Your experiences of Online Game "addiction".
This just in....
A top Chinese legislator said .. about 10 per cent of Web users under the age of 18, or four million people, were addicted to the Internet, mainly to 'unhealthy' online games.
Ok that's over there isn't it? Couldn't happen here could it? Well a couple of our listeners have sent emails suggesting it could. FE teacher James Whitehead emailed us and said, "on average 3-4 - at least per year - students drop out of their studies due to compulsive game playing"
Mike Rochester wrote to us saying, "For 7 years I was Housemaster to 65 independent schoolboys aged 13+ to 17+ and grew concerned that several were drifting into underachievement through their obsession with computer games"
The idea that these games, particularly massively multiplayer online games, are addictive is controversial, but searching online plenty of people have had experiences where they found themselves spending far too much time playing these games.
Dr John Charlton a research fellow in psychology at the University of Bolton, found in a study of 430 players of one online multiplayer role playing game that between 10 - 15% were "addicted". He says more about that and the type of people likely to suffer addiction in the player below:
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We're hoping to do more about this on the programme and we'd like to hear from you. Do you or does someone you know have trouble with their "game life balance". Leave a comment or send us an email
UPDATE: Some really, really thoughtful, engaging and moving comments on this post. Your emails inspired a lot of coverage elsewhere. I'll post one comment just as a counter to some of the talk of addiction above, but there were comments of equal quality on both sides of the debate:
I play World of Warcraft. I'm a single mother, I work full time and I'd say I'm a fairly stable person. I am restricted in the evenings - I can't leave the house due to my child, but I find Warcraft gives me a whole new social world! I play with work colleages and friends, so rather than going to the pub or meet somewhere else, we do something together in game. Aside from the social aspect, I have found that youngsters that play often learn teamwork from guilds in online games, in the same way they learn that from sport. People shouldn't be so quick to dismiss online games as 'bad and addictive'. There are plenty of benefits too, as long as gaming is in moderation.
UPDATE: Dr Mike Reddy emails in to highlight this satire of the controversy on a Guardian blog,. Mike says the post "says it all"
However,This comment, from a gamer, broadly supports the idea that some players struggle to control the time they spend on the game:
The point is not just to acknowledge the problem, but to understand the severity and scale of it. I've been the worst you can be, being a 'hardcore' raider putting in consistent 16-18 hours days as an officer of my guild expected to organise a force of 40+ people and prepare reageants, pots etc. which act as resources for high end play. It severly affected my first year of University as a result. But we also must know that it is essentially down to the individual and it is a choice they've made just that some are seemingly unable to control it....But it is certainly good that the mainstream press is picking up on it as it will quite clearly become an increasing 'problem' in years to come
But this comment encourages a balanced approach, recognising the good and bad games can offer, and not "demonizing" gamers:
As our real-life communities shrink and we interact less and less with people even in our own streets, I believe that online worlds and social networks such as Facebook will become more important to us as social animals. Rather than throwing our hands in the air and crying that the sky is falling, we should embrace the potential that global communications can provide as well as facing up to the problems that can arise also.
Clearly it's a subject that's resonated with many of you, and we plan to return to it later in the year, so please do continue to add your thoughts.
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Comments
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I think the biggest culprit here is WoW (World of Warcraft, if I'm not mistaken the picture here is from there). Its by far the most successful of the MMOs and with good reason, it is fairly simple to get into for the casual (dare I see the female?) gamer yet has very difficult sections at the end for the elite.
The game has parts designed to take up a lot of time with no real value to the story nor to fun - in certain quests one must kill a number of enemies in order to retrieve things from their remains, etc. Even those who have been playing the game for years admit freely that the "grinding" quests are very annoying. These sort of objectives do not appear in more traditional single-player games.
I feel I must make clear my position on computer games, I have been a gamer for many years but I largely play single-player games. I refuse entirely to listen to accusations that they are vile or evil, even such games as Grand Theft Auto (a huge amount of controversy has existed around all of the installments of the game). That said there are some I would not play, the Manhunt series for one. I don't believe it should be banned, its just like some of the more grim horror films, I choose not to watch them and do not expect to be forced to watch them but I care little if others do.
MMOs are different however, I am not sure if there is a clinical addiction but the games are designed to keep you playing for as long as possible. The reason for this is obvious, the player must pay a monthly fee, and the publisher would of course wish that income to continue for as long as possible. In a single-player game, or even in most multi-player games such economic pressures do not exist.
I myself spent some months last year playing WoW and I admit I played it too often. The game draws one in with an easy quest which leads quickly onto another short quest and then a further one until without knowing it one might have been online for several hours. I was also troubled by the fact that there were people who still played it more often than me. For me I had little else to do with my time but I believe it could not have been beneficial for those with full time jobs. I have now stopped because I think the game lacks the story or the interest to keep me involved. I have now returned to some of my older games which are far superior and do not charge me extra each time I try to play them.
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Online games can be an escape, not many people have the chance to fight aliens on a distant planet or take a stronghold in medieval times, I have been known to play 18 hours straight before but can easily turn it off if I have something else to do.
As long as you make sure its free time and not when you should be doing something else in the real world, play away
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Asking whether some MMORPGs are addictive is like asking whether some candles are a bit warm. Has iPM never heard the name "World of Warcrack"?
The way these games work, addiction is not strictly necessary, and I'm sure that the companies that make them would argue that by no means do they intend to damage their users' quality of life. But in order to make progress, level up, and earn the traits and items needed to "finish" (and there is no real finishing, as new downloadable quests are always being produced), the user must almost always perform simple, repetitive quests called "grind" over and over and over. Without this grind, the user stands no chance of progressing, and as the nickname suggests, it's neither fun nor social. For better or worse, well-made modern single-player games have difficulty curves which mean the player doesn't have to go about pointless and repetitive activities in-between achieving objectives. But if the MMO user didn't have to grind, they might reach a high level quickly, and then stop paying the game's maker for their fix - sorry, their subscription.
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I am what is termed a 'Hardcore' player of online games. Since the release of world of warcraft in November 2004 I have played a total of 210 days 12hours and 27 mins on the game (the game keeps track of that for you, nice huh?). I hold down a full time job as a project manager, do voluntary work and am in a relationship. I don't own a TV, so I see it as my TV time as such.
In my time in the game I have seen friends lose their jobs relationships and basically ruin their lives by playing too much. However this is a very small minority of players that end up in such an extreme state. Most players of online games know and understand where the line between 'harmful' useage and 'recreational gaming' is.
Online games are like any form of recreation, it is possible to take it too far and harm oneself or effect those around you in a negative way.
Online gaming cannot be physically addictive, there are no chemical hooks (like in smoking or heroin) that mean your body requires you to play. Psychologically I guess more or less everything can be addictive to some extent.
I think the main risk with online gaming and especially MMORPG's is that there is a huge social aspect of the game, you talk and interact with other people the entire time you are online, for some I think this can be why they spend so much time gaming. This can mean it's easy to escape to, meet 'friends' and has the veneer of proper social interaction, with the safety of being as anonymous as you wish to be.
Anyways that's my 2 pence :)
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It depends what you mean by a game life balance. Nowadays with the increase in popularity and technological improvements of online gaming, I reckon gaming should be counted as part of life, rather than something outside it.
It is becoming a more and more social activity where you can have good online friends without ever necessarily meeting them in RL
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I'm an online gamer and, I must admit, I'm addicted.
However, I buck the "spotty adolescent" stereotype gamer image as I'm a 58 year old grandmother!
I'm currently playing three online games:
Travian - a German-based interactive role-playing game where you can choose to be a Roman, a Gaul or a Teuton and build up one (preferably more) villages while defending yourself from attack by other players and eventually joining an alliance. I'm running that on a US server and a UK server as well.
It has a companion game: Travians, which is based more on cooperation. You only have one character and one house to manage and there's an ongoing quest to complete. If you want, you can fight in the arena or play minigames for online credits. You can join a guild as well, which confers certain benefits such as the ability to participate in communal activities to earn extra points to spend on improving your house.
The third game I'm playing is Core-Exiles. I'm a spaceship pilot, running trading missions around the universe while evading space pirates and other hazards and occasionally striking lucky with a valuable "find" which I can sell for a nice sum of credits. I can chat to other players "real-time" via the IRC Instant Messenger facilities and I've already made several friends in there from all over the world.
Travians has limited in-game chat facilities, but Travian doesn't have any at all.
My only excuse is that I live alone, and - as an office agency temp - am precariously employed (UNemployed at the moment) so I don't have a lot of money to spare. If I go into town (apart from the cost of the bus fare) I end up spending money I don't have on things I don't need. The games I've mentioned are free to play, fun and stop me from getting depressed because whenever I log on there's usually someone around to talk to and if there isn't, then I can carry on with the games themselves.
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I am 48 years old, and love online games. Currently, I am into 'Dungeons and Dragons Online', and enjoy my daily fix.
In the past I have tried WOW, Call of Duty, America's Army Online, Everquest I and II.
I enjoy playing these games, and find the fact that other people around the world are playing makes for a more realistic and enjoyable experience, as you cannot predict how another human will respond or behave.
My two sons, aged 17 and 20, also play online, and it appears to have had minimal inerference with their lives and development.
All the best.
Phil
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My husband was addicted to World of Warcraft for over a year. He was a member of a guild and would spend the entire evening and long into the night on a quest. It drove me mad but when it got to the point that our plans would have to revolve around the timing of a quest, I began to get worried about it too. The final straw came when I went away for the weekend and returned to find that he had spent the entire two days gaming with only a few hours sleep. We had a huge row and eventually he agreed to delete his character. It helped that the keyboard on his laptop was literally worn out, so he was finding it difficult to play. It seems remarkably easy to get addicted to playing these games and, as with online gambling, I think that there should be an inbuilt time limitation which forces you to take a break.
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I'm 29, and play an MMORPG called EVE Online.
I very frequently spend several hours online playing, and have done for some 4 years now. It's hard to say whether it's truly addictive though - I mean, I play games for fun, and this is one I keep coming back to. Massively multiplayer games in particular are more about the community than the gameplay - I've just got back from EVEfest in Iceland, which has a primary purpose of meeting up with other players, sufficiently enthusiastic (addicted?) to make the trip.
I do log on frequently, to see what's going on, and catch up with people. But I do that out of game too, and will often meet friends in an evening.
I play games in the evening, mostly EVE. I don't however, watch TV at all - unlike many who would spend 4-6 hours a day watching the latest on the box, I don'.t I don't think this is addiction as much as simply alternative entertainment.
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i have been playing World of Warcraft (WoW) for just over 2 years, it has given me an escape from the stresses of work, while others will get home and watch TV or go to the pub for a drink I play WoW, the only downside I can see in this is that i do not socialise as much as i did (in the real world) and theres a few extra pounds around the middle now.
WoW has given me the opportunity to meet and speak to lots of people from all over Europe, I have made a number of online friends and we have formed a guild in order to quest and enjoy WoW together. We talk about world issues, the weather and generally laugh while we run around killing monsters. Its sometimes nice to know that its snowing in Finland while all i can see is rain.
I admit sometimes I play WoW to much and at this point its time for a break for a few days, i call it WoW burnout, but then i log back in refreshed and ready to go again.
I live alone and do not watch TV, prefering to listen to radio4 and radio5 live while playing WoW. I do not think its addicting, just a unique and new form of entertainment which draws people in, in a good way, its not all about grinding and repetition when you get to the end game, its about working together to achieve goals and tolerence of other people.
Hope this has proved useful, its my first post on a bbc blog and please forgive the poor spelling and grammar, they have never been my strong point.
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I see allot of the comments are about World of War Craft (WOW) which is (as I understand) one of the most popular or common online games.
I am 36 Finance manager, About 7 months ago I started playing an MMO – EVE – this is one of the lesser know games but as equally addictive as WOW. EVE is a space based game similar (in some ways) to the 80s game Elite, with over 30,000 players online most of the time. This is the first online game I have ever tried.
The combination of stunning graphics and intricate, diverse game play I was hooked instantly. I have recently accepted that my game life balance has not been well balanced and I have been neglecting wife, children and job. I have used the argument that I was only playing when I would normally have been watching TV, however over the seven month period my online time has encroached more on my real life. I have been playing on a laptop in the kitchen whilst cooking, eating and clearing up dinner. Playing whilst playing games with my children and risking my job by playing at work.
One of the key reasons I am still playing after 7 months are my fellow gamers whom I have formed a real fellowship with, I know that this sounds incredibly sad, but these are people (guys mainly but a couple if girls) whom I have fought with against common online enemies, worked with towards common goals and who have help me and whom I have help achieve individual aims. People I play with range in age from 14 to 57 and in geography from Holland to South Africa to Florida and California. Some of these are online for over 12hrs everyday.
I have accepted that I either have to cut out any anti-social gaming or quit completely. So I now limit my online time to one evening during the week and one evening at the weekend. If I fail in this (judged by my wife) then I will quit.
I am sure that the game designers intend to make the games as immersive as possible, although I am sure that they do not wish to damage people’s lives, in the same way that breweries don’t wish to wreck homes and fuel domestic violence. However I am sure that the Icelandic developers of EVE are very keen to keep as many players as they can.
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I am involved with an online game - a very small one which has enough bugs in it to stop becoming too addictive!
But the biggest problem we see is not addiction, but the horrific things that come out of the mouths of kids.
Our game is one where it is mostly crafting, and yet we get kids criticising it because "it does not have beheadings in it."
On the note of addiction, it is mostly people getting addicted to the social chatting aspect of the game. Whether or not the game is "unhealthy" is not the issue. MMOs have simply replaced chat rooms.
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I play EverCrack (also known as EverQuest) for a few hours every day and most of the weekend. However, I still manage to hold down a full time job, look after my cats, and keep myself and my house clean and tidy, so where's the harm?? God knows it's generally a more enjoyable environment than RL!
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I can come at this at two angles - that of an IT teacher and that of a gamer.
On the teacher front, teenagers cannot differentiate between computer and games machine - inevitably you catch someone playing a game or trying to find a way to access those games. The self-discipline that some games require just isn't transferred into their work.
On the gamer front, I don't relish paying for a game on a monthly basis or getting into the position where addiction might become an issue. While you can spend too many hours on them, you have to be able at some point to say "stop!". Early on you have to give yourself some boundaries to prevent addiction - not always easy, but usually necessary.
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About two years ago I used to pour scorn on my work colleagues and friends who played WoW - I billed them as sad especially when it affected one of them as they continually came into work late and tired after all night sessions of WoW. About 14 months ago I myself discovered the pleasures of Azeroth and Outland and I've been playing ever since.
I'm a father and husband and so sometimes the game provided a nice diversion from reality but eventually I fell into the trap of playing anytime I wasn't working or sleeping - eventually sleeping less to get more playtime. My wife hated the game and how much time I was spending on it - we had our share of arguments but like most wives she eventually realised the game had its hooks in and that I was addicted! Luckily she has been very patient with me. I also was spending far less time with my young child which of course is unacceptable!
This past Tuesday night I finally decided enough was enough, I deleted all my characters including 2 level 70s (the highest level before the Wrath upgrade) and disabled my account. I had around 15 different "toons" but play time amongst just 4 of them was about 50 days! My peers thought deleting the characters was a hasty move but I did that to remember the hassle and waste of time it would be if I ever wanted to come back to the game - which i never will. When I first started playing I was so addicted that when I saw cats and dogs on the street my mind would see yellow bars floating above them!
I couldn't quite limit my own time to the game and it was getting in the way of everything so I just decided to cut it out, a day before the new content was released! I haven't looked back and don't regret my decision - although its only been 24 hours. I'll now return to enjoying quality time with the family and catching up on my reading.
I know other fathers who play the game but they seem better able than me in balancing their game and real lives but for me my only choice was to quit.
One of my colleagues has taken holiday from today for almost 2 weeks, predominantly to play the new content!
Still, I can't help thinking what Northrend is like......
No turning back though.
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This really will not be news to the students in the UK. The World Of War Craft is know amongst the students as The World of War Crack. My son moved from a brilliant student to failing nearly all his exams in second year of University and when I say failing I mean 3%-10% scores. I thought he must have had a breakdown or started using drugs or alcohol, but he then admitted he was playing World of War Craft and he just couldn't stop. He was able to convince himself all the time that he could do some revision in the morning, but he never did, he played through the night slept a few hours then straight back on to the game. It isn't like most games where you can stop and start where you left it. When you are away from World of War Craft things are happening and you are being left out, you really don't want to miss things so you keep playing. It is horrible. Warn your children and don't believe them when they say they only play for short periods, like all addicts they will lie about this. If you have a child playing this game (normally boys) and they have a computer in their room you can almost guarantee they are playing late into the night and only having a few hours sleep. Talk to them really seriously..if you can cancel the account do it. Computers in a child's room is a bad idea. We think we are being good parents by providing modern facilities in their room but we are not we could be blighting their lives.
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Interesting to note that like several others here, I am over 50 and treat World of Warcraft as an alternative to television. (Unlike most TV entertainment it is not junk nor socially passive)
It IS addictive - that's why 11 million people play it - but I think many people come to it, get hooked for a little while, and then leave or slow down their playing (like me).
My son (13) hardly ever plays these days and most of his friends have dropped out. Two of my online friends in my guild, a married couple in their thirties in Denmark, have just retired from the game because they realised they weren't spending enough "real-life" time together. Several of my Romanian friends have been deliberately taking weekends off from the game to go and spend time in the country.
Most players can 'pace' themselves, but as with anything addictive, some can't, and probably need help.
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I am a mature student on a BSc computer games programming degree, so I have a daily interest in the subject and public perception of games.
Games are entertainment. Like all good entertainment, good games are compelling. So I find it no surprise that teenage kids gladly devote great chunks of their time obsessing over and ultimately reaching the next level (term for improving your character in skill) or collecting the best item. What continues to surprise me is:
A. That their parents allow them to do this.
B. Parents are the first to complain about the situation of ‘games addiction’ or violent content, blaming the game makers and abdicating parental responsibility.
Parents are the gatekeepers. It is up to them to allow their children to do something or not. It is up to them to decide whether to buy their children computers or computer games, and it is up to them whether to allow their child to continue to play those games after they have bought them.
The most outspoken of parents say, that they never know what their kids are getting up to in games. That may be true, but if you don’t know, you find out. I understand that parents can’t play a game through before handing it to their child to play because of the sheer length of the content. But why can’t they sit with their kids while they play them? They could see the content and make an informed decision as to whether the game is suitable, be it in strength of content or in time demand verses reward.
The complaint often is that it’s hard to prevent kids (and teens) from playing games like World of Warcraft to excess, but frankly it isn’t. World of Warcraft isn’t free to play; you can’t continue to play, unless you continue to pay the subscription fee.
If your kid is playing too much, cancel the subscription (that you are no doubt paying for anyway).
I’m not saying that the industry has no responsibility. In fact they take their responsibility very seriously. They work with the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) and PEGI (Pan-European Game Information) to ensure that reliable information is displayed on the packaging of games about their content strength. Blizzard, the makers of world of Warcraft, have put systems of parental control and rewards for breaks in play into the game.
Games are a fantastic medium. They can convey things that a film could never hope to. They make you think in a way that you probably would never have the chance to without them. They are technically very challenging to create and require intelligent people to create them. Most significantly games drive forward computer technology meaning that scientists and engineers are able to accurately model structures or systems at ever lower hardware costs.
Ultimately it is down to us as responsible adults to decide if we (or our kids) are playing too much. It’s unfair to complain at or deride games companies for making exciting and entertaining games.
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i used to play on 'WOW' alot about a year ago and i kept getting unadequate exam results. i used to play till about 9.3(once till 11 on a raid).When my Parents took it away i went mental ( proving me and it addictive). While i didnt have it my exam results topped my year average. Recently i got it back and my results went down by a small amount after i was playing about 1hour a day ( it might seem alot but trust me, compared to others on the game its a tiny amount). So if your children are looking at WOW don't let them get into it, they will become obsessed and will get extremely low results no matter how clever they are.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I'm 36 years old and have been playing for over a year, my son and daughter play every other day for an hour and a half. This game is like most things, and needs to be taken in moderation! Of course without supervision they would play all day long! and if not for the wife, i would too!
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My situation is that i am a 42 year old father of 2 sons, aged 7 and 9. Both my boys are computer literate and we have all played local networked games (Battle for Middle Earth) at home together. I made the decision a few months ago after playing Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) on my own to set up 4 gaming machines for my wife and i and my sons. This has ensured that I can moderate when and how long they are playing. Also the kinship that we have joined online are aware that my sons are young and playing and 'keep an eye on them'. Surely the way to understand how new technology is affecting our children is to embrace it fully and get on the 'track' as soon as possible.
We, as a family, discuss levelling up our characters at breakfast, and then talk about homework and what they are doing at cubs or beavers that evening. Online gaming can be healthy if kept in balance. A bit like dealing with real life.
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Everything in moderation.
I rarely agree with anything written in the media about games but here on this blog most of the posters make perfect sense.
Online gaming is like any other form of entertainment, I'm guessing that convential media are just afraid that they are losing people who are playing games instead of listening to the rubbish that they produce!
Online gaming is sociable and interactive, TV and newspapers aren't, sorry but the world moves on and running down gaming and gamers isn't going to change that.
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The only online multiplayer I have is Call of Duty which is quite a relaxing experience to play. I have however formed an addiction to Solitaire. The thing about it is, it's simple logic and I find myself unable to do simple computing tasks without playing Solitaire in the background. In some ways it works as a learning aid. But it's shocking the amount I play it non-the-less.
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Unreal Tournament 2004 for the win!!
Oops, sorry .. old habits die hard!
#24 says it nicely, there is no problem but the other media formats (eg TV stations) want people to think there is a problem if someone chooses to play games for 3 days solid.
You don't hear these same people moaning about the people who spend that time watching TV.
Could it possibly be they think that adverts are that important to people and by not watching TV you're not going to consume, consume, consume?
TV - sit on the couch in silence melting your brain with the drivel that is 'reality tv', interspersed with shiny, flashing adverts, telling you you NEED this that and the other.
Games - engage, socialise, work out strategies, work together to achieve the common goal (GET THE FLAG!!) and use that grey thing stuffed in your head. Adverts? Maybe the odd chat message pops up saying "come visit the forum" or something but games are (or at least WERE) pretty ad-free and I think THAT is why they're (eg TV stations) so annoyed.
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Of course online games, in all their forms, can be addictive. Gambling is addictive. Sports can be addictive. Everything that we do can be addictive. We are born with a free will for a reason - we are all responsible for making sure we don't go too far.
I play World of Warcraft. I'm a single mother, I work full time and I'd say I'm a fairly stable person. I am restricted in the evenings - I can't leave the house due to my child, but I find Warcraft gives me a whole new social world! I play with work colleages and friends, so rather than going to the pub or meet somewhere else, we do something together in game. Aside from the social aspect, I have found that youngsters that play often learn teamwork from guilds in online games, in the same way they learn that from sport. People shouldn't be so quick to dismiss online games as 'bad and addictive'. There are plenty of benefits too, as long as gaming is in moderation.
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I'm 60 years old and am semi-retired afer a long career in IT. I've been playing 'World of Warcraft' for about 9 months, since hearing about it on a TV programme which descrbed it as addictive, so I thought I'd take a look.
It is very cleverly designed. It can be challenging, it has a fairly sophisticated level of humour and the graphics are fantastic. It has a simple but highly functional user -interface and generally runs smoothly.
I understand why many people become addicted to the game. There is something to appeal to all types of gamer, whether it's communicating with other players, fighting monsters, trading, developing artisan skills, or any permutation of these. There is always a goal just within reach, and achieving that goal will put you in reach of another that will give you desirable stuff: gold, kudos, equipment, and further goals. OK. It's very immersive. Well done Blizzard.
If you join a guild (a group of players who can help each other to progress), I promise you, you [i]will[/i] make friends, and I think that this is where people, especially youngsters, can become so 'drawn-in'. My experience of Guilds is that you can be put under a certain amount of peer-pressure to turn up and play. You go questing together, you go raiding together, and you [i]do not[/i] want to see all your friends progress more quickly than you! Apart from the obvious, it means that it then becomes less likely that they will invite you along, simply because you are not strong enough and will keep 'dying' on them, which is a drag. I imagine that that would put enormous pressure on some people.
So, my advice is that if you are a very sociable person who cares what other people think (actually, not me), or you are task-focussed and goal-driven (me), be careful and set yourself boundaries that work for you, which could be no more than an hour per day, or no more than three days and nights without sleep, depending on how your life works).
Personally, I'm getting a bit bored with WoW and, for a while, might try EVE which has been mentioned in other posts. Whatever you do, enjoy it!
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Unfortunately, I have an experience relating to the World of Warcraft online game. I met my boyfriend (now ex) through it. We began talking when I joined his 'Guild' and became great friends over two years of playing. We would spend all evening, every evening, and all day every weekend playing Warcraft with our "virtual" friends. Eventually we met in real life and began a relationship which blossomed despite the distance between us - I lived in the Midlands, and he lived in Norfolk. Possibly because I was several years older than him (he was 20, I was 27,) or possibly because I have a less addictive personality, I realised quickly that although it was nice to chat to people through this game, it was obvious that some people blurred the boundaries between fantasy and reality. I just wanted to amuse myself for a few hours a week by playing a harmless and enjoyable game but some people used their characters to role-play situations - everything from the humorous to the plain perverted. My boyfriend had some convoluted background to his character, and at times seriously believed that his character took on the ‘dark-side’ of his real-life personality. I just assumed he would grow up at some point! In time, he began to withdraw from the game, I honestly believed he was maturing, growing out of it, and realising that there was a better standard of life to be had in the real world. Our relationship benefitted as his personality went through a change for the better. I knew he was intelligent, but through the people he was connected to in this game, he was held firmly under their influence and dragged down to their level of behaviour and speech. He became more open, interested in the world around him, caring, and considerate while he took a long break from the game. Then the first expansion arrived in the shops and he went straight back to playing it again.
I had really enjoyed the game in the past so decided to join him and play it again. By the time I rejoined he had met up with his old "friends" and been joined by several new ones including a sexually frustrated, suicidal teenage boy who enjoyed telling his “friends” of his latest foray into the world of self-harm, a twenty-something man who was never sure from one minute to the next if he was gay or not, a married couple who bragged about how they turned their backs and just ignored their five children, one of whom had attention deficit disorder, while they played Warcraft, and a twenty-something Dutch girl who was living in Ireland. She fascinated him with tales of her rampant drug addictions, all brought on by the news that her kidneys were failing and she only had weeks to live. I still have my doubts on the truth of this - she would tell everyone she was going to have critical operations, then by the following evening be playing Warcraft until the small hours of the morning again and regaling her impressionable fans with more tales of drug and alcohol abuse. I was under the impression that serious surgery would result in a hospital stay while she recovered?? She immediately latched on and built up a friendship with my boyfriend, and when I began to play again, she immediately set about irritating me. She would send out barbed messages across the game for people to read, and follow them up by sending abusive and distressing personal messages through to me which no-one else could see. Any time I vaguely tried to retaliate, I would be cut down with another sob story about her illness, and told that I must have misunderstood her public message – she was only trying to be nice – I don’t consider being referred to a an “F---ing princess” a harmless compliment. She arranged a weekend away for herself and my boyfriend to Amsterdam which thankfully never took place. In conclusion, she drove wedges between us and tried to disrupt our relationship.
She was obsessive about role-playing through her character - whereas I just wanted to play a computer game for an hour or so as a recreational activity, and didn't give a thought to my character's past life, she had created a whole background of broken families, terrorism, kidnap and rape for her character. She had decided that my boyfriend's character was her father, and that he needed to tear demons out of her soul - or something ridiculous along those lines - this was followed by a personal message to me saying "I need him and you don't because I want to role-play my story before I die… so I've told him to ignore you." After several weeks I stopped playing the game because I just didn't want to see what she had planned to upset me with next. My boyfriend followed shortly afterwards – apparently her constant attention had taken the fun out of the game for him.
Yet again, our relationship improved immeasurably - we enjoyed living our lives in the real world, and his personality became more pleasant by the day. All good things must come to an end though. After several months break he started playing again. He did not want me to join him - presumably so he could project some ridiculous and false impression of his sparkling personality out to the other players without me there to question him. He changed almost immediately - I used to arrive at his house after a four-hour drive to be greeted at the door before sitting and enjoying a conversation with him - now I was arriving to an open door while he walked away and sat with his back to me without saying a word because "he was busy and his friends needed him." The Dutch girl was still there despite her past medical claims to the contrary – and if it could be possible, she seemed to be enjoying an even more twisted personality than before - this time, he told me, "her character has got married then been raped by a demon - next week we are going to hold her down while I slash her open with a sword and abort the foetus - it might even kill her." That was enough to hear. I created a new character which was unknown to him – just out of interest to see what was happening behind my back. It was fascinating to hear how he described himself as “the pimp-daddy – cruising through with his harem of followers in the guild.” Wonderful, now he was developing a messiah complex, and a seriously inflated opinion of himself. He had younger people, and desperate females following him like the pied piper, and he was seriously under the impression that he was immortal both in the game, and in real life.
I loved him and would have done absolutely anything to keep him in my life, and to make him happy but I had to accept defeat, and we went our separate ways. He was lying to me about things, he barely spoke to me in between my fortnightly drive to his house, and he was changing from a wonderful, intelligent, interesting man whom I could see a happy and healthy future with to an alcohol obsessed, opinionated, egotistical idiot. One of his “friends” broke the news to me that he didn’t love me, and wanted to break up” –he obviously didn’t have the time to spare in between leading “raiding parties” through dungeons, and listening to the worship of his fan-club. I called him briefly to confirm that it was fact, and left him to his own devices.
I feel most sorry for my ex-boyfriend’s family. He has a lovely kind, caring mother, and a sister who thinks the world of him. They love him and miss him terribly, but they know that nothing they say or do will penetrate his world. I know what will be happening right at the moment though – they probably won’t have spoken to him for several days unless he has ejected his dirty washing from his bedroom towards them. They will be sat together chatting about the day’s events, and he will be sat alone, locked in the family dining room, surrounded by the remnants of his meals and empty bottles, blissfully unaware of the outside world… with a set of headphones on… “socialising” with the people he believes “really love and care about him.”
I have moved on, everything happens for a reason – only a matter of weeks later I met the most wonderful man who is actually normal! Before our first date, I checked with him that he didn’t play Warcraft, Lord of the rings online, Everquest 1 or 2, City of Heroes/Villains, or Cohen the barbarian – thankfully he doesn’t …and we are very happy!
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Whilst I wouldn't have thought it at the time, now that I can reflect on it, I had a fairly major problem controlling the amount of time I dedicated to gaming. I always was an enthusiastic gamer but World of Warcraft got me hooked like no other game before it could.
At the time of playing, I was a 19 year old student with all the spare time in the world and no responsibilities to limit the amount I played. On a 'bad day' I would wake around 11am and continue playing, virtually non-stop, until 3am the next morning. I would use natural breaks in the game (such as when my character was travelling from one place to the next) to carry out daily essentials. By this point university lectures had become little more than an inconvenience and I would get others to sign me in so I didn't have to attend.
Whilst many would find this excessive, what's truly disturbing is that I was by no means the worst. Many of my online peers, who often dedicated more time than I did, went from 'first class' students to barely scraping through. One was fired and several suffered relationship problems as a result... most of them didn't even care.
I emerged through university relatively unscathed from the experience, getting a good degree and employment shortly afterwards. However, I did miss out on an awful lot of social experiences and I've been cautious of playing games too much ever since.
I wouldn't be surprised if thousands of people had similar routines to myself. You just need to look at the recent WoW expansion releases for examples, I daresay that more than a few of those dressed in costumes are more than just 'a little enthusiastic' about the game.
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I used to play WoW, and did develop a problem with controlling my time online. However, this was less to do with the design of the game, and more to do with my attachment to my fellow players. I was working a job with particularly unsociable hours, had recently come out of a destructive relationship, and my online time was a way of getting much needed social contact.
The main reason I stopped was a change in occupation, a change in address, and a big pointless argument among members of my Guild, leading to many of my online friends leaving the community that I enjoyed interacting with.
People play these games for different reasons, and I think the degree of addiction, and the explanations they give, say more about them than the game in question.
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I honestly don't see what the fuss is about here.
If kids are spending too long in games, their parents need to buck up and take a bit of responsibility for what's going on.
If adults are spending too long in game they need to reassess their priorities.
For ther ecord I'm a 28 year old gamer who has played various MMO games for the last 6 or 7 years (including World of Warcraft, EvE, Planetside and others). Sometimes I may choose to spend 5+ hours a day on it. Equally, some weekends I might choose to go and spend time out with friends. or watching TV. Or going to the cinema.
That is all gaming is - another social activity. There is not some magic PC peripheral that injects serotonin into a player as they use a game - they play it for a long time because they choose to.
There's always the horror story of the kid who drops out of school or has anger management issues or the guy who loses his job, but these people are a tiny minority. I would also question whether these instances would happen anyway, and whether perhaps games are simply an easy excuse or reason to give for a more serious underlying issue; if gaming were not their outlet might they instead (for example) be out finding recreational drugs to experiment with?
If more people went out and tried these games rather than sitting back, shaking their heads and tutting at them (whilst simultaneously blaming them for the collapse of society) then perhaps we might get somewhere. Until then lets let the Daily Mail act as a beacon of rational thought and progressive thinking. Oh wait...
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Been a WoW player on and off for 4 years (Having 'quit' about 5 times, apparently, with varying results).
WoW can become a behavioural addiction. This is clearly undeniable in light of the various clinics cropping up (check China and Holland). There's a few reason for this from an escapist feeling given by your avatar to the almost gambling type mechanics on randomised drops. There are huge 'time sinks' meant to take you a lot of time so that the more dedicated player achieves more. This is both to create a rewarding system and more cynically to maximise revenue for Blizzard (Now Activision Blizzard).
So what you're dealing with is loosely similar to other addictions, with a twist. There is no physical, chemical damage or addiction. There is no financial devastation ala Gambling. The primary loss from an MMO behavioural addiction is time. That is the new problem that will face my generation (I am 22) in years to come, as potentially productive members of society utilise their time in this kind of environment instead of bettering themselves, their career etc. In longer terms it could become a strain on the wider economy in terms of people sat on benefits etc.
The point is not just to acknowledge the problem, but to understand the severity and scale of it. I've been the worst you can be, being a 'hardcore' raider putting in consistent 16-18 hours days as an officer of my guild expected to organise a force of 40+ people and prepare reageants, pots etc. which act as resources for high end play. It severly affected my first year of University as a result. But we also must know that it is essentially down to the individual and it is a choice they've made just that some are seemingly unable to control it.
Four years in and I've just picked up Wrath of the Lich King knowing I am now able to control my time (I no longer raid for example). But it is certainly good that the mainstream press is picking up on it as it will quite clearly become an increasing 'problem' in years to come. The best thing to do if you want to learn more is to try and read up on the steps the Chinese government have issued in recognition of these emerging trends (such as severly scaling back your ability to gain rewards in game the more you play).
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People have been talking about the potential harm games could cause to their users for so many years. Examples would be Mortal Kombat back in the early 90's, Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt 2.
There are always extreme examples where players play too much or are too young etc, you could worry about this all day. Issues like this can be used to make games look damaging. This also makes games very easy scapegoats for various problems in society because the solution is a quick and simple one, ban the game or control its use.
But in reality, as with everything, some take it too far and most games, films are more than fine in moderation.
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The full GUI experience of online multiplayer games may be new, but the concept isn't...
Who remembers MUDs? They were all about roaming fantasy worlds, killing Orcs and various other creatures, whilst building up HP (hit points) and MP (magic points). The only difference between that and the current crop is that being text based, the world looked eactly how you imagined it would look :)
I spent quite a few nights during my uni course on a MUD, until I eventually realised that perhaps there were better uses of my time at night - e.g. sleeping!
Or playing non-online games - for many years I was addicted to SimCity 4...
I still have a copy on my computer which I dip into occasionally - as testified by the size of the plugins folder - 3GB and counting...
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I have played an MMORPG for the last two years. Next month I will cancel my subscription so I have more time to study for an OU degree.
I have enjoyed and spent many hours playing the game but have never considered myself 'addicted'. We need to be careful of the term 'addicted' as people can to use it quite loosely. For example; so-in-so plays a game for many hours and is therefore considered to be 'addicted', however he still could quite easily remove himself from it and engage in other activities if need be. Is this really an 'addiction'?
I think we also have to be cautious of yet another consumer panic. People do become addicted to these types of games but in many cases that has more to do with their own temperament. If it were not for online games it would be something else that they would become obssessed with; TV, gambling machines. Many products have a capacity to obssess a particular type of person. People that need to be fixated with something that distracts them from other aspects of their lives.
There is also an important social aspect to this debate. I remember one weekend that I was invited into town for drinks by friends. I switched off my game and joined the (preferred) social interaction in a town centre pub. The scene which I witnessed around me was far more horrific than any battle with orcs in any virtual world. I was surrounded by hordes of screaming people, drunk, sick and violent. A town centre transformed into a mass of shrieking zombies and a police service struggling to control the mayhem. I returned home and to my virtual world where I have frequently met people who exhibit only kindness, generosity and good manners. Guilds whose members are loyal to one another and will always help if asked.
People who become 'addicted' to online games, in many cases, prefer to be in a virtual world and are 'logging out' of the real one.
Instead of treating their problems like a disease, maybe we should also take a look around us and seriously consider how healthy our social interaction in the real world is, I find it unsurprising that some people are canceling their subscription with it.
Best wishes,
Otter
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#23 - my EQII guild (who only raid casually, so no pressure there!) is made up of players of all ages and nationalities, and we older players also keep an eye on our youngsters. One particularly young player's parents regulate his playing - he can play after his homework is done until his evening meal is ready, and after that until 8pm. He gets more game time at weekends. Like you, I think this is the way sensible parents behave - they monitor their child's gaming as they would (or should) monitor how much time they spend watching TV.
I also game with my siblings, and it's great fun, and yes, we're all over 35,and have good jobs and lots of online and offline friends!
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I remember spending too much time in the local cafe stuffing 10p's into Space Invaders long before the internet came along. There was always some kid who always had more 10p's and didnt have to go home so early.
It's much the same in online games.
These games are filled with people who have little else going on in their life it seems, and boost their feelings of self worth through gathering more experience points, in-game items and friends etc etc. The more you play the more you can accumulate. It's very sad and has no doubt caused a lot of problems for people and their families.
However, it's not all black and white and things need to be kept in perspective.
These online worlds are also filled with an amazing collection of individuals. Funny,intelligent, dynamic, odd, you name it. There are representatives from all parts of the social spectrum.
I've spent many enjoyable evenings, full of cameraderie and humour with a dentist from Norway, a scientist from France, an archaeologist from Holland and a single mother from Nottingham.
As our real-life communities shrink and we interact less and less with people even in our own streets, I believe that online worlds and social networks such as Facebook will become more important to us as social animals.
Rather than throwing our hands in the air and crying that the sky is falling, we should embrace the potential that global communications can provide as well as facing up to the problems that can arise also.
As children start to attach increasing importance to their virtual self, we should, as a society begin to discuss this with them and offer them guidance for their journey ahead.
Declaring that it is an evil scourge on society and hoping that it will go away is not an option.
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I'm going to make another post partly as a response to some here but also to highlight some other points. Some people have commented on how possible addiction to online games can be seen as a reason for greater controls on all games, I think this is untrue. In an excellent comment by Republicof1 the poster discusses how to control the usage of games. Likewise the fascinating yet terrifying experiences of monsterblog might lead one to believe all games can do this to a person. I think however this comparison of online games and standalone games is not as useful as it might seem.
In the modern market games now tend to all look the same and this is due to economic factors. Halo (Microsoft's first-person shooter) has spawned a huge number of games based around a man in a huge suit of armour with one or more special powers fighting single-handedly against a mighty enemy and vanquishing them for the sake of all. Haze, Crysis, Turok are all examples of this. The magnificent visual effects in these games (especially Crysis) also come with a huge pricetag which means the developers can be too scared to run the risk of trying anything special on the storyline front. There are beacons of hope on the horizon, mostly in the form of Valve's magnificent stable of games including the Half-Life lineage that has spread back over the past decade.
The other group of games hovering over the horizon are the MMOs. World of Warcraft was certainly not the first of these, indeed as a poster mentioned MUDs were running for many many years before. These are all loosely role-playing games although the role-playing is necessarily toned down for the greater part of the market and largely exist in a fantasy world with brave warriors, powerful spellcasters, elves, beautiful princesses and foul monsters. World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, Warhammer: Age of Reckoning all have this same basic package. Eve online at least has the USP of being set in space but otherwise appears to be effectively the same. I cannot however comment further on that as I have never played it.
At a glance these MMORPGs seem to be an outgrowth of the earlier RPG format, a gaming system that began with the foundation of Dungeons and Dragons. The transition to the computer format was easy and logical, it allowed one to do away with the tiresome dice-rolling aspect and have a clear visual representation of the environment. This let to excellent games such as Baldur's Gate series(Very closely set in the Dungeons and Dragons world with a complex plot and endless hours of gameplay). Other examples were the classic action-RPG Diablo, produced by Blizzard who went on to produce World of Warcraft.
These were each very different games to WoW and its ilk. By way of example I present World of Warcraft and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Each is a third person RPG, WoW is played online, SW:KotOR is played offline. Each has a basis in a breadth of lore about the universe: WoW is based on the stories of three previous games, KotOR obviously on the entire Star Wars saga, both the films and the Expanded Universe. Each is a world peopled by ordinary men and women of various species as well as those who can wield mystical powers: arcane, holy and demonic magic for one, the Force for the other. Each has the player character requiring the aid of a group of others to succeed (in KotOR these others are computer generated). Each has the player character growing in skill and power before defeating the major threat to the universe.
In KotOR one has ultimate control over the surrounding world: the player might decide to kill a character thus preventing a meeting with them at some later stage, or might become a top-level racing driver and thereby change the attitudes of fans to their presence. Most importantly the world changes and develops as the game progresses, the player starts the game on Taris however on leaving that planet its surface is bombed by enemies preventing a return. Likewise a vital piece of knowledge later in the game affects the attitude of all people in talking to the player character. This development creates a huge sense of immersion within the game's storyline. There is also value in replaying the game. Some methods of completing a quest are better suited to those better with a sword than with a blaster and so those players who specialise in blaster use might want to avoid them. More than this many subplots change if approached from the attitude of a light-side Jedi or a dark-side Sith, and vitally one has the ability to switch from one to the other by changing their actions. Indeed just today I have been replaying through the game even though it has been many years since it was released.
WoW by its nature has a very different style of gameplay. Players pick initially whether they are on the Alliance or Horde side. Each character is locked into one or other of these based on the species chosen and cannot change regardless of actions in the game. There is a famous beast called 'Hogger' near the start for an Alliance player. Almost all of the players on the Alliance side will have killed this same character and yet by necessity the creature must resurrect so that the next group of players can kill it. By the very nature of the game one's actions can have no effect upon the world because if it did then no new players could play. Indeed by the time I left the game the major evil character called Illidan would be killed up to once each evening by the very same group of players, let alone his deaths at the hands of any other raiding groups. By rights the vanquishing of Illidan should have brought peace to the world, at least temporarily. This destroys a sense of immersion in the game which is then replaced by the endless grind of quest upon quest upon quest with no real effect. Many of the quests are indeed exactly the same, namely go to this particular place, kill that particular person and take some particular item from their corpse.
This is only a short comparison of these two games which I hope serves to contrast these two similar seeming but actually vastly different genres. The first-person shooters, puzzle games, sports games and casual games are all yet more different from MMOs. I hope this serves to demonstrate that while I do disapprove of MMOs for various reasons does not mean a disapproval of games generally. MMOs instead are in general more poorly designed games than some of their counterparts, more addictive by their nature and by their design and obviously far more expensive if played for any period of time. I worry that in the future we will only have these MMOs and Halo-clones to play in the future.
Apologies, as always, for a ridiculously long post
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Hi,
I'm 48 and a parent of a teenager of 18, who was an avid player of WoW. I also play.
We let him play Wow for two years on the agreement that he would take a break for 6 weeks revision prior to his exams in May this year, this he did and got and A and 2 Bs.
He resumed playing over the summer and once he got his exam results has now got a full time job to save for his uni course next year.
At the moment he is not playing, and is enjoying real work.
Some of the benefits of playing were to give him leadership skills and organisation skills that just watching TV would not have done. He was never going to be a leader if sport was the only avenue available. These RL skills are gained when utilising the Guild aspects of the game.
The strongest social tie that he had to the game was the loyalty to the Guild(s), as the first one broke apart. However when he explained to them that he was stopping for 6 weeks for his exam revision they accepted this was reasonable. If they had not accepted this he would have had to leave the Guild.
Being part of a Guild in VR is similar in some ways to being in a Gang in RL. Peer pressure and a sense of belonging and the advantage of being in a collective group as opposed to a single individual can convince individuals that you need to be on the side of group to gain the biggest advantages. Going against the group could result in ostracising oneself from it, or for the group to implode on itself. Presumably this applies to party politics too.
One has to question one's own identity against the identity of the group and what is more important. In VR no physical harm is done in choosing oneself, and you can always create another life, in RL this can result in putting oneself in great danger of retribution or exclusion.
The other addictive quality of the game along with that of guild play, is that the more effort (time) that you put in to it the more rewards you get. These rewards are not in themselves what make it addictive but that you make your character more competitive against other players and Monsters (Mobs). One's own survival depends on this. Death results in a delay to play whilst the spirit is resurrected. These battles between factions: Horde vs. Alliance, take place in the main game PvP worlds or in Battle grounds or Arena contests. It is this competition and the players drive to win the fight that keeps the player immersed in search for continual improvement, either through upgrades to equipment, or the skill of the player. Again this reflects real life, more practise and learning what works and what doesn't, makes for better results, as does utilising better equipment, whick makes for better productivity.
The game serves as a distraction to real life boredom, and I would much rather my son has spent this time playing and learning in the relatively safe online environment with choices to go out when the opportunity presents itself, rather than going out most nights with nothing to do, which generates its own social problems.
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In my opinion, and experience, game addiction is a very serious problem in our society, and maybe even more of a problem in the future. There's a reason why games such as "World of Warcraft" and "Everquest" are also known as "World of warcrack" and "Evercrack" respectively. Ultimately, the addiction can wreck your life. Yes, I think that being addicted to a game is just as dangerous as being hooked on drugs.
For about 5 years, I was addicted to the MMORPG Runescape (which is apparently not as addictive as WoW). Initially I played no more than one hour a day, but after a few weeks of playing that increased to about 5 hours a day (and even longer on weekends). Instead of going out and engaging in social activities I would stay at home and play on the computer, not because I found it more of fun, but because it was a huge habit. This took place in my mid-teens, an important time of growth, so I think it to have had an damaging effect on my social skills (at least for a short while).
Some claim that it is a very social activity. I strongly disagree with this claim. "Raids", and all sorts of other ingame activities cannot compare to the experience of real life. You cannot "socially grow" by clicking a screen and typing, even if others are doing the same. Ultimately, if you spend too much time playing computer games in a room, you will not be able to adapt to being social with the outside world.
Academically, I was also effected by game addiction. I remember playing alot during study leave for my GCSE's, and although in the end I did relatively well, it was alot worse than what I was predicted. The same goes for my A levels.
Thankfully, I managed to gradually lower the amount I played, and now I don't really play any games whatsoever.
I think a big responsibility lies with the game makers. Game makers are only really interested by the money the game makes. A fun, but an easily completable game is not effective because customers will not carry on suscribing. Conversely, an addictive game will make alot more money. Game makers make games to make money - the thousands of peoples lives who are damaged socially and academically is a mere necessary inconvenience for them.
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Being a 'steam engine' fanatic in my youth, I decided to have a go at the Microsoft Train Simulator - this should carry a health warning! It is more addictive than cigarettes! Maybe because it creates a 'real' world, where you must perform certain tasks to the comfort of 'real' passengers, and deliver them at a certain point at a certain time, being ever conscious of firing the boiler, steam pressure, braking distances, fuel and water usage, line-slip, etc., makes it even more addictive that fantasy-world stuff... it's like driving a real steam locomotive, where even a slight fault can end in a blown boiler, or a derailment... and you feel SO guilty when your passengers miss the connection!
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I'm a 34 year old recently reformed Warcrack addict.
In the three years of time i owned the game I had a total of 220 days played on my main character alone. This would probably be nearer 250 days + if i included my alts (additional characters). This level of gaming has definitely effected my career over the last two years. While it never reached boiling point it certainly made my wife nervous the amount of time I spent staring in to a different world but thankfully I was never lost enough to let it effect my kids.
Although I have moved on and have no intention of purchasing the warcraft expansion WOTLK (or any other MMO) i do see that there are many positives to this kind of gaming environment including, but not limited too, socialising, challenging the mind, teamwork and escapism. Despite what I can now admit to being an out of control warcrack habit I would rather my daughters were playing a warcraft or an equivalent a few nights a week than getting tanked up on white lightning in the local park or rotting their brains with soaps and Jeremy kyle. But then I am part of the IT generation. I understand the potential pitfalls involved in an MMO and could easily control access times and durations using the in game controls or by tweaking the home network.
Successful subscription based games by their very nature need to be capable of keeping gamers interested and happy enough to continue paying the monthly subscription. This results in gaming environments and mechanics where people who have naturally addictive personailites can easily get hooked. In addition the nature of 24\7 virtual worlds can create the impression that you are missing out by not being there, something that is not an issue on games with a pause \ save button and games with no end, or ends that are constantly being updated in a way that they are always unobtainable for the majority of the games users, help keep people playing and therefore paying.
Essentially MMOs are designed to be at least mildly addictive since one that isn't would fail to achieve its core objective.. to generate ongoing revenue for the company.
While the overwhelming majority of users can control their usage patterns so that it doesn’t effect their lives adversely it is undoubtedly the case that a large number of users cannot. A quick ten minutes reading wow detox (google it) will give you an impression of the potential for addiction that games such as warcraft have. While we can argue the case for better self discipline or parental control we know from other aspects of life that some people have addictive personalities, some people deal with life’s bumps through escapism and, as this weeks news has proved, some parents really should be shot or at the very least sterilised. Calling for self discipline \ parental control is therefore a simplification of the issue and ignores the fact there are external factors making some people less capable of exerting self control or receiving good parental control. Introducing these people to an environment designed to hold your imagination and attention for upwards of a year can sometimes lead to extreme and unhealthy usage patterns.
The observation I would make on this genre of games (MMO's) is that companies who choose a monthly payment model should have certain obligations placed on them to monitor for and prevent extreme usage patterns. If they don’t want a form of active user management they should use a passive system such as setting fixed levels of game time to be used within a fixed period of time i.e. 30 hours a week. 30 hours may well be wrong but regardless of the actual number there is a point where any reasonable person would say that x number of hours a week is just unhealthy.. both mentally and physically and therefore some restrictions should be built into the game mechanics. The majority of users wouldn’t be effected but a system is in place to protect those that for whatever reason have extreme usage levels.
These games are good. They provide enjoyment to millions of people worldwide and are as valid a form of entertainment as television, exercise or going out for a drink. We cannot and should not seek to change that but we should accept that this reasonably new style of gaming does present a few issues that need to be addressed. While it is obvious makers of MMO’s are not intent on creating a world full of warcrack addicts there is a very real potential for some individuals to get addicted and therefore gaming companies should accept that their products have the potential to be addictive and create meaningful safeguards within the game environment. After all this is a multi million pound industry, it can afford it.
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A comment not on WOW, but on Second Life. I probably spend more time there than I should, but I have found that it can be an important complement to real life. A few of the friends I have met there have become 'intimate strangers', people I will never met in real life, but precisely because of that, people with whom I am willing to share some of the more intimate and often traumatic events of my life, and from whom I receive enormous sympathy and support. (Okay, most of the time we just have fun together... let's be honest.) But, recently, my mother died. I was in SL when I heard the news, answering the phone while continuing to chat in SL. I got immediate support from my friends there, and the first sympathy card I received came from a friend in SL. Okay, these places might be addictive, but they might also represent a widening and enrichment of the notion of freindship and community in a cyber-age, and I suspec that we need to start taking them seriously as such, and thinking about how we integrate them into our real lives.
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As everything moderation is the key. However, some games do "pull you in" to play longer and longer - just one more task etc. Its psychological addiction.
I generally play first person shooters and remember realising I needed a break when one day upon opening the front door to a visitor I glanced to the floor to check for a land mine... :(
Unfortunately its all down to self discipline... Set a time and stick to it and make time for the people in your real life.
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Matt Fox, a writer about video games sends this comment via email.
"Someone who spends their free hours reading is called a scholar. Someone who spends their hours watching their favourite team is called a supporter. But someone who spends their hours playing video games is called an addict? Call us gamers, call us geeks, even call us anoraks but don't call us addicts. In any pursuit there'll be some individuals that indulge in 'too much of a good thing' but ultimately that's their choice to make, and shouldn't be used to bash the millions of us who enjoy video games in a fun and healthy manner."
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I have played mmorpgs for over 10 yrs, I would say i'm addicted. Cant remember how many jobs ive lost because i called in sick because i was too tired, ro turned up and looked like crap
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