Internet & Game addiction

I just got done reading an article on internet and MMORPG addiction, http://www.gamergod.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=174 and it got me to wondering.

Just how bad is internet and MMOG addiction, really? I mean, you have millions of people that sit and watch tv or read a book for hours on end and you don't see the mainstream public complaining about that, but when it comes to the internet and gaming, there are tons of articles and studies done that say that surfing the internet or gaming for hours on end is bad for you.

Personally, I'd rather sit at a pc and game then sit in front of the tv.

 

I agree wholeheartedly. The thing of it is that (as with all things) some people take it a few steps too far. It may be something of an urban legend but I have heard cases of people losing their jobs because they were too busy playing MMORPG's to show up at work.

I also remember reading a news piece in the paper back when the internet was still 'an unknown quantity' about a woman who basically abandoned her kids to chat online.

So I think it's a real thing, but I doubt it happens all that often.

 

i am unbelivable addicted to World Of Warcraft. I got married and moved in to a new house so i've been with out WOW far a week and half. Monday the internet guys come.

i can't wait.

dkt

 

I also remember reading a news piece in the paper back when the internet was still 'an unknown quantity' about a woman who basically abandoned her kids to chat online.

Back in 1997 i knew a women who did JUST that.

This was back before MSN Messenger and AIM... ICQ had just started to get popular, but most chatting was still done at actual chat websites.

At any rate, i used to chat at a site where there was a woman who, well, she had problems (as most people who were chatting online back then did). Wasn't happy in her marriage, so she went online (as many lonely housewives did) looking for companionship. What she found online apparently thrilled her so much that she was online ALL the time (i remember a period where she was logged on for 72 hours STRAIGHT), and had neglected to go pick her kids up from school for 2 days in a row.

It was ridiculous.

 

One of the reasons I quit FFXI was because I became too addictive to it. Too much so.

I have played online games before, no problem. And even played Phantasy Star Online, but that's not a MMORPG.

So FFXI was my first real venture in a MMORPG and for one year, I got too addicted. I quit because it just was not healthy. And from seeing the people in the game I've met, friends I've made and just postings on the various FFXI forums, I saw that so so many people were addicted, even more so than me... which was scary.

So I quit. Was tough, but honestly, was glad to get back to normalcy. It was odd, the reason I put so much time into FFXI was because I had a coke problem and was hanging out with the wrong people. So I used it as something to do so I could have an excuse to stay in and not go out.

Needless to say, i traded one addiction for another.

 

Do tell? What's your new vice?

 

New vice?

That was it. I had a drug problem so i started playing FFXI to keep me busy and my mind of things and in turn, FFXI turned into an addiction in itself.

Right now I'm viceless

 

I recently went through a vice transition of drinking less and smoking more. I can't wait until I move into a place where I can chain smoke. It'll be amazing.

 

Well Tear, at least you lost the coke addiction, which is a good thing.

But I hear you as far as game addiction goes. I too, was in Tear's boat, except I never had a coke problem, for me it was total decimation of a semester wasted in college. I spent maybe 2,000 dollars on my apartment for August-December + 1,200 dollar tuition and I blew it for FFXI. I was on there so often and for so long, that I just let school fly right out the window, needless to say I've quit the game, well I did back in October/November, but after 2/3 months of skipping classes. . . my semester was wasted.

Though I do admit, it was quite fun digitally chilling with Tear in Castle Oztrojo, Cape Terrigan and so on. He packed a mean punch. . . if he could actually hit his target.

 

MMORPG addiction is a real threat. It's not like a drug in the sense that everyone who does it isn't going to get addicted. It's like alchohol, in that there is a risk, and some people are more at risk than others.

I personally think gaming companies could do something to get rid of that risk, but of course they just wanna sell the game, they don't care who plays it or for how long.

//end cynical rant

 

It was very fun. I make no bones about it. I will re-phrase that. It was fun hanging out with Errant and Fite2Unite and doing all sorts of crazy stuff with them.

The rest of the game is questionable.

With an MMORPG, unless you play a beastmaster, you can't just log in for an hour and get anything acomplished. You just can't. And it sucks you in. And then you start getting competitive.

The only good thing that came from the game in the end, other than meeting some cool people, was that I kicked my coke problem.

Hell, even the cool people remark is up for debate. Cause they are real people, even if we are just playing a game. So I felt I made some good friends there.

But aside from Fite and Errant, the good friends I've made there ignore me since I quit the game. I e-mailed a few to see how they were doing, say whats up and have a laugh... but that was futile.

Hmm, I smoke and drink quite often. So I guess I am not viceless after all... but then again... those are real social vices. I'm out with my friends at the pub or my girlfriend at a restaurant or a party. So it is much different than being locked in my apartment playing some game.

I still game, mind you. I love video games. But I stick mainly to offline games, multiplayer games with actual people next to me and the occasional online match of a pick up and play game like Soccom or what not.

Honestly, I got Bauldur's Gate 2 and Champions of Norath for my PS2. Both are great single player offline action rpgs's with class and race choices, customization in stats, armor and weapons and a level grind system which is actually fun. Best of all, I can pick up and play at my own pace. So I play for an hour a day when I'm done with everything I need and want to do. And it's fun. No pissing contest, no unhealthy competition, no jerks.

 

I don't think I've ever played an MMORPG, I don't even know what defines the genre.

I have been additced to the Sims for a long time before. I wasted days playing it. I haven't played it for about a month now, though. It's an on and off thing.

 

I currently play Everquest 2 and love it although im only level 20 and been playing since day 1,its the player's that are level 50 that probly have a problem.They literally play 8 hours a day wich is nuts.

 

I think it's wrong of game creators to encourage gameplay to that level. That would be like liquor stores giving out free cars to anyone who drinks 5 bottles of vodka in one day.

 

My brother plays World of Warcraft about 9-10 hours a day. About two days a week he doesn't play and spends time with his grilfriend. He did the same thing with Ultima Online.

He should get a job

 

The key to this, like a great many things, is moderation and self discipline. I enjoy playing Star Wars Galaxies quite a bit, but I'm not on it constantly. I usually set aside a certain amount of time to play, do what I need to get done in the time I've allotted, log off, and do whatever else I need/want to do. Somedays I may allow myself to go a bit longer, but those days are few and far between and I usually end up being all sore from being in the same position for so long, so I don't do it all too often. A lot of it all depends on establishing a schedule and sticking to it. The personality may also play some role, but it's possible to whip oneself into shape if they try hard enough.

 

Its a competition thing. If you aren't on all day, there's no way you are going to be able to compete with the others who are on all day. It's a dissatisfying experience if you can't go chest-to-chest with someone else.

 

I don't know how Galaxies works. But in FFXI, you cannot get anything done in a short play period. You can't. The party system in the game is very flawed as in the quest system. And because of the gil sellers, the economy was and still is insane, that one needs to spend hours and hours to make a dime.

 

Tear is right, in FFXI to get anywhere and I mean anywhere, you had to spend a good portion of the day playing. Which was quite depressing and one of the worst things about the party system is if you were not a valued class (tank/medic) and went AFK for 5 minutes you could lose the only invite you'd have for a week. I'm serious, some classes would literally have to wait days to get an invite if they didn't form their own party.

And the economy was never stable at all, it was always on the rise, so you had to farm a lot mroe to make a decent penny. Of course what you sell gets you more, but if you can't make the nice weapon or armor piece which 3 weeks ago was 200k cheaper you're screwed. As that armor/weapon inflation rate was higher than whatever it is that you're farming. So you end up having to spend more time for that one item than you would've 3 weeks earlier.

 

SWG is a lot more open ended than most gamees and while grouping isn't required, it is encouraged and people of all types of comabt professions are welcome, be they Riflemen, Swordsmen, Carbineer, Pikeman, etc, there's a place for you if you want in, but grouping isn't required and one can do quite well on their own.

 

I think we all need to get off our fat asses and go outside more.(but if you don't want to then don't)

USA
USA
USA

 

Grouping is required by any MMORPG, as is time involved.

 

I played Ultima Online quite a bit when it came out, but my brother was nearly addicted. (I can see some of you saying "You were too young." Yeah, I was a n00b then.) Then Everquest came out, we switched, and it simply wasn't very good. After that, I quit playing MMORPGs.

I learned my lesson, but I still got the 2 week trial of Galaxies this summer. Luckily for me, it didn't seem fun at all, so I played it for about 3 hours total. I reeeeealy had to resist getting WoW this year, but high school is more important than that game.

I have restricted my videogaming since, and I'm trying (and failing) to cut down my posting here. I only play multiplayer games when I can see the other person (Starcraft and RA2 LAN, Halo 2 and Goldeneye with friends, and the occasional sharing of a singleplayer game), and I only really get singleplayer games that I think will be fantastic. If RotS were for PC, that would apply; I'm getting KotOR 2, and keeping up on games news a bit, but I'm starting to kick the games habit.

Thank God.

[end ramble]

 

I play Wolfenstein Enemy Territory and go by the name of SsYdD and am easily one of the 20 best players on the block ,This game is great cause its simple teamplay and fun beats halo 2 anyday as far as speed and teamwork anyday(considering its a free download thats keybaord and mouse not slow joypad.Go to fileshack.com and download it for free you can't lose.IT'S the 2nd most popular FPS game on PC.It's a Quake 3 engine game so it doesn't require a high end PC to play it I think Pentium 3 with 32megs of Video will do.

 

No, see grouping is a must must must for FFXI. But in other MMORPG;s, grouping is not required. One can solo effectively and get something acomplished.

Not in FFXI.