One of the hot posts that’s been flying over the video-gameo-blogo-sphere over the past week is over an article written by a former guild leader in World of Warcraft. In it, he describes how the pressures of running a guild began to take over his life. He gained weight (like in the South Park episode), he stopped his other hobbies, and stopped going out with friends. You can read the entire account on the blog Soul Kerfuffle including many, many comments from all sides of the issue. There is also a followup from the same person responding to many of the comments made. And there is also a counterpoint by someone who was in the same guild who talks about how World of Warcraft allowed him to juggle a busy life including getting a master’s degree and not burn out.
So the question is… how much game is too much game? Is World of Warcraft (or any other major time-sink of a game) too much to handle alongside the pressures of a job, family, friends, etc? And what point would YOU know that you’re spending too much time playing? And has WoW replaced other major games that take your life as the drug of choice: do we still get people who fail college because they played D&D or skip out on dates because they’re playing too much Settlers of Catan?
I firmly believe that games, especially MMMORPGS, can be addictive. However, most people that end up ‘addicted’ to these mediums probably would find some other destructive habit if not for video games. Addictive personalites are blessed with a plethora of choices today, rather than just plain old boring booze, tobacco, and opium.
Before WoW, I used to spend 10-15 hours per week on videogames, now, after wow, I spend about 10-15 hours per week on videogames. The difference? I used to buy at least one new $50 game per month. Now It’s just subscription fees. WoW has suppplanted my old gaming habits simply becuase I have never before seen such a good platform for unscheduled cooperative play.
While I have occasionally found my wife with an axe in her hands walking slowly toward the computer, that’s usually just her subtle way of inviting me out for some fresh air, and I happily oblige her whenever she makes her intentions known.
Games like WoW are the best way to spend time that would otherwise be spent in front of the TV or futilely attempting to figure out where a couple can go and be social on a friday night without the deadly haze of smoke and too-loud music.
It’s just like any other hobby that you can become obsessed with. Sure, there are people do obsess too much with video games, and I know I’ve had days where I played an RPG for hours and hours. But the majority of gamers have it under control. It’s just these poor souls that get sucked in and have grave consequences that make the rest of us look bad. The ones who do 10 hours a week, have a full time job/school, and have a healthy social life don’t make the news.
Account – canceled!
TheMainEvent said: “I firmly believe that games, especially MMMORPGS, can be addictive.” I absolutely agree.
But I disagree that most of the people who become addicted to MMMORPGS would find a different destructive habit anyway. That statement is true in the context of drugs (i.e. someone who gets addicted to crack would probably be just as likely to have gotten addicted to heroin instead), but I think the video game addiction caters to a different crowd.
The issue here is that everyone knows that stuff like drugs are bad – it’s pounded into your head starting in 1st grade, and probably before that by your parents. No parent wants their kid to do drugs, and yeah some do, but most people say no because they know – deep down inside – that this s*** isn’t really good for their body.
But there’s no special section in health class about the dangers of MMMORPGS. The only way people find out about those dangers is from first-hand experience….which is why a lot of them never see it coming, and before they know it they’re hooked.