Gaming and addiction to it.

elvenwolf

Surfing through cracked.com I noticed this article :

http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html

 

Is an old article that was reposted, and for it's MMO examples does use World of Warcraft, but I think it applies to most MMORPGs, is not that I find it shocking or else, but it piqued my curiosity, and examining most MMOs I played in the past, I noticed that what they say seem mostly right.

 

What do you think about it? is the author  right?  is he  exagerating things?

 

flizzer

Sometimes it seems more than half the people on this forum are looking for a new drug (MMO).

elvenwolf

Your reply made me think to something the author of the article didn't take into consideration, could it be that MMO burnout came from outgrowing the systems that are used into MMOs to keep you in?

Could it be the brain reach a point in which get "Immune" to what's described in the article, and at that point a gamer get to the "Burnout" that happen time to time?

I wonder if is something that developers are studing to try to counter the burnout effect.

vicky_john1

I always love to watch heist movies, I am a big fan of GTA 5 ,that too game was based on heist misisons.. i was addicted  to do heist  mission with trevor philips character.. 

SEANMCAD

Originally posted by elvenwolf

Surfing through cracked.com I noticed this article :

http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html

 

Is an old article that was reposted, and for it's MMO examples does use World of Warcraft, but I think it applies to most MMORPGs, is not that I find it shocking or else, but it piqued my curiosity, and examining most MMOs I played in the past, I noticed that what they say seem mostly right.

 

What do you think about it? is the author  right?  is he  exagerating things?

 

addiction and psychological manipulation are two different things.

Having said that consider this, the advertising industry hires experts with the main purpose to manipulate people and they have been doing it longer than video games have existed.

So much for the safety of TV 

Crusades

I won't be surprised if you get banned for making this thread. I've seen at least 4 other threads like this and the op in each thread was banned from this web page. With respect to your topic, gaming addiction is a real medical condition. However it's being dealt with indirectly in the states. In other parts of the world, it is recognized as a medical condition that can be treated. In the west we deal with it by dumbing down the games.

simsalabim77

Originally posted by Crusades
I won't be surprised if you get banned for making this thread. I've seen at least 4 other threads like this and the op in each thread was banned from this web page. With respect to your topic, gaming addiction is a real medical condition. However it's being dealt with indirectly in the states. In other parts of the world, it is recognized as a medical condition that can be treated. In the west we deal with it by dumbing down the games.

 

Having pathological video game habits is more likely the result of an underlying mental health problem rather than causing a problem. It's treated like most other mental health problems; with cognitive behavioral therapy and the drug du jour. 

AlBQuirky

Video games are the new Skinner Box? Press the right button at the time and get some pixels! Endorphins flow and gamers look for the next thing to click on to get that same feeling. Sometimes, there is a lot of clicking before that reward, aka Grind.

However, if that is the only reason someone plays a video game, they are missing out on 75-90% of the game.

elvenwolf

It is indeed a complex problem, of course  a well made game does not only offer pshycological traps to keep a player addicted, I think must have a great lore, and story, but... that varies from player to player.

For me Lore, stories, memorable NPCs are as important as getting the shiniest equipment, or that speciic piece with that specific look, but, the story is to pick the interest and only then the mechanisms to keep you there are put in place.

I'd like to think people working on most games, want to tell a story, and that's most of it, like the making of a movie or a book, but that probably does apply more to offline games, like the Longest Journey, or Mass effect ; They do tell a story and most of the time in a potent way, putting your emotions in first line giving you the power of choice.

It probably apply less to online gaming, apart the story you want to tell, you have to mantain servers, teams developing new releases, I think is  a forced compromise. The more fun you have, the more you play the game, the more you are willing to spend on it, be it with a monthly fee or a cash shop. Just I never noticed how slippery is the slope between "Fun" and "Psychological addiction".