DETOX!: The Lifestyle Addicts of WoW.

[BomberBill]

Some time ago, Rob Wright and Toms produced an interesting and insightful article on WoW addiction with an expert claiming that 40% of players fit the text book definition of being described as clinically addicted to the game.

In that http://www.twitchguru.com/2006/08/08/world_of_warcraft_players_addicted/, and in the following thread discussion http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/96296-13-expert-percent-world-warcraft-players-addicted, many individuals were skeptical of the expert's findings, with some being very vociferous in their distaste for so-called experts coming in and making these wild speculations.

I've been playing the game for 3 months and I would average, at most, 2-3 hours of game time each day. Instead of watching tv -- most people's R&R -- I play WoW or some other game instead.

Out of interest, I decided to delve a little further into the WoW addiction problem after I stumbled across a fellow player who told me categorically that he put in at least 8-10 hours of WoW time each and every day -- bar none! His girlfriend had left him; he'd lost his good job only to secure a low-paying one in its stead; he'd put on around 50lbs of weight; he'd lost friends; his family were terribly unhappy with him, etc.. And here he was talking to me -- a part-timer, at best -- about his addiction to the game and the wonderful 4 level 70s that he has and the chasing of the "epic drops" whilst raiding (terminology that is all foreign to me until last night). His only saving grace, he said, was that he had not been married and that he'd not had any kids. He told me of players who'd lost marriages, jobs, family homes and their kids to the lifestyle that goes with this game for some -- extreme cases, I know, and easy to be skeptical of...at first, anyway.

Then I came across WoW detox. I was one of the skeptics associated with WoW when Rob first wrote the article, but my attitudes are beginning to change, particularly after I read the first 100 -- yes 100! -- pages of WoW detox.

Honestly, do check this site out, if for nothing else it being a true eye opener to some horrendous stories of gamers gone mad! It has, categorically for some, become a lifestyle choice that is fuelled by nothing short of addictive behaviour; and the stories within there will shock most.

http://www.wowdetox.com/index.php

 

[emp]

Wow... Seriously, those guys are real idiots (Addicts is just a pretty word), losing girlfriend/wife to a game like WoW. (I'd maybe justify it if it was an early release of Crysis...)

I'm definitely going to pass this to a friend of mine who puts like 6 hours a day on that piece of crap, thanks a lot for the finding.

 

[BomberBill]

Good on you, mate. I referred the guy who puts in 8-10 hours each day to this site and it was a real eye opener for him too. If nothing else, it allowed him to realise that he is not the only one out there with a problem -- and that it is indeed, a problem.

There are over 800 pages of testimonials in there and a good proportion of the stories are truly appalling. Of the first 100 pgs that I read, so many had lost something substantial in their real-life lives to the lifestyle they had created in the virtual WoW game world.

The chronic players with multiple level 70s who went on "raids" in the hope of "epic drops" seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time playing, sacrificing near anything to "keep on gaming". They would describe being up all night so as not to offend their fellow "guild members" just in case they "were needed" to go raiding. And yet their real lives fell apart. One Level 70 Priest was so in need -- and too subservient to say no -- by his fellow guild mates, that he went to work on no sleep for 3 days, living off coffee and fast food, just so that he could stay up all night and be "of use" to his clan mates who went raiding.

The college kids failing exams; the housewife who neglected her kids; the husband who neglected his wife; the twenty-something who lost her job...the list goes on of real people who have a real problem when it comes to controlling their WoW gaming. Quite sad, in fact, and I have a great deal of empathy for those who can't control their urges, despite their being a distinct lack of self-discipline on their part.

One gamer described his WoW experience as being something akin to: "Going to Vegas and playing the slots/tables all night and being totally oblivious to everything else that is going on around you. The phone would ring or someone would knock on the door and I would hear the sound but nothing would register in my brain that said to 'answer the phone or door'; I would be that immersed in the virtual world that stuff in the real world seemed to no longer matter." But of course, it does matter -- he just hadn't come to realise it at the time, not until his circumstances made him wake-up and take note of where his real life was at.

Substituting fantasy for reality, he was. Bloody scary behaviour.

 

[spuddyt]

hmm..., do any other games get this many ppl with issues (in % terms I am interested in the most addictive MMO)

 

[BomberBill]

That's a good question. I'm not sure. I've not read of any other game that has had the same impact as what WoW has with regards to addictive behaviour..

In some ways, WoW is the test tube baby for analysing this kind of behaviour. It's sheer scope, size and popularity make it an easy target; but it's design is also a major factor in seeing people getting "hooked", and subsequently behavioural psychologists and others are questioning the basics that make-up WoW's enormous appeal.

As with any mass media exposure, once something like this gets a roll on, the greater the exposure there is to what the so-called problems are.

I'm sure there's been addictive games before, but this WoW case is somewhat unique simply because of its scope, and the fact that users must pay to continue to play. With children involved, this alters the ethics on the issue some.

 

[BigMac]

Don't take this the wrong way, I think there is a very serious addiction issue with WoW.

Just realize that people can get addicted to a lot of things, if not almost anything. People can get addicted to eating too much, or the opposite of it (anorexia). Therefore, there's bound to be a lot more games that are (just as) addictive as playing WoW.

What might be the particular issue with WoW, is the insane amounts of time you need to put in the game to get your "fix" once you're maxing out your character(s) level. This is causing the hardships that WoW addicts experience. They have no time for anything else, including a basic relationship with others in their personal environment. Again, WoW addiction probably comes in all kinds of forms and some will have more of an issue with it than others but the basic disturbing factor that most will experience is lack of time for anything not WoW related, and this is a basic design flaw of the game. I am not sure the flaw is avoidable, in combination with retaining the business model (to keep people playing the game). In principle, the developer/publisher shouldn't care about how long people play as long as they continue to pay their monthly fee, so they should have made the play rewardable for maxed out characters without having to spend insane amounts of time playing, but for instance short stretches of time with longer intervals being offline.

The least that should be done at this time, is to attach proper warnings on the box for new players, that there is a chance of becoming addicted to this game. We put such warnings on cigarettes, alcoholic beverages and other potentially hazardous stuf so why is it not on the box of this game?

 

[spuddyt]

Don't take this the wrong way, I think there is a very serious addiction issue with WoW.

Just realize that people can get addicted to a lot of things, if not almost anything. People can get addicted to eating too much, or the opposite of it (anorexia). Therefore, there's bound to be a lot more games that are (just as) addictive as playing WoW.

I'm addicted to tying my shoe laces

on a more serious note, good post

 

[zebula234]

I used to play a text based game called a MUD, they were basically the type of game that WoW and Everquest are based off of. You are continuously trying to get the best loot and max out your character to kill other characters. At one point in college I knew tons of people who played the game addictively. They failed college repeatedly and lost girlfriends and crap because they just couldnt get off the game... the game was a lot like Everquest, in fact several of the people who created Everquest had played the same MUD I played on. It was called Duris: Land of Bloodlust. Had a ton of fun playing the game and I still occassionally do play it but not nearly as much. I recently started playing WoW and its fun but hell im married, have a decent job, never want kids and I almost never watch TV unless its sports or DVDs. I also go out every night on the weekend and have fun with friends. From my experience games like this become addictive when your life sucks and you just wont admit it to yourself. You might have a girlfriend/wife but you secretly hate the bitch but dont see any way out/know what you would do without her. You might have a "good" job you REALLY REALLY hate. You might dislike the fact that you have two bratty little **** spoiled children. You might not even like your friends and they are just people you end up hanging out with so you dont feel like a total loser. In WoW, or Everquest, or Duris you can always reroll or start over when you situation sucks, get ressed when you die, make tons of money in an easy economy and be "rich", switch servers/sides if you hate the people, switch guilds (like familys) when its not working out and on and on. It takes a while to realize you can do that in life too except for death which is final. However it is significantly harder to do all that stuff when the consequences are real.

 

[emp]

It's also kind of difficult to switch families too... The legal process to do that is just way too bothersome.

 

[itotallybelieveyou]

lol lol lol lol lol lol who can EVER get addict to WoW... I have WoW and i probably spend more time posting here then playing WoW. All these MMORPGs are all the same there are addicts. WoW is no different then maplestory or runescape...

 

[BomberBill]

@ Mac.

I agree. It's why I started this thread. After I spoke to that guy online and then went to www.wowdetox.com and read the horrendous stories there, I realised that, for some, this game invokes the same kind of symptoms of classical addictive behaviour that over-eating, for example, does in others.

 

[BomberBill]

@ Zebula

like this become addictive when your life sucks and you just wont admit it to yourself.

That's not necessarily true, although I understand your point.

In fact, many on www.wowdetox.com were people who had good lives BEFORE they started playing, so I believe, in truth, that your theory is flawed.

It's not just people with poor/average lives that are getting addicted to it, quite the contrary in fact.

 

[BomberBill]

lol lol lol lol lol lol who can EVER get addict to WoW... I have WoW and i probably spend more time posting here then playing WoW. All these MMORPGs are all the same there are addicts. WoW is no different then maplestory or runescape...

It's tremendous that you don't have a problem with the game, but I asure (* ridiculously, because of the *** aspect it's blocked the word, hence the one s) you, as the stories at www.wowdetox.com testify, real people do have real addictions to this game.

And from all walks of life too.

 

[suicidekid]

i play wow well sorta to me its like a chat room i admit i have no life no wife no g/f no kids 2 or 3 friends i play 4 to 6 to 12 hrs a day some times days in a row playing 3 to 4 years used to play everquest too get bored of one move to next
but geting bored of wow so looking for a new MMORPGs to me its a escape from reality

so any ideas on a new game i like fantasy MMORPGs gnomes things of that sort exploring worlds killing monsters lol hate leveling grinding bores me lol

 

[BomberBill]

Hi, SK. To be honest, this thread is more aimed at possibly helping people from spending too much time in MMORPG game worlds. Thanks for contributing though.

I can't recommend another MMORPG, because WoW is the only one I've played and only for three months at that.

 

[BomberBill]

RE: Mac

There was one thing you said that I'm not sure I'd agree with:

Just realize that people can get addicted to a lot of things, if not almost anything. People can get addicted to eating too much, or the opposite of it (anorexia).

Yes. Absolutely.

But then:

The least that should be done at this time, is to attach proper warnings on the box for new players, that there is a chance of becoming addicted to this game.

Now this I'm not sure of, and for the very reason that I quoted you first: people can get addicted to almost anything -- if they love it enough.

Gaming is a hobby. My Uncle absolutely loves wood working. He spends an inordinate amount of time in his crafting shed creating beautiful pieces of wood. I know for a fact that he probably spends too much time in there, and, at times, he neglects other aspects of his life just so that he can go on crafting pieces of wood.

He could be classified as "being addicted" to his craft, but of course, there's no warning labels for him when he buys a new crafting tool or saw.

Silly example, you think? Not necessarily. I think we start to move into dangerous territory when we start to single out legitimate industries -- in this case the gaming industry, who provide a clean and fun form of family entertainment -- and then say to them that they must label their products with "this product is unsuitable for addictive personality types; this game may cause you to become addicted"...etc.

I absolutely agree with you, Mac, that the game is causing serious problems for some users, but I'm unsure as to the legitimacy of warning labels for addictive behaviour, when so many other hobbies/past-times escape the need for such labels.

 

[BigMac]

I absolutely agree with you, Mac, that the game is causing serious problems for some users, but I'm unsure as to the legitimacy of warning labels for addictive behaviour, when so many other hobbies/past-times escape the need for such labels.

It's just that I think we're not treating products with possible ill side effects in the same way. All alcoholic products are labeled (at least where I live they are, and there are all kinds of advertising restrictions), even chewing gun with real sugar carries a warning that it's bad for your teeth, etc, etc

And then not one word about possibe side effects are on the packaging o a product like WoW, except for some age rating thing. As you've found out on that detox site, its impact can be severe on some people. If we warn people for all kinds of side effects with medicine usage that have a remote possibility of actually happening, don't you think it's strange that there is no mention at all on products like WoW?

 

[BomberBill]

Yes, it is strange, to a degree. It is particularly odd given that children are involved (a point I forgot to include yesterday -- silly me, what given that it's a major factor in the entire debate).

Given that children and young adults are involved in a big way in the "consumption" of gaming products, I think you're right in that the State has a right to demand that game publishers correctly disclose certain aspects of their product, namely, that their games can be addictive for players -- particularly young players. This would be the deciding factor for me in the appropriate authorities demanding that game publishers correctly label their products.

 

[itotallybelieveyou]

This is the reason not to play WoW.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx7OYmZ-FK0

 

[shadowmaster625]

WoW, like many mmorpgs with WASD controls, is fatally flawed. For skilled PvPers, the entire PvP endgame revolves around doing this absurd and ritualistic "dance". (If you dont know what I am talking about then you are a carebear and you suck and you are nothing more than fodder for the pros, so this does not pertain to you! By all means keep collecting wolf pelts.) This melee "ghey dance" is something all players must do if they want to truly pwn ppl. You could play a mage or a hunter but they suck compared to a good melee, and handicapping yourself is just stupid. And to top it all off, hopping around while doing the ghey dance is even more effective, and even more ghey. Until they fix that, the game is just a retarded grind for retarded people.

 

[emp]

We suck simply because we don't know how to play that thing? I rather not know anything and suck than being involved in one of those MMORPGs that some people dare to call "games".

 

[Morton]

In many traditional MMORPGs there is always a category of people who want to have the best character on the server. Usually people who don't care to have a really good character don't become addicted to an MMORPG so easily.

I guess MMORPG addicts are also in a constant state of "cold war" with other addicts and that is another factor that might drive them to go on and spend lots of time every day on the game. If they don't continue developing their characters, some day a guy with a better character may come around and pkill them.

However, so-called "grinding" is probably not the only cause of addiction. I used to play a very unique scifi MMORPG called Face of Mankind which has little of traditional grinding, but the game still manages to be somewhat addictive in a different sense than WoW. In Face of Mankind you can do some similar things that people of some professions do in their daily life in the real world. For example, if your character is a police man/woman, you investigate disturbance calls, search, taze and arrest people, confiscate drugs, send people to prison and guard the prison. If you are in the army, you get to experience strict discipline and you'll be made to get and stand in lines and do some other military routines by your superiors or you'll get to give orders to privates to do all that stuff if you manage to become a corporal or a sergeant. If you are in a corporation, you need to learn how to make profit on manufacturing and selling goods and how to manage diplomacy and public relations if you're a higher level corporate. Since Face of Mankind is a completely player driven game with no monsters or hostile NPCs of any kind, the higher rank you have in the game, the more responsibilities you have and the more lower ranking players need you. The game is based a lot on social achievements and that can gradually make you very addicted to it.

 

[spuddyt]

"i can't stop playing because otherwise I will lose status" OR
"I can't carry on playing because I will lose status in the real world"
is that it?

 

[justinmcg67]

WoW is addicting because it has NO end. peopel who play games are WINNERS!!! That's why we play...we play to win. And WoW has no winner, only losers. You can get all T6 and beat all the instance sin the game...until the next expansion. You can defeat any foe in PvP...until the next patch. You can do anything you want in the game, but you will NEVER be good enough. So, you get what is the "then good" stuff to suffice. This explains why people put so much time into WoW. To get the BEST gear at the time to destroy people or defeat an instance.

Blizzard has it down that once people start approaching the maximum gear allowed or beating the hardest instances in the game, they will release either a patch, promoting a new instance of higher difficulty, or a new expansion to which whole new sets of things are added, and once again, everything you just earned is now old and you can easil be defeated, in essence, YOU LOSE. and no one wants to be a LOSER. You want to a WINNER. So how do you become a winner in WoW? You buy the next expansion and do it all over again...

Why is WoW addicting you ask? because it's the most difficult challenge to most, and to those people, you'll never win.

 

[Morton]

I wonder what the player community of WoW will be like in 10 years from now. Ten years ago I used to play a MUD which was released in 1991. Nowadays 90% of players who still keep playing it are "highbies".