Bejeweled add-on coming to World of Warcraft

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 20th 2008 at 8:30PM }

There are many ways to deal with the boredom that can sometimes strike during lengthy World of Warcraft sessions -- other than walking away from the computer to partake in a more enjoyable activity (that's just unthinkable). Some people level up new characters. Some people head to the Barrens area to spew their hate-speech towards like-minded scoundrels. However, the virtual denizens of Azeroth will soon be wasting their time using a popular, real-life time wasting engine -- PopCap's uber-successful casual puzzler, Bejeweled.

The in-game add-on began as a homebrew Bejeweled clone from Michael Fromwiller, cleverly titled Besharded. Fromwiller developed the add-on as a method of killing time during long raids and farming sessions, but it wasn't too long before PopCap caught wind of the MMO mini-game. Instead of issuing a timely cease and desist, the casual gaming colossus hired Fromwiller to create a more polished version of the application. The add-on will launch this coming Thursday -- it would probably be wise to put in as much quality time with your WoW-playing acquaintances before then, as you won't be seeing them again for quite some time.

Tags: add-on, bejeweled, besharded, blizzard, popcap, world-of-warcraft, wow

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Sora @ Sep 20th 2008 8:43PM

So...they're playing a game...INSIDE OF ANOTHER GAME?!

That's GENIUS!

Ignatius @ Sep 20th 2008 9:57PM

Just you wait, your Sims in The Sims 2 will be playing The Sims 3 while the Sims in The Sims 3 are playing The Sims 4 on their computers while the Sims in The Sims 4 are playing SSX3.

Hell yeah.

I hope that confused the lot of you.

Mikeymike @ Sep 21st 2008 1:16AM

I'm the dude playing the game inside of another game!

West @ Sep 21st 2008 3:44AM

No one's see the World of the World of Warcraft, eh?

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/warcraft_sequel_lets_gamers_play

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ Sep 21st 2008 2:49PM

I know who I am! I'm the game playing the game disguised as another game!

ScallionN @ Sep 21st 2008 9:23PM

No, they're playing a game within a glorified chat client.

Kamizar @ Sep 20th 2008 8:51PM

That's funny, I heard they were putting Pac man inside bejeweled, just incase you play that too much too...

Joeenuk @ Sep 20th 2008 8:51PM

Some people do call MMOs glorified chat rooms. It's hard to argue when you can play a casual game within a game while chatting.

Neebs @ Sep 20th 2008 8:59PM

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w29/TheShadowShower/CE%20stuff/520973f3.jpg

YO DAWG I HERD U LIKE GAMES SO WE PUT A GAME IN YO GAME SO U CAN PLAY WHILE U PLAY

Einhanderkiller @ Sep 20th 2008 9:31PM

http://uploader.ws/upload/200809/yodawg.jpg

Ignatius @ Sep 20th 2008 9:59PM

http://www.joystiq.com/2005/12/28/nissan-concept-car-meets-xbox-360/

'nuff said.

Titanium_Orchid @ Sep 20th 2008 9:11PM

I'm glad this ended happily and not with a lawsuit

Courtney @ Sep 21st 2008 12:44AM

PopCap appears to be much more relaxed about their properties when someone does an "interesting" hack. Seems like a good strategy as it generates positive press and creates possible new avenues to distribute your game.

Ryan Henson Creighton @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:09PM

If anything, it would have ended in a failed lawsuit. You can't copyright a game mechanic. People can create Match-3 games all they like, as long as they don't call them "Bejewelled" or use any of the graphics from that game.

There are roughly 89 bajillion Bejewelled clones on the Internatz, and no one's getting sued. For a more high-profile example, see Puzzle Quest (or any of the knock-offs in Puzzle Pirates ... Puzzle Bobble, Tetris Attacks, and Super Puzzle Fighter are all in there.)

smcn @ Sep 20th 2008 9:16PM

Dude... That's so meta.

Meta @ Sep 20th 2008 11:34PM

Yes?

LuckyEMS @ Sep 20th 2008 9:19PM

wtf bejewelled? it needs to be peggle

RanWitScissorz @ Sep 20th 2008 9:24PM

I'm surprised this wasn't put in earlier, or something with the like. The original PVE MMORPG game, EverQuest, added jewels around the 3rd or 4th expansion.

HitNRun @ Sep 20th 2008 9:26PM

Everquest added something similar when it started its decline. "Med"tris, it was nicknamed. It was played with gems made from spell icons.

Really, this sort of thing reinforces my prediction that WoW is at the top of the mountain and looking down right now. Not that Blizzard should take the central office of their bank off speed-dial any time soon.

Kodros @ Sep 20th 2008 10:54PM

/gems

It was created by one of the EQ programmers at home when he was sick one day.

chispito @ Sep 20th 2008 11:49PM

So you can PUZZLE while QUESTing?

Cool.

GoldenS1104 @ Sep 21st 2008 12:13AM

@ chispito

I don't see what you did there. Please explain. =D

Vegnagun bwf @ Sep 20th 2008 10:00PM

Did nobody notice the guild tag? I should call them up and tell them how cool they are.

KeenCommander @ Sep 20th 2008 11:10PM

Oh come, we should all know what this means - first Bejeweled in WoW, then BLIZZPOPTAVISIONCAP!!! It all makes sense now...

NukeAssault @ Sep 20th 2008 11:34PM

Took them long enough. You know how long i haven't been waiting for this?

mr nimblewick @ Sep 20th 2008 11:55PM

See? This is how you do it. Have the guy making the copy make an official one. I'm looking at you, Hasbro/Facebook!!

Boffo the $ock @ Sep 21st 2008 12:21AM

If a game gets so boring to you that you need to play another game inside of it, let alone a crappy shovelware cell phone game, then you probably need to stop beating that dead horse and play a different game.

KeenCommander @ Sep 21st 2008 1:43AM

Bejeweled? Crappy shovelware? Have you played that game??? So damned addictive...(plus it was on PC first, not phones)

They kidna killed it with the unnecessary sequel that actually made the gameplay worse, but the original is still very fun.

KeenCommander @ Sep 21st 2008 1:44AM

*kinda

Kidna was Midna's kid sister...oops, I just leaked the plot of the next Zelda game ;)

BigD145 @ Sep 21st 2008 2:51PM

$15 a month for Bejeweled?! Where do I sign up?

I hope the sarcasm isn't lost in that emotionless text.

Yourself @ Sep 21st 2008 1:32AM

As ridiculous as this seems, I must admit that I occasionally get out my DS for some Tetris during a long match of Sins.

Blank-Mage @ Sep 21st 2008 1:41AM

This is mind-blowing. Seriously, is your game so boring it, itself, needs games to occupy you? What was the point of playing WoW, then? And where does it go from here, I ask?! What awaits us at the end of this impatient road?! I just can't, when, even, how, oh dear I've gone cross-eyed.

Sizer @ Sep 21st 2008 2:54AM

Okay, I'm glad PopCap and Blizzard are so cool about this...

But if WoW is so damn boring that you need to be playing Bejeweled in it, ur doing it rong.

Kael @ Sep 21st 2008 3:15AM

Years ago, my cousin used to play Everquest a lot, but she ended up getting a lot of reading done; she read through entire novels while she played, proving Everquest as a non-experience. Warcraft made great strides toward being something you play instead of wait for, but apparently not enough if anyone thinks this is something they'll use. Is it possible to make an MMORPG that doesn't have down-time, or is that just an unavoidable byproduct of dealing with other players?

Jeff @ Sep 21st 2008 1:29PM

Not really. They need to include tons of downtime and grinding-- there's no way they can make a game with years worth of content.

chroma hoop @ Sep 21st 2008 5:15AM

now they just need to force you to stare at your spellbook to regain energy for it to recreate the true EverQuest experience

Evan @ Sep 21st 2008 9:00AM

Intead of adding a game, perhaps Blizzard should fix WoW so that it's less boring!

t_m @ Sep 21st 2008 9:10AM

Kinda related:

Anyone tried Warlords Online? Is it any good?

Roto13 @ Sep 21st 2008 12:41PM

If I'm bored enough playing a game to need to play another game at the same time, the first game I'm playing probably isn't very good.

chefgon_ign @ Sep 21st 2008 12:58PM

I love puzzle games, but Bejeweled is just incredibly boring. How did that get popular?

Dash @ Sep 21st 2008 10:43PM

You know, I think the main news here is not the add-on itself, but the fact that a company took a homebrew project and hired its developer to improve it and then published it.

I wish many more publishers, and not just a few including Popcap (Popcap, for crying ou loud), would do that. I mean, there are so many mods, extra levels, patches and add-ons made by the homebrew comunity (including one that allows the Wii to use the USB with an normal externalhard drive), why not use it, instead of banning it?