Virtual virus spread event held at WOW game

Not only the spread of the corona 19 pandemic infection, but also the sociological aspect of how people who face the epidemic behave had a big impact. An attempt was made to infect a player character with a virtual virus on an unofficial server of the popular online game World of Warcraft, to help people know how people will behave about the spread of Corona 19.

World of Warcraft is a popular massively multiplayer online RPG game. There are unofficial servers that are accessed and run through official servers provided by Blizzard, but operate in a form that mimics server applications. Of these, the Elysium Project server has 3.5 million players. The number of active players per week ranges from 10,000 to 15,000, making it one of the largest unofficial servers. An event called Pandemic In Azeroth was held on the Elysium Project Server.

The server administrator designates 1 player as patient 0 (Patient Zero) and infects them with a virus. The overall state of being infected by this virus is reduced by 5% and movement speed is reduced by 10%, which interferes with play. Virus infection spread rapidly in patient 0, and the number of infected people reached 2,276 in 15 hours after the start of the event and more than 7,000 in 24 hours, and the virus infects 88% of the most active players. It is said that this event started without any notification to the player.

Then, to what extent the virus had infected the players, the administrator announced what was happening to all players. According to officials, the virus was a specification that probably sticks to objects touched by infected people as well as humans. If you come into contact with an infected person or an object with a virus, it is a system that infects the virus if you do not wash your hands using a special item called toilet soap installed in the city.

After complaining of the fear of the epidemic, the officials introduced a quest to reset the virus infection on all servers and catch the boss infected with the virus. To clear this quest, the player must maintain social distancing. It is recommended to learn items such as masks that cover the face and use items such as antibacterial cleansers. You can also diagnose symptoms to see if you are infected with the virus.

The Elysium Project server management said that the event’s primary purpose was education, and felt that it was able to convey information and help people by spreading the fear of virus infection on servers that play more than 3.5 million players. Related information can be found here .