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MMORPG the Drug - Why you might never be happy again.
_Jord_
Member Posts: 228
Heroin addicts will tell you - the first time they tried an opiate, it was incredible. Since that wonderful and addictive first time, they spend their lives chasing that same experience. Yet, no matter how far they up their dose, they can never get back to that first time. Meth junkies, Ecstacy users, and even pot smokers, will often tell you the same thing.
I visit this site whenever I am stuck between games. It's a great site for information, advertising (when I WANT to be advertised to) and to ask basic questions on the forum. But then it gets depressing. I go onto a forum to ask a simple question, and I'm overwhelmed by forums full of hate, rage, sadness, and depression.
I'm 28 years old. I was 17 when I saved up my money to upgrade my Pentium from 90 to 166 MHz, and bought a new 1 GB hard drive, so that I could play UO. I have been an avid MMO fan ever since. After UO, I took a short break and then got into FFXI. From FFXI I got into WoW. Where I had played UO for 2 years and FFXI for 1 year, I played WoW forever... On and off. It was then that the magic started to fade. The timesinks were just as well disguised as ever, but I saw right through them. The game got better and better, but it didn't make me happy. The old feeling of immersion and adventure was waning. In it's place I found routine and boredom. There was a void - an emptiness. Where my addicted brain used to get it's kicks from the brightly flashing pixels telling me my Druid had just hit level 43, or that my Rogue just got a purpler purple, now felt empty. I needed more. I needed something to get me high again.
So I tried every other big title that came out. Looking at my shelves, I see dusty boxes of titles like AoC, WAR and a newer updated version of FFXI. Thinking of free trials and F2P, I remember MxO, DDO, RoM, DAoC, EQ2, PoTBS, EVE, along with others that I've long forgotten. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING could fill the void that was emerging.
When I read the forums on this site, it's clear that I'm not the only one yearning. At any given point, you can find SOMEONE wishing that MMOs were just like they were in 1998, SOMEONE attacking the most popular game on the market, SOMEONE trying to propose ideas to create the perfect MMORPG and a million other people willing to argue anything and everything. I think at the end of the day, most of us are in the same boat.
We haven't been able to get high in years, yet we still yearn for it. Nothing felt as good as UO or EQ or early WoW, so we just assume that those games were better. In some ways, they probably were better, but the modern MMO has a lot of benefits, too. No game, even if you could design it and run it as a dictator, with all of your brilliance pouring into it, would make you feel the way you did back then. Research has been asserting that video games hit our brains like drugs, releasing seratonin and endorphines, and keeping us glued to our screens.
That connection can probably be blamed for 90% of the rants, raves, desperate pleas and deepest wishes found on this forum every minute of every day.
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Played - UO, FFXI, WAR, WoW, EVE
Currently - Bored.
Comments
There is another thread going on now about people being sick of an MMO but do not leave because there is nothing else. Puts me in mind of smokers or drinkers saying they are sick of it but cant quit. Some say game addiction isnt real but some of the signs seem to pop up on these boards from time to time.
Not addictive?
That's a joke, right?
I mean, people ditch their friends, fail out of school, and spend 30-100 hours a week in front of their computer. Personally, I have my addiction under control (although that's partially because no game can satiate my hunger any more), but for a good number of MMO players, the games are addictive. It's not addictive like an opiate, where you'll go into seizures and puke and risk death if you stop taking it, but it's at least as addictive as pot - as long as it's there, you'll smoke it every time.
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Played - UO, FFXI, WAR, WoW, EVE
Currently - Bored.
Speak for yourself. Im just as happy now as when I first started playing online games. mmos or not, makes no difference, Im enjoying online gaming with a few friends. Maybe its because I dont nitpick shit left right and center. Maybe its because I just come to mmorpg.com for laughs, and not the meaning of life.
If you stand VERY still, and close your eyes, after a minute you can actually FEEL the universe revolving around PvP.
Hum . . .
how to get it out of your system ?
sadly true....soo sad, but unfortunately so true.
i still remeber the first time for me. reaching level 10 in Tedrasil, thinking i had expolered so many places, experienced so much, fought so many foes, mastered so many thing....only to land in Auberdine and take a look at the uncovered map.....what a feeling that was! the awe, the excitment, the anticipation....oh! to be an mmo virgin all over again!
Nice read m8. In a way it does feel like a downward spiral that a lot of older MMO players who have been around for the UO, EQ, Early WoW, even L2, RYL, and other games that had a very good constitution of "grabbing" your interest for a long period of time, are disappointed by how frail and uninteresting MMO's have become. The possibility of holding you in only lasts a couple of days to maybe a couple of months - if only.
I've seen multiple threads in multiple games of people who defend a game by saying everyone was expecting too much and should enjoy the game for what it is, yes granted you can enjoy the game for what it is but basically what it isn't is fueling the depressive state of another game that can't fill the 'Needs' & 'Wants' of the mass populis of MMO gamers that have been around for a while.
I would've agreed with this post up until a few months ago when I picked up Fallen Earth.
That game has given me that "feeling" again that I had back in my UO/AC1 days.
I think the reason many people can't find that feeling again is because games have changed so much over the course of the last 13+ years that for many, they cannot find a game that is similar to the one that gave them that feeling first time around.
For us UO/AC1 players, there hasn't been a decent new skill based world since. AO came close, but was still restricted. The rest of the games have been class based theme parks that just simply cannot compare to the experiences offered to us in UO/AC1.
At least this is from my perspective. Everyone is different of course.
Einherjar_LC says: WTB the true successor to UO or Asheron's Call pst!
I agree with the above, but every now and then, I pick out the positive and intelligent threads and think, maybe there is hope after all.
Just as addicting MMO's can be, so can complaining. I work with someone who complains and rant, just to do it. If she's not ranting, she's miserable. Some people simply like to complain and rant. Me, I'd rather eat Banana splits, wink at sexy women on the beach, play games and have fun. Complaining? Being miserable? Ranting? Pffffttt...what a waste of everyone's time.
LOL...
LOL...
lmao....trust me that alone does not work. i know, i'v reinstalled wow 3 times. the only way is to except that you have an addiction wich is most likely cause by unhappy real life situations, events or conditions. dont judge it, just be aware of it. the more you are aware of it the less you'll feel cumpulsed to indulge in it.
I've often told people who said MMO's where addictive that they where crazy, or they just had an addictive personality.
I never believed them, never wanted to listen to them.
But you made me realize I'm a MMO addict, and i now believe MMO's can be addictive.
Great great great post.
By the way, with these new types of MMO's on the horizon like Darkfall, fallen earth, and the pile of dirt we call mortal online, i think i will have a chance to find a new drug, a sandbox. ^_^
-Prays that Mortal online will survive long enough to shine-
It's not just mmos. There is a whole industry catering to people who are trying to buy collectibles like the lunchbox they took to school, the toys they played with, etc. when they were younger. Do those people really want those items? Not really, so much as they are trying to recapture the way they felt when they first had them.
That's why we never find the mmo that makes us feel like the first one. We know what a kill 10 quest is. We know what a delivery quest is. We have maxed out a character and raided in an endgame. Lots of times. Now that we've seen all this stuff it's not new anymore. More importantly, we're not new anymore.
Nothing is going to reset that clock until a game comes along that is so absolutely revolutionary that our past gaming experiences are as irrelevant to it as playing monopoly was to playing Everquest. Because it's that "omg I have never seen anything like this" experience that made our first games magical.
And I, like you, continue to wait, and continue to brouse websites like this one hoping to catch a glimpse or a rumor of some game that will make me feel like I did when I went from pen and paper games to mmorpgs.
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Amen to everything you just said.
I couldn't agree more.
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Played - UO, FFXI, WAR, WoW, EVE
Currently - Bored.
Sadly if I knew what WoW did to make it sooo addictive, and they knew what they were doing, I woudl probably make my own MORPG and charge people for my drug as well.
I think you are right. I have only just started playing MMORPG's last year, and WoW was the first ever that I played. I started right when patch 3.2 went into effect. They just made it even easier then it was, unfortunately.
Games can be like drugs. I think many are in denial of the power these games hold over them. They want you to get hooked, that is part of how they make their money. Treadmills, gear progression, that is not enough. It's the social fix we get as well. It's the feeling as if everythign we do in the game matters because others are around that can witness our achievements. It is that competition to be the best in the US that makes it even worse. YOu literally have to become a nerd to become the best in WoW, there is no way to avoid it. You might be a socially hip nerd, but nerd nonetheless.
Btw, I am really opening up here, so thoughts are just flowing out, so bear with me.
I started up WoW and thought to myself wow what a piece of crap. I was wandering how anyone could be so addicted to such a crappy looking game. But I started playing it, and I was one of those players that didn't want to level past 10 but did anyway and endured the things I disliked about the game. Eventually it did get better when I learned new abilities and became 'more powerful'.
The real problem with the game is that once you find something you like about it, you want more. The problem is you get only so much, and then you are left starved for good content. I think that this is what Cataclysm is trying to do. Make good content plentiful, and rework the entire expereince so that it gives you more of a fix. Basically they are upping the drip of your drug into you veins.
If you are addicted, avoid Cataclysm at ALL costs, except your own life
.
Do not try to be a great gamer, just be a gamer. Cause, I don't care how good you are anyway.
Alright, that is it. I'm even uninstalling EVE. Fuck MMORPG's. Only games I touch the next three years are single player games or purely social online games. I'm done with this shit. This my version of quitting smoking or losing those 35 kilograms or stopping watching drama series, I'm gonna stop playing MMORPG's. I refuse to sit at the computer all day and reading about MMORPG's and playing them to boredom. None of them are fun and give that woah feeling. Not for me anyway. I'm a god damn MMO junkie, my place is a mess and don't have money, but I don't care, cause I play dem gamez. That is not the case anymore.
I'M GIVING THESE ACCOUNTS AWAY IF YOU PROMISE TO NEVER GIVE THEM BACK:
Darkfall
EVE
Fallen Earth - given to Xidal
FFXI unused key
Vanguard
Only Darkfall has a character. It's decent for starting out with. PM me if you want any of these, don't spam this thread. I'll send all info.
edit - Only two messages so far... Gabby if you're going to stop playing in march, I'll rather give to someone else, sorry.
I've just recently also discovered the truth you stated, im an addict. I've told myself that i just enjoy games but no at this point i can say im addicted and am looking for that magical feel again. Most vets on the website that don't find anything fun are also addicts, we have no games to play yet are here everyday in hope. In the past month or two i've cleared my act quite a bit and have cut gaming time a lot and to tell you the truth now i enjoy games a lot more. Hopefully i can get rid of this addictiveness, my goal is mid-march so yeh. To others that don't believe they're addicted, ask yourself this: Is there ANYTHING you could be doing instead of searching for a new game that is more fun? you'll have your answer.
I have been waiting for the second coming now for too long.
You must be the one.
Wisdom is a gift not a privlidge.
You my friend must hold the meaning of life.
Give it up....or I will hunt you down and take it from your girley hands.
It's better to lurk in forums and be thought a fool...than to endlessly "Quote" and remove all doubts.
I have been waiting for the second coming now for too long.
You must be the one.
Wisdom is a gift not a privlidge.
You my friend must hold the meaning of life.
Give it up....or I will hunt you down and take it from your girley hands.
LOL ... girley hands
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Played - UO, FFXI, WAR, WoW, EVE
Currently - Bored.
I know where you're going with this, and I feel the same way. But it's the community that makes games feel that way--not fun anymore.
Bad community = bad game.
Good community = great game.
It's something I've just come to accept now. Final Fantasy XI's community is easily among the best in any MMORPG to date, so keep your eyes out for Final Fantasy XIV. Should be relatively the same thing. Guild Wars also has a nice community, so I'm also lookin' out for Guild Wars 2.
Things will never be the same, but there are at least two things you can do to enjoy games again.
1. Get involved in the storyline. Role play if you have to.
2. Find a social Guild (or just a good group of friends) and get involved. This will be impossible to do in World of Warcraft so don't even try it there. World of Warcraft is now a haven for Blizzard's trio of fanboys from Starcraft, Warcraft and Diablo. All hope is lost for this game, period.
Nope. MMOs are not addictive.
There's a condition called Geophagy. The sufferers are "addicted" to eating dirt. Does that make dirt addictive, or does it just mean that there are people out there that are bonkers?
Millions of people enjoy MMOs as a hobby. If a few people turn that hobby into an all-consuming obsession, then they can be easily ignored as well, just being bonkers.
Playing: EVE, Final Fantasy 13, Uncharted 2, Need for Speed: Shift
Nope. MMOs are not addictive.
There's a condition called Geophagy. The sufferers are "addicted" to eating dirt. Does that make dirt addictive, or does it just mean that there are people out there that are bonkers?
Millions of people enjoy MMOs as a hobby. If a few people turn that hobby into an all-consuming obsession, then they can be easily ignored as well, just being bonkers.
I smoke pot because I like it. I smoke it almost every day. I tell myself all the time - I could stop any time. It's just a hobby.
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Played - UO, FFXI, WAR, WoW, EVE
Currently - Bored.
I think that it is pretty accurate that gaming can seem addictive. You make a lot of good points, but at the same time I have to wonder whether or not the forums are being primarily used by those who are griping about their lack of enjoyment for the genre. I play a game and I still feel that wonderful feeling whenever I log on. Not all of us are having trouble enjoying our games. Just keep looking despite how frustrating it is.
www.ryzom.com
If someone likes the first time the best, they are probably craving novelty (out of boredom). The drug user, for example, will over time become more of an expert at delivering optimal doses and arranging optimal settings for themselves. Various drugs have different profiles for short and long term tolerance, but the stereotype in the OPs post is not very accurate, part of the appeal of drug use is that it is so easily repeatable, you don't have to be in the mood, just take one and you'll be there. The OP is really about novelty, and an appetite for novelty is more insatiable than any drug addiction.
I have been a gamer since the 1980s, and have played MMOs since 2004, and Champions Online is uncontested as my favorite 3D game of all time, as a counterexample to the OP's thesis.
Cryptic is trying a Customer Development approach to MMO creation.
OP, I think you are burned out on the genre.
Give it a rest for a couple of months or years even.
Burn out is natures way of getting us to try new things.
Well shave my back and call me an elf! -- Oghren