Games stories again

Games have been in the news again lately :

"Compulsive Gamers Not Addicts"

Interesting story :-) And possibly a little more balance than games usually seem to get. There's a few facets about gaming addiction that aren't shared with the other types of addiction. Chemical addiction usually involves some kind of change to the metabolism that means the addict requires the substance they've come to rely on. Gambling addiction has the promise of big reward that often drives the addict into heavy loss.

Gaming can get people lost in a fantasy world and I've bounced off a few of the bad cases in my time in World of Warcraft. Not seen it so much in Eve. I've suffered from it in the past, where I'd prefer to play the games than to do my studies. So a person who should have walked a First with Hons got a 2.2 instead. As it happens, I've not been hurt too badly by that as I'm working for an organisation that lets me see cool stuff and I get the chance to have a natter with great people.

That's good for the daytime but how about the evenings ? I currently live on my own, so most of my interaction with other people comes from the people at work. Apart from where the games come in ... And this is where the addiction to Massive Multiplayer Online games trap a lot of people. They'll be in the game partly to play it but mostly so they can be around other people. I'd quite happily say that a game like World of Warcraft isn't worth playing unless you're involved in an active group. And most of my breaks from WoW have been due to me not wanting to have anything to do with the community (this time it was boredom with the game - the VR people have always been great to know)

So - gaming addiction is a social thing. It doesn't change your metabolism like all drugs will and it only costs the monthly subscription so you won't lose your home on it. Unless you get lost in it so much that you forget to eat, sleep or get to work (it has happened). I think that's where the addiction has me, I like to be around other people. But I think I manage to satisfy it by being addicted to the forums instead. And to a bit of blogging too ;-)

There's another aspect though to getting caught deeply by games and that's the psychological aspect. This one is a lot more serious, as the real world gets displaced by the fantasy world. Getting that Purple Pointy Hat (there's a Red Pointy Hat too) is the most important thing in their world. I liked getting the upgrades for my characters but never got too excited about it when someone else got them instead. It's only a game.

Bit like last night, picking up the new ship in Eve I'd been waiting to be able to fly. Cost of 166 million and not too long after, saw one for about 155 million. Yeah, that sucks a bit but it's not real money and not a real ship. It's not like buying a heap of PC bits and then a week later seeing those bits £100 cheaper. It's only a game.

Here's another story partly about gaming :

Young unaware of junk food impact

Not sure if they're aware that something similar went into one of the Grand Theft Auto games :-) If you had your character loaf about and eat burgers all day, he'd turn into a bloater. If you did gym time and had him eat properly, he'd go athletic, which had a genuine impact on how the character performed in game.

As addictions go, it's not that bad. I may occasionally forget to have dinner (like last Saturday :-) but as I'm overweight that's probably not a bad thing. Late nights too but I can keep the all nighters for the weekends :-) My addiction doesn't cause me the amnesia of drink or the damage that drink can cause. I'm not chemically addicted to anything apart from maybe caffeine :-) And it doesn't cost me nearly as much as narcotics would do. I don't have to furtively sneak out to a smoking shelter like one or two of the people on the project do (most are open about it, others keep it secret)

Ok - on the cost thing, I've already got a couple of new games I don't have the time to play and a couple more arrived last night. I blame Game for doing special offers :-) The cost aspect introduces an interesting angle on the games thing too - most of them involve resource management of some sort. You can't buy the toys if you don't have the money. So the games that involve a grind teach the player that hard work brings reward. Curious ;-)

Time to get back to that other addiction - telly and music :-) And some really bad acting by the Star Trek people !

PS The new ship is called "Olga never gets laid". Yep - mad moment :-) It's in honour of Olga Kurylenko, who in her last three major blockbusters has been :
Stabbed in the neck with a sedative laden syringe by Agent 47 when she tried to jump him.
Ignored by the British secret agent most notorious for his womanising.
Kicked out of bed by Max Payne.
And after seeing her in all three of those - I don't get it ...