Must watch video about MMO's; Documentary “Gamers”

Zorachus

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Watch this, and you will cancel WoW tonight :confused:
http://leakerz.net/wp/2011/02/28/documentary-gamers/

Shows you how bad MMO's steal your life away, as you just sit there in a chair for hours on end, staring at a monitor, and punching your keyboard and mouse like a monkey on crack :eek:

I unplugged a month after Cataclysm, and couldn't be happier. 6 years was way too long, but then again I was never hardcore, was a casual on again off again player. But it is scary to see how people can get sucked away into the "world". I feel bad for young kids that get turned onto it, and don't realize how bad they can get addicted.

Just wait, in another decade or two, when true virtual reality gaming is out, and imagine a WoW style game made in the year 2030, with photo realistic graphics, and wearing a helmet to see the game world 360 degrees. Talk about addicting :(
 
Don't need a documentary to tell me that... I see it everyday when I look into my roommate's room. I can't physically walk in there without stepping in garbage and almost puking from the smell. He gained 150 lbs and almost failed out of school. I try to wake him up everyday and get him to go to his classes after he finally re-enrolled.
 
A few years ago, I quit WoW when I finally realized that I am one of those people who are susceptible to addictive games. That flaw in my personality resulted in me making the conscious decision never to play any game again that I wasn't just willing to drop and take off for dinner with my wife (who suffered through my addiction!).

I'll check this out tonight.
 
My point is, what about in the near future like 10 years when games get even more realistic and the game world even more inviting and alive.

I think it can be a major social issue to deal with. People will be addicted to a MMO virtual reality game worse than heroin or crack.
 
Don't need a documentary to tell me that... I see it everyday when I look into my roommate's room. I can't physically walk in there without stepping in garbage and almost puking from the smell. He gained 150 lbs and almost failed out of school. I try to wake him up everyday and get him to go to his classes after he finally re-enrolled.

You need to move out or kick him out. He won't go anywhere if you continue to pay your part of the rent or don't force him to change his situation. I mean if you can't walk in the room and not wanna puke .. that should be your last straw.

Interesting documentary. But I'm not surprised by any of it , people love to hide away from reality and MMOs enable that in a big ..continual way.
 
MMOs are indeed scary business. I don't know anyone personally who went off the deep end, but I've heard more than enough stories.

In defense of MMOs, though, it truly is up to the end user to determine how much these games affect their lives, just like with alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, sex, whatever other frowned-upon activities exist out there. It's not necessarily a bad thing to have a beer once in awhile (ok, well its not good for your body, but we all have our vices), but alcohol only ruins your life if you let it ruin your life. Don't be one of those people who blames the establishment; stand up and take control of your own life if you know your life is going in a different direction than you want it to due to some activity or another.

That said, the dangers of MMOs (and games in general; I know some guys who played Halo 2 for nearly two days straight when it first came out) are very real and something that everyone should be aware of. I do indeed play WoW, I have been for the past 5 years on and off - maybe only 2.5 or 3 years of actual subscribed game time. I was pretty young when I first started; I won't say how old I was, but let's just say that most other kids my age were more concerned about not being late to class than they were about raiding. However, I have always put my studies, my social life, and now that I'm a bit older, my job, before WoW, and I intend to keep it that way.
 
I say let people do whatever they like and let them suffer the consequences, if you want to vegetate in front of WoW all day then go for it, but just be prepared to suffer the fallout afterwards, lost friends, lost job, lost home.

I had a friend who retreated into MMOs and gaming in general, he dropped out of uni, became homeless in the end, had to hit rock bottom before he finally understood that he had to pick himself up and face life head on. It's just his personality, if it wasn't games he was in to it could be something like booze or drugs which are genuinely addictive and can ruin lives. I think as far as addictive things go, WoW is fairly harmless.
 
I think as far as addictive things go, WoW is fairly harmless.

Yeah. People get all emo about it but if that is the biggest problem in someones life it's a pretty easy fix.

How many people watch TV 2-4 hours everyday?

At least in WOW you are interacting socially, if you are in a guild, and if you do high end content you actually have to use your brain to succeed (unlike TV).

If you play WOW INSTEAD of watching TV it's actually a brain upgrade. :p
 
Also could we stop using "addicting" when we mean "addictive", for some reason the word addicting makes me want to punch other people in the balls :p
 
I watched this film awhile go and was quite alarmed and humored. Personally, I think the real issue isn't how much time many spend on MMO's, but what they sacrifice when it consumes them: friends, family, hygiene, health, and social capacity beyond other gamers in their guild/realm/whatever.

I enjoy my video games (maybe not as much as the next guy/gal), but I enjoy real life much much more. :D But very interesting film. Also watch "Darkon" on Hulu. Similar in some respects.

PS: I think addicting and addictive are verb and adjective, respectively. Not really interchangeable. My $0.02. ;)
 
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The thing is, while MMOs certainly can be addicting and really ruin your life, I think it's pretty low on the destroy your life addictions. Getting addicted to drugs, gambling, alcohol etc. are far worse.
 
How many people watch TV 2-4 hours everyday?
But how many stories have you heard/read about people who lost their friends, family, jobs, education, etc., because of watching TV? It happens a lot more often in these MMO's. Maybe you can play for two hours and easily turn it off and walk away but a lot of other people can't.
 
You did that on prurpose didn't you Azureth, I see you trying to troll me, it won't work...hnnnng

Hold up, does anyone actually know the numbers when it comes to "addiction" in these games, we see news stories of people being affected by this but does anyone have any hard data when it comes to what sort of percentage of MMO players actually take it to this stage?

WoW has 13 million subscribers, from what I've read the really severe cases are actually pretty rare. Is there any evidence to suggest that the percentage of WoW players that are "addicted" is any different to the percentage of people in the general populace that have personalities prone to addiction?
 
I think this will be a serious social issue once games get so real, like a holodeck or true virtual reality. Imagine WoW or EverQuest with graphics made 20 years from now, running on displays that are floor to ceiling big, on all four walls surrounding you. That will be very addictive and hard to resist. These early games like wow will be nothing like what is in store 20 - 30 yrs from now and full blown serious addictions will happen with them.
 
First of all I don't think holodeck style setups will be owned by anyone but the very wealthly.

More importantly it's a self correcting problem, anyone who gets addicted to the point where it affects their life, like their ability to go to work and earn a living, well they won't have the funds to keep up their addicition, as with my friend earlier in the thread, he literally faced being on the streets, that's a fast way to solve the MMO addicition, and since getting on his feet has managed to moderate his usage. And since gaming isn't actually addictive, as in the proper use of the word, it means that it's not a barrier to getting back on your feet, like for example drugs are which keep homeless people on the street.
 
I wonder if we'll still be as addicted to these games when we're in our 50s and 60s.
 
This is a tough topic for me. My real life friends introduced my to City of Heroes when it came out, and I was instantly hooked. I lived on my own and was never a social butterfly, so I was spending nearly all of my free time playing the game. Now, I did not turn down my friends when they wanted to do things, and I still spent far too much time and money breaking things (namely myself) under the hood of my cars, but I still but at minimum a hundred hours a month into that game for at least a year or three.

Now fast forward 6 years - I'm married to a woman I met in that game, and we hardly play it anymore due to getting bored with it. I think I've got 20 minutes logged in in the past 2 months, and thinking very strongly of cancelling it out as that's money I'm wasting that could be applied to other games. I still get in probably 10-15 hours of gaming a week, but now it's spent socializing with my wife in lan games or single player games. I'll spend as much time reading as I do gaming, and neither of us go out all that often due to costs of a night out vs. watching a movie/playing games/reading.

I can see where there is a bad side to these games, but I can also see my side where someone who is socially inept has the ability to speak out freely to others and socialize in an environment where they are comfortable. The majority of my long-term, real life friends were originally known by forum handles. I even lived with one of these guys for a couple years as room mates when it was financially benefcial to both of us.

I think that there is a place for social video gaming (and MMO's fall squarely in this realm) and that it's a new avenue for geeks to find other like minds, but like with any other thing we do, caveat emptor.

EDIT: Azureth - my father is currently dating a woman he met in WoW, and he's 52. So yeah, the addiction knows no age.
 
EDIT: Azureth - my father is currently dating a woman he met in WoW, and he's 52. So yeah, the addiction knows no age.

Haha, been there, done that. Met a "friend" online, become good friends, she came to stay for a few days at a LAN party of mine...well...
 
It's only as addictive as you make it.

I play WoW (raid 3 nights a week), play Rift, and play countless other games on top of those. I chose a guild with a raid schedule that does not effect me...no one does anything on Tuesday - Thursday, so they were perfect raid days for me. Other days, I'm playing Rift. Sometimes I'll play a bit of this and that (played an hour or so of Bit.Trip Runner last night). Saturday's I'll usually do a board game night with some friends. Gaming is a hobby for me, and my main passtime. I enjoy learning new rules, exploring new worlds, overcoming challenges, and most of all, playing these games with my friends.

Even though most of my off time is spent playing games, it has never gotten in the way for me. I take a shower every day, I've went through University and graduated with honors in Computer Engineering, I work at the government 9-6 (every second Friday off), I tend to meet with friends once or twice a week (board game night, and the occasional drinks night or movie night or fighter night). Most of my friends today share the same passion. Some would consider it childish. Personally, people can think what they think. I enjoy playing games (and all forms of entertainment: books, movies, tv series), and will likely do so until I kick the bucket.
 
I think this will be a serious social issue once games get so real, like a holodeck or true virtual reality. Imagine WoW or EverQuest with graphics made 20 years from now, running on displays that are floor to ceiling big, on all four walls surrounding you. That will be very addictive and hard to resist. These early games like wow will be nothing like what is in store 20 - 30 yrs from now and full blown serious addictions will happen with them.

I think it's a bit much to predict a 'serious social issue' 20-30 years from now based on non-existent technology.

You need to move out or kick him out. He won't go anywhere if you continue to pay your part of the rent or don't force him to change his situation. I mean if you can't walk in the room and not wanna puke .. that should be your last straw.
He's been my friend for 6 years now. I'm outta here after I graduate this semester with my masters anyway. I just don't want to see him waste 6+ years of undergrad and not even get his degree when he's so close, so I actually care about him.

I actually was pretty 'hooked' with WOW (and other MMO's) for a while myself. It never got that bad for me though. My GPA slipped and maybe some of my gf's dumped me directly (or indirectly) as a result, but overall it didn't 'ruin' my life to that extent.
 
Don't need a documentary to tell me that... I see it everyday when I look into my roommate's room. I can't physically walk in there without stepping in garbage and almost puking from the smell. He gained 150 lbs and almost failed out of school. I try to wake him up everyday and get him to go to his classes after he finally re-enrolled.

Dude, same thing happened to me years ago. A friend got addicted to Lineage 2 bad. He quit a good job, refused to party with chicks, the works. It was a real shame. He was one of the cleanest people I knew, but after the addiction his room was a garbage heap full of pizza boxes, roaches, coke cans..
 
I think it's a bit much to predict a 'serious social issue' 20-30 years from now based on non-existent technology.



I can predict it will be very bad. If EverQuest 1 made the news with nerds losing their life into an MMO, and now with WoW it is just as bad for some type of people. Those are still just games with shit graphics, played on single small monitors for most.

Now imagine 20 years from now. A EverQuest style game with graphics that are photo realistic, played on surround room walls, with displays that are projected onto all four walls and the ceiling. That would be very addictive. And lets say 30 years from now when that tech is as standard as an X-Box, I will say it will be a big social issue.
 
I can predict it will be very bad. If EverQuest 1 made the news with nerds losing their life into an MMO, and now with WoW it is just as bad for some type of people. Those are still just games with shit graphics, played on single small monitors for most.

Now imagine 20 years from now. A EverQuest style game with graphics that are photo realistic, played on surround room walls, with displays that are projected onto all four walls and the ceiling. That would be very addictive. And lets say 30 years from now when that tech is as standard as an X-Box, I will say it will be a big social issue.

There have been movies made about it ranging from virtual reality videogames to simply a virtual reality 2nd life... but I still think it's in the realm of science fiction.

It's certainly not something I'd be concerned about. As someone mentioned, the rate of 'lives ruined' by WOW or any other MMO / videogame is relatively low when you consider the overall number of people who play the game. Facebook has probably ruined more lives.
 
Yeah. People get all emo about it but if that is the biggest problem in someones life it's a pretty easy fix.

How many people watch TV 2-4 hours everyday?

At least in WOW you are interacting socially, if you are in a guild, and if you do high end content you actually have to use your brain to succeed (unlike TV).

If you play WOW INSTEAD of watching TV it's actually a brain upgrade. :p

^
Defending his WOW addiction. Sure sign of addiction! LOL

But I agree WOW is better then TV, TV is garbage.
 
It's only as addictive as you make it.

I play WoW (raid 3 nights a week), play Rift, and play countless other games on top of those. I chose a guild with a raid schedule that does not effect me...no one does anything on Tuesday - Thursday, so they were perfect raid days for me. Other days, I'm playing Rift. Sometimes I'll play a bit of this and that (played an hour or so of Bit.Trip Runner last night). Saturday's I'll usually do a board game night with some friends. Gaming is a hobby for me, and my main passtime. I enjoy learning new rules, exploring new worlds, overcoming challenges, and most of all, playing these games with my friends.

Even though most of my off time is spent playing games, it has never gotten in the way for me. I take a shower every day, I've went through University and graduated with honors in Computer Engineering, I work at the government 9-6 (every second Friday off), I tend to meet with friends once or twice a week (board game night, and the occasional drinks night or movie night or fighter night). Most of my friends today share the same passion. Some would consider it childish. Personally, people can think what they think. I enjoy playing games (and all forms of entertainment: books, movies, tv series), and will likely do so until I kick the bucket.

I can predict it will be very bad. If EverQuest 1 made the news with nerds losing their life into an MMO, and now with WoW it is just as bad for some type of people. Those are still just games with shit graphics, played on single small monitors for most.

Now imagine 20 years from now. A EverQuest style game with graphics that are photo realistic, played on surround room walls, with displays that are projected onto all four walls and the ceiling. That would be very addictive. And lets say 30 years from now when that tech is as standard as an X-Box, I will say it will be a big social issue.

I agree with ex0du5. I've played WoW for a couple years now and am not in the least addicted to it. I play it when I have time, but also have a family I spend time with, a full time job, watch TV, go out, read books, etc. I think for some people it's too much, but I think those same people would go overboard with something else. There were similar alarmist statements made back in the early days of Dungeons and Dragons if anyone remembers. There will always be changes and plenty of BS spouted by people who fear those changes, whether it be games or whatever.
 
My point is, what about in the near future like 10 years when games get even more realistic and the game world even more inviting and alive.

I think it can be a major social issue to deal with. People will be addicted to a MMO virtual reality game worse than heroin or crack.

More job security for me. Keep being in denial and losing your jobs/social life/cleanliness lol. I am in the psych/mental health field as a nurse. We don't get these type of addiction patients though it is not unheard of because we get gamblers, porn, and sex addicts occasionally. Big money in this field. You would be surprise what people seek addiction help for (shopping, internet,) . Anything that compromises their health and interferes with their social/job life.


There have been movies made about it ranging from virtual reality videogames to simply a virtual reality 2nd life... but I still think it's in the realm of science fiction.

It's certainly not something I'd be concerned about. As someone mentioned, the rate of 'lives ruined' by WOW or any other MMO / videogame is relatively low when you consider the overall number of people who play the game. Facebook has probably ruined more lives.

Facebook definitely has ruined more marriage lives.
 
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I have fun when I play MMOs. That's all that matters for me. Another plus is that I can have fun for a month for only $15-- well worth it IMO.
 
i believe some people are just more prone to addiction, whether it be a chemical imbalance or a behavioral affliction. i've been blessed with what i would call a 'non-addictive' personality. i play a lot of video games and drink a lot of alcohol because, well, i like doing that stuff. if either one developed into having a significant impact on one of life's critical facets (e.g. relationship, work, family, health) then i'd have no problem dropping them without looking back. where i think people get into trouble is when they define video gaming etc. as having a higher priority than those critical facets.

playing the devil's advocate - where do you draw the line as to what takes priority? it's a gray area. who's to tell someone that an MMO is less important than a girlfriend?

maybe i'm lucky in that MMO's just don't appeal to me? maybe there's something particularly addictive about them? thanks for the link OP, i'll watch this when i get home from work tonight.
 
There's some gaming experiences you can only partake in if you play an MMO hardcore (few gaming moments beat downing a boss after many many hours of practice, or getting world firsts with new raid bosses, or the adrenaline rush of mass PVP battles in a CPK area (where other players can loot your corpse) etc etc). So imo I think every gamer should at least once in his life play an MMO to hardcore levels just for the amazing gaming experiences which you will never get in any other kind of genre. Just make sure you have the willpower to quit or convert to a casual player if its consuming too much of your life.

Additionally while MMO 'addiction' can be problematic its more of a symptom than the core of the problem. The true cause can be one or more of many many reasons, usually having to do with the person's life/situation/mental health/living environment etc etc. Too many people use the issues surrounding MMO addicts as a base for attacking the games themselves when the game is not the true issue. Many of these affected persons would most likely become 'addicted' to something else if MMOs did not exist, except that 'something else' will nowhere be as easy to quit as an MMO.

First of all I don't think holodeck style setups will be owned by anyone but the very wealthly.
IBM in the 1940's: "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers". Sure at first only the wealthy will have access, but eventually it will be accessible to anyone.
 
Obviously this isn't something new. I play WoW, but honestly I don't have the time or dedication to raid, maybe just a few PUG's if I log in. I'm not even sure if it is worth the $15 a month anymore since I play maybe once every 2 weeks. Even less since WoW and SLI 580's are broken causing error codes.

People just need to understand moderation to keep up with real life.
 
Everything has to be taken with responsibility in mind, if you enjoy WoW and don't play eight hours a day then you're probably fine. I've grown up with video games like everyone else here, but I still enjoy books, mathematics, graphics design, and a myriad of other things. The reason people bring up WoW is because it is known for people being heavily addicted to it. Sure people are addicted to other things, but it seems like MMOs addiction level is unprecedented when you compare it to other forms of media.

Just take your head out of the screen for a little while and do something else each day. Doing anything all day will make you less well rounded.
 
For cryin' out loud it's just a computer game. I've played WoW on and off since release, and also played Everquest in its heyday for 3 years straight. Neither game ever caused me to gain weight or completely fail an academic course, and I enjoyed playing both and the virtual worlds they offered.

If people cannot balance their past times with their real life obligations, then they've only themselves to blame when it all hits a crisis point. In fact I suspect if these games were not available, they would just find something else to hold their attention, and would still end up causing problems for themselves.
 
Yes as sad as it is to most people people get addicted to video games, porn, just being in front of their tv/computer monitors, gambling, shopping, face book, working out. Addiction level varies from mildly non affecting to 'intervention required' levels.
If you don't don't have an addiction problem that's great and all but welcome to most of the gen population. Nothing to pat yourself on the back over or post in this thread about how you don't have it lol.
 
If you don't don't have an addiction problem that's great and all but welcome to most of the gen population. Nothing to pat yourself on the back over or post in this thread about how you don't have it lol.

:rolleyes:

Most of the general population? So what you're saying is 11+ million WoW players, aside from a handful of us, have an addiction problem? I lol'd.

Even if I could count everyone I know on 10 fingers and toes, I could honestly say none of them have some sort of virtual addiction.
 
:rolleyes:

Most of the general population? So what you're saying is 11+ million WoW players, aside from a handful of us, have an addiction problem? I lol'd.

Even if I could count everyone I know on 10 fingers and toes, I could honestly say none of them have some sort of virtual addiction.

Lol wat? not what I said at all. No addiction problem for you ..maybe a reading problem :D
 
Thanks for posting this. My little brother just started playing wow, against my advice, and in the span of just a couple of months he has become a complete addict. I tried explaining to my parents how incredibly addictive these games can be, but they think I'm blowing it put of proportion. Maybe this will open their eyes before it's too late.
 
I think it's a bit much to predict a 'serious social issue' 20-30 years from now based on non-existent technology.


He's been my friend for 6 years now. I'm outta here after I graduate this semester with my masters anyway. I just don't want to see him waste 6+ years of undergrad and not even get his degree when he's so close, so I actually care about him.

I actually was pretty 'hooked' with WOW (and other MMO's) for a while myself. It never got that bad for me though. My GPA slipped and maybe some of my gf's dumped me directly (or indirectly) as a result, but overall it didn't 'ruin' my life to that extent.

I can understand but sometimes you have to let go of those damaged people in your life to get them to see what kind of damage they are doing to there real life relationships in the first place. If hes a really worth while friend he'll understand and change.

Addiction is a nasty creature but enabling it (even indirectly) only increases its life span.
 
I can predict it will be very bad. If EverQuest 1 made the news with nerds losing their life into an MMO, and now with WoW it is just as bad for some type of people. Those are still just games with shit graphics, played on single small monitors for most.

Now imagine 20 years from now. A EverQuest style game with graphics that are photo realistic, played on surround room walls, with displays that are projected onto all four walls and the ceiling. That would be very addictive. And lets say 30 years from now when that tech is as standard as an X-Box, I will say it will be a big social issue.

Great. Star Trek brought up this issue 25 years ago, long before MMOs even came out. We don't need to go over this again.
 
I agree with ex0du5. I've played WoW for a couple years now and am not in the least addicted to it. I play it when I have time, but also have a family I spend time with, a full time job, watch TV, go out, read books, etc. I think for some people it's too much, but I think those same people would go overboard with something else. There were similar alarmist statements made back in the early days of Dungeons and Dragons if anyone remembers. There will always be changes and plenty of BS spouted by people who fear those changes, whether it be games or whatever.

I know quite a few people through work that would think spending more than 1 hour a night on video games is ridiculous. However, these are people that seem to think they have their schedules booked to the brim and can't handle any more. As a single, recently graduated student, I have quite a bit of free time on my hands. I get home at 6:30 and go to bed at 12:30 or so. I eat when I get home, but otherwise, my obligations are next to nothing. If I had obligations, I can imagine it would be difficult to dedicate 3 hours, 3 nights a week to raiding, but at the moment, my schedule allows for it. Of course, that's not to say I couldn't be doing other things with my time, that people might consider more constructive (for whatever reason): reading a book, playing the drums or piano, or hell, some people would consider watching TV more constructive. I see these activities as all being the same thing: fun and entertainment. No activity has more merrit than the other.
 
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