Another obsessive Gamer Dead and Talk of Anti-obsession System

[Vampire_Slayer]

MMORPGs can be very addicting. I remember spending all my time playing runescape about 3-4 years ago as it was the only game I could play on the computer. Mind you I did get up to go to the bathroom, eat, and sleep(although I wouldn't be in bed until like 8 the next morning). Hell, I was hearing talk on WoW a couple weeks ago about some kid in China or w/e killing his best friend because his friend had sold some rare sword on e-bay.........Sounds obsessive yes, but the sword was worth 2000 American bucks..........Still not worth going to jail over though.

 

[RichM499]

They should make this an important thread, because people need to know about it. I think people on TF should come and share their video game binge stories, so that we can at least get out that we HAVE a problem, and maybe we can save a life.

 

[cHiNo]

Anti-obsession won't work, people would find ways to exploit it, etc.

 

[Mr_Threepwood]

Someone explain to me what is so great and rewarding about mmorpgs. It takes way to long to get anything and the majority of the game is spent walking around trying to find some area/item, or forming a group. It takes a solid 4 hours to get anything done and after that you feel like you've wasted 4 hours. Combat is slow and you rarely fight lots of stuff at a time.

I can only handle fast paced games like warcraft 3, or FPS games where your constantly on the go blowing stuff up. Screw searching for a +4 sword.

 

[Blackmoore]

Someone explain to me what is so great and rewarding about mmorpgs. It takes way to long to get anything and the majority of the game is spent walking around trying to find some area/item, or forming a group. It takes a solid 4 hours to get anything done and after that you feel like you've wasted 4 hours. Combat is slow and you rarely fight lots of stuff at a time.

In the case of WoW thats the whole point I guess. People take satisfaction in the fact that it took them 2 months to get their character to level 60, and that they have worked so hard to have some of the best equipment in the game. They also like being able to say they are one of the few willing to spend the vast amounts of time it takes to get to that point.

Of course there are always the people who make it a goal of theirs to make level 60 just so they can harass other players in the game, which can get annoying.

Its the same as someone working hard to get an "A" on a math test. Some people are willing to take the time and study and work hard, and some people are just comfortable with a "B" I wouldn't concider WoW work, but you get the point.

I played WoW, but I stopped around level 30. I didn't have the time to keep up with my friends characters, with a Job and School, so I just gave up. For me it seemed really difficult to group up with people I didn't know. Which made it all that much more difficult and boring to play bymyself. Leveling to level 20 which should have taken a matter of days, took me weeks because I could never find anyone to quest with.

The only MMORPG I ever dove into was Ultima Online, but I only played free shards. This was back 5 or 6 years ago when Ultima Online was actually worth playing. I remember staying up all night and playing, or waking up really early 4 or 5am just to do a staff run quest before school. But those days are gone.

 

[tech_101]

Thats sad. I dont spend more then 2 hours a day playing warcraft 3. but i dont like wow cuz i like the biulding asspect of games like starcraft warcraft age of empires etc...

 

[billloney]

wow!

 

[Waphlez]

Although MMOs are fun I think they are a waste of money. Cmon Blizzard you have 4 million people signed up and you still have it 15 bucks a month, that is like 60 million a month which would be 720 million bucks a year from the subscription alone. I know it costs money to maintain it but dam at least lower it to 10 per month.

 

[Tyler1989]

Sad these things happen but it is foolish to put any of these new systems into effect.

 

[HAVOC]

I believe like others have stated that this issue solely stems from addiction. There is addition in almost every walk of life.

Drugs, Alcohol, Gambling, Eating, Smoking, Watching TV, Playing Video Games....ETC.... The list is endless. Everyone is addicted to something at some point in their lives. Video Games is just a new and uprising addiction that you are hearing about resently. An Addiction that becomes so great, people are neglecting health and committing suicide. This is not the first addiction that people have developed to go to those extremes.

Out of all the gamers on this planet, how many of them develop this self destructive addiction? I'd be willing to say the percentage is very small. It just goes to show that absolutely everything in excess is bad for you. Some people deal with obsession and addiction better then others. I used to be totally addicted to SOCOM 2 on PS2. I'd play like 40 to 50 hours in a 7 day period.

But i'd certainly eat, go to work, take long breaks... etc... Just because my clan lost a clan war i'm not going to go jump off a bridge. (The fantasy world of video games has absolutely no effect on real-life, or at least it shouldn't) I don't care what type of game it is. Sure I get angry and smash controllers and curse and break things... But, after I turn the game off... that's it... It's over.

I think if certain types of games are proned to this type of addition where people are neglecting their health and kill themselves, there should be preventitive measures taken buy those that are selling the product. Like gambling for example. Most casinos or lotteries have Help Hotlines that are available to use or they can offer you some form of help. This will not only protect the person selling the product, but it will satisfy governments as well.

As far as a system to prevent against prolonged online play time... They should try it. See how it works. It probably won't... But an effort on their part will be justified. I believe if a problem develops regardless of it's the fault of the seller, they have some responsiblity to make their product safer. This is my opinion.