A new way of unearthing videogame cheaters has been introduced to RuneScape, the world’s most popular online adventure game.
‘Botting’ is a system whereby players of many online games use third-party software to automate tasks which in turn increase their player ability. It is an increasing problem for many online games – which is why Jagex is introducing sophisticated counter measures.
The new system will see anyone caught cheating within the game given two very public warnings – and if they are then caught a third time, their in-game character will be detained and sent to ‘Botany Bay’ where they could be permanently destroyed.
‘Botany Bay’ is a new in-game area where the community can judge the cheats, voting on ways in which they can be destroyed and throwing rotten fruit as the votes are counted. Methods of disposal include being stomped on by a dragon, blasted by a ray of light from the RuneScape gods, or consumed by a giant worm.
Mark Ogilvie, RuneScape Lead Designer commented: “Seeing rogue characters killed by dragons will be a very visual deterrent to other cheating players who now risk losing their character permanently.
We take a very hard line on cheaters in our game and have taken the unique move to name and shame those who have been breaking one of our most important rules. We have wanted to do this for some time and we hope that by bringing the actions of those who cheat to the attention of the wider community, we can make a massive step towards eliminating botting from the game.”
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