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Article about MMORPG addiction centering around WOW
swiftflow
Member Posts: 239
I'll never understand how people get so addicted to a video game that they lose everything but apparently they do.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/games/beware-of-the-dragons/2006/02/15/1139890778823.html
Comments
i wouldnt mind but wow is the main example and wow is shit!
C
I think its more the fact that WoW bought in ALOT of players that had never played a mmorpg before, and they are sort of "shocked" and cant stop.
This has happend to person at work. He praticly does not sleep. He is now short tempered and snaps at people all the time, as well as customers.
I talk to him on TS and only when he is in WoW playing is he "happy".
But a few weeks ago this changed. Now he shouts and yells at us for no reason (even when we are not teaming) and acts like a kid. Quiting groups because he does not win a roll on an item etc.
His logic seems to have gone out the window.
He asks unreasonabul requests, take this for exsaple : He needed a item for crafting. One of us had it in our bank. He wanted it. We were in a instance and said he will get it after. The guy snaps and start cussing at us and saying "Give it to me NOW! I need it fast!" then he gets pissed and leaves TS and quits the game only to return 3 minutes later.
Now he is sick from work (because of sleep problems caused by the game), and naturaly he does nothing but play and play all day and night. Skipping sleep and playing around the clock. When he finnaly sleeps he passes out and sleeps the FULL day out only to wake up and start playing and the prosess starts again...
That sickleave from work will kill him. I wish I could tell his doctor about it.
I am worried he will become one of the ppl you read about that die infront of the computer.
I remember when EQ was "evercrack". I had just gotten a divorce for other reasons and was on my own. Some friends played EQ and I started. One time I stayed up till 5 on a Sunday morning playing. Then went to play DND after getting about 4 hours sleep. I thought, " this is how people who party all night must feel." That is how I view articles like this. Alot of people get addicted to alot of different things, divorce lose jobs and have no life because of it, but this is not news. WoW addiction, thats news for a slow newspaper in Australia.
""But Coyote, you could learn! You only prefer keyboard and mouse because that's all you've ever known!" You might say right before you hug a rainforest and walk in sandals to your drum circle where you're trying to raise group consciousness of ladybugs or whatever it is you dirty goddamn hippies do when you're not busy smoking pot and smelling bad."
Coyote's Howling: Death of the Computer
What moonfog described here is a very critical behavior. You need to talk to your friend seriously, if he continues this way he will be left alone by real people soon because no one will tolerate such a selfish and ego-centric behavior for long. And if it comes to this he will have really no life, just his virtual one which he ruins in the same way as it seems.
Talk to him, he must stop acting like this!
Ragosch
I have to admitt, when I first start an MMO and I like it, I am kinda like that. Except, mine is if I wake up in the middle of the night I start thinking about my auctions or something and I have to get up and check them or I can't go back to sleep. But that usually only lasts a couple weeks till the newness wears off and it's never every night, like that guy. I do lose sleep from playing so much though
I run on a tight scheduel. (full time work + school + ROTC + military stuff)
A Work in Progress.
Add Me
more people drop out of school, lose their job and get divorces from alcohal every year...
Why dont they report that in the papers?
after 6 or so years, I had to change it a little...
I just recently kicked my WoW addiction, and I would chalk that game up to virtual crap covered in sugar, gold, and crack-cocaine. No, it doesn't make much sense, but nothing in WoW really makes sense.
I call it subliminal messaging.
And I am really not suprised some people ruin their lives for this, I almost did. Just be glad you can save yourself and your friends from it.
Im not anti social, im just pro solitude!
That article was quite good for the most part, unlike most similar articles I've seen, though the first page does rely on sensationalism.
Currently playing:
* City of Heroes: Deggial, Assault Rifle/Devices Blaster. Server: Defiant.
* City of Villains: Snakeroot, Plant/Thorns Dominator. Server: Defiant.
I do believe in this addiction thing, because when I quit WOW in annoyance I actually felt "weird" in the head for a few days afterwards and restless with a desire to play again etc, I can see how some would be unable to resist the urge to go back.
I believe it is down to the grind, I hate grinding but I find it very addictive. The weird feeling in my head I think was my eyes/brain adapting to not staring at a screen, because when I quit I stopped using the computer for a while.
I am playing EVE now, and even though I quite like the game, I have had none of this manic phase at all. I think it is the training system and lack of grinding for xp, it forces you to take your time. Or the reason could be that EVE is boring and I just havent realised I hate the game yet, but I will reserve judgement on that until I get into the whole manufacturing/science side of it.
That's probably obsessional behaviour that is often associated with any hobby or activity a person likes and quite far from addiction.
The actual problem occurs when gaming activity really disrupts any other aspects of a person's life, for instance when gaming is used as a means of escaping reality and avoiding real life responsibilities. Such behaviour is the result of psychological reasons, because of a disappointment in real life. For instance, people with low self-esteem that cannot easily form healthy social relationships can get addicted to MMORPGs because it's easier for them to form social relationships there, or people dissatisifed with their lifes that suddenly discover a virtual world where they can be "successful". Games are merely the object of the addiction, but it could as well be television or alcohol or any other means of escapism.
There are, of course, certain reasons why an MMORPG is a prefered object for such behaviours. Its social nature, for one, as mentioned in the example above. MMORPGs also offer a sense of progressive success (much like any other game, that offers a series of "victories" in small amounts of time) but also some form of social recognition, as a person can become well known in the virtual community of a game server.
Currently playing:
* City of Heroes: Deggial, Assault Rifle/Devices Blaster. Server: Defiant.
* City of Villains: Snakeroot, Plant/Thorns Dominator. Server: Defiant.
This is why I cancelled my WoW account. One day I realized that it wasn't a game anymore and since then I've unlocked the shackles.
This is totally true. I remember when EQ was in all the papers for being addictive and I was watching a 20/20 story on it and this guy said.
"In real life I'm a nobody. But in Everquest, I'm definitally SOMEBODY! HAHA"
it was kinda sad actually.
A Work in Progress.
Add Me
I suppose i am an addict to really, I KIND of lost my girlfriend who i was happily living with and had a two year relationship with. Eventhough the game wasn't fully to blame, i could say it could be seen as a negative influence in our relationship. I don't find the game all that addictive anymore and i only play to level up characters and have fun doing the small crappy pvp that is left open to me. The problem for me is the fact that there isn't really any true competition and no other mmorpg gets the combat system so spot on. Thus everytime i leave, i come back because i try the others and they don't even match up.
From the article though, the vice president of blizzard's comments made me laugh the most and claiming it's not addictive but a fun activity. If i could, i would ask him what is fun in doing MC/BWL for 5 hours a night, seven days a week for three months? I would also ask him what is fun in farming insane amounts of runecloth just to open up a new dungeon to explore? I would lastly ask him what is fun in spending 18 hours a day for three months in the battlegrounds to get your pvp gear?
The fact is, blizzard are loving the addictiveness of it, it basically means more $$ and as long as the $$ are coming in, they couldn't give a monkey's left testicle.
How can you possibly get addicted to WoW? Its like getting addicted to throwing a tennisball at the wall and catching it. Ridiculous..
If you get addicted to a game like WoW i daresay that you had issues to begin with. Serious issues.
_____________________
I am the flipside of the coin on which the troll and the fanboy are but one side.
Lord.... I can't believe people get addicted to something as weak and shallow as WOW....
Poor bastards would probably have a coronary if they played a real MMO.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
I'd comment that any individual that allows an mmo to affect their life like that should just let Natural Selection take it's course. There should be a black box warning on all mmo boxes: 'Weak minds may be adversely affected'.
Ico
Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
It's not just MMO's, I get addicted to loads of computer games.
Fortunately I am retired and cannot loose my job over them. I know plenty of people that have.
Playing a game everyday for more than 3 hours is addiction, basicly anything in life can be described as addiction, you love to somebody can be addiction also, but if you control it, you can put it in a positive way that will effect your life and make it better.
why WoW is such a not good game ( in my personal opinion ) :
first of all you play the game and choose the class you like the most, for example i picked up a paladin, you can't imagine the stress and anger i've been into when i face stupid situations like a rogue or warrior running away after i beat them in a fight, can't kill them because they have abilties that makes them outrun me, but when i'm defeated and start retreating i can't.
second thing playing a rogue and getting ambushed by a mage is not funny, dieing from a couple of spells.
alot of people having so many different situations which will increase their pressure and make them want to explode, to the degree that you spill your anger on your little brothers or your wife or your girlfriend.
basicly put it this way, if you can't have fun in a game just quit it, if you start getting stressed and have pressure raise in a game, my advice is to quit it.
i know it's fun to play games, but i realized a long time ago that these kind of games simply ruin the people's lives, you can always find a better game that never ruins you life, a game which you don't have to worry about getting on for the raid.
my advice to everyone is, play the game, but also play your role in your life, game addiction is not any difference than drug addiction, and you see the effects from what you read and see.
good luck to everyone, and i hope you all have fun playing your games and hanging with your families and friends.
I was going to say pretty much the same thing, but this says it so much better.
...
This is where I draw the line: __________________.
An addiction is a matter of dependence to an object and behavioral changes when in lack of it. Time spent playing on hobbies is not a factor. Systematic neglection of RL responsibilities, aggressive behaviour when not able to play the game, etc, those are signs of an actual addiction. A strong preference in games as a means of free time entertainment or a simple passion for video games is not an addiction.
Currently playing:
* City of Heroes: Deggial, Assault Rifle/Devices Blaster. Server: Defiant.
* City of Villains: Snakeroot, Plant/Thorns Dominator. Server: Defiant.
I could understand getting extremely addicted to EQ back in the day but hard to find its still in Wow.. because its so bloody boring :P but then again they do have 5 million subs.
Yea, the definition has to be 'does it alter your behavior when you're not playing?'
WoW did for me in the early days. For the first few months I barely thought of anything else. At work I was thinking of WoW (though I still did my job to a high standard), and my major goal in life was to get home & keep playing.
There was even an occasion when a female friend asked me to come round to her place where herself & housemate were looking for some 'entertainment', but I said I was busy & kept playing (the housemate turned out to be a stunner, but one of the most horrible human beings I've ever met, even after a pretty colouful life, so it turned out to be no loss).
I do resist the temptations, and I'm usually successful, but there are times that a good addiction is really good for you. The example above was love. Another would be heartbreak. Who hasn't had their heart shattered, but found solace in the arms of a great game, to take your mind off the pain while time works her magic?
There will be winners & lossers in every field of human activity. Gaming is no different. The lossers can have problems with gaming, but that is a sympom not the cause. If I'd been knocking the arse off some young honey that I was wildly in love with, I wouldn't have gotten so into the game. Because I was dealing with the loss however, I was more than happy to let myself go.
Nick
The race doesn't always go to the swiftest, nor the battle to the strongest, but that's the way to bet.
Wrong.. this is the very thing the article talks about. Addiction is not playing or doing somthing for more than 3 hours. Addiction is a medical condition that is much more serious than 3 hours a day.
Heck, people goto work for 8 hours a day.. are they severly addicted?
are teenagers addicted to school cause they go there from 8 to 3?
thats just Silly.
As said in the article, waaay to many people are jumping onto the "im addicted" or "hes addicted" bandwagon. Its just silly.
Most people arent addicted, they could quit at any time, they just dont have anything else to do so they dont.
I played wow for as much as 10 hours a day for a while... I was able to quit and go do somthing else.
I just needed somthing to do. I still play it from time to time now.
most people who say they are addicted... really arent. Its just the media bandwagon people jump on..
"I play it ever day.. I must be addicted!! Now im gona be overcritical of my social relationships, and although its not really much worse than normal. Im gona convince myself its all WoW... omg I have an addiction, I need help, WoW is evil..."
and so it continues untill some mentally ill kid kills himself.. Then the mothers Rally, some show like 20/20 or Oprah steps in.. Next thing you know, one company refuses to comment and BAM!
everyones in an uproar.
Really, the only reason i had any problems quitting was that I helped my guild, ditching a group of 60-80+ people that you help and helped you for months is no easy task. Its more the commitment to your guild that leaves you hooked.
Not some "addiction".
after 6 or so years, I had to change it a little...
Addiction is something we all have, to one thing or another. Ever find it hard to change a habit you have? Thought so. MMOG addiction is nothing new, and an issue that people will have to face or pay the price just like drugs and alcohol. Addiction can be controled, with the right knowledge and support, it no longer needs to be a dangerous issue.
We as humans are subject to addiction in what ever we do, in one form or another, mild or extream. Failing to understand this or believe this a sign of denial and ignorance, both signs of addiction. I find it unsettling, reading some of the comments in this topic. Smoking doesn't taste like candy, or really smell like roses, but yet millions of people are addicted.
***
I say all this from experience, I am a Drug & Alcohol Councelor for teenagers, at a 24/7 facility in Eastern Oregon. I deal with stuff everyday, and have had to learn the in's and out's of addiction. I appologize if I have hit a sore spot for anyone. Anger and fustration are an after effect of the truth.
***
isnt life simply an addiction? why keep living if were going to die? if it wasnt for motivators like hunger, need for sleep, need for sex etc... we wouldnt care to live. not only would we die because of our lack of nutrient supplement, but we'd probably just kill ourselves when clearly free from all addictions because we would realize then our inevitable fate.
without addiction, life could not exist. addiction gives us meaning.
--people who believe in abstinence are unsurprisingly also some of the ugliest most sexually undesired people in the world.--