Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
This forum is in permanent archive mode. Our new active community can be found here.
MMORPGs are to drugs as adjectives are to their synonyms.
Think about it: How many similarities can you find between playing MMORPGs and doing drugs?
They each become addicting.
They each steal your life.
And, most importantly, they each have a rock bottom. A point in which you find yourself thinking, "What did I accomplish the last 12 hours by doing this?"
Recently, a friend pulled me into playing World of Warcraft. I've been clean of MMOs for months. But in the past 3 days, I have subscribed to WoW and played WoW for an estimated total of 15 hours. That's 15/42 hours of being awake. How long before it doubles? Now, I have hit "rock bottom" on tons of MMOs before. And I know that the majority of people playing WoW have it way worse than I do. But really, how long will it take?
[ignore]Now, before this topic becomes a shitstorm of World of Warcraft fanboys saying that WoW is, in reality, fun and requires any skill, let it be known that this topic is not about WoW. If anyone go so far to use WoW in the specific sense as opposed to the general sense, I will reach into the internets and bitch slap you. Please, at least for the sake of argument, assume WoW is like any other MMO.[/ignore]
Now the question, for those of you who need a prompt, what can I do to not get so addicted to WoW as to lose all social interaction. Assume that to stop simply playing isn't an option.
They each become addicting.
They each steal your life.
And, most importantly, they each have a rock bottom. A point in which you find yourself thinking, "What did I accomplish the last 12 hours by doing this?"
Recently, a friend pulled me into playing World of Warcraft. I've been clean of MMOs for months. But in the past 3 days, I have subscribed to WoW and played WoW for an estimated total of 15 hours. That's 15/42 hours of being awake. How long before it doubles? Now, I have hit "rock bottom" on tons of MMOs before. And I know that the majority of people playing WoW have it way worse than I do. But really, how long will it take?
[ignore]Now, before this topic becomes a shitstorm of World of Warcraft fanboys saying that WoW is, in reality, fun and requires any skill, let it be known that this topic is not about WoW. If anyone go so far to use WoW in the specific sense as opposed to the general sense, I will reach into the internets and bitch slap you. Please, at least for the sake of argument, assume WoW is like any other MMO.[/ignore]
Now the question, for those of you who need a prompt, what can I do to not get so addicted to WoW as to lose all social interaction. Assume that to stop simply playing isn't an option.
Comments
Lrn2self-restraint, nub.
Srsly.
That said, I was on WoW for about a year, about a year back. It wasn't really all that hard not to get "hardcore addicted," just make sure not to set huge goals for yourself. (y'know, like making 60 within a month.) One thing that helped a lot was playing with close friends, it became less of a recluse-pastime and more of a hanging-out-with-friends-and-yelling-at-each-other pastime. Try not to play alone, try not to join heavily regimented guilds, don't take it too seriously.
Also, don't ever listen to Rym or Scott about their opinions on MMOs.
Then damn SEGA put up a free playable Phantasy Star Universe Beta release on Xbox Live to download onto Xbox360. I just spent two days in doors traveling around in the sci-fi world killing monsters and talking to people. I didn't feel like leaving my house or calling my girlfriend or doing anything outside of the game....
I'm definately going to buy the retail version when it comes out and screw up my life. At least it's for the good cause: SEGA.
I don't really have this problem, as I have two brothers whom I share one computer with. This means that if I'm on too long, they can just boot me off so they can go online.
Usually I harass them and try and keep them from doing this, but when I'm addicted to an MMO, their intervening can be really useful for keeping me from wasting my life.
Perhaps you should rig some sort of alarm clock thing that could warn you that you're wasting your life? Ooh! Yeah, and it could boot you off your Internet connection if you should ignore it for too long!
As I've said before, I've played MMOs longer than World of Warcraft has existed. I throroughly enjoyed them. I just have better things to be doing now. I barely have time to sleep between the constant parties and geekends and conventions, let alone play a game that's designed to be a time sink.
I quit playing MMOs the day I realized that the only real stat an MMO character has is "time spent leveling it."
If someone has the time to play and enjoys it, then more power to them. The moment they want to play WoW to the exclusion of an actual activity, they've basically become a loser.
Mr. Period? You are the ever-loving GOD of grammar, and you ROCK for it!
Oh, and WoW is typically stupid and time-wasting for anyone who hasn't played it (and the occasional person who's safe from the addicting coils of MMORPGs).
It does have one saving grace, though, and that's a certain video that came from it (Leeroy Jenkins, anyone?)
The author of that little bit was a person that exhibited poor self-control, and his writings show that. It's full of the trappings of the recovered alcoholic or drug addict, like the pseudo-justification of continued engaging in the activity (talking about how he had to play 70 hours a week to keep up on farming), and the classic realization on hitting rock bottom. Just like actual drugs, alcohol, and any other addictive substance, the problem occurs when one engages in the use of said things without moderation or self-control. It's interesting to note that a significant majority of the most hardcore players in my guild are current or recovered drug abusers.
Again, much like any drug or alcohol, or really anything for that matter, usage in moderation is key. I'm not sure why you blame WoW exactly here; it's the people who PLAY WoW that are choosing to engage in the activity, and if someone plays 70 hours a week and destroys their life, they chose to do that. There are a lot of people out there who are prone to addiction because they have no self-control; if you actually do have self-control, then the game is no problem. I would no more blame WoW for ruining lives than I would blame booze for somebody's alcoholism, or blame the gun for a murder. The item itself can be used responsibly, but irresponsible usage is dangerous. This is true of almost every goddamn thing in the world.
In short, if you've got any modicum of self-control, you can play WoW and have a life, much in the same way you can have a few drinks and not be an alcoholic.
Also, if you know that you have a tendency to get sucked into a game (WoW or not) for hours at a time, just make sure you do you any important work that needs to be done before you start up the game. This is especially important in high school and college. Just set aside x amount of time to hunker down and do some work, and then once that's out of the way, game until the need to sleep hits you in the face. I did not do this my first year of uni and got utterly pwned for it. I've found that it's much more relaxing to play after your responsibilities are out of the way and you can just lay back and chill. Playing in order to procrastinate, no good.
Also connected to Whale Shark's comment: don't use the game for escapism when you're at a bad time in your life. If you're riding some rough tides, the game won't make it feel better. Really. You'll get sucked in and it will make things way worse. When I was at RIT, I it was not a happy time in my life. I hated my major, hated what I was studying, and wasn't adjusting to college very well. So, I did the retarded thing and ended up playing MMOs alot. Now, if MMOs had not been there, I would have thrown myself into something else. It wasn't the game's fault; it was my fault. Once I changed schools and got things straightened out in my life, I found that I could play MMOs without getting crazy sucked in, and surprisingly, the games were more fun to play. It wasn't an escape anymore; it was just a way to relax and end the day. When it comes down to it, MMOs should never really be more than that.
In conclusion: don't play if you have more important shit that needs to be handled, either an assignment or something in your life.