I know I’ve probably been playing entirely too much World of Warcraft, but I just can’t help myself. With the amount of time that I’ve been investing into the game, I’ve started to notice some of the smaller details that just make the game that much more fun.
For example, in one of the quests, you are charged with retrieving punchcards because they contain some kind of super sensitive data.
Above is an example of one such card. While staring at it, I came to realize that the data encoded on it was 8-bit ASCII. Now I couldn’t very well realize that and not do something about it, so I ran (quickly!) to my favorite encoder/decoder and feverishly started putting on ones and zeros until I had translated all the cards.
| Card | Super Sensitive Data (TM) |
 |
The gnome king wears night elf underwear |
 |
Thrall and Jaina sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G |
|
If you can read this, you’re standing too close |
 |
Help! I’m trapped in a binary punch card factory! |
 |
Message to Castpipe: your laundry’s ready for pickup. |
I can put up with the weekly downtime, the bugged quests, the disappearing transports, and the throngs of morons I’ve met throughout the game if I can keep finding things like this to satiate my curiosity and keep the game interesting.