Yesterday was April Fools’ Day, and as is traditional, the Internet pretty much devolved into a maelstrom of trolling and ridiculousness. Which really isn’t that different from a normal day, except people put a little more effort in.

In particular, there were some pretty masterful gags involving two games close to my heart, World of Warcraft and The Secret World.

Space Goats: Coast-to-Coast

Possibly my favourite has to be Blizzard’s preview of the “new model” for Draenei females:

As a noted anti-Draenite, I must admit that this filled my heart with joy.

I think the most amusing and yet disturbing thing about this was the utter dismay and outrage people felt at the notion that the Draenei female might be anything but a Playboy model with a tail. How dare they present a female model that is less than physical perfection?

This is why I’m ashamed to be counted among the gaming community.

But no need to get too down in the dumps. Let’s just celebrate the hilarity that is this most brilliant act of trolling.

Other Warcraft gags:

While it’s the simplest of all their jokes, I think the “patch notes” are always the most amusing part of WoW’s April Fools’ gags. There’s a lot of gems in there, but whoever came up with this note for priests is my new hero:

* Chakra, when the walls fell.

Awesome.

I’m also amused by the fact that the mage spell Time Warp now requires just a jump to the left, and as someone who has played both a paladin in WoW and a crusader in Diablo III, I found the bit about what happens when you have Reaper of Souls installed especially poignant.

Elsewhere on the web, MMO-Champion “previewed” an upcoming feature that would allow players to betray their factions and thus play as, say, an Alliance Blood Elf or Horde Dwarf.

Honestly… I kind of wish this was real. It sounds awesome. Not just because I wish the lines between factions were more blurred, but it just sounds like an excellent quest chain altogether.

Why do you torment me this way, MMO-Champion?

The Secret World: Equality for all

The developers of The Secret World also had a pretty brilliant contribution with their new outfit called “Gender Equality.” This one wasn’t a hoax; it’s actually available in the item store.

In an obvious spoof of the “female armour” issue that afflicts many games, including TSW on occasion, the female version of this outfit is a perfectly ordinary and practical scuba diving outfit.

The male version is this:

Of course, this has once again triggered the eternal “silly clothes” debate, as many people resent joke clothing items in an adult, horror-themed game like TSW.

I’m no fan of silly clothing items, and I’m quite glad most offerings in recent months have tended toward the serious and setting-appropriate. But if you can’t appreciate the brilliant piece of satire that is this outfit, I just feel sorry for you.

I think this officially makes up for the infamous Snake Charmer outfit.