Power unplugged for the once headline-making anti-corruption online game. But why it went offline remains somewhat a mystery. From the Wall Street Journal:
Ningbo created an elaborate online role-playing game called Incorruptible Warrior, in which players wield weapons and supernatural powers to kill corrupt government officials, their bikini-clad mistresses and even their families. Players could pick off people with a single stroke or torture their quarry by striking repeated blows to the face. They were guided by 165 characters drawn from Chinese history or legend and shepherded through a virtual world corresponding to real places in Ningbo.
Incorruptible Warrior went live in July — for about three weeks — before it was taken down. The Ningbo government hasn’t offered an explanation, though at one point it posted a message on the game’s main Web site citing technical difficulties. Officials of China’s Ministry of Culture — which regulates the online-games industry and normally would be the agency to shutter a game for excessive violence or other violations — said they had nothing to do with shutting down Incorruptible Warrior. [Full Text]
[Image: bikini-clad mistresses from the game’s screen shots, via wsj.com]
– Also CDT’s earlier Anti-corruption Game Launches – Oriental Morning Post
