Dan Mahoney ([info]gushi) wrote,
@ 2006-10-18 23:10:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Ganked from Slashdot

Okay, if you're a friend of mine, and you play WOW, I want you to read this:

http://soulkerfuffle.blogspot.com/2006/10/view-from-top.html

Please comment when you have.


(Post a new comment)


[info]mortonfox
2006-10-19 03:34 am UTC (link)
Thank goodness I never got into that, although I admit I have played some MUDs for hours just like that too.

(Reply to this)


[info]tizzrah
2006-10-19 04:47 am UTC (link)
Very enlightening article. I play WoW, but not nearly to that extent, and to the extent that some people do. It really is scary. I raid 1-2 nights a week for 2-3 hours at a time, but I'll readily admit, I had it a lot worse than that a few months ago. I think there are a whole lot of people out there that need to step back and re-evaluate their addiction. I mean, that's what it is... an addiction.

(Reply to this)


[info]saravit
2006-10-19 04:50 am UTC (link)
This person is correct: When taken too far,playing a game like WoW (or in my case Coh) can really wreck a person's life. It becomes an addiction instead of a pastime.

I have never played WoW but from the description, it does sound like a treadmill that goes faster and faster until you are entirely consumed by it or you get off. I know I have been like that with CoH before.

Counterpoint: It beats being addicted to gambling or chemical substances.

A person should live his/her life as he/she sees fit. If a person's choices are harmful, then they should be reconsidered. No matter what, people still have to live with the consequences of their actions. This person saw that he was getting too consumed by the time he spent in his game and decided he didn't want to be that way. He has good and valid reasons which he explains.

(Reply to this)


[info]ravynwolf
2006-10-19 04:55 am UTC (link)
Some people don't know their limits.
*shurgs* Sucks for them. People who give up RL for WoW suck. The rest of us realize its just a game and enjoy it.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]tizzrah
2006-10-19 05:04 am UTC (link)
Agreed.

And I heart your icon.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]primarylupine
2006-10-19 05:32 am UTC (link)
So, he got all the grief of being a high-ranking corporate executive without all the stock options and bonuses. I'm sure that if he'd been making mad bank, he'd still be a gear in that machine.

Addictions to anything are bad. He got over his. Whoopty-doo. Give him a cookie or something to shut him up. Nobody forced him to play the game. Nobody was standing behind him with a gun ordering him to grind for hours.

Now, I'm off to do a couple lines, polish off the last half of that bottle of vodka, and go level my priest. Arg, and I'm out of smokes.

(Reply to this)


[info]furloph
2006-10-19 05:55 am UTC (link)
Im glad I got out of it when I did, but I do miss hanging out with my RL friends who moved away. Ahh well, such is life.

(Reply to this)


[info]aakin
2006-10-19 06:20 am UTC (link)
Meh. I like it. It's a good way to kill time when I don't have anything else to do and don't feel like reading or going to sleep.

I have seen behavior like his, though. I know folks who took off a week of work (burning vacation time) just to level up. It's kind of nuts, and I can't really conceive of that... it's just a way to pass time until I'm doing something more interesting to me. But whatever... they seemed to enjoy the hell out of it, and really, that's what truly matters.

If people don't have the perspective to realize that they are doing something they will think is a complete waste of time later on, they need to work on their perspective, not blame their activity. Which I think is also the point the guy in the article was trying to make, just in a very roundabout way. But if it is something they really want to do, then it is most definitely not a waste of time. Achievement is achievement, whether or not there is something physical tied to it. Just because it is virtual doesn't discount it. That's like saying that gaining notoriety as a blogger doesn't matter, because it's not in a real print newspaper. I find it amusing that all the bloggers were missing that point; the derision of any achievement in that virtual world was pretty uniform, and ironic, considering that is exactly what most of them are dying to achieve.

(Reply to this)


[info]xella
2006-10-19 08:17 am UTC (link)
Heh, that's pretty much me in a nuthshell, down to trying to keep all the guildies happy.

Only difference, I guess, is that I really didn't have any RL friends that I shared interests with to begin with—the ones I had were from school, and the only way I can readily communicate with them nowadays is through the internet (as they're off at college or have moved elsewhere).

I don't play the game for the game anymore. I play it for the people.

(Reply to this)


[info]_phantom_glitch
2006-10-19 11:10 am UTC (link)
First off: I have to be honest, I didn't read everything, read alot and skimmed the rest.

But... he author has a few good points, but is very one-sided as well. From the sounds of the article, he let himself get consumed by the game. From the sounds of the article, the author was a hardcore gamer & did alot of raiding. He states, "In order to progress, you have to farm your little heart out in one way or another: either weeks at a time PvPing to make your rank or weeks at a time getting materials for and "conquering" raid instances, or dungeons where you get "epic loot" (pixilated things that increase your abilities, therefore making you "better")."

I don't necessarilly agree with that. Yes, in order to become a higher rank [by getting honorable kills in PvP] you must PvP alot. And in order to get Epic loot, you either have to raid or farm for money to buy the things in the Auction House [even then, you can't get everything without raiding]. Yes, Blizzard has this system that says how well you're doing in game... but what about the casual gamer? The ones that just PvP every once in a while, or only raid once in a while. They will improve, maybe not on Blizzard's scale, but with each PvP battle they do, they will probably learn something; with each raid they will find a way to do something more efficiently, or maybe [depending on how loot is distributed] even get one of the Epic items. They won't "progress" as fast as others, but they are still progressing. At least in my opinion: skill is greater than gear/rank. [Note: I've seen a level 46 (very few {2 out of 19 slots} Epics) kill a level 60 that was completely Epic'd out (every "worn" slot had an Epic item)]

Raiding isn't all there is to do in the game, but yes... it does take time. The thing about raiding is, you can set it to your schedule... how? Find a guild that raids at a time that is good for you, or join a PUG.

PvPing to increase your rank doesn't take all that much time either, just a few runs in Battlegrounds a few days a week [15 minutes - 2 hours per Battleground].

Eventually I want to get into raiding, and alot more World PvP and Battlegrounds, which will require alot of time.... but it's not *necessary* in order to enjoy the game. I play WoW, and I love the game... and as you can tell on my Xfire profile, I put alot of hours into it every week.



I give the author alot of credit for being able to see his problem and admit it, then take action.

The author stated he's seen families torn appart by it. I don't mean to sound heartless, but if they got so into the game that it managed to do that, they had it comming to them. A person in a relationship or that has a family must realize that family comes first, period.

--

From my personal experience:
Working odd overnights [8/9pm-4/5:30am], I have very little time to socialize with real life friends due to me sleeping during the day [11am-7pm] when they're up and about, so quite a bit of my time is spent in WoW. Granted, there are times that one of my friends is up before I goto bed, and if we can we will get together for a bit.

I personally like the interaction, as opposed to sitting on my ass and zoning into the TV [which other when on lunch at work (we have a TV in the breakroom), very rarely happens (maybe an hour a week)] On my "weekends" I throw my sleep schedule around so I can be up during the day and I try and get together with people, but it doesn't always happen.

As you know [mainly note for others that read my comment], I'm married. Val plays WoW as well. It's one of the things that we enjoy doing together... if one of us are in the mood for a movie, or want to go out to eat instead, we can put WoW asside for eachother.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]_phantom_glitch
2006-10-19 01:03 pm UTC (link)
Ya know, now that I noticed my Xfire says I've played WoW for 51 hours this week, I should probably note that it's at about double what I play... Val has been using my computer to play WoW [and apparently my Xfire account] when I've been sleeping or at work the past week or two. Heh, whoops.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]calikat
2006-10-19 02:23 pm UTC (link)
Hmm..BUT I suppose all of that could be a problem for me if I had a boyfriend, or people clammoring to hang out with me. But since most hangouts involve going out somewhere to EAT or spending a lot of MONEY I generally bow out when people invite me anyway.

Letsee, I am that class leader on a guild thats semi-respected on my server. We do Naxx. Currently the hardest instance in the game. My raiding schedule goes like this. Starting at 9pm and going until 1am. Tuesday: BWL Wednesday: AQ40 Thursday: Naxx 1st 2 bosses Friday: Off Sat Sun Mon: Progression days.

I spend maybe 30 minutes or so on either end of that raid time doing a little farming to cover the cost of my repairs for the day. Generally during this time and during wipes, I'm working on homework or fiddling with chats with people both in and out of game.

The hours I raid to are sort of too late for me to work a second job in that space of time and too early, apparently, for you to get home from work to 'do something.' But hey, I got a second job starting, so maybe you'll stop being so personally offended about how I choose to spend my freetime, because I won't have any left! :D



(Reply to this)


[info]lockemaison
2006-10-19 06:04 pm UTC (link)
What disturbs me is that he's taken responsibility for ruining his own life. His point was for people to be careful about games that never 'end' and not to fall into the Wow trap if you're depressed or unemployed, not to whine about how he ruined his life. He knows full well what he did to himself. Yet people are telling him over and over "why didn't you take responsibility for ruining your own life?" mostly because they are missing the point of the article or just skimming through.

The whole time I was thinking he's being a boss of a company without getting paid. What kind of dumbass would do that? But I guess if you are unemployed and lose track of reality, a similar situation to his, that you could get pulled into anything - mmorpgs, drugs, tv, anything.

(Reply to this)


[info]digoraccoon
2006-10-19 10:17 pm UTC (link)
I never had the time and money to invest in WoW and I'm perfectly happy with that.

(Reply to this)


[info]tacit
2006-10-20 12:52 am UTC (link)
Nothing particularly profound nor particularly interesting there, I'm afraid.

I play WoW. It's a game.

Like all games, or all recreational hobbies of any sort whatsoever, it's possible to play in ways that are responsible and healthy, or irresponsible and unhealthy. Any recreational activity of any sort, from video games to basketball to car racing, can be constructive or destructive, in accordance with the personalities and choices of those who do them.

WoW is a mirror. What you see in it depends on what you hold up to it. If you are prone to addictive behavior, it'll suck you in. If you're asocial to begin with, it'll give you yet another reason not to socialize--as though a reason is actually necessary.

WoW reflects the choices its players make. If they do not like what they see in the mirror, they can make different choices. A wise man does not become angry at the mirror for what he sees in it.

I started playing because my girlfriend likes MMORPGs and tried it out. We play together. The game does not break us apart; it brings us closer--though, truth to tell, these days we're more likely to spend time together curled up on the bed watching Battlestar: Galactica or spend time together abusing the Internet access at the local Panera Bread, where she likes to study and I work on the new version of the game I'm developing. Choices.

I have spent time with friends where we all bring computers over and play WoW together for a few hours, then go out to a movie or head out to dinner together. Antisocial? Not quite. It's a mirror; what you get out depends on what you put in. You use it as a social activity, you become more social. Choices.

I do not play ten hours a day, nor put in forty hours a week. But then, I'm ot the leader of a guild, and have never particularly wanted to be. Again, choices. The man who cares more about his character in WoW than about his own life will suffer for it, undoubtedly--but this is hardly the fault of the game, and one can not blame a game for the choices its players make.

(Reply to this)


[info]cl0secall
2006-10-20 07:37 pm UTC (link)
I know someone like this. A guild officer no less. Generally always on WoW, unless he's sleeping.

As for blame, IMHO, blame is counter-productive and has to do more with a superiority issue than getting things fixed.

(Reply to this)


[info]Xial [Just Like (a) Human] [pixelechoes.net]
2006-10-23 02:21 am UTC (link)
s/World of Warcraft/Anarchy Online/i;

That was me. I was playing 30, 40, 50 hours a week, and working 40.
Farming Notum, Pocketboss patterns, Organic/Graft armor pieces, Sekutek Chilled / Kirch Kevlar armor pieces, Pearls, and anything low-to-mid level that someone in our org needed ("Ara, I need the first MA Presence nano... Can you get it for me?" "Ayup. Here you go.").
Did dyna camps (Got a GA1 out of it. 19 million credits is what that went for...), bought the expansions, did the SL dungeons.

On the 14th of October, I finally got around to cancelling my Anarchy Online account.

I'll renew the subscription for one more month, however:
I'd like to get the symbiants off that account, as well as the rest of the credits. Transfer that off to a free account, sell off the creds on eBay or something, since I don't want to go back on a free account.

I had become bored with AO. Wouldn't play for days at a time, after a year of paid play.

I can be using that time for something better, like another job.

(Reply to this)


[info]jacel
2006-10-26 10:22 am UTC (link)
I've seen that link posted by a few friends of late, always alongside the request, "If you play WoW, read this".

The article's not about WoW. It's about MMOs in general, and in a broader sense, any interest or hobby that provides a consistent reward and incentive to continue (the only difference being that once you've got your PC and your subscription, MMOs don't generally have any costs beyond that, and have no concrete physical reward).

I myself play WoW in a very casual sense. Generally, I tend to play with my girlfriend since it's something we can do together via the internet, and those long-distance relationship things are kinda awkward for the whole social interaction thing, but to be frank, I find WoW a whole heap less addictive than, say, Xcom: Enemy Unknown. Now that was an addictive game.

It depends on the person as much as anything else, and it takes a particular mindset to be seduced into the kind of addiction described in that article. People will always find ways to occupy their time, and it's really up to them how far it goes. After all, nobody's forcing them to play (peer pressure aside).

(Reply to this)

Create an Account
Forgot your login?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…