Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Anyone else feel that MMOs are a HUGE waste of time?

2456789

Comments

  • dotdotdashdotdotdash Member UncommonPosts: 485


    Originally posted by Hrimnir
    Originally posted by Lienhart I've clocked an absurdly high amount of hours into MMOs from WoW to Final Fantasy XI. After recently switching to a much more expensive hobby (supersport track days), I'm feeling the need to slap my face for wasting so much time on a hobby that amounts to having nothing to show for in the real world. Anyone else ever feel the same way?
    And exactly what are you getting out of your track days besides tire and brake bills?  Enjoyment.  You're not "Getting" anything except maybe a trophy, thats the only tangible difference, otherwise, its enjoyment, and possibly respect from your group of enthusiasts.

    Unless you have a hobby that makes you more physically fit, increases your scholastic knowledge, or creates things, i.e. building boats or carving wood or ships in a bottle, than all you get out of any leisure activity is enjoyment.  So, moot point is moot.


    Track days have a number of benefits, and being proficient enough to compete at track days comes with a lot of requirements:
    - Important source of exercise
    - Provides social interaction (which is very important for mental health)
    - Offers the chance to learn about the machinery you are using (which has many real world applications)
    - Improves riding skills (which, again, has a real world application on the road)
    - Improves and aids reaction time, memory, cognition, etc (arguably more than any game outside of nback)

    So the point isn't really moot. Gaming, as a rule, doesn't actually offer a road to success of any tangible form. It's not the WORST thing you can do with your time, but it's most certainly not the best hobby you could possibly have.

    Gaming should, as the saying goes, be pursued in moderation. It should compliment a wider set of hobbies. Gaming does have a lot to offer, but it's not so valuable that it should be taking up hours of your time every day. If it is, you have a problem. If you were drinking for hours a day, you'd be an addict. If you were watching TV for hours a day, you'd be lazy. If you're gaming for hours a day? That's, apparently, quite alright.

    It isn't really though.

  • olepiolepi Member EpicPosts: 2,805

    Life is a "controlled folly". Do you want to raise horses? Skydive? Learn Greek? Play an MMO?

    What does it all mean in the end? All of our hobbies are basically meaningless, the value is in how you approach it, not what the thing you are approaching is.

    Find something you truly enjoy doing, and try to excel at that. If it's raising hamsters, so be it. MMO's? Bring it on.

    ------------
    2024: 47 years on the Net.


  • stygianapothstygianapoth Member UncommonPosts: 185
    i just recently made a similar post on the off-topic forums. but agree... games in general seem to be a waste of time. i need to play more guitar.
  • reb007reb007 Member UncommonPosts: 613

    Gamers make better surgeons: http://www.drkim.com/2011/04/27/surgeons-video-games/

     

    "A couple of interesting studies regarding surgical errors came to my attention recently.  The first found that surgeons who play lots of video games are faster and make fewer mistakes during laparoscopic surgery than surgeons who don’t play any video games."

     

    Don't take that as fact.  Interesting though.  I have noticed that my gaming skills with a mouse and keyboard tend to carry over to my job.  I can operate complex tasks on a computer faster and more accurately than any of my co-workers.  Since my job revolves around computers, gaming has a very positive impact on my career.

    It may be a waste of time for a cook, or a construction worker.  But for anyone who depends on computers for their job, I have a feeling they take something positive away from the insane amounts of hours they spend in MMOs (assuming they can pull themselves away from the keyboard long enough to get/keep a job).

  • dotdotdashdotdotdash Member UncommonPosts: 485


    Originally posted by olepi
    Life is a "controlled folly". Do you want to raise horses? Skydive? Learn Greek? Play an MMO?

    What does it all mean in the end? All of our hobbies are basically meaningless, the value is in how you approach it, not what the thing you are approaching is.

    Find something you truly enjoy doing, and try to excel at that. If it's raising hamsters, so be it. MMO's? Bring it on.


    Aha. And what DOES it all mean in the end?

  • shingoukiehshingoukieh Member UncommonPosts: 126

    i feel the op when he says mmorpgs are a waste of time...i been feeling that way sometimes

    for instance u play a mmorpg for like a year or 2...since hobbies are meant for fun playing a mmorpg is fun but its kinda like rewarding and progression. So anyways u play 2 years and the game shutdown. so u spend 2 years in this place progressing and for what to shut down?? mmorpgs are more than standard mmorpgs....standard ones have an ending like a movie...mmorpgs are meant to simulate a fantasy world..now if mmorpgs never shut down then it would be a great hobby. For someone playing wow its proly great cause that game isnt going anywhere.

    not that games are bad but mmorpgs do take up alot of real time to get anywhere. A game like eve online u can spend an hour just moving around items. for example i remember i was looking for a party in a mmorpg and it took like 1 and a half hours to find a group. after we found the group took like 15 mins to meet up and get everyone prepared. was in the dungeon for like an hour and then someone dropped. took about 40 mins to find a replacement. went back in just to wipe on final boss.

    after all that still didnt complete my quest and it wasted bout all my day doing it. At the end i was like i could have been doing something else if i were to know the outcome of all that. It wasnt fun and was a headache all in all.

     

  • jarbyjarby Member Posts: 77
    m8 i feel exacty the same way as u do.  huge waste of time
  • RoxtarrRoxtarr Member CommonPosts: 1,122
    memories....you build memories.  MMO's are about the journey and the friends you make on the way.

    If in 1982 we played with the current mentality, we would have burned down all the pac man games since the red ghost was clearly OP. Instead we just got better at the game.
    image

  • AerowynAerowyn Member Posts: 7,928
    perhaps making a thread discussing how much a waste of time MMOs are is an even bigger waste of time.. sweet irony:) :P

    I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg

  • olepiolepi Member EpicPosts: 2,805
    Originally posted by dotdotdash

     


    Originally posted by olepi
    Life is a "controlled folly". Do you want to raise horses? Skydive? Learn Greek? Play an MMO?

     

    What does it all mean in the end? All of our hobbies are basically meaningless, the value is in how you approach it, not what the thing you are approaching is.

    Find something you truly enjoy doing, and try to excel at that. If it's raising hamsters, so be it. MMO's? Bring it on.


     

    Aha. And what DOES it all mean in the end?

    Why does it have to "mean" anything? Perhaps the search for meaning is just a feature of our own limited minds. Our minds are basically sequential machines, with cause A making result B. Meaning is the list of causes. What if the Universe has no Cause?

    Asking what the meaning of it all is, could turn out to be a meaningless question.

    ------------
    2024: 47 years on the Net.


  • HrimnirHrimnir Member RarePosts: 2,415
    Originally posted by dotdotdash

     


    Originally posted by Hrimnir

    Originally posted by Lienhart I've clocked an absurdly high amount of hours into MMOs from WoW to Final Fantasy XI. After recently switching to a much more expensive hobby (supersport track days), I'm feeling the need to slap my face for wasting so much time on a hobby that amounts to having nothing to show for in the real world. Anyone else ever feel the same way?
    And exactly what are you getting out of your track days besides tire and brake bills?  Enjoyment.  You're not "Getting" anything except maybe a trophy, thats the only tangible difference, otherwise, its enjoyment, and possibly respect from your group of enthusiasts.

     

    Unless you have a hobby that makes you more physically fit, increases your scholastic knowledge, or creates things, i.e. building boats or carving wood or ships in a bottle, than all you get out of any leisure activity is enjoyment.  So, moot point is moot.


     

    Track days have a number of benefits, and being proficient enough to compete at track days comes with a lot of requirements:
    - Important source of exercise
    - Provides social interaction (which is very important for mental health)
    - Offers the chance to learn about the machinery you are using (which has many real world applications)
    - Improves riding skills (which, again, has a real world application on the road)
    - Improves and aids reaction time, memory, cognition, etc (arguably more than any game outside of nback)

    So the point isn't really moot. Gaming, as a rule, doesn't actually offer a road to success of any tangible form. It's not the WORST thing you can do with your time, but it's most certainly not the best hobby you could possibly have.

    Gaming should, as the saying goes, be pursued in moderation. It should compliment a wider set of hobbies. Gaming does have a lot to offer, but it's not so valuable that it should be taking up hours of your time every day. If it is, you have a problem. If you were drinking for hours a day, you'd be an addict. If you were watching TV for hours a day, you'd be lazy. If you're gaming for hours a day? That's, apparently, quite alright.

    It isn't really though.

    First and foremost, i'm a huge car enthusiast and have had plenty o' track days of my own, so you're speaking to the choir.  But your point is still invalid.

    First of all, driving in a track day is NOT excercise.  Thats really grasping at straws.

    Social interaction is also a completely invalid point as in (well up until recently) in most MMO's you are required to work together and interact with other people.  Whether thats online or in person is really not a big difference as far as your brain is concerned.  Communication is communication.

    So you learn about the machinery and with games and MMO's you learn excellent problem solving skills, hand eye coordination, and a MULTITUDE of other benefits.

    Riding skills on a bike, once again, moot point.  Barely qualifies as excersize.

    Reaction time, memory, cognition, etc, are all things that gaming does a FAR better job of improving than the very limited act of driving a car or riding a bike on a track. There are tons of studies showing the benefits of gaming in those areas.

    Now, if we're being realistic i could make a strong argument that you put your health and life in danger when your partake in those activities, whereas gaming does not have any built in risk of life or limb.  So, if we're being 100% honest you're probably better off gaming.  But, the point is, to each their own.

     

    Nobody here is arguing that gaming or any activity should be pursued in moderation.  What we're arguing here is whether one form of entertainment/enjoyment is superior to another, and the simple fact is its not.  When we're all sitting on our death beds nobody is going to pat you on the back for having spent 1000 hours riding motorcycles on a track vs 1000 hours in an MMO.  Nobody is going to give a shit about those things.

     

    All you are trying to do is make yourself feel somehow superior to gamers because you feel that your particular choice of hobby is "better" than ours.

    "The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."

    - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • AethaerynAethaeryn Member RarePosts: 3,149

    I had a similar thought about 4 years ago.  I cancelled some game and realized that all that time I spent on that character gained me a net of zero.

    I decided to quit playing MMOs for a long time.  Then I started a new one that grabbed my attention for some reason.  I played ot for a bit and now play a few games casually.

    If you play them and enjoy them then they are not a waste of time.  If you play it and it feels like work and you are focused just on being the best you might be in for a bit of a facepalm when you eventually quit but some people find that enjoyable.  To each his own I guess.

    If you have no goals outside of maintaining a job etc. and you use MMOs to have a sense of accomplishment that is your choice.  If you find that your personal life is slipping and the game is more important. . at some point that is going to hit you hard.  I find these days I can't play more than a few hours a week without feeling like I should be trying to improve something in my life.  Recently I have decided to learn how to program etc.

    If you compare playing an MMO to watching TV or reading a book (fiction),  I don't see that as being much of a difference.  If you compare playing an MMO to doing something to improve yourself (working out, learning a new skill) then sure. . MMOs might be a waste of time . . but no more than playing Angry Birds or reading Game of Thrones etc.

    That was a bit of a ramble.

    Wa min God! Se æx on min heafod is!

  • erictlewiserictlewis Member UncommonPosts: 3,022
    Originally posted by Lienhart

    I've clocked an absurdly high amount of hours into MMOs from WoW to Final Fantasy XI. After recently switching to a much more expensive hobby (supersport track days), I'm feeling the need to slap my face for wasting so much time on a hobby that amounts to having nothing to show for in the real world.

    Anyone else ever feel the same way?

    LOL  man if you really think mmo's are a waste of time why even bother with comming to this site.  I come here to find out info on all the games header our way.   If you truly felt that mmo are a waste of time I would sugest another hobby. 

     

  • jpnzjpnz Member Posts: 3,529

    Let me get this straight, someone is trying to find 'meaning' in a VIDEO GAME?

    What the....???

    /Facepalm

    Gdemami -
    Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.

  • DamonVileDamonVile Member UncommonPosts: 4,818
    Originally posted by stygianapoth

    [mod edit]

    I'm not sure if I should laugh or facepalm over this. Kind of a fitting post for this thread though.

  • LydarSynnLydarSynn Member UncommonPosts: 181

    Strictly speaking, you could say that any leisure activity is a waste of time- you could be making money for yourself or making a difference for other people rather than playing any kind of game. However unless you are so motivated to be always working, then there is not much of a difference on how you use your leisure time.  I don't think games are any more of a waste of time than most other activities that involve some form of escapism.

    The proliferation of all kinds of games and the multitude of hours that people have to play them only proves one thing- we have much easier lives than all the people who have ever lived before us. I for one am thankful for that.

  • CadejocrCadejocr Member Posts: 7

    MMo are simple games to waste time. But sometimes weird things happend.

    Remember meeting a couple online... the girl told me that my voice was hot. lol , She divorced and want to married me. Months later she  visit my country.  Thank god i never reveal my address.

     

  • MardukkMardukk Member RarePosts: 2,222
    OP you may wanna try this thread on another site...this is mmorpg.com. I cant imagine too many people visiting the site that hate mmo's. The only bigger waste of time than playing mmos (for op at least) would be posting on forums about mmos.
  • LauraFrostLauraFrost Member Posts: 95
    Originally posted by Lienhart

    I've clocked an absurdly high amount of hours into MMOs from WoW to Final Fantasy XI. After recently switching to a much more expensive hobby (supersport track days), I'm feeling the need to slap my face for wasting so much time on a hobby that amounts to having nothing to show for in the real world.

    Anyone else ever feel the same way?

     

    A lot of people in this forum will not understand your frustation because smiply a cave man would never understand when you complain that there are no cars anymore.

     

    MMORPGs started with a different philosophy from what they are currently.

     

    MMORPGs meant to reward you for your time investment where you can spend years progressing in a virtual world with friends. Now MMORPGs are too different, they're not meant to be played more than a few weeks when you reach max level for the "end" game and then quit.

     

    So predictable, too simplified, insta-gratification that it doesn't matter at all. You will NEVER feel satisified for accomplishing anything in this retarded MMORPGs designed for people suffering from ADD. Because every 5 minutes you're going to be giving a reward... yay!!!!! You're a hero! Yay... yay... *retarded smile*

     

     

  • Dreamo84Dreamo84 Member UncommonPosts: 3,713

    The OP gave up wasting time on MMOs just to spend time posting on MMO forums? Sounds about right, I think most people on this site stopped playing MMOs a long time ago.

    This site only exists now to discuss development studio's stock prices and complain about WoW.

    image
  • hcoelhohcoelho Member UncommonPosts: 529

    i kinda agree with you.

    MMOs are a HUGE "waste" of time, especially if it's a good one, you may spend half a day playing it without notice. Sorry but unless it's work/school, you shouldn't be doing the same shit half your day in a regular basis. You will enjoy it, but its not healthy and can lead to frustration/regret afterwards. But one does what one wants to. 

    I'm trying to get away from MMOs, but look where i'm posting just now lol.

    I wish i had spent less time playing MMOs and more time finishing other titles. I missed a good bunch due MMO "addiction". 

  • MarirranyaMarirranya Member Posts: 154
    Originally posted by Aerowyn
    perhaps making a thread discussing how much a waste of time MMOs are is an even bigger waste of time.. sweet irony:) :P

    ^ This is so true hahahaha xD

    There are people who play games and then there are gamers.

    http://alzplz.blogspot.com

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] UncommonPosts: 0
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • BenediktBenedikt Member UncommonPosts: 1,406
    they are, but as long as you are having fun, why not :)
  • ThorbrandThorbrand Member Posts: 1,198
    I agree that todays MMOs are a waste of time but the old school MMOs where no worse than a good PnP game. Today there is just no depth and personal character development. Went back to playing PnP because MMOs today just suck.
Sign In or Register to comment.