A few months ago, I was driving to the airport in Louisville, Kentucky at about 7 in the morning. As the drive takes a little more than an hour, I turned on the radio in the hopes of finding some mainstream music with which I could sing along and pass the time. Anyone who listens to the radio at 7 in the morning on a weekday knows that there is little music and lots of talk. On this particular morning, the D.J.’s of some Kentuckian radio station were soliciting calls on “internet addiction.”
As the calls came in, a theme started to emerge. The callers weren’t just describing internet junkies, they were describing World of Warcraft players. Literally. One woman was divorcing her husband over the game because he completely ignored her and the kids, though he was seeking custody of the kids for some reason. Another lady, a more understanding soul, had a husband who quit his job so he could stay home and play WoW. They got on welfare and she had to work a second job just so they could feed the kids. This winner of a wife actually chuckled when the D.J. asked why she stayed with the guy. Naturally, she loved him and would support him no matter what. Besides, he got addicted to the game when his mother died. He just needed a way to cope. Okay, WoW. Is that love or stupidity?
Actually, I imagine it would technically be called “enabling” the addiction and I have been very guilty of that over the years. I don’t drink, smoke or use drugs, but I certainly never preach to anyone else on the mater. I’ve made Jell-o shots for parties. I’ve gone on cigarette runs for friends who were stuck working. When I walked into my best friend’s apartment to find that it reeked of pot, all I said was “Man, it smells like pot in here; let’s hang out somewhere else" when I was really thinking, "Don't you have to get drug-tested at work?"
And, I’ve certainly spent my own money on video games for boyfriends who couldn’t afford them. So I guess it’s not fair to fault the wife who lets her husband play WoW. But what about the moms? I had a friend tell me about a kid she knows who had to drop out of college because he stayed in his dorm room and played World of Warcraft all day and night, never went to classes and flunked everything. He moved back home and he still sits in his room and plays WoW all day. Why does his mother continue paying for the Internet? Why doesn’t she kick him out or at least make him get a job? Is it just another example of enabling or, at this point, does it become negligence?
Now, I should probably admit that I have plenty of my own crazy addictions. In fact, I would most assuredly classify my personality as “addictive.” But despite my obsession for live music shows, I think I missed a total of two classes in all four years of college. Even though I procrastinated studying by writing fanfiction, I never turned in an assignment late. Even though I let myself walk right up to the edge, I never let myself fall over. Is that because I’m responsible? Afraid of guilt? Smarter than the average bear?
SilverDragon1979 wrote a lovely series of posts called “Breaking the Addiction:”
I found this series particularly interesting because SilverDragon was able to do several things that other WoW addicts aren’t. First, he worked on his master’s degree and kept his job. Granted, he mentioned these things in his “worst ‘addict moments’” post, but even the fact that he recognizes these as negative occurrences, makes him somewhat unique. If you go back up a few paragraphs, I think you’ll find me congratulating myself on being able to juggle my addictions (really, I swear they're just hobbies) with maintaining a normal life.
Additionally, SilverDragon was able to walk away from World of Warcraft. It’s someone who can quit smoking cold turkey and never look back versus someone who can never quite break the habit. What is that? Is it psychological? Chemical? Is it the same thing that’s at the root of every addicted person’s obsessive thoughts? Or is there something unique about World of Warcraft? I have many more thoughts on the matter, but, for now, leave the questions hanging for you guys (and girls) to answer.
My wife is sort of addicted to WoW. She has calmed down lately, but I know when the new expansion hits I can say goodbye to her and everything she means to me for at least a few months. She'll pretty much be a robot for a while. A boring, self absorbed robot.
At the height of her addiction, she spent a lot of time playing the game and most likely ignoring our children. If you'd like to see how much she used to play, read this old blog I wrote.
It disgusts me just reading it again today. She was really addicted, but she calmed down for now. I hope it stays this way...
It's not unique to WoW, it's unique to the MMO genre. Mother's were letting their children starve to death while they were playing EQ before the WoW beta was out. So replace WoW with MMO and you have a great write-up.
@ theremedy: This is somewhat true, but I think it's obvious that WoW is the biggest MMO out there, and it seems you hear a lot more about WoW addiction that you ever heard about EQ.
Then again maybe it just seems that way since I live with an addict.
Demonizing a game because it's "addictive" is a bit absurd in my opinion. Granted I play the game, but I also have a family, a fulltime job and as much of an active social life our son will allow us.
When a person becomes addicted to anything, whether or not it's a substance or action you have to treat it like breaking a 'real' addiction whether or not it's snorting coke or leveling their priest.
To be honest, and I'm not trying to flame at all here, but the whole demonizing WoW because it became wildly popular is getting old, I'm surprised it's still in the news.
MK is to Violence as WoW is to addictions.
@TheRemedy and Krahsh: I only picked WoW because the people on the radio specifically mentioned it, my friend specifically mentioned it and SilverDragon's blog was specificaly about it. I wasn't trying to demonize it per se.
I do think the following are valid points... TheRemedy's point that you could hear the same stories with another MMO and Krahsh's point that you hear of more people playing it because it's the most popular one out there.
In all seriousness, I have developed a minor addiction to Dtoid since I joined this January. I am here most of the day since it is summer right now, and the fact that I can talk to other gamers and nerds and get all my news in one place is what really got me hooked. But when I have to get ready to go to work or my parents tell me to do my chores, I leave the computer, knowing everything will be there when I return. That's what game addicts don't understand, everything will be there when you get back. In fact, there may be more juicy goodness to sick your teeth into if you give it the time. Game addiction should be the easiest to treat, or at least cope with. People just need to learn that there are other things more important than games and that they should start looking at games not as an escape into a world that is painless and perfect, but a tool to temporarily escape the horrors and hardships of daily life for just a couple hours at a time.
@Krahsh: I don't see where you got the idea that Thisyearspink is trying to demonize WoW. The point here is not to single WoW out as a horrible addiction. It's to get people to ask themselves whether WoW is actually similar to other types of addictions, such as smoking and drinking, or whether it's a completely type of addiction that needs a different type of solution.
My mother started playing WoW a while back and having got bored of it a while ago and cancelling my account, it's quite disturbing to see. She often gets up at 8am and sits in front of the computer, only moving to get a drink or go the toilet (and infrequently at that) until late at night. Sometimes she'll remark that she just realised she hadn't had a drink/meal all day, not quite so often though.
@Krahsh
Maybe the MMORPG genre doesn't outright 'cause' addiction, but you can't argue with the fact that many of them (World of Warcraft included) are built with heavy focus on exploiting the factors that cause some people to compulsively play for extended periods of time. Itemisation is the biggest draw for many and look how much of a timesink that is in WoW.
After a brief love affair with the MMO genre I find myself extremely underwelmed with it all these days. MMORPG is, I find, quite possibly the most stagnant and boring genres out there. Every 'next big thing' turns out to be another WoW clone with a couple of new features or beefed up visuals.
Good write up Thisyearspink. Hopefully it will get some people to think a little about gamin addiction. I for one definately think it's a real problem, and not some joke.
@silverdragon, I know Pink wasn't demonizing WoW, I was referring to all the press and "news" coverage it's getting.
@Pinky and TIMMAH!!
I completely agree that it (the mmo genre) has very blatant carrot on a stick scheming behind the drive to keep play.
What I was trying to point out is that I don't think it's WoW specifically, it's just that WoW came at a very opportune time.
Gaming had become more and more widely accepted as a valid hobby and Blizzard did a great job taking what was mostly(read, mostly) desired from an mmo experience en general and mixed it with one of their most popular IPs.
If anything is to blame for "WoW addictions" blame the kickass marketing that Blizzard put together.
I was seriously addicted to the game when it first came out. However, I got into graduate school and spent the rest of the summer before my first semester weaning myself away from the game. Now, I kinda get the urge to play every so often, but I never act on it. I still haven't canceled my Vent account after all this time either.
Addiction exists, and I could tell you some stories that would blow your mind. My biggest rule to playing games now is that I need to play something that has a pause button.
I used to play it and went through a period where I would quit for awhile and then start back up but it bored me everytime. Now I play EVE online and I plan on playing Warhammer. I've never been addicted to any MMO like the people you have described though. That's just ridiculous.
I never understood the appeal, I played a little while at a friend's house, leveled up to about 10 and then I got extremely bored. I was just like "Wtf am I doing here?" it's the same with any MMO, I never get to appeal of it; hanging out virtually with a bunch of people who spend their days leveling their characters or customizing their avatars to the point of obsessive compulsion, who then bitch at you because you actually want to utilize something in the game, like dueling someone or trying to barter? It's laaaamesauce.
"Is it psychological? Chemical?"
While with time one may develop a pathological need to play an MMO. I think many would agree that the genesis of such an addiction is primarily a sociological one. The very nature of MMOs can provide much for any person whose life leaves something to be desired.
At the core is the escapist nature of video games in general, which is a problem only when taken to extremes. Should one be able to derive any sort of enjoyment from a game I'm all for it. Have you made new friends and found a sense of community? Great! If you've found your respite, good for you. Just remember, if you have a family hug them once in a while, or don't play at all.
Is a game that inspires something like this a good or a bad thing? I, for one, just want to buy the man a beer and tell him everything is going to be OK.
OK, this is off topic, but I noticed krahsh and sadistic's little argument.
Seriously, don't lie. It's the internet and nobody knows who you really are, so let's all be grown-ups and stop pretending there is such a thing as a male who doesn't need porn.
Oh, and I can't imagine someone needing a video game. I need cigarettes and I've been addicted to a few drugs for a little while when I was a teen, and I know the difference between "want" and "need".
My wife wouldn't lose it if she couldn't play WoW; She just really wants to play. I used to play Gears of War 4 or 5 hours a day every single day and never once felt like I needed to play.
I just wanted to. But that's just me.
Addiction is something you have absolutely zero control over, to the point where you lie about it and stuff like that.
@EternalDeathSlayer That's exactly how I've felt with my gaming "addictions" when I did have the ability to spend half the day playing a particular game I did so because I wanted to, because it was fun.
I think that's what separates us "core" gamers that play for hours and those that got sucked into a behavioral addiction.
also, I wasn't pretending with my statement regarding pornography but that's not what this blog is about so I'm dropping the subject.
It's possible that playing a game could release a certain cocktail of neurotransmitters that may, in fact, become addictive. Prolonged periods spent with said game could raise the bodies tolerance for such a cocktail, then the brain would need more to feel the way it did before. Hence you play more. It's cyclical and the foundation for all chemical addictions (even things like some forms of sex addiction).
Merely a hypothesis, I might add.
Honestly, I don't get why people freak out about "WOW destroying mah life" and all that. I mean, I've played WoW for almost 4 years now, and where has it got me? I dropped out of college twice and ... fuck
Well, I play it now with a steady job but I don't play anywhere near as much
My lifepartner has gone through some serious battles with WoW addiction over the years.
When we first got it things got out of hand and having never dealt with anything like that before, it went on a bit before I pointed out that I thought we had a problem. But even then I didn't go about it right.
At first it became a hot point between us. Now you have to realize that we've been together for almost 12 years and had gotten over arguing years ago as we settled, but WoW started some pretty serious fights and we weren't used to that.
It was mostly because, instead of viewing it as a negative for both of us, I just got jealous of the game and lashed out. Now I'm a nice guy, but WoW turned me into an angry stupid bear. I started making her feel bad about playing by making fun of the game or just pitching jealous fits. After that went on for a while I realized that I was being unreasonable and approached it from a more communal perspective - explaining that I didn't mean to demonize the game, I just felt like we as a couple were neglecting our relationship. After all, while she was playing WoW, I was in the next room pouring over some Burroughs book for the 5th time in a row, so we were both abusing the game in a way.
In the end we worked together to help her realize that she can approach the game like any other hobby and take it in moderation, but it was a rough battle to get there so I feel for these folks.
I hate using the word "addiction" when it comes to things like video games, because to me it's a matter of someone lacking the willpower to prioritize their life. I'm no psychologist, but I'd wager that anyone who plays a game to the point that they're sacrificing their relationships, career, or education is generally unhappy with their life and is filling a hole through virtual escapism. Instead of enabling them, their friends and family should be attempting to get them counseling.
While MMOs seem to be the biggest offenders, I've also known people who flunked a semester of college thanks to Counterstrike. Luckily that was the wake up call they needed to get back on track.
I don't think it's the MMO's or WoW in particular, but a lot of ppl who have compulsive personalities just tend to be gamers these days :)
Having said that, I totally am like that and after a couple of 16-17 hours of being logged in without more than 15 mins inactiveness during the WoW closed beta... I knew I shouldn't buy it and didn't.
So now I just play everything else compulsively :/ A lot of friends tend to start playing huge games during exam weeks though, new games tend to coincide with those weeks over here and games are just great to keep your mind from starting to consume study material :)
I became addicted to Diablo 2 about 3 years ago and no other game will ever be able to make an addict out of me after that.
...Except for maybe Heroin Hero
This is one reason i dont like MMOs. they take too long; people get psychologically invested in a virtual world too deeply.
I like games i can beat in less than a week. or multiplayer games you can pick up and play for 10 mins & then it's over. reset. like a game of checkers.
It's like you said. People who are trying to distract themselves from some sort of psychic wound (like someone dying, losing a job, moving, more responsibility then they think they can handle, even quitting another vice like smoking or drinking) by enveloping themselves in a never-ending virtual world are the ones most susceptible to hardcore MMO addiction.
There's nothing special about WoW in the MMO genre. As mentioned, the things are built from the ground up to encourage long-term subscriptions. Be it through the (somewhat crummy) PvP and the new tournaments or good old itemisation, MMORPGs are designed to exploit that obsessive-compulsive streak in people. Everything is competitive, even PvE raids, further bolstering that oneupmanship.
They make sure the time invested-reward ratio is just low enough that by the time you get to the top end of play there's a new expansion coming out but high enough that people don't get frustrated and leave in droves because they feel they aren't getting anywhere.
The reason Warcraft is so popular compared to others is marketing, being based on a popular IP and sacrificing a lot of the deeper mechanics in other games in favour of accessibility. My mother can cope with WoW's mechanics (just). She would be screwed if it were EVE or something.
When someone comes out with an MMO that doesn't suck when compared to the experience of single player or smaller scale gamse I might be interested but I don't see that happening any time soon.
I would say I have a very intense outlook on life. Theres two types of people. Strong and Weak. (I know this is very sith like) Whenever I want to say stop something I tell my self I am not weak and I never do it again. When I wanted to stop playing World of Warcraft I used this thought process and it worked peachy for 6 months about the length I wanted to take a break from. I play WoW now, but casually although I might try to become hardcore again in WotLK it just depends. If anyone else is trying to quit anything see if this technique works for you. I broke a 20 year old habit of biting my nails using this method so I does work for me.
So are you strong or weak?
(I am not saying someone who can not quit something without help is weak, It is a term I use to keep my self motivated in not letting my self go backwards)
PS -- this was a Knoxville radio station 100.3 WNOX News Talk and I heard the same radio show...coincidence? I think not. I freaked out 'cause well, I play WoW too...but oh well. Glad you blogged about it
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about me
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Me: Hi, I'm your math teacher.
Student: I heard you have a live account.
Me: Uh...yeah.
Student: What do you play?
Me: Halo. Rock Band. Arcade games. Whatever.
Student: You any good?
Me: No? I mean, you know, not really.
Student: Oh, okay.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You know, black is this year's pink."
~Galinda, Wicked
Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press living the dream since March 16, 2006
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My wife is sort of addicted to WoW. She has calmed down lately, but I know when the new expansion hits I can say goodbye to her and everything she means to me for at least a few months. She'll pretty much be a robot for a while. A boring, self absorbed robot.
At the height of her addiction, she spent a lot of time playing the game and most likely ignoring our children. If you'd like to see how much she used to play, read this old blog I wrote.
It disgusts me just reading it again today. She was really addicted, but she calmed down for now. I hope it stays this way...
It's not unique to WoW, it's unique to the MMO genre. Mother's were letting their children starve to death while they were playing EQ before the WoW beta was out. So replace WoW with MMO and you have a great write-up.
@ theremedy: This is somewhat true, but I think it's obvious that WoW is the biggest MMO out there, and it seems you hear a lot more about WoW addiction that you ever heard about EQ.
Then again maybe it just seems that way since I live with an addict.
Demonizing a game because it's "addictive" is a bit absurd in my opinion. Granted I play the game, but I also have a family, a fulltime job and as much of an active social life our son will allow us.
When a person becomes addicted to anything, whether or not it's a substance or action you have to treat it like breaking a 'real' addiction whether or not it's snorting coke or leveling their priest.
To be honest, and I'm not trying to flame at all here, but the whole demonizing WoW because it became wildly popular is getting old, I'm surprised it's still in the news.
MK is to Violence as WoW is to addictions.
@TheRemedy and Krahsh: I only picked WoW because the people on the radio specifically mentioned it, my friend specifically mentioned it and SilverDragon's blog was specificaly about it. I wasn't trying to demonize it per se.
I do think the following are valid points... TheRemedy's point that you could hear the same stories with another MMO and Krahsh's point that you hear of more people playing it because it's the most popular one out there.
In all seriousness, I have developed a minor addiction to Dtoid since I joined this January. I am here most of the day since it is summer right now, and the fact that I can talk to other gamers and nerds and get all my news in one place is what really got me hooked. But when I have to get ready to go to work or my parents tell me to do my chores, I leave the computer, knowing everything will be there when I return. That's what game addicts don't understand, everything will be there when you get back. In fact, there may be more juicy goodness to sick your teeth into if you give it the time. Game addiction should be the easiest to treat, or at least cope with. People just need to learn that there are other things more important than games and that they should start looking at games not as an escape into a world that is painless and perfect, but a tool to temporarily escape the horrors and hardships of daily life for just a couple hours at a time.
@Krahsh: I don't see where you got the idea that Thisyearspink is trying to demonize WoW. The point here is not to single WoW out as a horrible addiction. It's to get people to ask themselves whether WoW is actually similar to other types of addictions, such as smoking and drinking, or whether it's a completely type of addiction that needs a different type of solution.
My mother started playing WoW a while back and having got bored of it a while ago and cancelling my account, it's quite disturbing to see. She often gets up at 8am and sits in front of the computer, only moving to get a drink or go the toilet (and infrequently at that) until late at night. Sometimes she'll remark that she just realised she hadn't had a drink/meal all day, not quite so often though.
@Krahsh
Maybe the MMORPG genre doesn't outright 'cause' addiction, but you can't argue with the fact that many of them (World of Warcraft included) are built with heavy focus on exploiting the factors that cause some people to compulsively play for extended periods of time. Itemisation is the biggest draw for many and look how much of a timesink that is in WoW.
After a brief love affair with the MMO genre I find myself extremely underwelmed with it all these days. MMORPG is, I find, quite possibly the most stagnant and boring genres out there. Every 'next big thing' turns out to be another WoW clone with a couple of new features or beefed up visuals.
Good write up Thisyearspink. Hopefully it will get some people to think a little about gamin addiction. I for one definately think it's a real problem, and not some joke.
@silverdragon, I know Pink wasn't demonizing WoW, I was referring to all the press and "news" coverage it's getting.
@Pinky and TIMMAH!!
I completely agree that it (the mmo genre) has very blatant carrot on a stick scheming behind the drive to keep play.
What I was trying to point out is that I don't think it's WoW specifically, it's just that WoW came at a very opportune time.
Gaming had become more and more widely accepted as a valid hobby and Blizzard did a great job taking what was mostly(read, mostly) desired from an mmo experience en general and mixed it with one of their most popular IPs.
If anything is to blame for "WoW addictions" blame the kickass marketing that Blizzard put together.
Nuts to that. Real men are addicted to porn.
Real men don't need porn.
uh you try telling me that when you've been married for 10+ years.
I was seriously addicted to the game when it first came out. However, I got into graduate school and spent the rest of the summer before my first semester weaning myself away from the game. Now, I kinda get the urge to play every so often, but I never act on it. I still haven't canceled my Vent account after all this time either.
Addiction exists, and I could tell you some stories that would blow your mind. My biggest rule to playing games now is that I need to play something that has a pause button.
I used to play it and went through a period where I would quit for awhile and then start back up but it bored me everytime. Now I play EVE online and I plan on playing Warhammer. I've never been addicted to any MMO like the people you have described though. That's just ridiculous.
@senior sadistic.
will do, more than half way there already but I'll be sure to file your suggestion under a deserving category.
I never understood the appeal, I played a little while at a friend's house, leveled up to about 10 and then I got extremely bored. I was just like "Wtf am I doing here?" it's the same with any MMO, I never get to appeal of it; hanging out virtually with a bunch of people who spend their days leveling their characters or customizing their avatars to the point of obsessive compulsion, who then bitch at you because you actually want to utilize something in the game, like dueling someone or trying to barter? It's laaaamesauce.
And yeah, MrSadistic's right.
"Is it psychological? Chemical?"
While with time one may develop a pathological need to play an MMO. I think many would agree that the genesis of such an addiction is primarily a sociological one. The very nature of MMOs can provide much for any person whose life leaves something to be desired.
At the core is the escapist nature of video games in general, which is a problem only when taken to extremes. Should one be able to derive any sort of enjoyment from a game I'm all for it. Have you made new friends and found a sense of community? Great! If you've found your respite, good for you. Just remember, if you have a family hug them once in a while, or don't play at all.
Is a game that inspires something like this a good or a bad thing? I, for one, just want to buy the man a beer and tell him everything is going to be OK.
OK, this is off topic, but I noticed krahsh and sadistic's little argument.
Seriously, don't lie. It's the internet and nobody knows who you really are, so let's all be grown-ups and stop pretending there is such a thing as a male who doesn't need porn.
We all do.
Judging from my soul-crushing addiction to Animal Crossing, I don't in the slightest way want to play WOW.
Oh, and I can't imagine someone needing a video game. I need cigarettes and I've been addicted to a few drugs for a little while when I was a teen, and I know the difference between "want" and "need".
My wife wouldn't lose it if she couldn't play WoW; She just really wants to play. I used to play Gears of War 4 or 5 hours a day every single day and never once felt like I needed to play.
I just wanted to. But that's just me.
Addiction is something you have absolutely zero control over, to the point where you lie about it and stuff like that.
@EternalDeathSlayer That's exactly how I've felt with my gaming "addictions" when I did have the ability to spend half the day playing a particular game I did so because I wanted to, because it was fun.
I think that's what separates us "core" gamers that play for hours and those that got sucked into a behavioral addiction.
also, I wasn't pretending with my statement regarding pornography but that's not what this blog is about so I'm dropping the subject.
@ eternaldeathslayer:
It's possible that playing a game could release a certain cocktail of neurotransmitters that may, in fact, become addictive. Prolonged periods spent with said game could raise the bodies tolerance for such a cocktail, then the brain would need more to feel the way it did before. Hence you play more. It's cyclical and the foundation for all chemical addictions (even things like some forms of sex addiction).
Merely a hypothesis, I might add.
Honestly, I don't get why people freak out about "WOW destroying mah life" and all that. I mean, I've played WoW for almost 4 years now, and where has it got me? I dropped out of college twice and ... fuck
Well, I play it now with a steady job but I don't play anywhere near as much
@YourMajesty3VBO: obligatory question regarding your current 'main' :P
My lifepartner has gone through some serious battles with WoW addiction over the years.
When we first got it things got out of hand and having never dealt with anything like that before, it went on a bit before I pointed out that I thought we had a problem. But even then I didn't go about it right.
At first it became a hot point between us. Now you have to realize that we've been together for almost 12 years and had gotten over arguing years ago as we settled, but WoW started some pretty serious fights and we weren't used to that.
It was mostly because, instead of viewing it as a negative for both of us, I just got jealous of the game and lashed out. Now I'm a nice guy, but WoW turned me into an angry stupid bear. I started making her feel bad about playing by making fun of the game or just pitching jealous fits. After that went on for a while I realized that I was being unreasonable and approached it from a more communal perspective - explaining that I didn't mean to demonize the game, I just felt like we as a couple were neglecting our relationship. After all, while she was playing WoW, I was in the next room pouring over some Burroughs book for the 5th time in a row, so we were both abusing the game in a way.
In the end we worked together to help her realize that she can approach the game like any other hobby and take it in moderation, but it was a rough battle to get there so I feel for these folks.
Great write up!
I hate using the word "addiction" when it comes to things like video games, because to me it's a matter of someone lacking the willpower to prioritize their life. I'm no psychologist, but I'd wager that anyone who plays a game to the point that they're sacrificing their relationships, career, or education is generally unhappy with their life and is filling a hole through virtual escapism. Instead of enabling them, their friends and family should be attempting to get them counseling.
While MMOs seem to be the biggest offenders, I've also known people who flunked a semester of college thanks to Counterstrike. Luckily that was the wake up call they needed to get back on track.
I don't think it's the MMO's or WoW in particular, but a lot of ppl who have compulsive personalities just tend to be gamers these days :)
Having said that, I totally am like that and after a couple of 16-17 hours of being logged in without more than 15 mins inactiveness during the WoW closed beta... I knew I shouldn't buy it and didn't.
So now I just play everything else compulsively :/ A lot of friends tend to start playing huge games during exam weeks though, new games tend to coincide with those weeks over here and games are just great to keep your mind from starting to consume study material :)
I became addicted to Diablo 2 about 3 years ago and no other game will ever be able to make an addict out of me after that.
...Except for maybe Heroin Hero
I really just wanted to comment on this blog because the quote from your student in the sidebar made me laugh.
Other than that, WoW sucks.
@DrNutt: It really goes down like that :)
This is one reason i dont like MMOs. they take too long; people get psychologically invested in a virtual world too deeply.
I like games i can beat in less than a week. or multiplayer games you can pick up and play for 10 mins & then it's over. reset. like a game of checkers.
@Heretic: I haven't had McDonald's in over a year, but the double cheeseburger value meal is where it's at.
Seriously, though, I see your point. You can't blame the game, but...is there something special about it that makes people get addicted?
It's like you said. People who are trying to distract themselves from some sort of psychic wound (like someone dying, losing a job, moving, more responsibility then they think they can handle, even quitting another vice like smoking or drinking) by enveloping themselves in a never-ending virtual world are the ones most susceptible to hardcore MMO addiction.
There's nothing special about WoW in the MMO genre. As mentioned, the things are built from the ground up to encourage long-term subscriptions. Be it through the (somewhat crummy) PvP and the new tournaments or good old itemisation, MMORPGs are designed to exploit that obsessive-compulsive streak in people. Everything is competitive, even PvE raids, further bolstering that oneupmanship.
They make sure the time invested-reward ratio is just low enough that by the time you get to the top end of play there's a new expansion coming out but high enough that people don't get frustrated and leave in droves because they feel they aren't getting anywhere.
The reason Warcraft is so popular compared to others is marketing, being based on a popular IP and sacrificing a lot of the deeper mechanics in other games in favour of accessibility. My mother can cope with WoW's mechanics (just). She would be screwed if it were EVE or something.
When someone comes out with an MMO that doesn't suck when compared to the experience of single player or smaller scale gamse I might be interested but I don't see that happening any time soon.
I would say I have a very intense outlook on life. Theres two types of people. Strong and Weak. (I know this is very sith like) Whenever I want to say stop something I tell my self I am not weak and I never do it again. When I wanted to stop playing World of Warcraft I used this thought process and it worked peachy for 6 months about the length I wanted to take a break from. I play WoW now, but casually although I might try to become hardcore again in WotLK it just depends. If anyone else is trying to quit anything see if this technique works for you. I broke a 20 year old habit of biting my nails using this method so I does work for me.
So are you strong or weak?
(I am not saying someone who can not quit something without help is weak, It is a term I use to keep my self motivated in not letting my self go backwards)
@sevink
if that helps you cope then more power to you.
but the reality of the human mind is infinitely more complicated than this or that.
I used to be addicted
PS -- this was a Knoxville radio station 100.3 WNOX News Talk and I heard the same radio show...coincidence? I think not. I freaked out 'cause well, I play WoW too...but oh well. Glad you blogged about it