocessthatcanincreasetheheterogeneityofthepossiblecoursesofactions/relations.
[45]saysthatwehaveaprocessinwhichweshouldobservethestabilization/consolidation(territorialization)anddestabilization/dissolution(deterritorialization)oftheassemblage.
Indeeditisbetweentheterritorialization/deterritorializationcapacitiesthatweshouldbeabletoobservethecontestedspaceofconfrontationandpowerpostulatedin[9].
Wealsothinkthat,especiallyinsociotechnicalsystemssuchasMMORPGs,thiscontestedspacecanbecomeevidentintechnologicalbreakdownsasinmoretraditionalSTSaccounts(e.
g.
[2];[48]).
THEASSEMBLAGEOFCHEATINGINMMORPGSInwhatfollowswewilldescribeandanalyzefourofthecrucialelementsofthecheatingassemblageinMMORPGs:thegamearchitecture,thecode,thelegaldocumentsandthegameplay.
Wewillalsoemphasizethematerialandexpressivecapacitiesandtheterritorialization/deterritorializationdimensionsoftheelementsintheassemblage.
ThedatainthispaperdrawsuponongoingparticipantobservationintheMMORPGTibiacombinedwithdatagatheringandanalysisoftheofficialTibiawebsiteandforumsandthewebsitesandforumsofcheatingcompanies.
11Inparticular,wehavedevotedourattentiontoforumpostsdirectlyrelatedtoananti-cheatingcampaignwhichhasbeenconductedbythedevelopersince9Asitisin[24].
10Heterogeneity/homogeneityheredoesnotrefertothehumanandnon-humanseamlesswebasitdoesinActor-NetworkTheory.
Heterogeneityreferstothevariabilityoftheelementsoftheassemblage.
11OfficialTIBIAforumshttp://forum.
tibia.
com/forum/subtopic=communityboards;Cheatingcompaniesforums:http://www.
blackdtools.
com/forum/&http://forums.
tibiabot.
com/January2009.
12InadditionweusesomeempiricalevidencewehavecollectedandanalysedduringapilotstudyoncheatinginMMORPGs,thatweconductedduringtheperiodSeptember-November2008.
13ThepilotservedtoidentifyrecurrentthemesinthecheatingphenomenoninMMORPGs(e.
g.
theroleofanti-cheatingtools,thecheatingInternetforumsascentresofcheatingknowledgecirculation)aswellasfamiliarizinguswiththetechnicalandcolloquialvocabularyrelatedtothesegames.
Intermofdataanalysisourstrategyisveryclosetothatproposedby[37]thatsuggestsonefollowthe"storytellers"(i.
e.
themainactors)andhowtheyattributecauses,endowentitieswithqualitiesorclassifyactorswithouttryingtoimposeapredeterminedgridofanalysis.
1stElement:TheGameArchitectureOneofthecrucialelementsofthecheatingassemblageisthearchitectureofMMORPGs14,orinotherwordsthewayinwhichcomputersinvolvedinthegamecommunicateandnetworkwitheachother(seeforanintroduction[49]).
ThemostcommonarchitectureusedinMMORPGsisthemaster-slave,whichconsistsofacentralizedserverwithseveralclients(theplayers'machines)connectedtoit(seeFigure2).
Inthisset-upthecommunicationbetweenclientsinvolvesaclientsendingarequesttotheserver,theservervalidating,ornot,therequest,andthentheserversendingtherequesttoallothertargetclients.
Oneofthemainreasonswhythisarchitectureispreferredisbecausebystoringlargepartofthegameexecutionontheserver,itispossibletokeepthegamingactivitiesundercontrol15:thisisanexpressivecapacityoftheinfrastructure,insofarasthisisjustatheoreticalargumentinwhichitispostulated(forexampleintextbookorgamenetworkingmanuals)thatthemaster-slaveisbetterthanotherchoicesintermsofcontrollingcheating16[32].
Inaddition,becausetheservermustvalidateallthemoves/requestsmadebytheclients,itcanalsodenycertainactions.
Otherarchitecturesareconsideredlesssecureintermsofcheatingcontrolandinapeer-to-peerarchitecture(Figure3)playersdependonotherplayers'machinesforaccurateinformation[4].
17The12ThesepostshavebeencollectedusingthearchivingsoftwareScrapbook.
ScrapbookisaFirefoxextensionthatallowsonetocopyandsavewebpages(seehttp://amb.
vis.
ne.
jp/mozilla/scrapbook/).
13DuringthepilotstudywehavebrieflyinvestigatedsomepossiblecasestudiesandinparticularthegameWorldofWarcraftandthecheatingforumsTaultunleashed(www.
taultunleashed.
com)andedgeofnowhere(www.
edgeofnowhere,cc).
DuringthepilotwealsohaveanalyzedsomeEULAsandToSofmajorMMORPGsincludingWorldofWarcarft,TheAgeofConan,RunescapeandWarhammer.
Ingeneralwehavecollectedsomeinterestingdata(includingforumsposts)andhavefamiliarizedwithseveralMMORPGsissues.
14Inhisbook[10]callstheinfrastructurethe"TechnologyofPlace".
15Otheradvantagesoftheclient-serverarchitectureareforexamplethefactthatitiseasytoreplacecomponentsandtoupgradetheservers.
16Seeforexamplethisinterestingdiscussionhttp://www.
gamedev.
net/community/forums/topic.
asptopic_id=37779417Buttheymightofferotheradvantagessuchasthereductionofcosts5master-slavearchitectureisforexampleusedinmostMMORPGsincludingWorldofWarcraft(hereafterWoW).
ThisarchitectureisusedinTibiatoo.
InthiswayCipSofthasstartedamaterialprocessinwhichtheinfrastructurehasaroleinshapingthepracticeofgaming:theTibiaclientmustconnecttooneoftheTibiaserversinorderfortheplayertoplaythegame.
Figure2:Master-SlavearchitectureThechoiceofthemaster-slavearchitectureisalsoaclearterrritorializationinwhichthereisanattempttoreducetherangeofpossiblecheatingactionsbyexercisingtightcontrolonthecode'sexecution.
Inotherwordsitisquitedifficultforcheatersto,forexample,modifythecodeofthesoftwarestoredandexecutedontheserver,whereasbycontrastitisrelativelyeasytomodifythecodestoredandexecutedontheclientmachine[46].
However,duetoperformanceandscalabilityissuesnotallthegamestatescanresideontheserver.
18As[30]havenoticed"anyclient-sidestatepresentsserioussecurityrisks"(p.
10).
Herethearchitectureseemstodisplayalsoaspatialterritorializationcapacityinwhichthegameresidesonthecompanymachinesincentralizedspacesratherthanbeingdeterritorializedontotheplayer'smachinesandspreadallaroundtheworld.
Intechnicaltermsthisisoftenreferredtoascentralization,theideathataccess,resources,anddatasecurityarecontrolledexclusivelyviatheserver.
Infacttheterritorializationoperatedbytheinfrastructureisnotcompleteandthepossibilitytoenactcheatingstillremains.
Figure3:Peer-to-Peerarchitecture18Stateisaconceptrelatedtotheideaoffinite-statemachines.
Intermsofexecutionofcomputationalprocesses,theseprocesseschangestateoften.
Astatereferstoallthevaluesofmemorylocations,registersandothercomponentofthesystemthatchangeduringtheexecutionofaprocess.
Thefactthatsomeinformationmustbestoredorexecutedontheclientmachineiscrucialforseveraltypesofcheats.
Forexample,[30]describetheorganizationofthedatastructureofaMMORPG'scharacter,andstatethat"Somewhereinmemory,adatastructureexiststhatdescribesthischaracter.
[…]Clearlythesedatamustbestoredonthegameserver,butsometimestheclientprogramcontrolsthevaluesdirectly"(p.
142).
Ifthisisthecase,thenanexpertcheatercouldeasilymanipulatethevaluesofacharactertoobtainunfairadvantage.
Butthisobservationhasageneralvalidity,indeedallthegameinformationstoredontheclientmachine19orthatisbeingmanipulatedandexecutedbytheclientsoftwarecan,inprinciple,beknownbycheatersandusedtocheat.
Whatfollows,isastatementtakenfromanofficialTibiaarticleinwhichthecompanyprovidesuswithanempiricalexampleofhowtheserver-clientbalanceconstitutesaterritorialization:Figure4:Exampleofclient-serverbalance.
From[13].
Thismessagewasreleasedbythecompanyafewdaysbeforethereleaseofapatchforthegame(software)client.
Itisclearthatduetocheatingproblems,thecompanydecidedtochangetheclient-serverbalance,movinginformationanddataonmonsterspreviouslystoredontheplayers'machinestotheserverside.
IndeedoneofthebestknownfeaturesofcheatingsoftwareforTibiaallowstheidentificationofinvisiblecreatures(seeFigure5).
Againwehaveanattempttoreducethepossiblecheatingactionsbyaterritorialization,whichinthiscaseisalsospatialinsofarasinformationonmonstersismovedtothegameservers.
Figure5:SomeofthefeaturesoftheTibiacheatingsoftwareBlackDProxy19Thisdoesnotjustrefertogamevalues,[30]givetheexampleofmodifyingdrivers.
6Atthearchitecturallevelwedonotjusthavethebalancebetweentheserverandtheclients,wealsohavetotakeintoaccountthecommunicationbetweenthesetwoelements.
Thegamesoftwarecanbecircumventedbyinterceptingand/ormanipulatingdatainreal-timewhileintransitfromtheclientmachinetotheservermachineorviceversa.
Thesetypesofactionsareoftendiscussedinonlineforumsrelatedtocheatingandconstitutethereforeaconcretepieceoftheassemblage.
20Forexample,themovementofacharacterisatypeofinformation,orrequest,thatgoesfromtheclienttotheserver.
Theinformationthatgoesfromtheclienttotheservercanbeinterceptedandmanipulatedforcheatingpurposes.
Often,whathappenisthataproxyisputinbetweentheserverandtheclientinordertomanipulatethesecommunications(Figure6).
21Figure6:ProxyOperations.
InTibiaoneofthemaincheatingtoolsisaproxytechnologycalledBlackDProxy(seehttp://www.
blackdtools.
com/blackdproxy.
php).
Herewewitnessadeterritorializationprocessinwhichtheproxychangestherelationsbetweenclientandserverandincreasesthepossiblecourseofcheatingactions.
ForexampleBlackDProxycomeswithafullrangeofdifferentfeaturesincludingdisplayinginvisiblecreatures,automaticfishingandhealing(Figure5).
2ndElement:TheCodeLessig[42]arguesthatcomputercodehasthepowertoregulatethebehaviourofentitiesinvirtualworldsinasimilarfashiontohowlegalcoderegulatesbehaviourintherealworld.
IndeedwhatwecallthecodelevelisanimportantelementofthecheatingassemblageinMMORPGs.
Thereareofcourseawholesetofrelationsbetweenthegamearchitectureandthegamecodeandtheycanbeanalyticallydistinguished,insofartheyhave20Seehereanexamplefromedgeofnowhereforums:http://www.
edgeofnowhere.
cc/viewtopic.
phpp=288779521Analternativeconceptforunderstandingthisprocessisthatofdetour,inwhichactorsareoftenbeingforcedtoacceptadeviation(seeforexample[7];[38])aspartofthebetrayalprocessknownastranslation[36].
differentrolesintheassemblage.
22Thecodelevelincludes:thegameclient,thegameexecutedontheserver,theanti-cheatingsoftwareaswellasthesoftwareusedbycheaters.
23Here,mainlyforreasonsofspace,wefocusontheroleofanti-cheatingtoolsaspartoftheassemblage.
Severalanti-cheatingsoftwaresolutionsareusedbygamecompanies,suchasDMWanticheat,PunkbusterorGameGuard.
Theseanti-cheatingsolutionsautomaticallyenforcethetermsoflegaldocumentssuchastheEULAandtheToS.
Inthisregardthesetoolsappeartooperateasmaterialelementsofmoreexpressiveelements(thelegaldocuments):thesetoolsenforce(punish)whatlegaldocumentsdiscipline.
24Anti-cheatingtoolsalsoterritorializeplayersactions.
[14]proposes(althoughwithadifferentgoal)asimilarapproachindescribinghowdifferent"industrial"strategiesforbuildinganti-cheatingtools,participateinthedefinitionofwhatischeatingbyreducingtherangeofpossibleactions.
Figure7:IntroductionoftheAnti-cheatingtoolinTibia.
Tobetterunderstandtheterritorializationcapacityofanti-cheatingtoolswewillbrieflymentiontheBlizzardanti-cheatingtoolknownas"TheWarden".
TheWardenisdownloadedontheflyfromBlizzardserversontousers'clientmachinesanditrunsapproximatelyevery15seconds.
TheWardeniscomposedofsmallportionsofcodethataredynamicallyassembled.
ThismeansthateachWardenisdifferentfromanotherandthereforeitisdifficulttocreate(cheating)codethatcancircumventit.
DefactothischaracteristicoftheWardenmakesitverydifficulttocreateeffectivecheatingcountermeasures:herewecanseehowtheanti-cheatingtoolsparticipateinthecheatingassemblagebyterritorializingtherangeofpossiblecheatingcode.
Anti-cheatingtoolsarecontroversialpartsofthecheatingassemblagewhichdelimitaspaceofconfrontationand22[14]forexampledoesnotseemtomakethisdistinctionandassumesthatthearchitecturelevelispartofthecodelevel.
23Cheatingsoftwaresolutionsdonotjustincludebotsormacros,butalsoallpossibleexploitationsofthegamecode(e.
g.
theexploitationofbugsorgameweakness).
Inaddition"thecheatingcode"relatestoallthetechnicalinstruments(e.
g.
examplehexeditorsordecompilers)andtechniques(e.
g.
thereverseengineering),thatcanbeusedtomanipulatethegamecodeandforwritingcheatingcode.
24InthisregardoftenthesetoolsappeartobesimilartoDigitalRightsManagementtechnologies.
Seeforexample[26].
7powercontestation,inCallon'sterms.
25Forexample,theWardenoperatesasasortofspyware,scanningtheRAMofplayermachines.
26Amongotherthings,theWardensearchesforcodeontheusers'machinesandcomparesitwithadictionaryofWoWknowcheatscode,whichismaintainedonBlizzardservers.
ItisclearherethattheWarden,inaway,interveneswithaterritorializationthatcreatesasubstantialboundarybetweendetectedandknowncheatingcodeandundetectedcode(seeFigure8).
Figure8:Thetitleofathread"against"theWarden.
27TheWardenisakeyelementofthecheatingassemblagebecauseithelpstounderstandsomecontroversialandoftencontrastingpowerrelationsbetweenthewholeandtheparts,forexampletherelationsbetweenthegamecompanyandplayers[5]and[50],butalsotherelationsbetweenthecompanyandotherentities.
ForexampletheElectronicFrontierFoundationhasclearlytakenapositionagainsttheWarden[21].
GregHoghlung,anexpertsecurityprogrammerandWoWplayer,haswrittenaprogramcalledtheGovernorthatmonitorstheactionsoftheWardenandtellstheuserwhichprocessesarebeingcontrolled.
28TheGovernorisaprocessofdeterritorialization29thataimstodestabilizetheterritorializationoperatedbytheWarden.
[30]alsoprovidearichtechnicaldescriptiononhowtobuildcheatingsoftware,withtheuseofadvancedrootkittechniquesthatinjectcheatingcodefromthekernellevelratherthanfromtheapplicationlevelofoperatingsystems.
TheauthorsclaimthatoneofthemainreasonsbehindthewritingofthisbookwastocounteractthecontroversialfeaturesoftheWarden[30].
TheirtechniquesclearlypossesadeterritorializationcapacityaimedatdestabilizingtheWarden.
25WethinkthatissimilartowhatConsalvocallsasthepowerrelationshipsconstructedthoroughcode.
26Punkbuster,operatesinasimilarway,seehttp://www.
evenbalance.
com/index.
phppage=info.
php.
27Fromhttp://www.
edgeofnowhere.
cc/viewtopic.
phpp=376435928OnhiswebsiteHoghlunddeclaresthat"Ratherthandebatethemoralityofthisbehavior,Iwouldliketogivetheconsumersthepowertomakethisdecisionforthemselves.
"Seehttp://www.
rootkit.
com/newsread.
phpnewsid=37129Severalattemptshavebeenmadebycheatingcommunitiesandcompaniestoovercomeexistinganti-cheatingmeasures.
Oftenthisbecomesagoalinitself.
InthecaseoftheWardenthisisquiteexplicit.
ForexampleWoWhackersdiscoveredthattheuseofthecontroversialSonyRootkitwouldhaveallowedtoolsmadeforcheatinginWoWimpossibletodetect.
InTibiaananti-cheatingtoolwasintroducedatthebeginningof2009.
ThecompaniesthatprovidecheatingsolutionsforTibia30havetranslatedtheirprogrammingeffortfromsimplyprovidingcheatingsoftwaretotryingtocreatecheatingsoftwarethatisundetectablebytheanti-cheatingtools.
FromthepointofviewofTibiacheatingcompanies,theanti-cheatingtoolclearlyoperatesadeterritorialization:infactthetoolhasdestabilizedexistingprogrammingpracticesandmarketrelationsbetweenthesecompaniesandcheaters[20].
Todatewhilecheatersareaskingforundetectablebots,thecheatingcompaniesappeartohavefailedtodevelopthem.
Figure9:Workingagainsttheanti-cheatingtoolsinTibia.
AtthesametimesomeTibiaplayersfearthatthenewanti-cheatingtoolinvadestheirprivacy.
Thisideaisnotofcourseacceptedbythewholeuserbase.
IndeedmanyhaveaskedfortheadoptionofpunkbusterorsimilartoolsinTibia,showingamobilizationprocessofotheranticheatingstrategieswithintheTibiagameforums.
Figure10:MobilizationofothertoolsinsideTibiaforums.
31Howevertheexistenceofdiscontentedplayerswhoareupsetwiththeintroductionoftheanti-cheatingtoolinTibiashowsthefearthatusersoftenhaveinrelationtothesetools:thefearthatthesetoolswillbeusednotjustagainstcheatersbutalsotoviolatetheprivacyofallplayers.
Again,thisshowsthatanti-cheatingtoolsopenupacontestedspacewithintheMMORPGscheatingassemblage,notjustforcheatersbutalsoforfairplayers.
30Thereare2knownsoftwarecompaniesthatprovidecheatingsoftwareforTIBIA:blackdtools(http://www.
blackdtools.
com)andNGSoft(http://www.
tibiabot.
com).
31Fromhttp://forum.
tibia.
com/forum/action=thread&threadid=1978162&pagenumber=308Figure11:ThesubjectofaTibiadiscussionagainsttheanti-cheatingtool.
323rdElement:TheTextualTechnologiesTextualartefacts,inparticularthescientificpaperandthepatent,havebeenwidelyinvestigatedinSTS(seeforexample[47]and[6]).
Textshavebeendescribedasactorsthatactivelyparticipateinshapingthetechnosciencelandscapeandthatembodyinscriptionsthattranslatepowerrelations[40],[2].
Inthisregard,softwarelegaldocumentsandsoftwarelicensesarenoexception.
Softwarelicensesconstitutetextual(legal)technologies[19],[35]thatplayanimportantroleinshapingsoftwareusersanddeveloperspractices.
33SeveraldifferenttextualdocumentsarepartoftheMMORPGexperience.
Inmostcasesthesedocumentshavedirectrelationshipswiththetechnicalelementsandwhenplayersinstallagame(software)clientontheircomputer,theyareaskedtoacceptseveraldocumentsincludingtheEULA,theToS34andoftenotherdocumentssuchastheGameRulesorevensomePrivacyAgreements.
35Theacceptanceofthesedocumentsisnotjustauser's"choice",butitismandatoryinordertoplaythegame.
Itismainlyinthiswaythatsoftwarelicensesexercisetheirpower.
IndeedalicensecanbedefinedaswhatinActor-NetworkTheoryiscalledanobligatorypointofpassage[7]:inotherwords,ifonewouldliketoplaythegameonemustaccepttheEULAandtheToS.
Figure12:DetailoftheWoWEULA:theusermustacceptthelicenseinordertoplaythegame.
32Fromhttp://forum.
tibia.
com/forum/action=thread&threadid=254420433Fromourperspectiveallthereferencestocheatingintheselegaltextsareinscriptionsthatparticipatetothecheatingassemblage.
34Thelegaldocumentsreflectthearchitecture:thesoftwarethatrunsontheusermachinefallsundertheEULAwhilethesoftwarethatrunsontheserverfallsundertheprotectionoftheToS.
35SeeherethedocumentsrelatedtoTIBIAhttp://www.
tibia.
com/support/subtopic=legaldocuments;whileheretherearetheWoWdocumentshttp://www.
worldofwarcraft.
com/legal/PreviouslywehavedescribedtheWardenanti-cheatingtoolwhich,amongotherthings,scanstheusers'machinessearchingforcheatingcodeinexecution.
Indeed,theWardencanoperateontheusers'machinesduetoaterm(number6oftheEULA)called"ConsenttoMonitor"whichisinscribedintoboththeEULAandTOS,ofWoW:Figure13:TheConsenttoMonitorTerm.
36ItisbyacceptingtheEULA,including"theconsenttomonitor",thatplayersallowtheWardentoscantheRAMoftheirmachines.
ThelicensesofotherMMORPGscontainsimilarterms,includingRunescape(Rule7),Warhammer(EULAterm2G)andTheAgeofConan(EULAterm5).
Thismakesthisphenomenonoflicensespowerevenmoreimportant:thelicensesexerciseapowerrelation,insofartheplayersmustacceptthe"consenttomonitor"inordertoplaythegame.
AnanalysisofMMORPGslegaldocumentsisofparamountimportanceforthedescriptionofthecheatingassemblage.
Oftentheselicensescontainstermsthatattempttoregulateandpreventarangeofcheatingpracticessuchastheexploitationofbugs,theuseofthirdpartiessoftware,thehackingorreverseengineeringofthegamecode,theinterceptionandmanipulationofpacketsetc.
Licensescanbeconceivedaslegalcode[35]andinthistheyarenotdifferentfromcomputercode,insofarastheyalsoparticipateinthedefinitionofcheatingbyreducingtherangeofpossibleactions.
Legaldocumentsterritorialize,buttheydosomainlyviaexpressivecapacities,whereastheexerciseofthematerial-territorializationcapacityisdelegatedtoanti-cheatingtoolsortoGameMasters[14].
37Theconsenttomonitorcanbeseenasoneoftheexpressiveelements(thelaws)oftheWarden(theexerciseofthelaw).
Wewouldlike,howevertoemphasizeanotheraspectoftheroleoflegaltextsintheassemblage:thediscrepancythat36Fromhttp://www.
worldofwarcraft.
com/legal/eula.
html37GameMastersaregamecompanyemployeesorexpertplayerswhoareinchargeofenforcingthegamerules.
FortheroleofGameMastersinTIBIAseehttp://www.
tibia.
com/gameguides/subtopic=manual§ion=support#gamemasters9existsbetweentheexpressiveterritorialization(i.
e.
thesemioticplayersdefinedintheiractionsbythelicense)andtherealplayersthatoftendeterritorialize/materializecheating.
Forexample,TheAgeofConanRulesofConductstates:Figure14:AtermfromTheAgeofConanEULA.
38Inthiscasetheactionsoftheplayersareterritorializedbythetextofthelicense.
Inthetermabovetheterritorializationdefinestheuserasapersonthatdoesnotexploitbugsordoesnotcommunicatetheexistenceofanysuchbugs(i.
e.
thepossibilitiesfortheuserarereduced).
However,theplayeroftenescapestheexpressive/territorializationofsuchtexts,ascanbeseeninthefollowingcommunicationofabugintheAgeofConan:Ijustnoticedthatstaminapotioninmybagisnotdeletedwhenprocced.
Ihave4ofthemtotal,onesingleand3stacked.
Wheniprocsingleone,itsnotremovedfrombag.
.
whichmeansihaveunlimitedamoutofstaminapotions(Oldredrouselvl30).
Eitherpotionisbuggedorididsomethingtobugit.
Pleasecheckthisout.
Fromhttp://www.
taultunleashed.
com/phpbb2/about62122_AOC_Dupes_Unlimited_Stanima_Potions.
htmlItisclearherethatthereisadifferencebetweenthesemioticactorsinscribedinthetextualdocuments,whicharenotsupposedtocommunicatetheexistenceofbugsandtherealusers/playerswhodocommunicatetheexistenceofbugsoveranInternetforum.
Againherewecanwitnessaspaceinwhichthereispowercontestation:thelicensestermsthataremandatoryandimposedarenotnecessarilyeffective.
Sofarwehavedescribedtheimportanceofofficialtextual/legaldocumentsofMMORPGsforthecheatingassemblage.
Cheatingsoftware,forexamplebots,oftencomewiththeirownlicenses.
Somelicensesareinmanycasesquiteordinaryintheirtext39inthesensethattheydonothavetermsthatdirectlymentiontheoriginalgametheyareintendedtocheat/hack.
Othercheatingsoftwarelicenseshowevercontaininterestingtermsthatprovideuswith38Fromhttp://support.
ageofconan.
com/article.
phpid=16939SeeforexamplethelicenseofawellknownbotforthegameTIBIA,thatappearsduringtheinstallationofthebot,fromhttp://www.
tibiabot.
com/download.
htmlelementsfordescribingtherelationsbetweenprovidersofcheatingsoftwareandtheMMORPGscompanies.
Forexample,thefollowingdisclaimercomeswithaWoWfishingbotcalledCyberfish40:BlizzardEntertainmentprohibitstheuseofmacrosorthird-partyutilitiestoautomategameplaytogainanunfairadvantageoverotherplayers.
Byusingthissoftware,youhereby,releaseitsauthorsofanyandallliabilityfordamagesreceivedasadirectorindirectuseofthissoftware.
AswecanseetheauthorofCyberfishmakesclearthatusingbots,macrosorthirdpartiessoftwareisprohibitedbyBlizzard.
Theauthorofthebotwantstomakeclearthatbyusingthebotthecheatersreleasetheauthorofthesoftwarefromallliabilityandotherproblemsthatmayarise:thislicense,exactlyasthegameofficiallicenses,territorializearangeofpossibleactions.
WhatisimportanttonoteisthatbothofficialMMORPGslegaldocumentsandlegaldocumentsfromcheatingsoftwareparticipateinthecheatingassemblage.
4thElement:TheGameplayGameplayconstitutesafurtherelementofthecheatingassemblage.
Whilethecodeandthelicensescanbeconsideredasmaterialelements,toalargeextentgameplayisanexpressiveelementofthearchitecture.
Thesituationissimilartothatofthecityskylineastheexpressiveelementofthecityinfrastructure[28].
Wedonothavetheintentiontoseparategameplay"assuch"fromotherpossibly"external"things,howeveritisclearthatthereisananalyticaldifference.
SomeinterestingexamplesofcheatinginMMORPGsareprovidedby[14],whoreferstoSocialEngineering41,ortotheabilityofcheaterstoexploitweaknessesinthegamedesign,ortotheexploitationofsoftrulesthatdonotdirectlydependonthegamecode.
InTibia,forexample,onesuchweaknessrelatestothepossibilityforcheaterstotrapotherplayersinsidegamebuildings.
Inthiswaytrapperscaneasilykillotherplayers(inPvPservers)orgetthemkilledbymonsters(innonPvPservers).
Inthissectionwewillfocusmoreonaspectsofgameplayintroducedbygamedeveloperstocombatcheating.
Asnotedby[14]designerscanintroduceelementsinthegameplaythatencourageordiscouragecertainactions:theseelementsclearlypossesaterritorializationcapacity.
InTibiaonesuchelementistheparametercalledSTAMINA:"Thecounterforyourstaminaindicatesthetimethatisleftuntilacharacteristootiredtogainexperiencewhilehunting.
".
42Thisparameterhasbeenintroducedinorderto40Cyberfishhttp://www.
taultunleashed.
com/phpbb2/post-315863.
html41[14]seemstousethistermfordescribingwhatsheidentifiesasexploitingthetrustofotherplayers.
42FromtheTibiaManualhttp://www.
tibia.
com/gameguides/subtopic=manual§ion=characters#staticpoints10counteractthesharingofcharactersorAwayFromKeyboard(AFK)play.
Indeedthevalueofthisparameterisinverselyproportionaltotheactionofkillingmonsters.
Itisexpectedthereforethatstaminacancounteractthecharactersthatareplayedcontinuouslyformanyhoursby'sharers'43inordertoincreasetheirexperienceandlevel.
Anotherofthese'soft'anti-cheatingelementsarethe"antibotintelligentmonsters".
ThesemonstershavebeenintroducedinordertocontrolAFKplayingandwhiletheylookthesameasnormalcreaturestheyhealveryfastmakingthemalmostimpossibletokill.
So,ifa(real)playerencountersoneofthesemonsters,thenhe/shecaneventuallyescapefromthem.
BycontrastifthecharacterisguidedbyanAFKbot,thentheanti-botmonsterwillkillthecharacter.
Indeed,thebotwillautomaticallyattackthemonstersandstickonthem,withoutanyabilitytorecognizewhetherthemonsterisacommonoranintelligentone.
Athirdanti-cheatingelementpresentinTibiaisamechanismthatpreventsimmediatedisconnectionwhilethecharacterisengagedinfighting.
Thiselementpreventsaplayerdisconnectingwhileacharacterisbeingkilled(eitherbymonstersorbyotherplayers).
DISCUSSION:ASSEMBLINGTHECHEATINGASSEMBLAGEInthispaperwehaveusedsomeconceptsfromScienceandTechnologyStudiestohelpustoconceptualizecheatinginMMORPGsasadynamicsociotechnicalassemblage.
Thecoreideaofthisapproachisthatanumberofdifferentelements(thearchitecture,thecode,thelicenses,thegame,thegameplay,theplayers,thecompaniesetc.
)enterintocontingentobligatoryrelationsthatcreateameaningfulwhole.
Thiswholeisdynamicovertimeasterritorialisationanddeterritorialisationprocessesandexpressiveandmaterialelementsarecontestedandpowerrelationsshift.
CheatinginMMORPGscannotbedefined,butratheritiscontextuallyandhistoricallysituated.
Itemergesastheresultofrelationshipsthatareatonceempiricalandhistorical.
Socio-technicalphenomenaliketheWardeninWoW,theanti-cheatingtoolsinTibiaandthe"consenttomonitor"terminthelicenseareclearlyempiricalentitiesthatenterintohistoricalrelationships.
Ourapproachismulti-level,paysequalattentiontotechnicalandnon-technicalelements,isnon-linear,focussedonrelationshipsandinvolvesstudyingaparticulargameoveranextendedperiodoftime.
Webelievethatthisapproachhelpstoovercomethefocusincomputerscienceandtechnicalliteraturesolelyontechnicalsolutionsto'prevent'cheatingandoncheatingas'harmful'andthe43AwayFromKeyboardisanInternetslangterm.
InthisspecificcaseitmeansthatthebotcanplaythegameinplaceoftherealplayerthatcanconsequentlystayAwayFromKeyboard.
Sharersarethoseplayerswhosharethesamecharacter/avatar.
Inthiswaythecharactercanbeplayedforlongperiodsduringtheday(i.
e.
players/sharersplaythecharacterinturnforseveralhours).
overwhelmingfocusinmediastudiesonplayersandplayeractionsandtheimpliedimplicationthatcheatingispositiveproofofplayerpower.
Foruscheatingistheresultofacomplexrangeofelementsandwetrytoavoidevaluatingthebehaviouraseitherpositiveornegativegiventhatplayersthemselvesaredividedonthisissue.
REFERENCES1.
Achterbosch,L.
,Pierce,R.
,andSimmons,G.
"Massivelymultiplayeronlinerole-playinggames:thepast,present,andfuture,"inComput.
Entertain.
vol.
5,no.
4(Mar.
2008),pp.
1-33.
DOI=http://doi.
acm.
org/10.
1145/1324198.
13242072.
Akrich,M.
"TheDe-ScriptionofTechnicalObjects,"inShapingTechnology/BuildingSociety,BijkerW.
andLawJ.
(Eds.
),MITPress,Cambridge,Mass,1992,pp.
205-224.
3.
Bardzell,J.
,JakobssonM.
,BardzellS.
,PaceT.
,OdomW.
,andHoussianA.
"VirtualWorldsandFraud:ApproachingCybersecurityinMassivelyMultiplayerGames,"inSituatedPlay,ProceedingsoftheDiGRA2007(Tokio,JP,September2007).
URL4.
BarronT.
Multiplayergameprogramming.
PrimaPublishing,Roseville,2001.
5.
Blizzard"AStatementonOurHack-ScanningProcess,"(2005),URL.
AccessedJune18,2009.
6.
Bowker,G.
"What'sinaPatent,"inShapingTechnology/BuildingSociety:StudiesinSociotechnicalChange.
Bijker,W.
E.
andLaw,J.
(Eds.
),MITPress,Cambridge,Mass,1992,pp.
53-74.
7.
CallonM,"Someelementsofasociologyoftranslation:DomesticationofthescallopsandthefishermenofStBrieucBay,"inPower,Action,andBelief.
LawJ.
(Ed.
),Routledge,London,1986,pp.
196-229.
8.
CallonM.
'"AnEssayontheGrowingContributionofEconomicMarketstotheProliferationoftheSocial,"inTheory,CultureandSociety,vol.
24,no.
7-8,2005,pp.
139-163.
9.
CallonM.
andCaliskanK.
"NewandOldDirectionsintheAnthropologyofMarkets,"PaperpresentedtoWennerGrenFoundationforAnthropologicalResearch,NewYork,9April,2005.
10.
CastronovaE.
Syntheticworlds:TheBusinessandPleasureofGaming.
ChicagoUniversityPress,Chicago,2005.
11.
Chen,B.
andMaheswaran,M.
"Acheatcontrolledprotocolforcentralizedonlinemultiplayergames,"inProceedingsof3rdACMSIGCOMMWorkshoponNetworkandSystemSupportForGames(Portland,Oregon,USA,August30-30,2004).
NetGames'04.
ACM,NewYork,11NY,pp.
139-143.
DOI=http://doi.
acm.
org/10.
1145/1016540.
101655412.
CipSoft,WhereWillCheatersGoFromHere,January05,2009a,URL13.
CipSoft,SecondPatchTeaser:Stamina,ExperienceCounterandMore,March05,2009b.
URL14.
ConsalvoM.
Cheating:Gainingadvantageinvideogames,MITPress,Cambridge,Mass,2007.
15.
DeLap,M.
,Knutsson,B.
,Lu,H.
,Sokolsky,O.
,Sammapun,U.
,Lee,I.
,andTsarouchis,C.
"Isruntimeverificationapplicabletocheatdetection,"inProceedingsof3rdACMSIGCOMMWorkshoponNetworkandSystemSupportForGames(Portland,Oregon,USA,August30-30,2004).
NetGames'04.
ACM,NewYork,NY,pp.
134-138.
DOI=http://doi.
acm.
org/10.
1145/1016540.
101655316.
DeLandaM.
ANewPhilosophyofSociety:AssemblageTheoryandSocialComplexity.
Continuum,London,2006.
17.
DeleuzeG.
andGuattariF.
AThousandPlateaus.
Athlone,London,1987.
18.
DeleuzeG.
Foucault,Athlone,London,1988.
19.
DePaoliS.
,TeliM.
andD'AndreaV.
"Freeandopensourcelicensesincommunitylife:TwoEmpiricalCases,"inFirstMonday,vol.
13,no.
10,6October2008.
URL20.
DePaoliS.
andKerrA.
"TheEconomyofCheatinginMMORPGs,"PaperacceptedfortheMediterraneanConferenceonInformationSystems2009(MCIS'09),Athens25-27October,2009.
21.
ElectronicFrontierFoundation.
"AnewgamingfeatureSpyware,"URL(2005),accessed18June,2009.
22.
Ferretti,S.
andRoccetti,M.
"AC/DC:analgorithmforcheatingdetectionbycheating,"inProceedingsofthe2006internationalWorkshoponNetworkandOperatingSystemsSupportForDigitalAudioandVideo(Newport,RhodeIsland,November22-23,2006).
NOSSDAV'06.
ACM,NewYork,NY,pp.
1-6.
DOI=http://doi.
acm.
org/10.
1145/1378191.
137822023.
Fields,D.
A.
andKafai,Y.
B.
"StealingfromGrandmaorGeneratingCulturalKnowledgeContestationsandEffectsofCheatsinaTeenVirtualWorld,"inSituatedPlay,ProceedingsoftheDiGRA2007,(Tokio,JP,September2007).
URL24.
Foucault,M.
DisciplineandPunish:TheBirthofthePrison.
Penguin,London,1977.
25.
Galloway,A.
R.
Gaming:EssaysonAlgorithmicCulture.
UniversityofMinnesotaPress,Minnesota,2006.
26.
Gillespie,T.
"CopyrightandCommerce:TheDMCA,TrustedSystems,andtheStabilizationofDistribution,"inTheInformationSociety,vol.
20,no.
4,Sept.
2004,pp.
239-254.
27.
Golle,P.
andDucheneaut,N.
"Preventingbotsfromplayingonlinegames,"Comput.
Entertain.
vol.
3,no.
3,(Jul.
2005).
URL28.
HarmanG.
"DeLanda'sontology:assemblageandrealism,"inContinentalPhilosophyReview,vol.
41,no.
(3),2008,pp.
367-383.
29.
Hine,C.
VirtualEthnography.
SagePublications,ThousandOaks,2000.
30.
Hoglund,G.
andMcGraw,G.
ExploitingOnlineGames:CheatingMassivelyDistributedSystems.
First.
Addison-WesleyProfessional,2008.
31.
Huizinga,J.
Homoludens;astudyoftheplay-elementinculture.
BeaconPress,Boston,1955.
32.
Kabus,P.
,Terpstra,W.
W.
,Cilia,M.
,andBuchmann,A.
P.
"AddressingcheatingindistributedMMOGs,"inProceedingsof4thACMSIGCOMMWorkshoponNetworkandSystemSupportForGames(Hawthorne,NY,October10-11,2005).
NetGames'05.
ACM,NewYork,NY,1-6.
DOI=http://doi.
acm.
org/10.
1145/1103599.
110360733.
Kücklich,J.
"HomoDeludens-Cheatingasamethodologicaltoolindigitalgamesresearch,"inConvergence,vol.
13,no.
4,2007,pp.
355-367.
34.
Kücklich,J.
"ATechno-SemioticApproachtoCheatinginComputerGames:OrHowILearnedHowtoStopWorryingandLovetheMachine,"inGamesandCulture,vol.
4,no.
2,2009,pp.
158-169.
35.
Lanzara,G.
F.
andMorner,M.
,"Artifactsrule!
Howorganizinghappensinopensourcesoftwareprojects,"inActor-NetworkTheoryandOrganizing,CzarniawskaB.
andHernesT.
(Eds.
),LiberandCopenhagenBusinessSchoolPress,Copenhagen,2005,pp.
67-90.
36.
Latour,B.
ScienceinAction,HowtoFollowScientistsandEngineersthroughSociety.
HarvardUniversityPress,Cambridge,1987.
37.
Latour,B.
ThepasteurizationofFrance&Irreductions.
HarvardUniversityPress,Cambridge,Mass,1988.
38.
Latour,B.
"MoralityandTechnology:TheEndofMeans,"inTheory,CultureandSocietyvol.
19,no.
5/6,2002,pp.
247-260.
39.
LashS.
CritiqueofInformation.
Sage,London,2002.
40.
Law,J.
"TheHeterogeneityofTexts,"inMappingtheDynamicsofScienceandTechnology,CallonM.
,LawJ.
andRipA.
(Eds.
),TheMacmillanpressltd.
,London,1986,pp.
67-83.
1241.
LawJ.
AfterMethod:messinsocialscienceresearch.
Routledge,London,2002.
42.
LessigL.
Code:AndOtherLawsofCyberspace.
BasicBooks,NewYork,1999.
43.
MacBride,R.
,"ThePrimordialEconomicsofCheating:TradingSkillforGloryorVitalStepstoEvolvedPlay,"inSituatedPlay,ProceedingsoftheDiGRA2007,(Tokio,JP,September2007).
URL.
44.
Mnch,C.
,Grimen,G.
,andMidtstraum,R.
"Protectingonlinegamesagainstcheating",inProceedingsof5thACMSIGCOMMWorkshoponNetworkandSystemSupportForGames(Singapore,October30-31,2006).
NetGames'06.
ACM,NewYork,NY,20.
DOI=http://doi.
acm.
org/10.
1145/1230040.
123008745.
PalmsK.
"DeleuzeandDeLanda:Anewontology,anewpoliticaleconomy,"Paperpresentedthe29January2007attheEconomicSociologySeminarSeries.
DepartmentofSociology,LondonSchoolofEconomics.
46.
PritchardM.
"HowtoHurttheHackers:TheScooponInternetCheatingandHowYouCanCombatIt,",inGamasutra,July24,2000,URL.
AccessedJuly12,2009.
47.
Shapin,S.
"PumpandCircumstance:RobertBoyle'sLiteraryTechnology,"inSocialStudiesofScience,Vol.
14,No.
4,1984,pp.
481-520.
48.
Shapin,S.
andSchaffer,S.
LeviathanandtheAir-Pump:Hobbes,Boyle,andtheExperimentalLife.
PrincetonUniversityPress,Princeton,1985.
49.
SmedJ.
,KaukorantaT.
,andHakonenH.
"Aspectsofnetworkinginmultiplayercomputergames,"inTheElectronicLibrary,vol.
20,no.
2,2002,pp.
87-97.
50.
TerdimanD.
"GameplayerssayBlizzardInvadesPrivacy,",inCNETNews,2005,URL.
51.
Yan,J.
andRandell,B.
"Asystematicclassificationofcheatinginonlinegames,"inProceedingsof4thACMSIGCOMMWorkshoponNetworkandSystemSupportForGames(Hawthorne,NY,October10-11,2005).
NetGames'05.
ACM,NewYork,NY,pp.
1-9.
DOI=http://doi.
acm.
org/10.
1145/1103599.
1103606