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More on the Ragnarok Murders: LUG Hitmen

May 6, 2005

While I was trolling through the blog of one of the almost 300 people who signed up for iBlog (the First Philippine Blogging Summit), I chanced upon an entry in MetroBlogging about the issue.  Crisel writes that some people in the Level Up Games’ (LUG) IT department are paid 20,000 to 25,000 to hack delete characters. 

LUG Hitmen. 

It’s a wild charge and I suppose nearly impossible to prove unless you present someone who’s actually done it.  But this seems to be an issue that won’t go away.  Strangely enough, there doesn’t seem to be any reporting on this in the traditional media outlets. 

Posted by JJ Disini at 1:55 pm | permalink

Previous Comments

Economist Edward Castranova has proposed models to measure the monetary value of in-game items and characters. LUG tracks the peso value of the Ragnarok in-game currency, the zenny (z), now pegged at 1,000,000 z = PhP 30.

Should a hacking case be pursued, can players seek restitution for the monetary value of their lost characters?

Posted by Mike at May 8, 2005, 1:35 pm

It could be an inside job since LUG claims that no one was actually able to breach their system. Based on the story given by that blogger, it seems that the deletion was sort of organized. It could probably be true. I have heard similar stories (not just character assasination) from a LUG employee — a GM himself. What he told me is that he creates ingame items and sold it for thousands of pesos to paying customers. Of course, I won't disclose who he is. Therefore, it is also possible that some desperate players could have paid them to do that.

Posted by Francis at May 10, 2005, 4:31 pm

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