Fighting the Scourge of Gaming Addiction 614
speby writes: "With the growing popularity of LAN parties and other such channels to game (which the article at Wired doesn't mention) is it possible that gaming has become a real addiction? How can a person become addicted? And why?"
No kidding (Score:2, Offtopic)
I followed up a link... (Score:5, Insightful)
That's what is interesting about this question. Most games have some sort of "payoff" device that is implicit when you play it. When you get that payoff, whether it is the final goal or some sort of intermediary plateau, you take a breather and appreciate your accomplishment. If a game defers that payoff and continues to promise it, it will become more and more of a time-sink. THis fairly much appeals to the natural structure of human motivation - it's *designed* to generate obsessive behavior.
Re:I followed up a link... (Score:2, Insightful)
Take STarcraft. You fight like hell to accomplish the mission. You do, eventually, but then you're DYING to see what the setup for the NEXT mission is. You think, 'just a few minutes. Let's see what they're throwin' at me.' and it's all over.
--Triv
Re:I followed up a link... (Score:2)
I'll agree that it sounds that way (the last MMORPG played was "The Island of Kesmai" and if anyone out there was a TAG feel free to say "HI!"). I wonder if the fact that it was designed to be addictive (and seems to be), might open it up to a potential lawsuit that games have so far avoided.
Obviously games aren't designed to cause people to shoot others (ie. the "connection" so many pop psychs try to claim between violent games and violent people), however if a game is designed to be addictive and is, you'd think it should at least come with a warning label
A quick note on this BTW, Master of Orion III is in development, and one of the screenshots that was leaked (not on the official site), had a screen where you can set a timer to go off and remind you to quit after X minutes/hours/days. Very cute design feature
Re:I followed up a link... (Score:3, Interesting)
-cpd
Re:I followed up a link... (Score:5, Insightful)
Behaviorism is a sinkhole of controversy (at best), but some of the results tell us a lot about (animal and human) learning: Anything that's rewarded immediately and regularly is reinforced quickly but can fade quickly. Anything that's rewarded infrequently and unreliably is reinforced slowly but is hard to "unlearn".
There seems to be a family of disorders here. Single player game addiction -- I remember a SimCity session where I stayed up too late to go to bed
God help us all when Star Wars Galaxies [sony.com] comes out!
Re:I followed up a link... (Score:3, Insightful)
Many of the more addictive games have several simultaneous and independent payoff devices, so when you complete one goal, you are that close to completing the goal on a different axis. Party based RPGs have this, with each member having a different experience amount. The MOO/Civ type games have events happening all over the map, so you are likely to have several strategies being played out at once.
No doubt (Score:4, Insightful)
But because it's "normal" doesn't mean it's good. Someone else posted that somebody who spends all their time working as a lawyer would be praised as a "hard worker". Well, (disregarding the obvious jokes about the value of lawyering) anything that takes you over and locks you into a specific set of behaviours is bad. The great thing about being alive and human is the potential for doing new things. Doing the same exact thing for hours, days, months, years... that doesn't just make you an addict, it makes you uninteresting.
Whether you're an alcoholic, a crackhead, an obsessive EQ'er, or Bill Gates, it just isn't healthy to devote every waking moment to something that diminishes your capacity to be an interesting human. Obviously, whatever behaviours these types of people engage in give them some short-lived boost to their self-esteem, but at the expense of their lovability.
Do you want to be loved? Stop being so damn boring then, and take a fscking walk. Read a book. Hell, write a book... just do something different! Try to find a little balance in your life.
That goes for you, too, Gates.
Re:No kidding (Score:4, Interesting)
Everyone who is considered socially healthy spends some time in the company of their peers. People with hobbies tend to spend more time with like-minded people, and develop friendships there. Jeezus freaks spend their time in church. Boy Scouts spend it in camps. Pilots spend it in airport bars. And EverCrackHeads spend it in EverCrack.
It's just that the ones who dare do it on-line instead of face-to-face are now called addicts, and have to take Zyban? I don't get it.
They're really no different than car-nuts, airplane-nuts, sports-nuts, gun-nuts or any other person who develops a passion and focuses intently on it. (At least they're interacting with other people which kind of implies that even if they are crazy, they are not completely unstable.)
I imagine that same person 50 years ago would have found himself spending all his waking hours in a bar or under the hood of his car instead of on-line. It's just a society club by another name. And you don't necessarily have to drink while you play EverCrack.
John
I am not addicted (Score:2, Funny)
I would post a longer response... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:I would post a longer response... (Score:3, Insightful)
What scares me most is that many are either ignoring the topic - brushing it off as just another step in the technology vs. humans debate -or so completely immersed in the technology that they don't see it themselves.
I used to have a serious liking to Starcraft, so much that in my youthful ignorance I created a *shudder* starcraft clan. It's not just exhilarating to kick someone's butt in the game, the instant acceptance from thousands of people online is like a hit of ecstacy right after your crack. You rock and everyone loves you
Best fix for this: dump your gaming system for a p300 with windows 98 and office XP. The system can't do anything but work applications now, even solitaire is chunky.
-Wrexsoul
don't you mean (Score:2, Funny)
why become addicted? (Score:2)
the best one though is GTA3....I realy hope that the PC version is multiplayer.
Psychologists are getting bored (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Psychologists are getting bored (Score:4, Interesting)
Seven straight years!??!?!?! (Score:4, Funny)
It's like The Sims, only someone is playing you...
Re:Psychologists are getting bored (Score:3, Insightful)
Another guy had a hobby - he wrote a version of a high level computer language for a hobbyist's computer. He's now the number one hate figure around here - not unconnected to his multi-billion fortune.
A third guy had a hobby: he liked dicking around with a silly tin-pot version of a commercial OS. Now he's got a horde of slavering fanboys, and he's the only serious contender to the guy I mentioned just now.
The point is this: your hobby can cause you to shut down the rest of your life. It's no bad thing: sometimes your hobby produces something better, longer lasting, more worthwhile than your day job. Day jobs - or being a student - can be soul-crushing, mind-numbing and ultimately unimportant (do we really need another accountant?) It becomes an addiction only when you want to stop and can't - not when it demands more free time than society dictates that you have.
Poor analogies (Score:5, Interesting)
And just because it's profitable doesn't mean it isn't an addiction. We've all heard the stories of people losing their wives, friends or their minds through an over-zealous commitment to their work.
Re:Psychologists are getting bored (Score:2)
Re:Psychologists are getting bored (Score:2)
I considered programming a hobby at first. I failed a few classes every year throughout high school because I devoted more time to programming that those classes. Now I do it for a living.
I wouldn't call myself addicted. It's something I like to do. I would do it 24 hours a day if I could, but that damn human need to sleep thing gets in the way. If it burns me out, I'll find something else I like to do.
Re:Psychologists are getting bored (Score:4, Informative)
Signs of addiction:
Late, frequently, because one can't pull oneself away from the same activity.
Broke or deeply in debt, because all one's capital goes into support of the activity.
Deceptive, distorting truth or outright lying to cover signs others observe and ask questions about.
Denial, all of the above are evident, but failing to accept that it's a problem.
It's not an invention of psychologists. It's real and addiction to games, as much as drugs, alcohol, or any of a thousand other interests or passtimes has ruined lives.
Re:Psychologists are getting bored (Score:2)
Would we see not only college dropouts, but starved families of working men spending all their money on games?
I hope so (Score:5, Funny)
addiction? what addiction? (Score:3, Funny)
I'm in control, I can quit whenever I want! Y.. You don't think I have a problem, right?
...
/Right?/
Umm Hello? (Score:2, Insightful)
It's very simple (Score:5, Insightful)
Period. End of story.
Re:It's very simple (Score:2)
I have hear talk radio shows about this and have heard all types of people call in to complain about their gaming addiction--even cops.
Now, to figure out a safe withdrawl from my slashdot addiction.
Re:It's very simple (Score:2)
Then you weren't addicted (Score:3, Insightful)
Just because you could stop doesn't mean others can.
Re:Then you weren't addicted (Score:2)
Re:It's very simple (Score:2, Insightful)
Like Slashdotters that are constantly adding comments hoping to build up Karma.
Re:It's very simple (Score:2)
Re:It's very simple (Score:2)
Re:It's very simple (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:It's very simple (Score:5, Funny)
I am not addicted to pron! I can stop looking at it anytime I want!
...oh?
Re:It's very simple (Score:2)
That's because brussel sprouts are unpleasant. People only get addicted to enjoyable things :)
Re:It's very simple (Score:5, Interesting)
It's not the game that's addicting. It's the enjoyment that the person gets out of it that's the addiction, and that can come from ANYTHING - computer games, video games, role playing, M:TG - anything that gives them enjoyment.
I guess it's that if you find your games the most enjoyable, you get addicted to them. If you find your job the most enjoyable, then you're just being a hard worker. A lawyer that spends 80 hours a week working because she likes it is a good lawyer. A person that spends 40 hours a week gaming because she likes it is "addicted" and has problems. (that's how they try and paint it)
It could be worse - some people turn to alcohol, drugs, or gambling, all much, much, MUCH more destructive than games or work. (except for maybe M:TG - that can do a number on your bank account that can match many drugs)
Re:It's very simple (Score:3, Interesting)
Atually, drugs are a lot cheaper than most people think. A hit of LSD is usually US$3-6, about the same price as a movie ticket. Where a movie usually lasts 90 minutes, your trip will last 6-12 hours, sometimes longer. It's generally a lot more entertaining than the latest crap from Hollywood too. As for video games, they are usually $49.95 plus the cost of a brand new ultra-mega-hyper-voodoo 9000 video card w/10gb of onboard ram, a new Pentium9 666GHz, etc. so the graphics won't suck, making them a lot more expensive than drugs.
What is addiction? (Score:5, Insightful)
Law as an addiction (Score:5, Interesting)
I was literally stopped in the middle of the street jaywalking by another lawyer who wanted to tell me I was his hero for finding a way out. They want out; they just can't face the pay cut. Grad school was a 90% cut from what I would have made the next year--and worth every penny. (I also had to give up the 35 hour work week . .
I razzed another lawyer, a litigator, about eating the fish rather than the red meat at our 20 year reunion. He can't *digest* it, it makes him ill due to his stress. So why does he continue? He can't give up the money and lifestyle.
A great many lawyers are caught in a living hell. They give up everything to stay in--family, health, sanity (yes, I know at least one who just plain cracked). And for what?
Yes, I am still a lawyer, and have kept my licenses. I'll take antitrust issues and other matters which really want an economist with a law license. But I'll dig ditches before I return to general practice.
hawk, esq.
Indirect gaming addiction (Score:5, Funny)
The last game I played was Metal Gear Solid 2. Nice game, but my wife got addicted to watching it because of the stupid long movies. When I finished it, she asked me to play it on a higher difficulty level so she can watch it again. :-/
Re:Indirect gaming addiction (Score:2)
Just like gambling (Score:2)
Gaming? (Score:2)
Maybe it's indirect. (Score:4, Interesting)
CRT radiation - maybe this is why nobody wants to play games on LCD screens.
Caffeine - Consumed in great quantities at LAN parties.
It's also possible that the chemicals in a brain without sleep could be addicting.
I'm sure Ive left something out (I've only listed three because I need to get back to Civ3) anyone else with some other thoughts?
Lawsuits (Score:2)
Gaming IS a real addiction (Score:2)
The bad thing about EQ is that it was deliberately engineered to play slowly- it can take person-months to get to the highest levels- most normal games are about a man-week (30+ hours). I found it boring; too slow to level and arbitrary, but I have a friend who was really into it.
I think he's kicked his habit more or less now; but many people have had the habit for a year or so. I doubt that the same MMRPG idea will work with these eversmack heads a second time around nearly so well.
Real drugs don't get people habituated in the same way- people end up using more and more of the drug- with games this isn't so possible, although people may play it very intensively for a while; but eventually it won't be enough and they get bored.
My guess is the release of.... (Score:2)
Re:My guess is the release of.... (Score:2, Insightful)
You want a real endorphine (correct spelling) rush? Get off your computer/video game console and go out and do something. Ride a bike down a mountain. Take your car to the race track. Pierce your nipples. Have sex. The adrenaline and endorphine rush you get from those kinds of activities FAR outweighs anything you'll get from a video game, no matter how good that game is. I do agree that such a rush is addictive, however. Just not in the amounts you'd get from playing a game.
the point (Score:3, Insightful)
In the final analysis, almost anything can be called an addiction if it routinely interrupts life's basic components, including school, work and relationships, he said. The important thing is balance.
I doubt very much that gaming is physically addicting. But I don't doubt at all that -- for some people, in some contexts -- it can be psychologically addicting. That's not unique to gaming, of course, but it's certainly worth being aware of.
Hi my name is Greg, and i'm an addict... (Score:5, Funny)
I didn't know what to do with all the time on my hands. So I picked up a copy of Diablo. I don't remember exactly when she left me, but I know I had at least 3 battle.net characters that could fucking own on hell level!
After I got bored with Diablo, I thought it was over, but things only got worse. My next girlfriend became an ICQ whore. Chatting with all types all over the world until god only knows how early in the morning. I found this great thing called EverQuest and I haven't really seen her, or my shoes, since.
The downhill slide having begun, I was hooked. My CS skills are feared far and wide at LAN parties and my tollerance is so high that I can stare at a CRT for hours without blinking. Even those old ones with the 72 mHz refresh rates.
These days, it's just get up, stumble to the fridge in the morning. The whole time I'm thinking about what the proper Civ3 build order is for a city on my cultural boundry. I lay awake at night thinking about optimal artillary placement in Empire Earth.
If only Betty Ford had a program that suited me ... with phat net access and flat screens.
-- RLJ
I am Lost (Score:2, Funny)
Longing to frag, I wait.
Online games (Score:2)
Once you get admired by others, it's just a bigger incentive to train/collect more intensively to become even more popular. Even if you're not popular, trying to become it may develop into some kind of addiction.
I'd love to post (Score:2, Redundant)
Perhaps tomorrow I'll post after my 16-way Halo LAN. The folks that are coming over said they may want to play a little UT, so perhaps after that I'll offer up my opinion on how rediciulous gaming addiction is.
Sure you can (Score:2, Insightful)
If your gaming causes you to ignore loved ones to the point whe it affects the relationship in a dangerous way,
causes a you to stop doing something that is required (IE go to work, pay bills... etc)....
or it becomes an excuse for not doing what you KNOW you should be doing (i.e. I should be studying for a exam... but I NEED to show off my l337 counter strike skillz..
Problem
Hey, all of us gamers (myself included) go off on a bender every now and then, but when gaming becomes your life rather than just a part of it.. then.. well
get a life.
Game addiction as a disorder (Score:5, Insightful)
There's a difference between playing a game all night once in a while and completely cutting off friends and family. In terms of mental disorders, it becomes a problem when you cause distress to yourself and those around you. I learned early on to walk away from the computer once in a while, and I completely avoid MUDs and MMORPGs because of their potential to addict. It's fun to escape once in a while, but when the escape becomes your life you need help.
Re:Game addiction as a disorder (Score:2)
Here's what I can say. First off, Everquest and all the assorted rip offs just seem to me like muds with a few pretty pictures and a monthly fee. No thanks, I'll keep the text. Secondly, yes muds are extremely addictive. Yes, you can lose your life to them. But it is possible to mud "healthily" so to speak. I probably bordered on unhealthy for a period, but I never neglected my "real life" committments. I did half-ass jobs a lot, but I think I likely would have done that with or without muds.
Essentially, I don't think muds are the addictive life-killers some people make them out to be. They *are*, but only to some people. As the insightful post up towards the top of this article said, "people with addictive personalities can be addicted to anything". The reason it didn't destroy my life is because I always have a drive to complete things I finish and do all that is required of me. I never miss assignments or exams. I procrastinate to no end and finish them at 4am, but I *finish* them.
So yes, muds are addictive. But as long as you "mud responsibly", you should be fine.
Re:Game addiction as a disorder (Score:2)
Are you implying that our armed forces are ignorant?!?!
As a recovering MUDaholic, I have to say "w,n,n,e,s,u", and I should add "pub".
yeah... (Score:2)
He because SO addicted that he would be awake for 20 hours at a time playing (but actually making it to class) then sleep a few hours (6-8). So the time he was awake actually rotated around the clock, which occasional disruptions caused by actually having to make it to class.
This burned him out in about a year and he went back to where his family lives.
I had a problem for a few months, but was able to shake it off quickly, but not before racking up a new character to level 50 in 36 hours of straight play on "Silly Mud" (which was the last time I really played on a MUD)
Re:Game addiction as a disorder (Score:5, Insightful)
Me: "Hey, it's Friday and we're going to get a pizza and play some air hockey, wanna come?"
Him: "No, I've got to attend a towne meeting in Midgar to figure out how to handle this whole issue of that newbie constantly breaking character, and THEN we still have to deal with the Orc invasion."
I'd always figured that most people who really lived in the MUDs just didn't have the social skills or friends in the real world and were compensating, but that wasn't really so in this guy's case. We'd invite him to go do stuff, while it wasn't mind-blowingly entertaining (movies, bowling, pool -- this was Wisconsin so we needed to stay mostly indoors during the winter), but he just couldn't drag himself away. I guess playing skee-ball with your friends just doesn't compete with slaying dragons in a telnet session.
I think college really, really aggrivates the whole situation -- you're alone with no supervision for the first time in your life, oftentimes separated from your HS friends and without set responsibilites (you can skip class with no repercussions until the end of the semester, after all). Hell, in some majors, you can skip a majority of your classes and still C- your way though each semester.
My SuperSenior year I knew a guy who was so addicted to EverQuest that he could not quit. He'd even cancel his account, only to reactivate it at 3 AM some day a week later and play for two days straight -- it was seriously like watching an alcoholic fall off the wagon. So, yeah, while gaming addiction sounds pretty funny at first blush, it actually is a major problem for some people.
What to do about it? Got me. Hey, a 12-step program might sound bizarely overboard, but I'll bet it'd do some people some real good just to have the support there from people who don't just think it's funny.
Deeper-rooted problems (Score:5, Insightful)
The "EQ Wids" commiserate over tales of woe (one husband insisted on playing the game in the delivery room while his wife gave birth) and offer each other encouragement and company.
In my honest opinion, if you can't stop playing a video game to assist/be with your wife during labor, then chances are you have several other problems that are much deeper-rooted than your addiction to video games!!
Seriously though, as much as I love video games, they don't come before my family, friends, or my health. If you can't pull yourself away from a game for the things that really matter in life, then you do need to get help.
Civilization Jonesing (Score:4, Interesting)
I've been pretty successful at keeping a Civilization-like-game addiction under control. When I fall off the wagon (Masters of Orion II, Civilization III) I spend a few weeks playing until 1:00 am and obsessing about the game during the day. Then I get embarassed and ashamed at the time I'm wasting on a persuit that leads nowhere. I'm a writer for cripes sake; I've been published in lots of places and I could produce and sell more if I put my mind to it. The time I spend in front of a computer gaming could be productive as well as enjoyable.
Stefan
Re:Civilization Jonesing (Score:3, Insightful)
So what, you plan to work 24 hours a day now? No wasted time to achieve optimum efficiency?
As another poster pointed out, gaming can become an addiction, just like anything else can, if you have an addictive personality. But I fail to see why wasting some time playing a computer game is any worse than wasting some time watching television, hanging out at the mall, or any number of other activities that aren't exactly "productive".
Address the issues (Score:2, Interesting)
Someone who plays games here and there, to have fun, is not addicted. But someone who thinks all day about playing their favorite game when they get home from work, school, etc. and then spends the majority of their evening playing that game, has a problem.
If nothing else, they are locking themselves out of society, because they choose to stay alone or with a select group of people so often. People who have 16 hour gaming binges are not addicts, but when they have them every weekend, and have 8 hour binges throughout the week, those people are addicted to gaming.
Again, it isn't a big problem for those of us who are not addicted to gaming, but when the number of game-aholics starts increasing, the number of able-minded contributors to society decreases accordingly. Eventually, as with any "popular" addiction (nicotine, alcohol, gambling, sex) once the number of addicts reaches "critical mass" the society as a whole becomes affected.
Addiction is right! (Score:4, Interesting)
I've been running Counter-Strike servers for a couple years now. One thing I've always done is provide nightly player statistics for the previous 30 days. I've seen people hit over 14 solid days of gameplay in a given 30-day period!
Assuming that these people sleep every once in a while suggests that they're playing CS nearly every waking minute. Currently, the "worst" player on my biggest server has logged seven days in the last thirty.
One guy's longest single session was 9 hours! Wow.
Affair with a make-believe husband? (Score:4, Funny)
Man, this is a sentence I wouldn't expect to see anywhere but The Onion.
I don't know about gaming in general... (Score:2)
Addiction is something that, for the most part, exists on a chemical and/or psychological level. From what I understand, the general opinion amongst people who study these things is that a chemical addiction (lets say, nicotine) is easier to break and eventually beat than a psychological addiction (lets say, your average sexual fetish). In my opinion, gaming as a whole is neither a psychological or chemical addiction because, I believe, for the most part gamers can and do go for extended periods of time without gaming. Be it a holiday away from home, final exams, whatever. I consider myself an avid gamer and, quite frankly, there are times when I simply can't be bothered to game.
But, I have friends and family that are players of UO and Everquest and I believe they fit the profile of people who are psychologically addicted to the experience. Their personalities change, sometimes drastically when they do not get their fix. The amount of money they are willing to spend, not just in monthly fees but in expansion packs, strategy guides, virtual items on eBay, etc seems almost silly when your realize the money spent goes towards existence in a virtual society. To top it all off, these players are not only often doing very little in the way of "having fun" in the game, they spend a great deal of time downright unhappy with the whole ordeal. I know no less than five Everquest players who have sworn it off out of anger and frustration, only to sit right back down in front of the PC and play some more. If the EQ message boards are any indication, the number of people in the same mindset numbers in the tens of thousands.
It becomes an addiction when you no longer feel that you want to play, but you need to play.
Gaming falls on the fine line (Score:2)
Of course, classic gaming has been stigmatized, and those who practice such often find themselves in the warez camps. But the intention is pure. Finding a hack to get that old commodore game to run on your AIX box with sound is a modest accomplishment. Also, browsing garage sales and auctions in search of archaic hardware now could be your own personal goldmine 50 years from now, when such stuff is harder to find. Surely being an expert in such matters is admirable.
And, many games teach you about life. For me, it's roller-coaster tycoon. Others are brought in by the extremely popular civ set. Making quick decisions and taking calculated risks are skills that are marketable in today's type of work force.
Lastly, there's those people who using gaming to become better at there career. Race-car drivers, Air Force pilots, and the like have more training resources available to them because of the gaming industry. Those of us unlucky enough to not have such careers, can become more well-rounded by using these games to learn.
Of course, you can find just as many negatives as positives. I'll leave that argument to someone else. I've got to finish my work so I can go home and play my playstation 2.
How to tell (Score:2)
If you honestly enjoy playing a game into the wee hours of the morning, you're doing fine. If you do this 30 days in a row, and you're still having lots of fun (and you still have your job) - you've got yourself a happy life (and what game is this?). I wish I had a hobby like that.
If you stay up because you feel like you have to level up one more time, you're addicted - quit playing.
My name is SiliconJesus.... (Score:2)
Why it happens... (Score:5, Insightful)
But then there are games where that's not possible. We all know the examples (usually RPGs, quest style, or puzzle games in general).
Basically, here's what to avoid (I'm not a shrink, but this works!): Any game or activity with a non-determinate payoff pattern. In other words, avoid random (or semi-random) reward systems. UT doesn't fit in this category because I generally know how long a match will play and I usually have a good idea of who's going to school who. Zelda? Forget it. You never know when you're going to find the very next quest item.
This is basically the same problem as an addiction to gambling. Don't subject yourself to the overall patterns, and you should be ok.
Oh, and to everyone who thinks this isn't a real problem, good for you. It just means you haven't been bit yet. Good luck ignoring the problem though.
They told me the same thing about smoking: (Score:2)
You have to hand it to modern psychologists/psychiatrists and our victim-based society: we sure are convinced that everything else is the problem these days. Not addicted to booze yet? You will be. Never spent your life savings gambling? You will soon. These evils are SO powerful and SO irresistable, that no matter how smart, how responsible, how lucky you are, in the end, they will get you too.
Or is it the easy transfer of blame factor that works so often in 'addictions'?
(For the record, this is coming from a 10-year pack-a-day smoker who just quit 5 months ago. I just stopped one day, because I decided that I didn't want to smoke anymore. And in 5 months I reallY haven't wanted to since.)
Re:Why it happens... (Score:4, Interesting)
Incidentally, the most permanant schedule of reward is variable-interval , the basis of human relationships.
Other examples of periodic reinforcement schedules...
fixed-ratio -
Burger Time, make X burgers get next level reward, the number of brugers that need to be made are known.
Duck Hunt, shoot X ducks, progress to next level.
fixed-interval -
All examples elude me.
Incidentally, behaviors learned through continuous reward schedules are supposedly more inclined towards extinction than any other, apparently the subject often quits the bahavior after only a few trials without reward. Zoop was frustrating game probably because you always begin with continuous reward, and then recieve no reinforcement, and no second chances, after you lose in the higher levels. A steady stream of reward just gets suddenly cut off. Ouch.
This happened to me (Score:3, Interesting)
Whoops. I became so enthralled I would ditch my friends, play till 4am, say, 'well, I might as well stay up all night and then go to class', stay up till dawn, and finally crash just as I should have head out of the dorm. I had no social life (I used to leave parties to play) and was flunking out, but because, I reasoned, no one liked me (probably because I hardly ever left my room, if then only to meet the delivery guy)so I might as well sit and play. It's a catch-22 if ever I heard one.
This story doesn't have a fairy-tale ending. I lasted 2 semesters and got kicked out, eventually coming enough out of the hole to apply at the New School in New York City and get a job. It's like being an alcoholic. Yes, I still play games, but spend a good portion of the time trying to avoid sitting in front of my computer. Every once in awhile I regress, stay up all night with Deus Ex or what have you, and seriously regret it in the morning.
I don't have an 'addictive personality,' simply because, as someone said, I don't find everything addictive. Cigarettes and computer games. That's it.
All I'm saying is, this is real. Take my word for it.
Triv
Denial... (Score:2)
So, I'm guessing the submitter is looking for affirmation from fellow gamers that it's not an addiction, etc. My advice, if you find yourself playing games for hours on end, leaving work or school early to play games (this includes playing them while you work), or spending more time playing a game than interacting with people you probably have some sort of addiction.
Find something else to do for a couple hours out of the day. Maybe exercise. Maybe read a book. Hell, take up drinking and go to a bar. Leave the game alone a while just to make sure that there's not something else out there you're missing.
Gaming seems to be a rather unfulfilling addiction. Sure, it doesn't physcially harm you (except for maybe RSI), but there's not the added chemical side-effects of the additiction you get from alcohol, nicotine, or narcotics. If I'm going to sink time and money into an addiction... I had better get a buzz.
Game addiction has been around for AGES! (Score:5, Insightful)
While I didn't play on many arcade machines when I was younger, I spent countless hours on my C=64, and then on my XT, playing games. True, my case was mild as I wasn't able to monopolise either the TV or the computer, but I am sure there were others who had problems with severe addiction.
One of my favourite episodes of News Radio [geocities.com] is when a "Stargate Defender" arcade machine is brought in to the office and Dave recalls the time when his SAT scores suffered because he stayed up all night playing that game. It's funny because it's true.
ian.
Evolution (not the driving game) (Score:3, Interesting)
The article refers to 1000 EQ Widows. Let me rant for a minute about this. They must be spending too much time online themselves in order to find sites like that. Also, I'm so damn sick of every girl thinking that we need to spend every minute together in order to have a relationship. Hell, the poor guys probably got sick of cuddling for hours on end while watching Titanic.
So why cares about this besides some overprotective soccer mom concerned about how she's going to look in front of her parenting commitees when they find out her kid would rather playing "games" instead of taking part in wholesome activities like football, where the object is to run face first into a member of the opposing team in order to knock him down.
Why must it be that all 6 billion people are expected to be exactly the same when viewed through the eyes of a psychologist. These are people who make their living by judging others by their own standards instead of any scientifically proven formulas. They're the same ones that will contradict themselves by saying that you have a "syndrome" if you aren't the same as other's in your peer group, but turn around and criticize you for doing whatever your friends do. Fuck em.
Wow, I need to go let some steam of in a good game of GTA.
Dopamine (Score:2, Informative)
I know from own experiences on and off since I was a teenager how bad this addiction can be. It degenerates to the point where you have to have a "quick fix" of a game so that you can get on with other things. Without playing, you completely lose your ability to concentrate on other things. I remember when Quake2 was popular at the office: as the day wore on, the people involved became less and less productive as they waited for 5pm to roll around and the games could begin. Some people were so bad that they couldn't even come to work without first having a game on heat.net (RIP).
If gambling can be an addiction, so can gaming. (Score:4, Interesting)
Multiplayer RPGs are the worst in this way. They give you little rewards every once in a while, for staying on longer, and they tend to be open-ended. In that way, they are designed just like gambling machines: designed to give you random rewards that condition you to want to keep playing. Also, hardcore players, rather than being ridiculed, are respected for the in-game power they develop, so there's social pressure to play more, rather than to play moderately.
I experienced that sort of weirdness when I was developing Beng the Battle Engine [boswa.com], a chat-room RPG battle engine. I thought the sheer repetitiveness of the gameplay (and total lack of graphics, story, or setting) would make it at best a side toy for people to play with when the conversation slowed down, or while waiting for someone they wanted to talk to to show up. Imagine my surprise when a few people basically moved in and spent 8 hours per day or more.
They'd level up past the point I thought anyone would ever get to in just days. I was disturbed. I mean, I was proud they enjoyed it, but I didn't think that much play was healthy. Of course, they didn't continue like that forever. It's just not that good a game, after a hundred hours or so, you've seen everything you could ever see, and then the novelty of being the toughest guy in a game with only a couple dozen players wears off pretty quickly. Some wandered off, and some picked up the source code and started hacking on it, which gave me a lot better feeling about the whole thing.
But it makes me worry about better games. If a cheesy IRC-based micro-MUD can suck away hundreds of hours like that, how far off can the name "EverCrack" be? And there's better stuff coming out all the time!
Re:If gambling can be an addiction, so can gaming. (Score:2)
On the other hand, the EQ account is in Dad's name and Dad's credit card. The ultimate disciplinary threat is, "No EverCrack for a month!"
Well... (Score:2, Interesting)
Now I'm married, with a great job, a great apartment, etc. I got Civ3 and I really love it, but it hasn't killed me, ruined my marriage, etc. My point is that the Substance of Choice is usually not the key problem in addictions. The problem is usually something in the abusers character or circumstances.
Lead Story: Candidate addresses gaming habit (Score:4, Funny)
July 1, 2024
Republican Presidential candidate Jenna Bush finally responded to the controversy surrounding her supposed gaming habit in the early 2000's. Unnamed sources, all claiming to be former college friends, have stated that Ms. Bush was an all-night gamer, playing Quake III, Tribes, and other games popular among the youth at the time. Since then, gaming has become strictly prohibited and all users, manufacturers, and distributors of these games have faced enormous fines and prison sentences.
While not explicitly confessing to game use during her college years, Bush said "when I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible".
Miguel Jesus deNaranja, currently serving a 75-year sentence for game distribution at Microsoft Maximum Security Detention Center near Austin, expressed outrage towards this statement by the President--his former classmate and supposed gaming partner. "I can't believe she is being such a hypocrite about this. She used to frag my brown ass all night long back in the day." Bush denies deNaranja's statements and claims to have never met him.
--As Noah said to God... (Score:2)
Riiiiggghht!
And let's help out those poor souls in the stadiums and sports bars obviously addicted to football. Nor should we forget those addicted to model railroading. Oh, and TV, too! And reading certain websites. Yes sir, anything you do on a regular basis is an addiction and you should seek help.
Now I just have find a way to break this addiction to my job, and I'll be set!
Same old problem, new medium. . . (Score:2, Interesting)
Escapism - The Dark Side (Score:5, Insightful)
The truth is, the world is pretty fucked up [disinfo.com]. And we get into our little inward worlds to try and ignore that. Some of us are workaholics, others watch TV incessantly, etc. Every different thing has it's angle. Video games are addictive especially to the technophile crowd because face it, we geeks like flashy stuff (no rhyme intended). We want feedback, interactivity (another "duh"), eye-candy, excitement, etc. But when it comes down to it, these are just desires that get filled the same way as anyone else fulfills them: abuse. I would argue that 70% of Americans are television addicts.
The point I'm getting at here is that we are a nation of hedonists because we don't need to worry about the consequences of our consumerism, apathy, etc. (bear with me as I get a bit political) Not to induce a guilt trip here, but I don't think anyone in Somalia has a problem with buying too much crap, watching too much TV, or spending too much time jerking their thumbs in front of CRT's. But they have all their own problems to worry about: AIDS, drug warlords, starvation, etc. What do you do in a situation devoid of all pleasure? It probably would involve heavy, heavy drugs. I, for one, would not be able to sit through 6 hours of Metal Gear Solid while two gangs have a firefight next door.
My point is, people find outlets for their frustrated desires everywhere. Very seldomly do they have the courage to actually seek out the root causes of those desires. Here in the States, I think most of people's anxieties are caused by:
- working too much and taking it too seriously (ie. "miserable-ism" as termed by the Situationists)
- depending on others to make decisions for them ("pathological fascism" as called by Deleuze & Guattari)
- rampant commercialism driving down our self-esteem (and driving up demand)
To relieve this we watch: movies/shows about cops, criminals, rich people, sexy people, futuristic people, fantastic people, etc. (I'm talking mainstream, here, not "Clerks"-style stuff). All these movies/shows whatever romanticize these roles that only a few of us get to ever do. Since we're NOT those people, we feel more like a piece of shit, thus leaving us vulnerable to subconsicious suggestions that Diet Coke will instantly bestow us the sex appeal of Victoria Secret models.
So of course we want to feel like heroes, or drive ultrafast cars, or be the super-killer-soldier with the most frags: video games fulfill those vicarious pleasures because the media industry has successfully planted all those desires in us already!
So naturally, the best way to break a video game addiction is to withdraw from Hollywood/Viacom/AOLTimeWarner/Disney in every conceivable form. Or at least develop enough of a cynical veneer to be able to look someone in the eye and say, "The Matrix was good...for a Hollywood film."
Re:Escapism - The Dark Side (Score:3, Interesting)
This being our society, explain how not being a part of the society in which we live is better for us in the long run than being a part of it?
I know that I've been much happier since I decided to break my addiction to rebellion and see just what was so great about all this mass market stuff that people seem to obsess so much about, both fot and against. I discovered that it is actually fun to be part of a group and I felt like I belonged. I began to have things in common with people, which meant that I could actually hold conversations. I could get dates, like all these 'mainstream losers' could.
Why do I feel better? Is it because I'm brainwashed to think that all this stuff is better? No, because I know it's not. In my private life I'm a total iconoclast. There is a fundamental joy in being part of something. It's Maslow Level 2, Safety and Security. I know that because I can communicate as part of American Consumer Society, that I am someone my neighbors can relate to.
This sounds chilling. It sounds like Orwell. But it's not just me, either. Nobody in the USA has a higher purpose anymore. It could be argued that they didn't before, but the freedom to choose not to enter the military/go to church/work at menial labor has taken away our exposure to suffering. I grew up in a very poverty-stricken part of the country. I blow the minds of my upper-middle-class-raised coworkers when I tell them about my friends and relatives that didn't have running water or gas heat. I appreciate what I have, which is belonging.
The intellectual side of me wishes I didn't need this. The emotional side takes whatever it can get.
Video games = gamling (Score:2)
Video game addiction: put time, (maybe money) in, get reward (cool graphics, bragging, whatever)
You can be addicted to ANYTHING
Get some Willpower (Score:2)
Ever wondered about the difference between the successful guys and your rather pathetic self. Ever wished you could get off your butt and accomplish the things you want to do? I certainly have, and it has occurred to me many times that the difference is willpower.
I completed a masters degree on my own, mostly at home unsupervised. Now I'm trying to do some work on open source projects but I mainly surf the internet and play Empire Earth when I'm on the computer. I don't really have any less motivation - just less willpower.
I do need to do those things - you have to relax now and again. The difference is, when I come home from work I start playing and don't stop until I have to go to bed. When I have the willpower, I can just say right, now I'm going to stop and do some real work.
The trouble is, I don't know what makes the difference - some days I can do it, some I'm a slob. Two things come to mind. Sometimes I'll stop gaming to lie down and relax, meditate a bit, that definately helps. The other thing that helps is Linux. No I'm not talk about how good it is - the simple fact is, once I boot into Linux I can't play those fancy games. And of course, once I get stuck into something useful it's just as "addictive" as the gaming - ever tried to stop coding when you've only got one bug to go?
Not Addicted (Score:2)
Addiction? Give me a break! (Score:5, Interesting)
According to the listed standard, I think I could be described as sleep addicted, food addicted, air addicted, and for that matter addicted to converstations with my wife and playing with my kids!
I enjoy computer games. I know what it's like to drag my butt in to the office and lack productvity all day because I was up until the wee hours of the morning playing video games.
My point is this. We make many choices which reflect a person's values and priorities. When I watch the movie or stay up late playing RTCW, I pay the consequences. As a result, I choose not to do that very often! When I choose to do that, I blame myself, not some psychological condition.
Choosing to value the wrong things is simply a lack of discipline. Lack of discipline is a character problem, not an addiction over which the person has no control.
The problem is a lack of will, and the consequences are simply the results of bad choices.
Take control of your life by taking responsibility for your choices, values and character! Choose to put down the controller, or even to get rid of the console.
Get involved with people. It's harder, and hurts more, but is far more rewarding than having the perfect score in Pitfall!
s/Gaming/Surfing/ (Score:5, Insightful)
Fark,
The 2 hour morning web surf through my first two classes and before the shower is probably the most depressing after its over.
The only thing worse than having a day go by in front of the computer is having that day go by with the end result being that you got farther in a game or read a bunch of meaningless drivel by some web admin or forum-goers. See, I'm doing it right now!
The only way I feel like I'm using the computer effectively is when I'm doing homework or coding a personal project. Everything else is worthless, except maybe a regular check of the daily news (since I have no TV.)
I spend days, hell, weeks sometimes, away from the web and realize how stupid it is and what a waste of time it is. Too bad I never learn.
Don't even ask about what happened when Quake 3 fit itself into this routine two years ago. I finally got over that one this semester when my cable provider decided to suck. I should be thankful.
Yes, it is possible (Score:2, Interesting)
One of the reasons I first became a game developer, in the 80s, was that I had become addicted to gaming (RPGs mostly).
So we see it pop up more in people who gain socialization thru LAN parties, and especially when they go to a new High School or College where they have few friends who are not in the gaming community.
However, it's not an addiction that's easy to kick. Usually it can be solved by other more powerful drives (getting into a long-term relationship is one of the best), but in practice you may need to move away and not socialize with other game addicts and take up other interests if you wish to break the cycle.
My favorite view of it is what happens in The Sims at a LAN party
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Damn. That's me. (Score:2)
My drug of choice was quake2. I dreamed about it when I was sleeping. I watched and analyzed demos of the masters playing.
And when I wasn't playing, I was thinking about it. Whenever I had to go outside, for instance, I would look at my immediate surroundings and try to find the quickest/best route through based on quake2 physics and its anomolies. (double jump, bunny hop, etc) It was affecting my life.
But then, something marvelous happened that cured me of quake2. I got a girlfriend.
But my personality makes it easy for me to fall into this sort of thing. For instance about a week ago, I discovered my roommate had brought gotten a copy of Super Mario 64 from somewhere. I just finished getting all 120 stars. For those that aren't familiar with the game, this is a major undertaking in such a short time. And as a result my life over the past week has gotten shittier. I have no clean clothes, there's garbage all over, etc.
After reading this article and the responses, I have decided that I can't play games casually. Any time I pick up a game, I'm in danger of losing control. I've decided that it's in my best interests to stay away from games for the forseeable future.
Gaming has been an addiction since it was invented (Score:5, Insightful)
well, the century is over, the games are still around, and so is society. Unfortunately, so is Wired.
And its not so much a psychological "mystery" as so many have tried to paint it as. If it was, then Psychology Today would still be arguing about it like they did over the Pac Man fascination.
Yes, a gamer can be in a "zone" where nothing but the game matters during that time, but that "zone" as an ASC is the same kind of zone that anybody gets when concentration on a single topic is at a high (literally and figuratively). Its the same zone that hackers get (see "Peopleware"), its the same zone a musician gets when the music takes over his body and spirit, its the same zone an author gets. Sometimes the zone is productive, sometimes its an escape. But the zone is the same.
Basically its like this. Reality sucks. Its hard. Its painful. Its a fucking bitch at times. For geek guys, its full of bitches. Games are fun. Games have rules that don't change. Games have NPCs whose behaviour can be relied on.
So play games 'cause its easier than reality. People suck 'cause they and their expectations are always different from one day to the next. Games don't change. 'til you download a new update. when YOU want to, not when "they" do it.
And you keep playing games because games stay fun and reality never improves. (now mind you, the fact that you never do anything to change your reality because your always playing games doesn't help, of course, but when you're playing games, you can't see that).
And they knew this 25 years ago when Pong hit the streets. Hell, you think Thompson and Ritchie would have gone to so much fucking trouble making an O/S for an empty computer to play Space War was done for the "intellectual excercise of it"? Hell no. They were addicts who needed a fix. They just managed to get better and keep up with reality as well, as most of us do. Usually its because you finally get bored with games, and you keep thinking "the new games suck...they aren't nearly as good as the games I used to play".
Irrellevant Postscript: Back in "the day", I was a moria addict...'til i got a D in English 102. I saved the graveyard scene (you could do that, at least on vax-moria), and modified it so that it said "Rest In Peace : My English Grade" in the tombstone.
Behavioral Game Design (Score:3, Informative)
I've wasted a good half a year on an old school text based MUD, and as such stay completely away from EverCrack et al. as I just can't afford to devote my time to virtual characters.
Re:bah what isn't addictive? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Addiction (Score:2)
Competition isn't the root reason. (Score:2)
Anyway, competition can provide semi-random rewards (assuming that chance plays some part in the game in question), so in a sense, I agree completely with you.
As far as the competition in the forums, I wouldn't go there. It's called 'trolling' and 'elitist bullshitting'.
Re:Yes (Score:2)
Personally, I see that as simply tradition fighting against new forms of enjoyment. I mean, really... in that sentence, what you basically said was that you almost cancelled a vacation because you wanted to relax and have fun (playing a game). People act like being addicted to games, which I suppose is possible, is like being addicted to gambling, smoking, or alchohol. A gaming addiction is an addiction to a non-harmful form of fun. It's like being "addicted" to football by watching it religiously every week, or being "addicted" to playing baseball with your high school team.