I play World of Warcraft and the last time I participated in distributed computing projects was about 2-3 years ago on the Folding@home project. As you guys know, PS3 is going to try and flex it's processing power by participating in the FAH program come this winter.

Well, there is already a community of networked computers that can benefit the projects here at WCG. I am currently trying to encourage WoW players to participate in the WCG. This winter, Blizzard will be releasing its first expansion for WoW. It would be nice to see if each disc contained a copy of the WCG client along with a brief description of the program and it's benefit to humanitarian research projects.

As there are a wide range of computer setups that fall above and below the benchmarks for the WCG client, I would suggest that the client defaults to snooze mode if the computer falls close to or below the benchmarks. Or simply advise the player to put the client in snooze mode while they're gaming. A brief perusal of older threads has revealed that some players have experienced a drop in computer performance while the WCG client was in the background. Performance improved when it was subsequently placed in snooze mode.

I believe that there can be an opportunity to exploit some synergy between games like WoW and the WCG. In WoW, whenever a player logs out of the game, his character gains "rested experience points". When the player logs back in much later, he can double the rate in which he gains more points. Essentially this allows him to level his character faster until he runs out of the rested experience points. Currently the player can increase the rate at which he earns this exp by logging out at an Inn. Plus, there is a limit to how much total rested xp it can earn. I propose that if a player earns a modest amount of Work units for the WCG project in a month then, that player can earn a bonus to the rate of rested exp earned for one month. I have some other ideas as well but that's not all that relevant now especially in this forum.

I just feel that there is a huge opportunity to expand the network by working with gaming companies like Blizzard. With significant issues presented (and perhaps misrepresented) in the media by the likes of Jack Thompson and news stories highlighting real problems like internet addiciton, gamers are becoming marginalized into a cult sect of secluded ne'er-do-wells. Well now, gamers can play responsibly by participating in WCG projects and make a significant effort in the fight against AIDS and Cancer as well other problems facing humanity.

Currently, I'm working on a small level by just posting on my gaming forums with folks I have played with and on the official off-topic & server forums for WoW. I ask that other gamers do the same for their community and look for my thread on WoW's off-topic forum, "How to serve Mankind" - a title that i made with tongue in cheek as it may get bumped by folks making inane comments and such. But as long as people see it, then that's great!