RPGnet Reviews (& Other Feeds)

Here's a reminder about the new RPGnet reviews syndication feed, now that the cost has dropped a tiny bit: rpgnet_reviews.

This includes reviews of RPGs on Mondays and Fridays and all kinds of stuff (board games, card games, computer games, DVDs, comics, books) on Wednesdays. There tend to be 3-7 reviews each day, all neatly grouped together in one burst of releases.

And just for completeness sake, I'll note the other RSS feed I generate: skotos_articles. This is a feed of articles on online game design that gets 2-3 entries a week. You can see articles by myself, angelbob and other talented folks who don't have LJs that I know of.

(Please feel free to repost this to rpgnettangency, rpg_slaves, and other appropriate communities I"m not a member of.)

How to Cheat at Online Games

For this Thursday, I'm planning to write an article on how to cheat in online games--mainly as a warning to game designers about things to watch out for. Here's some of the main areas I've laid out for discussion:

• out-of-band communication
• scripting
• disconnecting/consequence avoidance
• bug exploitation
• social engineering

I'm not going to try and explain all those brief terms right now, but I figure for those of you who play MMORPGs, many will be obvious. And, speaking of obvious, what obvious categories am I missing? I'm sure I'd come up with more when I write, as is usually the case, but I'm curious for thoughts now, for those items I wouldn't have come up with while writing.