66 replies to this topic

[5tr3tchy]

Games are not addictive, that's all there is to it. GG, end of story, I win, lock please.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[teh_Elderer]

This kind of reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw about guns. It said:

Guns kill people like spoons make Rosie O’Donnell fat.

Cool Video though... Was that NIN?

[BlightedArt]

Games ARE addictive. I don't see how a lot of you cannot see that, maybe it's just the fact that I've been addicted to games and you haven't, if that's the case then consider yourself lucky.

I don't think it runs my life though, sure it's taken its toll no doubt, but I've still managed a lot of other things that didn't go along the lines of "getting just one more 1up" in my life.

So I sort of agree and disagree with the O.P. at some level.

[keithdchatt]

You are saying weed takes over your life? Gtfo please. It's an' addictive personality that it takes to get hooked on a game, not the game. Same with weed.

Games are not addictive, that's all there is to it. GG, end of story, I win, lock please.

Qft bro.

[slobba]

i dunno... theres a lot of people addicted to games... why else would there be WoW addiction sites that help people?. exactly

[otaku_4_life]

i dunno... theres a lot of people addicted to games... why else would there be WoW addiction sites that help people?. exactly

Unless you have horrible self control (like 1% of people...), you will NOT become addicted to games.

[Abyss_of_Borg]

why else would there be WoW addiction sites that help people?. exactly

To make money.

That's almost as stupid of an assumtion as saying "if video games weren't bad then why would Jack Thompson be against them?"

[BlightedArt]

Unless you have horrible self control (like 1% of people...), you will NOT become addicted to games.

I've managed to avoid addiction to most things, but not gaming. O_o

[Bruce Fwaaa]

I dont like the way everyone flames this guy for just coming up with a valid observation on gaming lifestyle. Hes got a right to an opinion, and as he said, hes not forcing a point of view on anyone. By flaming him it just makes it sound like you dont want to hear what hes got to say because in some manner it actually applies to you.

stop failing.

[Shaun.]

Pot is the wrong drug to compare it to.

Maybe smoking would be more appropriate. It's metally addictive, it's possible you can do without letting it fuck up your life, it's a good timekiller and although you know it's bad for you if you do it too much you don't really want to quit.

[Kuassi]

There's no such thing as being addicted to games, it's called not having a life. If someone sits playing WoW for 16 hours a day it's because he/she has no life or friends. If someone kills another person or commits suicide "because of the game" it's because they're fucked up in the head.
Also, pot isn't addictive either.

There's not??

I can really relate to this video. I was REALLY into the hardcore WoW scene for about a year. Raiding/PvP with some of the best US guilds in the game every night. I think I accumulated over 150 days played on my main character (also had 2 60 alts) before I ended up deciding to quit/Ebay my account.

I however, didn't play because I had no life. I go to school. I have a good job. I have lots of really good friends. I ended up blowing off everyone for this game though. Honestly, I considered myself addicted to WoW.

There's a lot of people who are in the same situation I was. It's not because they have some sort of depressing real life or are mentaly ill (except for those who commit suicide over it, like you said). I know TONS of people who play to this day that have a LOT going on for them outside the game. They simply choose to ignore it and veg out to a computer screen all day.

It's fucking crazy how a game can have such huge control over people's lives =(

/hate WoW.

-Kuassi

P.S.
QFT. Pot isn't addictive...

[Shaun.]

QFT. Pot isn't addictive...

Wrong. It's mentally addictive. Just like alcohol.

EDIT: Apparently there's a rehab clinic for video gaming (or internet, I can't remember which) in the Netherlands somewhere. Sorry I can't cite the source. I read it ages ago.

[RaiDer]

Wrong. It's mentally addictive. Just like alcohol.

Just like WoW too it seems.

I wouldn't class gaming to such an extreme an addiction tbh, more like a phase. I think if you ask around alot of people have spent stupid amounts of time (staying up all night playing), over long durations eventually you just get bored with it and stop playing to such an extreme, that's something that will probably never happen with a drug. To say games can control you're life just doesn't sit right with me, they're just a past time of which you are in total control. Tbh, I just can't understand the mentality that would lead someone to believe that they are addicted to a game. Wonders never cease.

[BlightedArt]

Wrong. It's mentally addictive. Just like alcohol.

EDIT: Apparently there's a rehab clinic for video gaming (or internet, I can't remember which) in the Netherlands somewhere. Sorry I can't cite the source. I read it ages ago.

I heard about that too, good idea really.

Just like WoW too it seems.

I wouldn't class gaming to such an extreme an addiction tbh, more like a phase. I think if you ask around alot of people have spent stupid amounts of time (staying up all night playing), over long durations eventually you just get bored with it and stop playing to such an extreme, that's something that will probably never happen with a drug. To say games can control you're life just doesn't sit right with me, they're just a past time of which you are in total control. Tbh, I just can't understand the mentality that would lead someone to believe that they are addicted to a game. Wonders never cease.

Some have said it's the initial fun-factor. You play a game, have fun, then obviously you're gonna go back to it. That's why to me a lot of PS2 and 360 games I have just... sorta begin to collect dust, because they're fun at first, but like you said, they get boring. Games like SOTC and GH, I can never put down because of how much fun they are.

It was the same with WoW at first, I loved the huge environments, the fighting was dull at first, but new abilities and skills made it interesting, likewise with party-instances etc. Then it became more of a superiority thing, where you hold a grudge against the other faction and begin to show "just how big your e-pen0r" is to them.

Eventually though, you see the light and realise how pointless it is, or rather you just stop having fun with the game.

I'd defo say the fun-factor is what triggers an addiction, but that's pretty much obvious... Hrm... Forget anything I just said. xD

[Shaun.]

Tbh, I just can't understand the mentality that would lead someone to believe that they are addicted to a game. Wonders never cease.

Well I suppose it's comparable to internet addiction. It constantly stimulates your brain, in one way or another. RTS gets you thinking and reacting, FPS keeps your brain on alert and MMORPGs... err... I guess it can be challenging and satisfying growing levels, killing big things and doing quests and stuff.

[Bruce Fwaaa]

The only problem I have with online games is that there in no definite end.

[keithdchatt]

I dont like the way everyone flames this guy for just coming up with a valid observation on gaming lifestyle. Hes got a right to an opinion, and as he said, hes not forcing a point of view on anyone. By flaming him it just makes it sound like you dont want to hear what hes got to say because in some manner it actually applies to you.

stop failing.

Dude, he did not make a valid observation, if he said crack or cigarrette's it would make a lot more sense.

I'm just pissed 'cause he compared it to pot, maybe he should check my weed thread, we've covered it.

[frostassasin]

Dude, he did not make a valid observation, if he said crack or cigarrette's it would make a lot more sense.

I'm just pissed 'cause he compared it to pot, maybe he should check my weed thread, we've covered it.

lol I haven't done any drugs in my life... (except like alchohol, but who hasn't?) And although I'm sure that pot has some bad side effects, as long as you're not fucking addicted to it, like OMGINEEDMYFIX you should be fine. OH LOOK JUST LIKE GAMING.

Also, you guys seem to be using WoW as the example for gaming. Like I was addicted to WoW, look at all the people addicted to WoW, etc. Games are more than just WoW, which sucks imho. My friend plays WoW like crazy, I think he's addicted because I haven't talked to him or seen him play anything besides WoW in a year.

But you don't say GAMES are like pot. For a view on competitive gaming, I point to this documentary-ish thing.

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=...859835212507698

[Fritobag]

There's no such thing as being addicted to games, it's called not having a life. If someone sits playing WoW for 16 hours a day it's because he/she has no life or friends. If someone kills another person or commits suicide "because of the game" it's because they're fucked up in the head.
Also, pot isn't addictive either.

And if they have no friends/life how do they re-acquire these? Maybe they started gaming 16 hrs a day without friends, but now they cannot get friends because they don't have those social skills developed - and maybe they don't want to anymore. So they play the game again because it's the only social interaction they know. It's a depressing cycle. What if someone knows they are so far in that they, in their own mind, believe they cannot escape that cycle? Sure, you can call them weak-willed, but what if they can't stop it?

p.s. Smarteth, I would appreciate it if you could PM me some links to any game addiction/internet addiction articles you've stumbled upon. I would really, really appreciate it. Thanks if you could.
-Fritobag

[UDP]

Addiction -the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma

So I played WoW for over 3000 hours, managed to get over 80 in all my courses, friends with everyone I know and when I stopped playing it didn't cause me any trauma or anything that would classify WoW as an addiction. It was as easy to stop playing as is any game, if you need to look at a site to figure out how to stop playing a game then you are mentally retarded.

You're probably thinking wow 3000 hours that is ridiculous, I don't have it recorded or anything but I'm 100% sure that the time I spent playing WC3 was more than that, and it is definitly not addictive, neither is WoW, only reason you play for that long is because it simply is FUN, not because the game owns you. It's a fun game that some people allow themselves to play too much, you can do that with pretty much anything.

Ya you CAN become addicted to WoW but that doesn't mean it is addictive, if you have no friends and stuff then you had problems BEFORE the game and that is probably why your addicted to it, not because the game IS addictive but because you've created your own world where you have friends and you want to stay there because it's the only place you feel happy. If they have no friends and they had no WoW they'd probably commit suicide which is maybe why people do that ( have people commited suicide over WoW? dunno) if they have commited suicide then it's probably because they had no friends to begin with, their life sucked, all they had was WoW, when they lose WoW they have nothing so they probably just give up on life because there's no point anymore.

I could be completely wrong as I'm just basing this on my own experience but that is what I believe.