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I ... try to avoid even buying anything through Steam...

Kick the habit, man.

I think that, as a friend, you should do whatever you reasonably can to help him. If I am aware of problems that my friends have, that is what I try to do, and would hope that my friends do that for me as well. Nonetheless, if the person is in denial and severely addicted, you may not be able to help much.

However, remember that you are far from alone and that there are many sources of help available for both you and your friend. This Slashdot site is one of them, but some other good ones that I am aware of are On-Line Gamers Anonymous (OLGA) at http://www.olganon.org/ , Gamer Widow at http://gamerwidow.com/ (note that despite it's name, it also has support for gamers as well), DailyStrength Video Game Addiction (VGA) support group at http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Video-Game-Addiction/support-group , and WoW Detox at http://www.wowdetox.com/ . I am a recovering video game addict myself. For me, I used counseling from a friend as well as the OLGA Website (such as informally following their 12 steps) and, to a lesser extent, the DailyStrength one.

Note that even if you cannot get your friend to directly get help himself, the first 2 sites listed above (i.e., OLGA and Gamer Widow) have sections specifically for family and friends of gamers. I am sure that you can find something already previously posted that would be useful, or can get specific help by repeating your query.

I would add aim him at something like this.

http://www.olganon.org/

It looks like it is based on AA. Even if it is a joke it is a good place to start.

What you said is an excellent start however it could be enabling him to continue the bad behavior. So be very careful.

Several people have suggested sex, women, or other substitutes. Those will not work. An addict does NOT work that way. They have their flavor and will do *ANYTHING* for it. What they are addicted to is *THE* all consuming thing in their lives. But getting an in to show them that what they are doing is very self destructive will be hard. He probably will react with anger and a whole other range of emotions.

Others here have suggested taking the game away. That does not work either. That is a form of control from the addicts 'victim'. This is actually an enabling act believe it or not. It causes them to seek out the thing they are addicted to even MORE.

Trust me the rest of us do NOT understand what he is going thru. He thinks he is alone in the world. He believes that he is the only one going thru this. He needs REAL help from a support group of other addicts.

My gf is suffering from drug addiction and from what I have learned about addictions it is NEVER over. She is doing much better now. However it is a day by day thing. The pull of the addiction is very great. Getting her out was making her realize that going on the way she was would suck way more than it does now. She needed to realize this on her own. No matter of begging bribing or whatever would ever change her mind until she SAW it for herself.

Showing better things does not work. You need to show them that it WILL get worse. They will ignore you and not believe you. Until they start to see it IS getting worse.

You also need to realize it is not your fault. You can not control it. All you can do is make it CLEAR that you do not accept it and you are not going anywhere. You will be around showing them that you do not approve. But you are going to support them. But you will not enable them to continue.

On TV they show people doing interventions and other such shit. That crap does not work. It makes for good drama is all. But it is not real.

I don't believe that such a thing exists as being addicted to non-narcotics

Really?
http://www.ncpgambling.org/
http://saa-recovery.org/
http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/
http://www.olganon.org/

Maybe you should look up the definition of addiction... addiction to non-narcotics (or, more specifically, non-subtances) is very real.

Psychological addiction can occur with any pleasurable activity; why should games be singled out as abnormal?


They aren't, just the topic of the article dealt with gamers that had a problem. Have you ever visited Online Gamers Anonymous and read the stories there? Everquest Widows? Families Against Everquest?

As far as TV addicts go, sure - people can become addicted to TV - people can become addicted to ANYTHING

I don't waste my time trolling through hundreds or even thousands of replies, especially dumb ones that seem to prevail, but here is a good link for On-line Gamers Anonymous if no one has posted it yet. I hope it helps!

http://www.olganon.org/

1. We admitted we were powerless over on-line gaming, and that our lives have become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

These are the first three steps of the "12 step plan" posted on olganon.org

http://www.olganon.org/Gamer/Recovery/12-Steps/12- steps.html

After reading these, all i wanted to do was fire up good old CS:S.

You don't?

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/EverQuest-Wid ows/

http://www.olganon.org/

http://eqdailygrind.blogspot.com/

http://www.families-against-eq.com/eq/

Sounds like your room mate has a problem. You should refer him/her to online gamers anonymous.

according to Woolley, the group's website http://www.olganon.org/ gets more than 300 visits a week.

not for long

http://www.olganon.org/

I was looking at their site, and I saw the Eye of Sauron! Run away, run away!!!

Then why do over 6 billion people still play it then? I'm not implying anything, but given the choice of staying in this not very fun game or ending it, the vast majority of people would say that they still want to stay.

Well, if Elizabeth Wooley has anything to say about it, she would probably contend that the very nature of massively multiplayer games forces gamers into addiction. The games are designed from the bottom up to be addictive, regardless of how fun they are.

I have to admit, I myself have fallen into this trap. I find the crafting skills particularly addictive, especially the ones that are profession-oriented. I can't help myself; most mornings after logging in, I head to the office and work on my tech assistance phone skills. Sure, I'm sitting in a cubicle and not moving for 12 hours, but every once in a while I advance a level (which results in more money) or gain some bonus certifications.

Ah well, I suppose it's really the social aspects of the game that keep me addicted. Every once in a while I find a female character (hopefully not really being played by some 55-year-old man living in his mother's basement) who's really into H07 cYb0Rz. ;)