# Father hires virtual hitmen to kill off his son online.



## Dave (Jan 8, 2013)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20931304

I wondered what your views were on this?

Many parents are worried about the amount of time their children spend online. This is however, rather extreme, and from the report linked it won't work either.

My wife thinks I spend too much time online myself. I counter that with the fact that I'm doing many different things online rather than being obsessed with something like a single game. In fact, I have rarely played games online. Also, I don't think I spend more time online than other people watch TV, and she probably wouldn't complain if I was watching TV, which leads me to believe that much of the complaining by parents about children is simply a generational problem of not understanding the technology. 

On the otherhand, the majority of games are violent, bloody affairs, often macho if not outright misogynistic, and can be immersed in drug and gang culture, car theft and prostitution. They almost all come with a UK over 18 certificate and yet are played mostly by young teenagers. I have a seventeen year old son myself.


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## J Riff (Jan 9, 2013)

I would simply constantly remind the offending child that there are many ways to actually make money online. Then cut off their allowance. )


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## Venusian Broon (Jan 9, 2013)

Nice comment on these issues in the Guardian today:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/08/video-games-assassin-addiction

Liked the comparison of today's parental worries (or is it the Daily Mail/Express?) and the 18th Century parents concerns about young women reading novels. Ties in, Dave, with what you are saying about TV viewing.


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## Dave (Jan 9, 2013)

Venusian Broon said:


> Liked the comparison of today's parental worries (or is it the Daily Mail/Express?) and the 18th Century parents concerns about young women reading novels. Ties in, Dave, with what you are saying about TV viewing.


 I hadn't made that connection but it is true that _Jane Eyre_ and _Wuthering Heights_ horrified initial reviewers with their scandalous passion and "coarse" language, and it was questioned whether young women should be reading them.

I liked the quote from Douglas Adams - "Anything that is in the world when you're born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. Anything that's invented between when you're 15 and 35 is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you're 35 is against the natural order of things."

I'm still not sure that you can get lost in a book in the same way as some people are addicted to MMORPGs and don't eat or sleep. However, I expect that the reports of addiction are hugely exaggerated and not too dissimilar to the obsessive _Harry Potter, Twilight_ and _Star Trek_ fans that always seem to be available for TV interviews, as opposed to the vast majority of more reasonable fans.


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## Venusian Broon (Jan 9, 2013)

Dave said:


> I'm still not sure that you can get lost in a book in the same way as some people are addicted to MMORPGs and don't eat or sleep. However, I expect that the reports of addiction are hugely exaggerated...


 
I personally can see the similarities. Manys the times I've been reading a great book in bed, say at 11:30pm, and I've told myself, "oh go on I'll read the next chapter" only to discover that I'm still solidly reading at 4am (because I can hear the birds chirping outside). Done exactly the same with _Civ, Total War, Oblivion etc... _

But computer games, whether by design or accident do seem much more visceral, more-ish, and immediate. Reading, in my eyes, being more creative and involve 'high end thinking' does seem to exhaust the brain more.


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## Warren_Paul (Jan 9, 2013)

I can easily get addicted to MMORPGs. I'm afraid, having knowledge from being an MMOs addict myself, that the addiction isn't exaggerated. Most people who are serious about doing endgame in MMOs spend every waking hour - when they aren't working - logged into the game. There is a huge population of MMO players who don't even work, so spend all that time logged in as well. I used to be one of them. I'd spend about 15+ hours a day logged in, and there were servers full of people who did the same. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people playing the game all day long. 

I typically had one meal a day, too busy to take time out to eat more than that - not that I needed to - and I'd only shower every second day, if that. Hygiene was at the bare minimum. I didn't clean my room, I just let rubbish pile up. Everything I ate was something I could quickly prepare - usually instant meals or fast food - so that I took as little time away from the game as possible. When an MMO first came out, I'd only sleep every second night, so that I could be one of the first, if not the first, to get to max level. I was usually back up at the crack of dawn and logged in, and didn't log off until it was dark again and I couldn't keep my eyes open. My MMO addiction was a large contributing factor to my marriage failing.

I think TV shows can be just as bad as games. There are also games that are G rated and contain no violence whatsoever. GTA style games became popular, just like Game of Thrones became very popular on TV. They are both extremely violent and misogynistic. 

I think it definitely is a generational thing. I'm usually always on my PC doing something, whether it be on forums, playing an online game, writing... yet I know people who always make comments about how much time I spend in front of the computer, and say they can't stand spending more than 30 mins playing a game. I take note that all the people who've made these comments are much older than me. Most other people I know around my age spend just as much time on their computers/consoles as I do.

There are exceptions to the rule, and I know people in their 60s who are full-time raiders on MMORPGs. So I wonder if it comes more from the lifestyle they had growing up?


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## Dave (Jan 9, 2013)

Warren Paul - Do you think that the games are inherently addictive? Or is it just that games attract people with addictive personalities? Would the same people be unable to stop smoking, or become alcoholics or get addicted to gambling?

Like Venusian Broon, I've stayed up late reading a book and thought, I'll read one more chapter, which turns into 2,3 and 4 more chapters. Do games actually need special controls?

My thoughts are still that it is all hyperbole by people who don't understand the technology or the attraction because they are simply too old - as Douglas Adams said, it was invented after they're 35 and so is against the natural order of things.

You have been extremely candid, but are you saying that this is a very real problem? I mean, if the consequences were detrimental to your health and resulted in a failed marriage, I'd say that was a serious problem. However, maybe if it hadn't been games then it would have been something else instead with you?

My other thoughts are that everyone needs something to be obsessive about - that can be work, or a sport, or motor cars, or birdwatching, train spotting, or stamp collecting, or DIY, or art, or music, or a TV show, or a game? If it gives you pleasure then who is able to say that it is unhealthy? 

I guess it boils down to when an obsession becomes an addiction.

I found this and thought it was amusing:
Top Ten Tell Tale Signs of Chess Addiction


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## Warren_Paul (Jan 9, 2013)

It is a serious issue. I'm not sure how much more clearly I can get that across. I'm not entirely sure  if I have an addictive personality or not, because MMOs were the only thing I was ever addicted to that I can see. Fast Food went hand in hand with the MMO addiction, it was laziness and my addiction to MMOs that saw me turning to quick meals. I wasn't addicted to Fast Food, and I've never been addicted to gambling, or smoking and drinking - which I've certainly tried.

The way I see it, obsession is spending our time doing something we really, really enjoy. Addiction is when it becomes harmful to our lives - which is what happened with me. 

I can never truly be sure if I'd still be married if I hadn't got addicted to MMOs, maybe there would have been something else that took its place, but I know in my situation, I definitely blame my addiction for it, but know that there were other issues that added to the problem. I couldn't draw myself away from the game to do what I should, which was looking for a job, doing housework, giving my wife the attention she deserved for working long hours to support us both. Playing the game was all I thought about.

I think games are inherently addictive, but there are people who are able to resist that addiction easier than others. I do wonder if some peoples antipathy towards games is because they know this? I think everyone, when they find a game they truly enjoy, or even give playing games a try for the first time can get caught up in the game so much that they lose track of time. You can find the same in a good book, a great TV show. 

But I think what makes games worse than reading and watching TV is that they hook you in with a sense of achievement. Getting max level in the game, getting that best weapon or piece of armour in the game that other people have been trying for years to get. That's what makes it addictive; achievements. In WoW it's called raiding, and it is the main reason why the game has kept going - there is always something more for people to do in the game, always that next dungeon to clear, always that upgraded armour set to collect. And getting it first has become a competition; guilds are racing each other to be the first ones to clear the dungeon. Achieving this status required you to also put long hours into the game collecting resources and making money to be able to fund raiding parties.

I wonder about how to stop this. After awhile, you do eventually get burnt out, but at what point you do is different for everyone. Although that usually means its time to move onto the next MMO, not quit altogether. When my wife left me, it was a major shock that broke the addiction for me. It made me realise how serious my problem really was, and how much it had hurt not just me, but her too. I'd relied so much on her to live and she'd supported me financially for years, and now I had to find my own way to pay the bills. I had to get an income otherwise I'd be out on the street. But what about the people who are single and don't need an income to live? 

Do games need special controls? Yes. I believe they do. I just don't really know what to do about it. In WoW, recent design changes to the way people raid in the game has gone a long way to making it more casual, which means you can get your achievements faster. I often wondered the reason behind going in this direction, but now see that if you get your armour set quickly, it means you're left with nothing else to do but log out or play something else until the next update comes along. I guess it is a form of control in some ways.


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## Warren_Paul (Jan 10, 2013)

Dave said:


> My other thoughts are that everyone needs something to be obsessive about - that can be work, or a sport, or motor cars, or birdwatching, train spotting, or stamp collecting, or DIY, or art, or music, or a TV show, or a game? If it gives you pleasure then who is able to say that it is unhealthy?



Sorry, had more thoughts to add.

Yes, I think we all need hobbies. Our lives would be boring without them, but maybe we should concentrate on something that is a bit more constructive in our lives? Watching a movie/tv show is great for a bit of relaxation and escapism, but I'd say watching them all day long wouldn't be healthy. 

It's half the reason I turned to writing. Writing is something productive to do with my time that I still enjoy doing greatly, yet can see something coming from it. The sense of achievement is still there, but the _compulsion _isn't.

One other thing I forgot to mention with MMOs is the subscription fee. Not only do people have to buy a copy of the game, but they pay real money each month to play - although some use a system where you buy items and bonuses from an ingame shop instead - but the problem with subscriptions is that it creates the _compulsion_. They feel the need to make use of every single minute of their subscription as they can; they paid real money for it after all.

I think the "Free 2 Play" model is becoming more popular, and is to a certain extent a good thing. It will help to alleviate that compulsion, but it also effects the quality of the game. It's a well known fact that F2P games don't have as much content as subscription model games. Which means we will never truly get away from the subscription model because people want a reason to keep playing the game once they get to max level. As long as the subscription model exists, people will feel compelled to play the game, or face the thought of wasting money.


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## hopewrites (Jan 10, 2013)

I would counter and agree with Warren at the same time. I too have a failed marriage behind me that suffered from addictive gaming. I too have spent countless sleepless nights with books, games, writing, drawing, crafting, ect.
I have given up TV shows entirely because I know that I have no self control when in front of the TV.
While these things hurt my marriage they were not the cause of the break up. Like symptoms, they are out there on the surface and easy to blame.

What I realized was that I was addicted to escapism. Had been since before my marriage. That my husband was as well. That nether of us were talking about what we were escaping. That the marriage itself was a form of escape.
So I ended it.

I kept my resolve to quit TV. I further quit gaming, and set my self the task of facing down what it was I had been running from.

It has been a hellish and rewarding road away from where I was 4 years ago today, sitting emotionless and numb in my mothers living room confessing to my sister and her husband that I had left my husband of 8years because I finally realized he would never be able to love me the way I needed to be loved, and what I had done to make sure he wouldn't take me back.

I would say that my ability to self regulate all forms of escapism has improved and worsened along that road parallel with my dedication to myself. I would say it's less about the amount of time being spent on a thing, than it is about the reason its being spent.

I worked hard to support both of us when we were together. I looked after the house and our child. But while I was doing these things I was always looking for the nest escape, and throwing myself full tilt into it when it came along. I could pull all nighters raiding with the guild then go to work for 6-8 hours as a waitress running around with orders and food and earning enough tip money to think about leaving, but I always ended up spending it on more games or books, unwilling to let go of my escape from the stigma of being single. I payed his debts. I kept a roof over our heads. He played and failed classes, and tried to escape a reality where he had married a powerful woman who was doing her best not to out shine him.

Do bars draw more addictive personalities than not? Do strip clubs? Or sports arenas? Or Gyms?

I knew someone who's gym membership was their pet addiction. There was always something to tone, to perfect, some diet to try some new equipment to master.

People can make an addiction to anything. Somethings are more readily addictive than others. Things that are physically addictive for example. But you can become addicted to anything.

I once knew someone who was addicted to water. They drank so much it threw off their electorates and stalled out their thyroid. Because it went untreated for so long, they will now have to take synthetic thyroid for the rest of their life.

So, yeah, games can be addicting. And yeah, they can ruin lives. But only if someone chooses to let it. I'd be quicker to councel someone to look at why they are doing something that what they are doing.


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## Warren_Paul (Jan 10, 2013)

Thanks for sharing that with us, Hope. I can certainly sympathise with how you feel, and I agree that we can make an addiction out of anything.

It is very likely that my marriage was almost certain to fail from the start. The main reason my wife left was because of money, because her friends told her that she shouldn't have to put up with me living off her, and she believed them. She even started to have feelings for this particular friend over me because she told her exactly what she wanted to hear. I refused to get a job. I'd convinced myself I _couldn't _get a job. But the truth is, I refused to get a job because I didn't want to stop playing MMOs. Now the reason I didn't want to stop, yes, that certainly is a big question. Why was I addicted to MMOs when I'd never been addicted to anything else in my life? Was it because of the way they are designed? Did the problems in my marriage cause the addiction, or did I have the problems in my marriage because of the addiction...

A very hard question to answer. Honestly, I'm not sure I know the answer to that. The one I could give is a bit too private for here though.


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## hopewrites (Jan 10, 2013)

I'm not asking for you answer dear. As I said, its a hellish and rewarding road to go and find it.

One never feels as though one is escaping when one is playing a MMORPG with a clan of close friends. One never feels one is becoming an isolationist with the voices of friends in one's ear. Why count hours rather than achievement points? Why clock missed opportunities when clocking ones DPS? Who hears a heart pleading for a sympathetic ear over the din of mobs dieing at the stroke of a hotkey?

does this make them more dangerous? no. no more dangerous then emotion numbing drugs, or mind numbing television, or the drone of a vacuum cleaner that can drown out just as much.


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## Dave (Jan 10, 2013)

Thanks for sharing your experiences. 

I can certainly see that the next level of points/armour and such makes games more likely to lead to addiction, and the subscription. I haven't played WoW myself. I've played other MMORPGs and table-top AD+D. I could lose track of time, but I feel that I could always still say no. 

IGN reported that _World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria_ had 10 million subscribers in Sept 2012. That is a lot of people to be addicted. And do we ban games or severely restrict them, because a minority of people have a problems? We don't ban Tanning Salons because people are addicted to tanning themselves. We don't ban alcohol, though the US has tried in the past. Strangely, I also find myself, like those in the US who say that guns don't kill people, people kill people; thinking the same about games and addiction. I obviously must be wrong.

I don't see anything wrong or unhealthy about escapism. Only when you are unable or unwilling to connect meaningfully with the real world is there a problem. The issue is surely with your real world life and a failure to tackle those problems.


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## hopewrites (Jan 10, 2013)

Dave said:


> The issue is surely with your real world life and a failure to tackle those problems.



this is the issue exactly!


I like the Wii fit's approach to GamerAddiction, its kind of a spin off those guys who are required to pass out StopGamboling cards at casinos to people who have been there longer than a set time.

Every hour or so it says "You could play outside. Its good to take a break every 15min or so"


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## Warren_Paul (Jan 10, 2013)

Along the same note, I was remembering my days playing the MMO Final Fantasy XI. At login there is the following message:



> "A Word to Our Players
> 
> Exploring Vana'diel is a thrilling experience.
> During your time here, you will be able to talk, join,
> ...



It's a warning against addiction, practically admitting that MMOs are addictive. That doesn't mean that all players are going to get addicted, but that it is a known issue.


The stats for WoW are out of proportion because many people have multiple accounts, especially the eastern players of a certain profession.... But no, not all 10 million subscribers will be addicted to the game. And no, I don't think bans should be put in place. That's why I said I didn't know how to deal with it, because even though I think those people who do get addicted to MMOs need controls put in place for their own good, it is unfair to place such limitations on the entire subscriber population.


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## Venusian Broon (Jan 10, 2013)

Yes, I'll second Dave and say thank you for Warren and Hopewrites for being so candid about some of their very negative experiences. I hope such things are now firmly behind you both and that life is always getting better. 

Keeping it with computer games for the second I have certainly experienced many of the aspects talked about, whether it is the addiction of 'completism' to get that sense of achievment, or recognising that I was indulging in excessive escapism because of what's happening elsewhere in my life. It's a complex issue if it becomes a problem for some one, and I think it's far too easy to say it's the computer games fault only i.e. equate them to crack cocaine or something- as usually suggested by right wing newspapers in the UK - the truth is that people don't want to be told that, actually it's problems in the rest of their lives that are making gaming so attractive. 

I see this as well, if you will allow me to diverge a bit, in the Food/Obesity debate in that obese people are being treated as broken machines because it's easier to tell people that - so treatments are restriction of diet, pills to suppress appetite or stomach bands or partial removal of the stomach. However very little seems to be done to really try and solve _why_ a persons eats too much - i.e. is it because they are always sad/depressed? A negative pressure that forces them to find comfort and pleasure in eating. Or does no one want to be told that? I'm sure in many cases treatment via consolling and trying to solve some of these big life issue would be a big part of the solution.

As for myself, I am lucky that I regularly get moments of clarity (not quite ephipanies but getting towards them) where I suddenly realise 'why on Earth am I doing this?' and get a glimpse of a possible inifinity of time where I would be doing nothing new, just slightly different variations of what I've experience before. So I then actively force myself to experience something new*, or as I've got older and more sure of myself create my own things and works. It's more complex of course - being single and having to pay a mortgage really helps to curtail excessive obsession!


*I don't always succeed, but the impulse is there.


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## hopewrites (Jan 10, 2013)

I've actually solved a number of health issues that had become persistent in my life by trying to tackle the depression and anxiety that made escapism so attractive.

Of course no one wants to hear that the reason they over eat or over drink or over play is that they are unhappy and living an unfulfilled life. The knowledge of that is usually want one runs from faster than one runs from the actual unhappiness.

Thank you for your kind words and generous expressions of concern. I am doing much better.I couldn't talk about it so candidly if I wasn't. I can play and read and craft and write with moderation, or at least full awareness of my choices and their long reaching consiquences.


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## jastius (Mar 4, 2013)

Shortly after my father went to the hospital semi-perminantly because he contracted leukemia after being treated for prostate cancer, my mum and me were pretty much on our own. We had to learn to do the things he used to take care of so well, and face up to the fact that we couldn't handle them in the same way. 
Well a tenant left behind his wii instead of rent due. I got a couple of cheap gamebox games for it, and my mum liked to watch while I played the game with her. We became harvest moon junkies, the two of us. she just loved the music and would leave the game on and listen to it while she fell asleep. after a while I did too. it gave a sense of connection, that you were still part of things. 
coping involves different things to different people. i think you 're better at such things if you are naturally organized, or able to delay gratification ( i.e. that darn marshmallow test). but you work with what you have. i used to use an old alarm clock set for bedtime, to remind myself to get to sleep. I would write out a list of what to do on the fridge for the next day. me and my mum decided afternoons would be our 'going out visiting' time. I had a basket by the door for things to be returned like movies, books, drycleaning, what dad needed, etc., then we'd take the basket with us.  we made things like casseroles and pots of soup and stew so we could freeze it in portions and warm what we needed. I needed to get a new job that would work around mum's needs, so I decided to put out  three applications a day, online or other including calling newspapers and so on. that was about as much information as I could handle then. i think the trick is to maintain a routine, until you develop the habit of not overindulging.


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## Karn Maeshalanadae (Mar 5, 2013)

Interesting issues this thread brings up. I actually don't play games that often anymore myself. It's a weird combination I have. Games can be a sort of self-treatment therapy for psychological issues, especially like depression, and yet when I'm at the height of one of my depressive states, I have absolutely no desire to play games myself. What I tend to do is watch Let's Plays over Youtube-that is, watch videos people record of themselves doing games, simply because most of them have commentary and that is more soothing than game interaction itself.

I think I'm a rare one, really. I read and play games and watch anime and TV shows and movies as a form of escapism from reality, but it's much more likely for me to do so when I've come out of a depressive cycle, rather than when I'm in the middle of one. Simply put, I find the real world horribly boring when I'm in my right mind, and I'm misanthropic when I'm not. I rarely see anything coming out even once a month over news or whatnot that catches my interest, unless it is something to do with a fantasy world. And to be perfectly honest...I'm kind of scared of dealing with life on my own simply _because _I find most things out there so boring. I'm not interested in most kinds of jobs, I hold no interest whatsoever in sports, or cars, or anything like that. I'm a horrible nerd, but I take it even a step further than most do. I'm aware of my addictions, but I choose to feed them. I embrace them, because without them, I would become nothing at all. Most of the time, to be honest, I don't live in the real world in any non-physical way. And I'm okay with that.

But those feelings, for me, are on the days I'm feeling fairly decent. The times most would consider appropriate to feel such ways, or to start gaming and shows and movies, or whatnot, are the times I want to do those the least...hehe. So, I really don't know what all that says about me, in the end...


By the way, I hate MMOs. I don't play games to interact with other people. I play games for my own personal experience into good, solid storylines and fantastical characters.


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## Dave (Mar 5, 2013)

Karn Maeshalanadae said:


> Games can be a sort of self-treatment therapy for psychological issues, especially like depression.


This thread has taken an interesting turn from my original post. I'm not a psychologist but it seems to me that Games or Simulations could also be used with very positive health benefits for some people who have a physical or mental incapacity preventing them from going outside. For example, agoraphobics or those with severe compulsive obsessive disorder could play simulations that slowly pushed the boundaries of what they felt they were able to do. Someone must have thought of this before, but I haven't heard of such a thing, and it wouldn't be that expensive - and far better than medication.


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## jastius (Mar 5, 2013)

studies have shown that multi player games are attractive to a schizophrenic personality pattern. but I don't think that applies to you, Karn, because you don't like them.  you may be a little like House on the TV, though, isolated by excelling. I think isolation among other traits is more of a compulsive thing or a learned survival skill  then House's flirting with ashbergers syndrome. psychologists do use video games as a desensitization device for many phobias including fear of flying, fear of creatures like spiders snakes and bees. ( clowns...)


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## Jack Parker (Mar 5, 2013)

I think that's hilarious.


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## Karn Maeshalanadae (Mar 5, 2013)

jastius said:


> studies have shown that multi player games are attractive to a schizophrenic personality pattern. but I don't think that applies to you, Karn, because you don't like them.  you may be a little like House on the TV, though, isolated by excelling. I think isolation among other traits is more of a compulsive thing or a learned survival skill  then House's flirting with Asperger's syndrome. psychologists do use video games as a desensitization device for many phobias including fear of flying, fear of creatures like spiders snakes and bees. ( clowns...)




A little? The reason I enjoyed that show so much was because I related so well to the character. Even down to the bad leg-though for different reasons.


And yes, games can often have beneficial qualities, and I do enjoy playing games. But I suspect I have some mental issues as well, beyond depression...


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## Rahl Windsong (Apr 22, 2013)

The first MMO I ever played was Ultima Online, and in that game they had a volunteer program where anyone playing the game could volunteer to become a Seer. The Seer's job was to write and submit dynamic fiction events to the developer, Origin Systems. If your story was approved by them it would be implemented on the server your Seer account was setup on.

Most Seer storylines were vast and would take the server population up to a year or more of real time to complete and the really good ones were even longer then that and may even have parts where the villain in one of their stories would appear again a year or more after their first event for the server.

During this time in UO, it was not a case of if I would login each day, I HAD TO LOGIN because my character was a part of this amazing storyline and I had to be there to be part of what happened next.

Keep in mind that all Seer storylines had to be open ended enough so that if the players took the story in a direction the Seer never even thought of, that Seer would have to rewrite and change their story to suit what the players had done.

I was addicted back then, no doubt about that. However it all ended because once EA bought out Origin Systems they proceeded to end the volunteer program and changed UO so much that it was no longer the ruthless world I was used to playing in...


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## Gordian Knot (Apr 25, 2013)

This from the article:

"_It's not the time you spend doing something, it's the impact it has on your life._"

That's the bottom line in a nutshell. If you are taking care of your other responsibilities, what you do otherwise is your own business (as long as, obviously, it isn't illegal!). Whether it be watching the tube for hours on end, or gaming for hours on end doesn't really matter. Neither is better or worse than the other.


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## BigJ (Jun 15, 2013)

No idea if anyone would still be interested, but I just saw this thread and thought of a couple links some of you might like to see.

5 Creepy Ways Video Games Are Trying to Get You Addicted
http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html

A story about what an EverQuest addiction cost this guy
http://kotaku.com/5384643/i-kept-playing--the-costs-of-my-gaming-addiction

As far as my own personal experience, there has definitely been times when I have been addicted to games, I think mostly either as a form of escapism, or as a form of competition.  Really any single player game with a story for the former, and some time spent playing competitive multiplayer games online for the latter.  Though I've always deliberately stayed away from MMOs because, well, they frighten the crap out of me.  I don't drink anymore because I couldn't control that, and part of me wonders if I possess some elements that make me vulnerable to some forms of addiction, and it just isn't worth the risk to take even one step into WoW or any number of similar games.  At least a game you play for the story will inevitably have an ending.


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## mosaix (Jun 16, 2013)

Dave said:


> I liked the quote from Douglas Adams - "Anything that is in the world when you're born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. Anything that's invented between when you're 15 and 35 is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you're 35 is against the natural order of things."



Very profound.

I was born just after WWII and the whole planet, sick to the back teeth with with war, seemed a relatively peaceable place. Around me, in Manchester, were the bombed out shells of buildings and much effort was put into pulling them down and replacing them with homes, offices and factories.

It seemed to me, at the time, that war was the exception and humanity was striving to return the planet to it's natural state - peace. 

How wrong I was. In the near seventy years of my life I don't think there's been a single decade in which the UK hasn't been at war with someone. Of course nearly always under the guise of bringing peace.


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## Glisterspeck (Jun 16, 2013)

BigJ said:


> No idea if anyone would still be interested, but I just saw this thread and thought of a couple links some of you might like to see.
> 
> 5 Creepy Ways Video Games Are Trying to Get You Addicted
> http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html
> ...



Great articles. I went through a period with FPS games, where I spent way too much time online, to the point where it affected my relationship at the time. I then began mapping for the games I was playing (RTCW, RTCW:ET), which ended up being much more fun for me -- talk about ultimate world building -- and taking even more time. That led to long nights of Battlefield and CoD, but I shook it. In part, because my friends started to play on consoles, and... forget that. Also, I wasn't about to put in the time they did to XP up, and the whole preservation of XP in FPS games didn't make sense to me (though it makes better sense after reading the article). I wanted a fairer playing field. The final straw was when the games abandoned the WWII theme for the contemporary battlefield. For some reason, I found it extremely unsettling to be playing at a war that I had friends fighting in real life.

Anyway. I don't game much anymore, though I did just spend my vacation playing through Zelda Skyward Sword. And I'll play on my mobile devices. In fact, I just started working on building my own endless runner!


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