Interesting article on what makes video games addictive on msnbc today. See here for the article. I think the most amusing part of the article is where it says "Hanging out and making friends is a powerful draw in online gaming. But so is opening a can of whoopass". Come on, I know you all play for the tasty can of whoopass!
The saddest part of the article may be where it says "What I see in the population that I’m working with around video games, many gamers are people who were bored and lonely, and this is an addiction which kind of gets its hooks into them". Hmmm ouch. I wonder what the line is between playing and being addicted. I wonder this because I have definitely been playing a lot more since we started Kara like a month ago. I've wondered lately if I need to take a baby step back and get back into some of the other things I used to do a lot more.
I do think it's just all about balance, which has never been the easiest thing for me. I tend to have an addictive or all or nothing personality. When I find something or someone I like, I totally obsess over it for a couple of months before being more reasonable with it or moving on to the next thing.
Do you ever worry about playing too much?
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
What a tasty can of whoopass
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Keeping yer life balanced is like keeping a bicycle balanced. Is requires lotsa little adjustments, but you can get a pretty big tilt going with anything terribles happening to you.
ReplyDeleteLooks like people in the article were playing 15-20 hours per day. Per Day! They's got issues. I suspects yer fine.
Sometimes I think about it, but then I remember I have dailies to run... :-D
ReplyDeleteFree time is free time. What would I rather be doing? Watching TV on my own or hanging out in WoW with friends I've made and had as friends for a few years.
ReplyDeleteAs long as I'm on top of my RL stuff, clean shirt and Gym gear for tomorrow, I make sure I keep weekend plans with friends and parents, but I never feel guilty/bad playing WoW when i really have nothing I should be doing first. Its all about balance, as long as your not skipping/avoiding anything IRL I think there are alot worse things we could all do with our time.
If your avoiding social engagements, letting your personal hygiene slip and only ever eat at your computer then you could be on that slippery slope. Other than that your just normal, and choose to spend you free time doing something you enjoy, and in my opinion WoW is alot more "social" than watching re-runs on TV in your pants.
I don't think I've had a problem balancing RL with online time. However I've found that I can easily get consumed with WoW off-line when I am trying to plan a raid. I think I obsess a bit too much about this as a raid leader, but I guess it will get easier as we learn (and win) encounters.
ReplyDeleteBlogging...now there is a time-suck.