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Help a TBer give up WoW
- Thread starter Nyarlathotep
- Start date
Its not the video game doing it to the people. Its the people being weak minded (for want of a better term).
Then why don't we hear about this with other games like Solitaire or Tetris?
I know what you mean Mark. It's scary how these role playing games are sucking people in. I seem to remember stories like this going around back in the heyday of The Sims.
-Mike
Different audience I suspect. Not too over analyse this phenonemon too much, but games like WoW are pretty much aimed at the "nerd" set who have been known in the past to get too carried away with such things. Its basically Dungeons and Dragons for the modern world and its marketed at exactly the equivalent audience. The kind of people who generally (and its not to say that there arn't exceptions) play these games are the slightly socially awkward types who would probably be spending a lot of time online anyway. This just gives them a "reason" to be online by creating alternate identities, personalities and of course, social status, that they don't have in the "real world". My $0.02.Then why don't we hear about this with other games like Solitaire or Tetris?
I know what you mean Mark. It's scary how these role playing games are sucking people in. I seem to remember stories like this going around back in the heyday of The Sims.
-Mike
I once played WoW, i hated the game, but somehow being capable of leveling up faster than my friends, who were also playing along with me, kept me playing for a very long month.
I also have a friend whos attractive to women, plays football and has a very good social life who is very addicted to online games, he oscilates between CS and WoW, and is going under psicological supervision.
So IMO there is more about this game than just being made for an specific kind of people. Blizzard hit the nail right on the head.
But what realy worries me is the upcoming release of Diablo III wich i predict to be much more appealing to the ppl who already play WoW than WoW itself.
This was completely the opposite for me. I was off the game for a year but my latest girlfriend plays it. So I went back on to the WoW through her. Although now I'm off again for a couple of weeks.
However, I've found it less addicting than it used to be. Maybe it's because I don't have the new expansion pack and have therefore stopped doing end game raiding.
I used to be addicted to computer game but now I haven't played in probably 4 monhts. I have been inviting friends over more often and going to concerts and stuff like that. Basically boost your social life and you will be over it in no time. 
- Feb 27, 2005
- 3,218
- 125
- Disclosures
- Full disclosure, I'm a certified Fender technician working in a music store that carries Fender, Yamaha, and Ibanez products among others.
+1, although I wouldn't characterize such people as 'weak.' They (and I speak as an unrepentant geek here) generally found a group of people that accepted them at a time in their lives where mainstream society was rejecting them, and took up the activities the people around them did, just like any other peer group.
The pen-and-paper D&D was (and still is, I assume) quite addictive. My friends and I also played Cyberpunk, Shadowrun, Rifts, Robotech the RPG, whatever else came down the pike. I think a major difference is that traditional RPG's still involved people, face to face. At 2:00 am, when the DM is eyeing the pizza and some of the players are looking at the TV wistfully, it's hard to keep playing. WoW doesn't have that restriction. If you're awake, you can play.
It's not just WoW, either, I watched a friend's marriage dissolve over a MUD, which doesn't even have graphics, for cryin' out loud!!! The internet may have helped all sorts of psyhiatric phenomena that hadn't had a chance to manifest itself yet come into being.
It's the same as any other addiction, 'cept this one is purely mental. But it is an addiction, nonetheless. Some people can play World of Warcraft just a little and be fine and moderate themselves. Some let it take over their lives.
Pencil and Paper D&D is nerdy, but I'd agree that it's more healthy than WoW and less prone to people wasting their lives on it. My friends play it a lot, I play it with them sometimes. It can be fun, but it's not the only thing going on. Even while the game's going, there's regular socializing and stuff also going on.
WoW does exactly what it was intended to do, would they want a game that dropped if you had to pay monthly!
Meh,...when hockey is in season, my wife rarely sees me. Of course that's only for a few hours every other night or so. It's just a different kind of geekdom (although a sports fan would never admit to being a geek).
It has nothing to do with age. I know of people in their 40's and 50's that play like crazy. There was even a 30ish mother of 2 that was in one of the guilds I was a part of in the early days of my WoWness.
Don't forget to make backups first.
-Mike
You're just being mean now.....
I swear they have a group of psychics/psycologists on staff that tell them when to bring out the next thing at exactly the right time.
A friend (and fellow WoW addict) had a theory on why WoW is so addicting:
"There's always 'one more'. One more piece of gear, one more boss, one more quest, one more mount. And just when you think that you've done everything, blizz brings out one more patch"
Indeed, my friend's dad, who is seriously addicted to that game, is in his 40's.
i moved into a new house a while back and my roommate got me to play that lord of the rings one. i played that for about a year. there was a command, like "/time" or something that would let you see how many hours you have logged on the program. that was pathetic. then i started chatting with other folks who lost their families, or houses, and i realized i wasnt that kind of person. i still feel dirty for playing that crap, because i always made fun of my friends who played evercrack back in the day.
if you are like me, you may have a very obsessive personality. you just have to shift it. i dont know what else to tell you. i have bounced from alcohol and drugs to that game i mentioned, to exercise, to bass, to watching too much tv to sitting in front of pro tools all day.
of those above, i find exercise to be the best transition. bass and recording came next. if youre not in a band, try that. if youre unemployed or not in school, try one or both of those. i still watch too much tv, and struggle with drugs and alcohol, but i know these things, and it sounds like you know them as well. its when you cant tell that youre messed up when things go deeper.
you dont need a babysitter, but as suggested many times above, a girlfriend (that isnt a gamer) will keep you in line. get a regular schedule and stick to it as much as you can. i find support groups to be unhelpful. its like the statement "dont think of an elephant." having those words thrown around a room of like-minded, obsessive people havent helped me, though they do help others.
bottom line: you have too much time on your hands, and you need to obsess over something more constructive than collecting gear and fake money that has no value, and will be obsolete when the next big thing comes out, and you start the whole process over again.
if you are like me, you may have a very obsessive personality. you just have to shift it. i dont know what else to tell you. i have bounced from alcohol and drugs to that game i mentioned, to exercise, to bass, to watching too much tv to sitting in front of pro tools all day.
of those above, i find exercise to be the best transition. bass and recording came next. if youre not in a band, try that. if youre unemployed or not in school, try one or both of those. i still watch too much tv, and struggle with drugs and alcohol, but i know these things, and it sounds like you know them as well. its when you cant tell that youre messed up when things go deeper.
you dont need a babysitter, but as suggested many times above, a girlfriend (that isnt a gamer) will keep you in line. get a regular schedule and stick to it as much as you can. i find support groups to be unhelpful. its like the statement "dont think of an elephant." having those words thrown around a room of like-minded, obsessive people havent helped me, though they do help others.
bottom line: you have too much time on your hands, and you need to obsess over something more constructive than collecting gear and fake money that has no value, and will be obsolete when the next big thing comes out, and you start the whole process over again.
I'd suggest a girlfriend... but I mean come on... you're a self-confessed World Of Warcraft addict... hope you believe in miracles, cause I sure don't.
Listen to this wow horror story.
I have never touched the game my friend tho who is 1 year younger than me started his 9th grade of high school.I rarely saw him that year, it took us coming over and making him leave to stop. He skipped school alot, his dad even played it. When is graduated in 2008, i did not talk to him much it turns out he dropped out his 12th grade of high school and has been sitting at home playing WOW since october, not getting a GED, or a job or going to college.
No i am not gay but he is a decent looking dude some hot girl totally wanted him and he just blew her off. 18 and still a virgin when you could have lost it numerous times sad man.
STOP PLAYING WOW.......PLAY YOUR BASS
I have never touched the game my friend tho who is 1 year younger than me started his 9th grade of high school.I rarely saw him that year, it took us coming over and making him leave to stop. He skipped school alot, his dad even played it. When is graduated in 2008, i did not talk to him much it turns out he dropped out his 12th grade of high school and has been sitting at home playing WOW since october, not getting a GED, or a job or going to college.
No i am not gay but he is a decent looking dude some hot girl totally wanted him and he just blew her off. 18 and still a virgin when you could have lost it numerous times sad man.
STOP PLAYING WOW.......PLAY YOUR BASS
WoW ruined a relationship of mine...once she got a copy of the game her social life was gone and decided WoW was more important than me. She still has a WoW addiction, 3+ years later.
For her, getting addicted to WoW meant losing her scholarship, dropping out of college, and losing most of her friends.
For me, WoW was a fun game for a while and I enjoyed playing it casually. However, most MMOs are not very casual player friendly. "Go hard or go home" kinda stuff....so I went home
Ended my WoW account a few years ago and haven't looked back.
For her, getting addicted to WoW meant losing her scholarship, dropping out of college, and losing most of her friends.
For me, WoW was a fun game for a while and I enjoyed playing it casually. However, most MMOs are not very casual player friendly. "Go hard or go home" kinda stuff....so I went home
Ended my WoW account a few years ago and haven't looked back.
