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Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Would they make it addictive if they could?
Ophelea brought to my attention an interesting thought experiment on Rock, Paper, Shotgun: If the makers of MMORPGs would have the technical possibility to make their games psychologically or physically addictive, would they do it? Conclusion, quote: "For a game with a monthly fee, of course they would. Or at least, some of them would, and they’ll be the rich and successful ones. In fact, if they were a publicly owned company - or owned by one - they would be legally required to do so, to fulfil their requirement to maximise their shareholder’s revenues."
Of course that isn't proof that lets say World of Warcraft is really addictive, in spite of all the "fell of the wagon" jokes on my return to WoW. I certainly don't believe in single games being addictive, because to some extent they are interchangeable. If I went back to WoW it was more due to a lack of alternatives of a similar quality level. But if in a hypothetical parallel universe WAR would have come out now, in time for christmas 2007, and would be as good as WoW, I'd probably be playing that. Unfortunately in the universe I'm stuck in the year 2007 didn't produce any "WoW killers".
So if anything it is the MMORPG lifestyle that is addictive, not a particular game. Just like you could say watching TV is addictive, although you aren't watching the same show all the time. And even then for a large majority of consumers the TV or MMORPG is only used to fill out their available free time. The number of people who actually give up their job and family to play World of Warcraft 16 hours a day is tiny. That is a lifestyle that isn't sustainable unless you inherited a big bundle of money. I can see how a student could lose a year or so of his studies due to a video game addiction, but sooner or later reality will kick in and force him to make a living or go back to his studies. But such behavior isn't limited to MMORPGs or video games. Escapism existed long before those games, and escaping to a virtual world is just one possibility among many. The problem lies with the losers trying to escape from real life, and not necessarily with an inherent addictiveness of the means they chose to do so.
- posted by Tobold @ 10:11 AM Permanent Link
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The problem lies with the losers trying to escape from real life, and not necessarily with an inherent addictiveness of the means they chose to do so.
EQ wrecked a lot of people that wouldn't normally be considered losers and certainly weren't living in their mom's basement.
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Any mmorpg with a random reward and/or random spawn is addictive.
Just google skinner box.
Waiting for the Ancient Cyclops or Quillmane to randomly appear are almost text book examples of this.
The "time sink" mechanism in EQ was so addictive, I've often wondered if they had to settle any lawsuits out of court, because of it.
Just google skinner box.
Waiting for the Ancient Cyclops or Quillmane to randomly appear are almost text book examples of this.
The "time sink" mechanism in EQ was so addictive, I've often wondered if they had to settle any lawsuits out of court, because of it.
# posted by 
: 14/11/07 11:53
: 14/11/07 11:53
WoW *IS* addicting, no matter the fact that there are no alternatives!
Of course, not having alternatives does contribute to making one's more addicted to WoW! :)
Of course, not having alternatives does contribute to making one's more addicted to WoW! :)
# posted by : 14/11/07 12:25
: 14/11/07 12:25The problem lies with the losers trying to escape from real life, and not necessarily with an inherent addictiveness of the means they chose to do so.
EQ wrecked a lot of people that wouldn't normally be considered losers and certainly weren't living in their mom's basement.
# posted by : 14/11/07 13:12
: 14/11/07 13:12
EQ wrecked a lot of people that wouldn't normally be considered losers and certainly weren't living in their mom's basement.
I think, though, that something else would've gotten those people eventually. My dad used to be a probation officer, and he came home with plenty of stories of totally normal middle-class guys that ended up throwing their lives away because they started smoking crack. Presumably they found their way into those back alleys the way the guys you're talking about found their way into their parents' basement.
This post reminded me of this interview I read a while back. The guy (still not entirely sure who he is, or why we're supposed to listen, but it's an interesting read...) basically claims that the Skinner box design of MMOs is unethical -- that they're somehow cheating, and convincing us that their bad game is more fun or more important than it is.
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I think, though, that something else would've gotten those people eventually. My dad used to be a probation officer, and he came home with plenty of stories of totally normal middle-class guys that ended up throwing their lives away because they started smoking crack. Presumably they found their way into those back alleys the way the guys you're talking about found their way into their parents' basement.
This post reminded me of this interview I read a while back. The guy (still not entirely sure who he is, or why we're supposed to listen, but it's an interesting read...) basically claims that the Skinner box design of MMOs is unethical -- that they're somehow cheating, and convincing us that their bad game is more fun or more important than it is.
# posted by : 16/11/07 02:58
: 16/11/07 02:58<< Home
