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The Lure of Heroinware
blankmange writes "news.com reports: When games stop being fun; where the line between reality and fantasy blurs. Another story about games and the adults who can't stop playing them. It seems that we can't be held responsible for our actions -- it must be the 'heroinware' that game companies are producing...." Mmmm, Evercrack. T. pops in: Don't worry, games aren't addictive, but here's the announcement of a 24-hour gaming TV network for those unexplained late-night cravings. (Thanks to joestump98.)
Here's an interesting quote from Planetside's FAQ, another game by Verant, the creaters of Everquest:
What is the goal of the game?
To be more addictive than any substance known to man.
Probably said with tongue in cheek, but still, they recognize what their cames can become to some people.
T. pops in: "Don't worry, games aren't addictive"
Most games are not addictive. Only a particular type, and the reasons are still unraveling. This is a new type of addiction.
Anonymous Coward: "if...they enjoy EQ, OF COURSE they're going to spend a lot of time playing it."
The problem is they do not enjoy it. They are miserable as a resul of playing it. That's why the article is called "When games stop being fun".
mosch: "...but they freely choose to do so. There's no physical addiction, their hair won't hurt when they stop playing, they can stop if they want to."
Something happens in the brain with this particular type of game that is just like what happens when someone is taking an addictive drug. I know it is hard to believe, but it is true. That's why there is ever increasing coverage of it. It is a bizarre unexpected new addiction.
danny256: "The biggest issue is there is no withdraw, if I take an everquest freak and make him stop playing, he will get better every minute"
There is withdrawel. When your playing you feel bad, and when you stop, you feel worse. So bad, that you return to playing.
Sound like I am speaking from experience? I am. It is a very bizarre problem to which I and others are giving a great deal of thought to figure out why this happens and only with a particular type of game. I have always enjoyed spending long hours playing video games. Keyword: "enjoy". Now something very different happens with an MMORPG. At first it was fun like any other game or enjoyable activity. You are having more fun than before you were playing. But eventually and very slowly, so slowly that you don't realize it is happening, it changes. If I knew it would happen or could see it happening I wouldn't have played. Well, I am not going to go into all the details, but it did get to the point where I was experiencing hallucinations. I had gotten so low and was so miserable that I finally knew I had to stop cold turkey or I never would get out of it alive. I knew I feel much worse for a while before I felt better, but I knew I had to stop.
Well, it was a while ago, and I am all better now. Totally over it. It was an educational experience. I have learned from it. Like I said if I had known that would happen, would never have started playing. And thats the reason for all this attention this new form of addiction is getting. People need to know. I think there should be a warning label, though most people, at least at first, will not take it seriously, will not believe it could happen to them, but awareness will increase and eventually understanding the problem will be common knowledge.
Note, this doesn't happen with everyone. Certain people are probably genetically predisposed just like with alcoholism. Knowing alcolism runs in one's family, those people avoid alcohol.
foo fighter: "Joking about people whose lives have degenerated into living a virtual existance while their former friends and loved ones leave them is in the poorest of taste."
Thank you.
I hope this posting has increased someone's understanding of the problem.
No one really laughs at gambling addiction; why isn't gaming addiction taken seriously? Researchers have found that gambling generates similar brain patterns as cocaine usage. Gaming certainly shares many characteristics with gambling.
As someone who has personally become addicted to all sorts of games ranging from Civ to RPGs to Mechwarrior to Tetris, I think gaming addictions should be studied seriously.
Speaking of which, what am I doing here, at this hour???
I understand why she doesn't like the amount of time he spends on it, but I wanna know why she's so hung up about her boyfriend playing a female elf.
There shouldn't be a social stigma for every guy to play a male human and every female to play a female human. The entire point of these games is that you're role-playing something exotic, something not mundane. If you're just role-playing yourself, save the money you're sending to the EQ people and just go out and live life.
May we never see th
I want to start smoking just tick those people off.
Betcha didn't know that the American Legacy Foundation, who produces these ads, is funded by the tobacco companies as part of the national tobacco lawsuit settlement. So while some people (the CDC, etc.) think they're the greatest thing ever, the conspiracy theorists say that the over-the-top style is part of a tobacco industry plot to make everybody smoke more. Apparently the conspiracy theorists are at least partially right on this one...