So I thought what better time to write this then right after a 4 hour League of Legends (LoL) session. When someone stays up to the wee hours of the night, staring furiously at the screen in the hopes to win a silly game, you know that there is probably some potential for addiction. Now I don't want people to confuse the issue of addiction so I'm going to repeat a mantra all people in the industry shout out whenever dealing with the copious amounts of bad press video games get for addiction. Video games are not addicting. Nope. When someone is addicted to video games it's not because they are actually addicted to the game. Instead those who are addicted to video games tend to use video games as a void filler. Anything can be a void filler from video games to jumping jacks. Not everything works effectively at filling voids. Video games however, are excellent void fillers. The very notion of a fantasy world where the normal responsibilities and rules in life don't apply is liberating. But MMOs especially tend to be the void filler of choice for many. I am by no means an expert on this subject, so I've decided to express how I feel about the subject in the medium of writing I'm more familiar with.
Your name bears your sins. And the first thing the MMO world does is wipe that name away and allows you to replace it with anything you want. Immediately you're allowed to abandon the person you were. Sometimes you want to keep some of that, so you create a name that highlights the best of you. Others are self loathing and subliminally force themselves to be marked by their shortcomings. I wasn't surprised when I named myself Ablindleader. Clearly my tendency fell into the latter. But shortcomings and all, the new MMO community you just joined accepted you. You have now entered a community with a huge population of hundreds of gamers who have also taken the same name bearing rite of passage. We all finish the entry quests and then begin to get into the serious grind of the game.
And grind you will. For hours and hours. Forced into a cycle of experience and rewards. I'll just play till I get this drop. I'll just play till I finish this run. I'll just play till I hit this level. I'll just play until I feel happy. And while I'm playing I'm happy, but the minute I take myself from the screen, I'm reminded of the reason I was playing to begin with. So I get on again and suddenly, happiness ensues. But there is an eerie feeling when it's 3 in the morning and you can barely keep your eyes open, yet your fingers continue to guide you to the NPC so you can turn in your quest. My Guild Leader told me that was the fatigue of the kindred gamer. In it we are able to be open with each other, because who else would be willing to spend time with us at 3 in the morning.
Oh and I know some of these people too. I mean really know them, real life and all. Did you think I went into this social experiment alone? No, I brought reinforcements, too bad we didn't know that the MMO world can make things difficult. The first question you're asked tends to make you choose sides. I know this is an exclusive RPG element, but even in other MMOs you'll see this choice being reincarnated into skill level. You need to get better. You need to get better. Watch videos of other's playing. Read forums on other's playing. Then mimic till it's rinse, wash, and repeat. When you spit out your left over tooth paste make sure you do it in the enemy's eye. I want him to be blinded when I gank him. These orders come from different people.
Guilds always exists in MMOs, regardless if there is an actual guild system implemented. Your guild leader should talk to you very little and when he does, it should be only to impart great wisdom or give you the money for that mount you needed. But if he's talking to you often, then you know what that means. You're not on enough. Why do you neglect your responsibilities? Suddenly the things you were running away from in video games found their way into your created reality. We need you to dps for this run, get on. Oh, they'll be nice about it at first. Ask you for your free times and then work from that. If at that moment, the novelty of a game you choose to play hasn't been killed, then it's clear that what you wanted all along was a family. And what better family than a guild? They will pay for you, fight for you, and even die for you. You might say it's only a game, but when you spend 6+ hours, exchanging dialogue with live human beings, then you tell me how many feelings can be built and hurt. Temples are the worst for that kind of thing too.
A temple imitates the classic story plot chart, so expect bitching, regardless of how on track you guys are. Those stupid stat reader things will give them numbers to scrutinize you by. If you happen to have exceptional numbers you'll get a pat on the back. If you're the reason a wipe just occurred, then I hope you're ready for silence. Yes, guild members don't curse and lash out at you. Instead they slowly punish you with the deafening noise of in-game casting. This is to remind you of the expectations you just let down. It's also to encourage you to do better next time. No need for lashing out. But be assured that eventually you will get good or face a true exile. Not through a kicking out of the guild, but by the slow alienation of your player when it comes to guild affairs. Suddenly, nobody wants to do runs with you. The Guild Leader won't ever have extra money to pay your bonds. And they ensure that anyone who knows them disassociates themselves with you. It was at this point where I finally considered committing suicide.
So I made my way to the guild bank and took everything clean. It was 5 in the morning so no one was watching and for some reason they gave a nublet like myself the power to withdraw a good amount of stuff. I then took it all and sold it to vendors. By the time it was midday, the Guild Leader came on, greeted everyone on the guild channel and then began getting filtered by my parental control settings. That's when I finally took the rope to my character. Deactivating my account essentially killed who I was. Of course when you finally break free from the throat choking grip of addiction you begin to remember what it is to breathe again. I took a huge breath and sighed, looking at all the obstacles I had left for myself. They festered and are now rotten, but knowing that I had been reborn a stronger person from the process of running away I began laughing and took them on. Let's see if I can get into the serious grind of this game as well.
I don't want anyone to think that I find these games to be all negative. Clearly I loved WoW and LoL. I just think that sometimes we kid ourselves when it comes to this dark side of our industry. The video game industry is in the business of void filling. They know it. We know it. Yet we still absolve them. Just like Casinos put a lot of money into gambler's addiction, we should do the same for Video Games.
Update: So this entire day (including tonight) I refrained from playing any video games. That was just to reflect on how much of an impact, negative and positive, video games have had in my life. I suggest anyone struggling with an addiction or any gamer who knows they're avid about their gaming, do the same. Don't try to void fill it (i.e. go to the movies or something out of the ordinary to take your mind off of gaming), but instead go about your regular day and think about all the other things you've been trading off with. I intend to continue you playing, but I find this process to be eye opening and worth a day of reflection. Thanks!
Your name bears your sins. And the first thing the MMO world does is wipe that name away and allows you to replace it with anything you want. Immediately you're allowed to abandon the person you were. Sometimes you want to keep some of that, so you create a name that highlights the best of you. Others are self loathing and subliminally force themselves to be marked by their shortcomings. I wasn't surprised when I named myself Ablindleader. Clearly my tendency fell into the latter. But shortcomings and all, the new MMO community you just joined accepted you. You have now entered a community with a huge population of hundreds of gamers who have also taken the same name bearing rite of passage. We all finish the entry quests and then begin to get into the serious grind of the game.
And grind you will. For hours and hours. Forced into a cycle of experience and rewards. I'll just play till I get this drop. I'll just play till I finish this run. I'll just play till I hit this level. I'll just play until I feel happy. And while I'm playing I'm happy, but the minute I take myself from the screen, I'm reminded of the reason I was playing to begin with. So I get on again and suddenly, happiness ensues. But there is an eerie feeling when it's 3 in the morning and you can barely keep your eyes open, yet your fingers continue to guide you to the NPC so you can turn in your quest. My Guild Leader told me that was the fatigue of the kindred gamer. In it we are able to be open with each other, because who else would be willing to spend time with us at 3 in the morning.
Oh and I know some of these people too. I mean really know them, real life and all. Did you think I went into this social experiment alone? No, I brought reinforcements, too bad we didn't know that the MMO world can make things difficult. The first question you're asked tends to make you choose sides. I know this is an exclusive RPG element, but even in other MMOs you'll see this choice being reincarnated into skill level. You need to get better. You need to get better. Watch videos of other's playing. Read forums on other's playing. Then mimic till it's rinse, wash, and repeat. When you spit out your left over tooth paste make sure you do it in the enemy's eye. I want him to be blinded when I gank him. These orders come from different people.
Guilds always exists in MMOs, regardless if there is an actual guild system implemented. Your guild leader should talk to you very little and when he does, it should be only to impart great wisdom or give you the money for that mount you needed. But if he's talking to you often, then you know what that means. You're not on enough. Why do you neglect your responsibilities? Suddenly the things you were running away from in video games found their way into your created reality. We need you to dps for this run, get on. Oh, they'll be nice about it at first. Ask you for your free times and then work from that. If at that moment, the novelty of a game you choose to play hasn't been killed, then it's clear that what you wanted all along was a family. And what better family than a guild? They will pay for you, fight for you, and even die for you. You might say it's only a game, but when you spend 6+ hours, exchanging dialogue with live human beings, then you tell me how many feelings can be built and hurt. Temples are the worst for that kind of thing too.
A temple imitates the classic story plot chart, so expect bitching, regardless of how on track you guys are. Those stupid stat reader things will give them numbers to scrutinize you by. If you happen to have exceptional numbers you'll get a pat on the back. If you're the reason a wipe just occurred, then I hope you're ready for silence. Yes, guild members don't curse and lash out at you. Instead they slowly punish you with the deafening noise of in-game casting. This is to remind you of the expectations you just let down. It's also to encourage you to do better next time. No need for lashing out. But be assured that eventually you will get good or face a true exile. Not through a kicking out of the guild, but by the slow alienation of your player when it comes to guild affairs. Suddenly, nobody wants to do runs with you. The Guild Leader won't ever have extra money to pay your bonds. And they ensure that anyone who knows them disassociates themselves with you. It was at this point where I finally considered committing suicide.
So I made my way to the guild bank and took everything clean. It was 5 in the morning so no one was watching and for some reason they gave a nublet like myself the power to withdraw a good amount of stuff. I then took it all and sold it to vendors. By the time it was midday, the Guild Leader came on, greeted everyone on the guild channel and then began getting filtered by my parental control settings. That's when I finally took the rope to my character. Deactivating my account essentially killed who I was. Of course when you finally break free from the throat choking grip of addiction you begin to remember what it is to breathe again. I took a huge breath and sighed, looking at all the obstacles I had left for myself. They festered and are now rotten, but knowing that I had been reborn a stronger person from the process of running away I began laughing and took them on. Let's see if I can get into the serious grind of this game as well.
I don't want anyone to think that I find these games to be all negative. Clearly I loved WoW and LoL. I just think that sometimes we kid ourselves when it comes to this dark side of our industry. The video game industry is in the business of void filling. They know it. We know it. Yet we still absolve them. Just like Casinos put a lot of money into gambler's addiction, we should do the same for Video Games.
Update: So this entire day (including tonight) I refrained from playing any video games. That was just to reflect on how much of an impact, negative and positive, video games have had in my life. I suggest anyone struggling with an addiction or any gamer who knows they're avid about their gaming, do the same. Don't try to void fill it (i.e. go to the movies or something out of the ordinary to take your mind off of gaming), but instead go about your regular day and think about all the other things you've been trading off with. I intend to continue you playing, but I find this process to be eye opening and worth a day of reflection. Thanks!
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