I found the addiction part when playing EQ1 weekends at a time sometimes 20 hours a day when not working. And while working always with my head in the game thinking about what I will be doing in the game when I get off of work. It put a strain on my marriage to say the least and my wife and I almost got divorced. For the first time ever I am glad my computer died, I was not able to play for about 3 months while assembling another and it broke my addiction to the game.
Now a few years later WoW comes and I feel the same jones sometimes when not playing the game, but older and wiser now I have learned how to manage game time and real life time, I found many things that I can do that I enjoy just as much as MMO's. Great article for those who are struggling with this.
Oh btw, I am returning to WoW again after a break of about 3 months, why? Because I am interested to see new content, visit some friends and just pass the time.
I dispute the staying because your friends play it. MMO's are community games, as such the community is rather important. If everyone you enjoy playing with is playing said game you can still enjoy it even if you have become burned out.
ShunWolfkin-
I agree completely with you. In my 10 years of playing online RPGs, it has always been the people and friends that "made" the game and its experiences fun. I have made great and long lasting friendships with people that I still talk to this day.
I think most people do forget that MMOs are, infact, community and social games. If you are missing out on that aspect, then you are missing out on why MMORPGs were even created in the first place. And coincidentally, that is probably why so many people easily get bored with MMOs today.
Its the social experiences that make the game fun...not the other way around. There have been times when I've stuck with a game for 3-4 years simply because the people and friends were what made it awesome. Without them, the game would have never been fun in the first place.
But don't let me tell you how to play your game. Play whatever way that is fun for you. Because that is what is important. And the OP is right, if you are not having fun (in any way), then its time to throw in the towel for good.
So much truth to that, and it's yet another angle on an ever increasingly multi-angled situation that I, at least, see unfolding as time goes on - certain people's personalities are just not well-suited to MMORPGs and they are the victims of their own playstyle.
I won't get into it entirely here because it should be its own thread, really... but I see patterns of behavior in the who would argue that MMORPGs are "all about the end-game" that all seem to lead back to the same thing... inevitable burnout and boredom in a relatively short period of time. Many invariably blame the developers for not developing enough content...
But here's the thing...
There are people playing those *very same MMOs* who do not consider it to be "all about the end-game", and are taking their time, getting involved with community, exploring different content the game offers, etc. etc... and they are playing and enjoying those same MMOs for years in many situations.
One counter-argument so often (ab)used is "you just suck at MMOs". No... they don't "suck at MMOs". MMOs are not "difficult games" - especially not when there's a guide for practically anything you can think of available on line, for any given game. The difference is in how the two groups approach the game.
There are shades of each type, to be sure - these aren't absolutes - but it seems to boil down to two overall categories. Also note, that these are observations I've made in playing MMOs and following their forums for a while.
- One side approaches MMOs as a highly competitive race to the finish line where "being at the top" as quickly as possible is paramount. Any content that doesn't help with that goal, such as quests (unless they give good xp or rewards), crafting, housing, social activities and other things this type of player will often deem "pointless" and even sometimes bash the developers for "wasting time implementing such useless filler". The vast majority of people I've seen talk about how "game x" sucks, doesn't have enough content, is nothing but a grind, etc... have also fallen into this category. A large number of your MMO hoppers are also in this category - always looking to move on to the next new game because they've burned them self out on the current one.
- The other side approaches MMOs as a long-term journey; a true RPG experience in that, they are taking up the role of a character in a world who has myriad different activities available to them. They don't see quests as "useless filler", but as a chance to go exploring, or adventuring, etc. (I'm no talking about the "kill x of y" type quests here, by the way). They see crafting as a cool activity that allows them to become more involved in the game world, create stuff, sell it, help out friends or guildmates. They see exploring for the sake of exploring to be a fun and potentially "rewarding" activity in itself... you never know what you're going to find hiding around some corner... or what's going to find you. And so on... The concept of "end game" is an abstract or, if not, it's at least really far away, and they'll get there when they get there. No hurry. These people will commonly play their chosen MMO for years, with no desire to move on to anything else beyond, perhaps, trying it out.
Now, as to which is approaching the genre with the right mentality... My opinion is it's definitely the latter. Why? Well, first there is no "right or wrong" approach - you play however you want to play. However, in terms of which group gains the most long-term enjoyment out of the game and, in my opinion, gets more of their money's worth... I would have to say the latter has it hands down. And, yes, I do believe that the latter group approaches the MMO genre with the mindset better suited to the type of games MMOs are and were conceived as.
The proof is in the pudding... While the more competitive, faster-progress types are burning out on MMOs left and right and ever looking toward the next one, the more laid back, adventuring types are playing the same game, contently, for years and never feel they've run out of things to do.
On the other hand, were we talking about a game like a competitive FPS or even a MMO designed entirely around being competitive (I think there's been one or two of those, forget their names though).. something of that nature then, absolutely, the first group would be best suited to that type of game, and the second category would likely found themself out of their depth.
It's not about which playstyle is right, wrong, better or worse. It's about choosing the game that best suits your play style to get the most out of it.
Nice post sir.
Some good observations.
WSIMike,
Absolutely. I don't think I could have summed it up better. Well put and well said, my friend.
this article is more like, what are the warning signs that you're an absolute loser? IF you are finding excuses to do something that is boring and you aren't enjoying, that just means you don't have enough to do with your life! The warnings signs for me that I shouldn't be playing an MMO are that I'm enjoying it too MUCH, not finding new ways to force myself to keep playing.
What a wonderful article, and very much on the money. I have my own little story to add...
I actually spent more than four years playing, and happily addicted at times, to Star Wars Galaxies. However, I for one miss the original game (pre-CU) and even a bit post-CU. In the summer following the CU and Rage of the Wookies (summer 2005), I had just finished my BA and my wife (who's Japanese) went to Japan for four months over that summer. Since launch (2003) and up to that summer of 2005, I had dabbled in SWG (casual player) depending on school, my wife, our life together, etc. Then, when she left for Japan for those few months in 2005, and after my graduation, I was actually out of school AND out of work. I soon got a job at a local fast food restaurant, but still had a massive amount of free time (compared to being a triple-major in college with 22+ credits a semester). That summer I played SWG well-over-12 hours a day, 7 days a week. I soon requested my two days off for each week to come back-to-back, so I could play 18-24 hours the first day, sleep the morning of the second, and play about 12+ hours on the second day off. My best friend, who also worked at the same place, moved into my apartment for the summer, and also began played SWG. We lived off of sacks of free burgers and fries from our work we brought home on our bikes afterward, and Miller High Life 30-packs from the gas station near my apartment. When patches were released, or when the servers were restarted, my friend and I would freak out. I remember a few of my days off, waking up, ready to get in game immediately and disappear into a Galaxy far, far away... and seeing that my server Flurry was restarting or down: I would pace my porch eating microwaved day-old burgers and drinking High Life at 7am to the sunrise in Colorado...my buddy smoking nervously, the both of us chatting emphatically about our characters, what we had planned for the day, how much these down-times disturbed our lives, etc.
Then, one day, my wife called. She always did every Monday, Thursday and Saturday evening (morning there in Japan). She always asked how I was, how things were going, what I was up to. "Good, great and just hanging out, missing you." This particular phone call, however, I hung up afterward and was literally looking in my bathroom mirror by chance. An overwhelming feeling of guilt and selfishness overcame me, actually to the point of nearly tears. Staring back at me was not a recent honors graduate 24-year-old that should have been writing a knockout resume. Instead, there stood this slightly-more-chubby, shaggy and scruffy, red-eyed, yellow-toothed man that looked like someone who lived in his parents basement on a video game. That was about two weeks before Asuka returned from Japan. I took a temporary break from SWG, quit my job at the fast food place, started jogging and working out twice a day, and within a week landed a much-more-decent job at a video game store as it's assistant manager (then store manager shortly after, if not temporarily: that next year I would put my BA to good use as an archaeologist at a local wilderness organization). My wife returned from Japan, and I couldn't wait to spend every minute with her.
I look back on that summer with mixed emotions, but mainly I miss it in some weird way. I was able to devote every waking moment, just about, to Star Wars Galaxies. Then I had to grow up, all over again, and did. Over the next few years I would play a number of games, if not briefly: Vanguard, Guild Wars, WoW, LotRO, Aion, and many others, most recently Fallen Earth. However, I am always conflicted. I desire to have those endless days on days to play a beloved MMO, to be taken whole by that addiction and relish it, but at the same I sense overwhelming guilt while playing a game for more that a few hours. Recently, over the past month or so, I've barely even turned on my desktop. I don't have any single MMO, not counting Guild Wars (which I haven't really played much since November), and likewise I can't even get much into Fallout 3 or the Elder Scrolls series (my usual stand-by's). I think, in some ways, I am waiting for that right game that I can play in BALANCE with my life. So far, since SWG, no game has swept me away, and I wonder often if I will ever find another that will. Possibly, it's not the game that matters in that respect, rather our life situation. Maybe I only got addicted to SWG at the time because of it not only being a great game but my life, free time and manner being aligned to allow me to disappear into it. Who knows...
I miss that addiction in many ways. I miss SWG, that summer, and all that free time and sense of haplessness. It reminds me, very much, of being a child in a way: long summers with little to worry about except having fun. But at the same time, I very much enjoy taking my wife out for coffee on a friday night, or a movie, or just reading a great novel (which I've very much fallen in love with again, thanks to Glen Cook and his "The Black Company" series). I don't know if I've grown out of MMOs so much as just scared myself away from them. Maybe that's a lesson in and of itself? But I do know one thing for certain: Colorado sunrises sure are more beautiful while jogging high up on a ridge overlooking the mountains then they are pacing my old porch while sucking down burgers and High Life, fretting about when the SWG servers will come back online...
What a wonderful article, and very much on the money. I have my own little story to add... I actually spent more than four years playing, and happily addicted at times, to Star Wars Galaxies. However, I for one miss the original game (pre-CU) and even a bit post-CU. In the summer following the CU and Rage of the Wookies (summer 2005), I had just finished my BA and my wife (who's Japanese) went to Japan for four months over that summer. Since launch (2003) and up to that summer of 2005, I had dabbled in SWG (casual player) depending on school, my wife, our life together, etc. Then, when she left for Japan for those few months in 2005, and after my graduation, I was actually out of school AND out of work. I soon got a job at a local fast food restaurant, but still had a massive amount of free time (compared to being a triple-major in college with 22+ credits a semester). That summer I played SWG well-over-12 hours a day, 7 days a week. I soon requested my two days off for each week to come back-to-back, so I could play 18-24 hours the first day, sleep the morning of the second, and play about 12+ hours on the second day off. My best friend, who also worked at the same place, moved into my apartment for the summer, and also began played SWG. We lived off of sacks of free burgers and fries from our work we brought home on our bikes afterward, and Miller High Life 30-packs from the gas station near my apartment. When patches were released, or when the servers were restarted, my friend and I would freak out. I remember a few of my days off, waking up, ready to get in game immediately and disappear into a Galaxy far, far away... and seeing that my server Flurry was restarting or down: I would pace my porch eating microwaved day-old burgers and drinking High Life at 7am to the sunrise in Colorado...my buddy smoking nervously, the both of us chatting emphatically about our characters, what we had planned for the day, how much these down-times disturbed our lives, etc. Then, one day, my wife called. She always did every Monday, Thursday and Saturday evening (morning there in Japan). She always asked how I was, how things were going, what I was up to. "Good, great and just hanging out, missing you." This particular phone call, however, I hung up afterward and was literally looking in my bathroom mirror by chance. An overwhelming feeling of guilt and selfishness overcame me, actually to the point of nearly tears. Staring back at me was not a recent honors graduate 24-year-old that should have been writing a knockout resume. Instead, there stood this slightly-more-chubby, shaggy and scruffy, red-eyed, yellow-toothed man that looked like someone who lived in his parents basement on a video game. That was about two weeks before Asuka returned from Japan. I took a temporary break from SWG, quit my job at the fast food place, started jogging and working out twice a day, and within a week landed a much-more-decent job at a video game store as it's assistant manager (then store manager shortly after, if not temporarily: that next year I would put my BA to good use as an archaeologist at a local wilderness organization). My wife returned from Japan, and I couldn't wait to spend every minute with her. I look back on that summer with mixed emotions, but mainly I miss it in some weird way. I was able to devote every waking moment, just about, to Star Wars Galaxies. Then I had to grow up, all over again, and did. Over the next few years I would play a number of games, if not briefly: Vanguard, Guild Wars, WoW, LotRO, Aion, and many others, most recently Fallen Earth. However, I am always conflicted. I desire to have those endless days on days to play a beloved MMO, to be taken whole by that addiction and relish it, but at the same I sense overwhelming guilt while playing a game for more that a few hours. Recently, over the past month or so, I've barely even turned on my desktop. I don't have any single MMO, not counting Guild Wars (which I haven't really played much since November), and likewise I can't even get much into Fallout 3 or the Elder Scrolls series (my usual stand-by's). I think, in some ways, I am waiting for that right game that I can play in BALANCE with my life. So far, since SWG, no game has swept me away, and I wonder often if I will ever find another that will. Possibly, it's not the game that matters in that respect, rather our life situation. Maybe I only got addicted to SWG at the time because of it not only being a great game but my life, free time and manner being aligned to allow me to disappear into it. Who knows... I miss that addiction in many ways. I miss SWG, that summer, and all that free time and sense of haplessness. It reminds me, very much, of being a child in a way: long summers with little to worry about except having fun. But at the same time, I very much enjoy taking my wife out for coffee on a friday night, or a movie, or just reading a great novel (which I've very much fallen in love with again, thanks to Glen Cook and his "The Black Company" series). I don't know if I've grown out of MMOs so much as just scared myself away from them. Maybe that's a lesson in and of itself? But I do know one thing for certain: Colorado sunrises sure are more beautiful while jogging high up on a ridge overlooking the mountains then they are pacing my old porch while sucking down burgers and High Life, fretting about when the SWG servers will come back online...
Quite possibly one of the most elegantly written posts I've read on a forum... I know and understand what you've been through, and you're better off!
If it wasn't for my Wii I would still be playing MMO, RTS, FPS online games. I used to spend all my waking time other than work time playing online games. Now with my Wii I spend maybe an hour a day online, and an hour on the Wii. It's amazing how much free time I have to go outside for walks and what not. Wii ftw!
Probably the biggest sign imho is if you're playing or have played 3 different MMOs in the past month, it's time to quit hehe (guilty of playing 6 or 7 back in march/april)
I was once addicted and put aside a lot of responsibilities. But it's like the guy said. It's a lesson learned. But I grew up on gaming. I'm not going to complain about grinds or content or even the social aspect. If I play a game and everything kind of just falls into place then I would be sticking with it for the long run. I have a wife and kid so during the day it's full of errands, chasing him around, making meals and going out to have fun. When the kid and girl is asleep I log on for a few hours and maybe do this a few times a week. But I'm not in a race and it makes the game more enjoyable. MMO's are just like any other hobby. It is something you enjoy and invest time in. And people tend forget that it is in fact a hobby and spend too much time and start to neglect things in their life. As for me, gaming isn't a "phase". I play when I can and enjoy every minute of it. I have my outside life with the family that I enjoy but I still require personal time for the things I like.
My experience started with an old online game called the Realm. My character was Nagic and though I never progressed past level 300 of the 1000 levels available I truly enjoyed the social aspect of the game. I was a trader and through skills I did almost all of my progression in town. As a trader I interacted with others in the game more than most and made lots of friends. I found myself paying for a months membership to find an old friend named 0ak some 7 years after I had quit the game. A guy from Canada (im from Michigan) that I even managed to meet IRL.
From there I moved to Everquest. 7 yrs later my girlfriend of 6 yrs informed me that 40+ hours a week of gaming was no longer acceptable and it was then I took notice that I had addiction issues. It was named Evercrack for a reason. I chose to give up my addition and moved on to WoW. Been in WoW now for some 4.5 years and I have yet to raid anything. I get on...socialize a little, run a few instances or quest then get on with my day. I still think sometimes I play to much but its far better than when I was in EQ.
Even with this reduction in game play silly addictions still plagued me. While bored with WoW I took a break a couple times and found City of Heroes and Eve online. CoH was great out of the shoot and held my attention for a long while. Eve online was however a very difficult game for me to pick up on but I loved their skill training progression. I could improve my character even when off line. I was hooked. My inability to pick up on the skills needed to survive in lawless space had me put the game on the back burner for over 4 years. I kept telling myself, I will keep playing WoW or CoH for fun, and training my skills in Eve so one day I will be able to play. I was around 60 million training points in, some 4 years subscription time, and I could still not effectively play the game. I would log in long enough to reset my training to the next skill..talk for 10-15min then log out sometime for as long as 40 days of training before logging back in to reset to the next skill. One day I asked myself WTf I was doing. At 60 million training points if I still couldn't grasp enough of the game to survive it was never going to happen...what a total waste of $. $15 x 48 months of paid time...preparing to play a game.
These games definitely have massive addiction potential that need to be guarded against and can make it very hard to know when its time to quit. They can quickly become an excuse to be ones only interaction with other people. Nothing can replace face to face interaction with people. For entertainment purposes only. Not to meet your mate, not to meet your only friends, Not to find new friends. Can they help in these areas? Absolutely. But if getting out there and doing it face to face isn't a part of the process you are missing what life is supposed to be about.
As a longterm player of MMO I have to say that I have faced this basic problem over and over again.
For all the immersion and realism of tadays games, there always come, for me, a point when a game is no longer sufficiently engrossing to hold my attention.
That said, I have always found the problem to be more one of lowering populations, especially at the this time of year, when people return to school/work or cut out on less necessary expenditures of time/finances for a while in order to recoup from the festive season.
At the moment I am downloading LOTRO, a game I vowed never to play again :P, simply because I cba to play the game I spent 12 hours a day on over xmas - more a case of burn out than boredom. LOTRO has a nice easy pace and it doesnt matter too much if there are few people around to group with.
Thumbs up for the basic point of the article. It is always waise to retain some self aware objectivity in MMO simply because they can be so compellingly immersive that you lose perspective on how much you are starting not to enjoy them.
For me, a change of pace or scene always seems to do the trick, providing an injection of new energy and enthusiasm.
Probably the most important thing I found is to remember that it actually is the social aspect of a game that ends up being the most engrossing and to focus on developing a good framework for socialising rather than on loot, kill or xp count.
That said, lol, how often have I forgotten exactly that in the mad dash for ingame excellence :P
Enjoyed the article, As a very old gamer (Star Trek input via a deck of punched cards) I would expand on one factor. No closure. MMO's just go on and on until you reach the final level resulting in endless dailies and dungeon runs until the next expansion pack is released. While I have played a great many MMORPG's I always end up bored falling into the habit of creating about every possible combination of character and class just to play a little while longer. Part of the problem of course is "me". I have played RPG's for so many years that elves and dwarfs have absolutely no appeal anymore. Logging in and just chatting with guild members for a few minutes holds my attention for a few weeks prolonging my final departure from the game. Playing a Star Wars/Star Trek MMO's is not much better and sort of like digging out old VCR movies stored in the basement.
Even standalone games such as Dragon's Age did not hold my interest past a few days. The first game I have completed it a while was Mass Effects 2. It was a nice change and I was sorry to see it end, Yes I have completed others, Hellgate, Fallout 3 etc but they fell in to the category of lets just get it over with.
Unlike the younger players, I do miss out on many aspects of some of the game features. PVP and raids are no longer possible. Slow reflexes, and stiff fingers eliminate them as viable game options. I don't expect game makers to accommodate my special needs. However; it would be nice if they could create intermediate milestones in the game that at least make you feel as you have achieved something important relative to the storyline. Something that you an accomplish on your own without a group or the reflexes of a 10 year old. Different storylines based upon consequences of actions you chose or quest series for different classes or races would be nice abet time consuming from a developers standpoint. I know some developers have tried to a limited extent.
So here I sit a GAME ADDICT looking for something new to help pass the time of day until late spring arrives, meanwhile there is housework to do, meals to fix and crossword puzzles to solve. Oh joy!
I also eventually get bored with MMORPGs. My first time through WoW I got up to a level 41 Warrior (not that high really), I have stoped and started several times since then, including: 38 rogue, then 37 priest, then 32 rogue, then 12 mage, 30 hunter, 10 warrior, 12 priest, 8 druid, 5 rogue, and probably others, and all with various breaks in between. What I notice is that it takes less and less time to get bored. [Kill, loot, level, repeat]=GRIND. I'm playing EVE now, and even with my Hulk, Iteron V, Orca, and Obelisk, I will eventually get bored.
One bit of advice for MMORPG companies, you better make it easy to quit (not confusing, and annoying, and calling customer service). Easy to quit also means easy to come back, and I probably will. If you make it hard to quit, I will never come back.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning. It is by caffeine alone set my mind in motion.
Comments
I found the addiction part when playing EQ1 weekends at a time sometimes 20 hours a day when not working. And while working always with my head in the game thinking about what I will be doing in the game when I get off of work. It put a strain on my marriage to say the least and my wife and I almost got divorced. For the first time ever I am glad my computer died, I was not able to play for about 3 months while assembling another and it broke my addiction to the game.
Now a few years later WoW comes and I feel the same jones sometimes when not playing the game, but older and wiser now I have learned how to manage game time and real life time, I found many things that I can do that I enjoy just as much as MMO's. Great article for those who are struggling with this.
Oh btw, I am returning to WoW again after a break of about 3 months, why? Because I am interested to see new content, visit some friends and just pass the time.
ShunWolfkin-
I agree completely with you. In my 10 years of playing online RPGs, it has always been the people and friends that "made" the game and its experiences fun. I have made great and long lasting friendships with people that I still talk to this day.
I think most people do forget that MMOs are, infact, community and social games. If you are missing out on that aspect, then you are missing out on why MMORPGs were even created in the first place. And coincidentally, that is probably why so many people easily get bored with MMOs today.
Its the social experiences that make the game fun...not the other way around. There have been times when I've stuck with a game for 3-4 years simply because the people and friends were what made it awesome. Without them, the game would have never been fun in the first place.
But don't let me tell you how to play your game. Play whatever way that is fun for you. Because that is what is important. And the OP is right, if you are not having fun (in any way), then its time to throw in the towel for good.
So much truth to that, and it's yet another angle on an ever increasingly multi-angled situation that I, at least, see unfolding as time goes on - certain people's personalities are just not well-suited to MMORPGs and they are the victims of their own playstyle.
I won't get into it entirely here because it should be its own thread, really... but I see patterns of behavior in the who would argue that MMORPGs are "all about the end-game" that all seem to lead back to the same thing... inevitable burnout and boredom in a relatively short period of time. Many invariably blame the developers for not developing enough content...
But here's the thing...
There are people playing those *very same MMOs* who do not consider it to be "all about the end-game", and are taking their time, getting involved with community, exploring different content the game offers, etc. etc... and they are playing and enjoying those same MMOs for years in many situations.
One counter-argument so often (ab)used is "you just suck at MMOs". No... they don't "suck at MMOs". MMOs are not "difficult games" - especially not when there's a guide for practically anything you can think of available on line, for any given game. The difference is in how the two groups approach the game.
There are shades of each type, to be sure - these aren't absolutes - but it seems to boil down to two overall categories. Also note, that these are observations I've made in playing MMOs and following their forums for a while.
- One side approaches MMOs as a highly competitive race to the finish line where "being at the top" as quickly as possible is paramount. Any content that doesn't help with that goal, such as quests (unless they give good xp or rewards), crafting, housing, social activities and other things this type of player will often deem "pointless" and even sometimes bash the developers for "wasting time implementing such useless filler". The vast majority of people I've seen talk about how "game x" sucks, doesn't have enough content, is nothing but a grind, etc... have also fallen into this category. A large number of your MMO hoppers are also in this category - always looking to move on to the next new game because they've burned them self out on the current one.
- The other side approaches MMOs as a long-term journey; a true RPG experience in that, they are taking up the role of a character in a world who has myriad different activities available to them. They don't see quests as "useless filler", but as a chance to go exploring, or adventuring, etc. (I'm no talking about the "kill x of y" type quests here, by the way). They see crafting as a cool activity that allows them to become more involved in the game world, create stuff, sell it, help out friends or guildmates. They see exploring for the sake of exploring to be a fun and potentially "rewarding" activity in itself... you never know what you're going to find hiding around some corner... or what's going to find you. And so on... The concept of "end game" is an abstract or, if not, it's at least really far away, and they'll get there when they get there. No hurry. These people will commonly play their chosen MMO for years, with no desire to move on to anything else beyond, perhaps, trying it out.
Now, as to which is approaching the genre with the right mentality... My opinion is it's definitely the latter. Why? Well, first there is no "right or wrong" approach - you play however you want to play. However, in terms of which group gains the most long-term enjoyment out of the game and, in my opinion, gets more of their money's worth... I would have to say the latter has it hands down. And, yes, I do believe that the latter group approaches the MMO genre with the mindset better suited to the type of games MMOs are and were conceived as.
The proof is in the pudding... While the more competitive, faster-progress types are burning out on MMOs left and right and ever looking toward the next one, the more laid back, adventuring types are playing the same game, contently, for years and never feel they've run out of things to do.
On the other hand, were we talking about a game like a competitive FPS or even a MMO designed entirely around being competitive (I think there's been one or two of those, forget their names though).. something of that nature then, absolutely, the first group would be best suited to that type of game, and the second category would likely found themself out of their depth.
It's not about which playstyle is right, wrong, better or worse. It's about choosing the game that best suits your play style to get the most out of it.
Nice post sir.
Some good observations.
WSIMike,
Absolutely. I don't think I could have summed it up better. Well put and well said, my friend.
Great article; the best one in a long time on the site.
this article is more like, what are the warning signs that you're an absolute loser? IF you are finding excuses to do something that is boring and you aren't enjoying, that just means you don't have enough to do with your life! The warnings signs for me that I shouldn't be playing an MMO are that I'm enjoying it too MUCH, not finding new ways to force myself to keep playing.
What a wonderful article, and very much on the money. I have my own little story to add...
I actually spent more than four years playing, and happily addicted at times, to Star Wars Galaxies. However, I for one miss the original game (pre-CU) and even a bit post-CU. In the summer following the CU and Rage of the Wookies (summer 2005), I had just finished my BA and my wife (who's Japanese) went to Japan for four months over that summer. Since launch (2003) and up to that summer of 2005, I had dabbled in SWG (casual player) depending on school, my wife, our life together, etc. Then, when she left for Japan for those few months in 2005, and after my graduation, I was actually out of school AND out of work. I soon got a job at a local fast food restaurant, but still had a massive amount of free time (compared to being a triple-major in college with 22+ credits a semester). That summer I played SWG well-over-12 hours a day, 7 days a week. I soon requested my two days off for each week to come back-to-back, so I could play 18-24 hours the first day, sleep the morning of the second, and play about 12+ hours on the second day off. My best friend, who also worked at the same place, moved into my apartment for the summer, and also began played SWG. We lived off of sacks of free burgers and fries from our work we brought home on our bikes afterward, and Miller High Life 30-packs from the gas station near my apartment. When patches were released, or when the servers were restarted, my friend and I would freak out. I remember a few of my days off, waking up, ready to get in game immediately and disappear into a Galaxy far, far away... and seeing that my server Flurry was restarting or down: I would pace my porch eating microwaved day-old burgers and drinking High Life at 7am to the sunrise in Colorado...my buddy smoking nervously, the both of us chatting emphatically about our characters, what we had planned for the day, how much these down-times disturbed our lives, etc.
Then, one day, my wife called. She always did every Monday, Thursday and Saturday evening (morning there in Japan). She always asked how I was, how things were going, what I was up to. "Good, great and just hanging out, missing you." This particular phone call, however, I hung up afterward and was literally looking in my bathroom mirror by chance. An overwhelming feeling of guilt and selfishness overcame me, actually to the point of nearly tears. Staring back at me was not a recent honors graduate 24-year-old that should have been writing a knockout resume. Instead, there stood this slightly-more-chubby, shaggy and scruffy, red-eyed, yellow-toothed man that looked like someone who lived in his parents basement on a video game. That was about two weeks before Asuka returned from Japan. I took a temporary break from SWG, quit my job at the fast food place, started jogging and working out twice a day, and within a week landed a much-more-decent job at a video game store as it's assistant manager (then store manager shortly after, if not temporarily: that next year I would put my BA to good use as an archaeologist at a local wilderness organization). My wife returned from Japan, and I couldn't wait to spend every minute with her.
I look back on that summer with mixed emotions, but mainly I miss it in some weird way. I was able to devote every waking moment, just about, to Star Wars Galaxies. Then I had to grow up, all over again, and did. Over the next few years I would play a number of games, if not briefly: Vanguard, Guild Wars, WoW, LotRO, Aion, and many others, most recently Fallen Earth. However, I am always conflicted. I desire to have those endless days on days to play a beloved MMO, to be taken whole by that addiction and relish it, but at the same I sense overwhelming guilt while playing a game for more that a few hours. Recently, over the past month or so, I've barely even turned on my desktop. I don't have any single MMO, not counting Guild Wars (which I haven't really played much since November), and likewise I can't even get much into Fallout 3 or the Elder Scrolls series (my usual stand-by's). I think, in some ways, I am waiting for that right game that I can play in BALANCE with my life. So far, since SWG, no game has swept me away, and I wonder often if I will ever find another that will. Possibly, it's not the game that matters in that respect, rather our life situation. Maybe I only got addicted to SWG at the time because of it not only being a great game but my life, free time and manner being aligned to allow me to disappear into it. Who knows...
I miss that addiction in many ways. I miss SWG, that summer, and all that free time and sense of haplessness. It reminds me, very much, of being a child in a way: long summers with little to worry about except having fun. But at the same time, I very much enjoy taking my wife out for coffee on a friday night, or a movie, or just reading a great novel (which I've very much fallen in love with again, thanks to Glen Cook and his "The Black Company" series). I don't know if I've grown out of MMOs so much as just scared myself away from them. Maybe that's a lesson in and of itself? But I do know one thing for certain: Colorado sunrises sure are more beautiful while jogging high up on a ridge overlooking the mountains then they are pacing my old porch while sucking down burgers and High Life, fretting about when the SWG servers will come back online...
Quite possibly one of the most elegantly written posts I've read on a forum... I know and understand what you've been through, and you're better off!
If it wasn't for my Wii I would still be playing MMO, RTS, FPS online games. I used to spend all my waking time other than work time playing online games. Now with my Wii I spend maybe an hour a day online, and an hour on the Wii. It's amazing how much free time I have to go outside for walks and what not. Wii ftw!
Probably the biggest sign imho is if you're playing or have played 3 different MMOs in the past month, it's time to quit hehe (guilty of playing 6 or 7 back in march/april)
I was once addicted and put aside a lot of responsibilities. But it's like the guy said. It's a lesson learned. But I grew up on gaming. I'm not going to complain about grinds or content or even the social aspect. If I play a game and everything kind of just falls into place then I would be sticking with it for the long run. I have a wife and kid so during the day it's full of errands, chasing him around, making meals and going out to have fun. When the kid and girl is asleep I log on for a few hours and maybe do this a few times a week. But I'm not in a race and it makes the game more enjoyable. MMO's are just like any other hobby. It is something you enjoy and invest time in. And people tend forget that it is in fact a hobby and spend too much time and start to neglect things in their life. As for me, gaming isn't a "phase". I play when I can and enjoy every minute of it. I have my outside life with the family that I enjoy but I still require personal time for the things I like.
Getting too old for this $&17!
My experience started with an old online game called the Realm. My character was Nagic and though I never progressed past level 300 of the 1000 levels available I truly enjoyed the social aspect of the game. I was a trader and through skills I did almost all of my progression in town. As a trader I interacted with others in the game more than most and made lots of friends. I found myself paying for a months membership to find an old friend named 0ak some 7 years after I had quit the game. A guy from Canada (im from Michigan) that I even managed to meet IRL.
From there I moved to Everquest. 7 yrs later my girlfriend of 6 yrs informed me that 40+ hours a week of gaming was no longer acceptable and it was then I took notice that I had addiction issues. It was named Evercrack for a reason. I chose to give up my addition and moved on to WoW. Been in WoW now for some 4.5 years and I have yet to raid anything. I get on...socialize a little, run a few instances or quest then get on with my day. I still think sometimes I play to much but its far better than when I was in EQ.
Even with this reduction in game play silly addictions still plagued me. While bored with WoW I took a break a couple times and found City of Heroes and Eve online. CoH was great out of the shoot and held my attention for a long while. Eve online was however a very difficult game for me to pick up on but I loved their skill training progression. I could improve my character even when off line. I was hooked. My inability to pick up on the skills needed to survive in lawless space had me put the game on the back burner for over 4 years. I kept telling myself, I will keep playing WoW or CoH for fun, and training my skills in Eve so one day I will be able to play. I was around 60 million training points in, some 4 years subscription time, and I could still not effectively play the game. I would log in long enough to reset my training to the next skill..talk for 10-15min then log out sometime for as long as 40 days of training before logging back in to reset to the next skill. One day I asked myself WTf I was doing. At 60 million training points if I still couldn't grasp enough of the game to survive it was never going to happen...what a total waste of $. $15 x 48 months of paid time...preparing to play a game.
These games definitely have massive addiction potential that need to be guarded against and can make it very hard to know when its time to quit. They can quickly become an excuse to be ones only interaction with other people. Nothing can replace face to face interaction with people. For entertainment purposes only. Not to meet your mate, not to meet your only friends, Not to find new friends. Can they help in these areas? Absolutely. But if getting out there and doing it face to face isn't a part of the process you are missing what life is supposed to be about.
As a longterm player of MMO I have to say that I have faced this basic problem over and over again.
For all the immersion and realism of tadays games, there always come, for me, a point when a game is no longer sufficiently engrossing to hold my attention.
That said, I have always found the problem to be more one of lowering populations, especially at the this time of year, when people return to school/work or cut out on less necessary expenditures of time/finances for a while in order to recoup from the festive season.
At the moment I am downloading LOTRO, a game I vowed never to play again :P, simply because I cba to play the game I spent 12 hours a day on over xmas - more a case of burn out than boredom. LOTRO has a nice easy pace and it doesnt matter too much if there are few people around to group with.
Thumbs up for the basic point of the article. It is always waise to retain some self aware objectivity in MMO simply because they can be so compellingly immersive that you lose perspective on how much you are starting not to enjoy them.
For me, a change of pace or scene always seems to do the trick, providing an injection of new energy and enthusiasm.
Probably the most important thing I found is to remember that it actually is the social aspect of a game that ends up being the most engrossing and to focus on developing a good framework for socialising rather than on loot, kill or xp count.
That said, lol, how often have I forgotten exactly that in the mad dash for ingame excellence :P
Enjoyed the article, As a very old gamer (Star Trek input via a deck of punched cards) I would expand on one factor. No closure. MMO's just go on and on until you reach the final level resulting in endless dailies and dungeon runs until the next expansion pack is released. While I have played a great many MMORPG's I always end up bored falling into the habit of creating about every possible combination of character and class just to play a little while longer. Part of the problem of course is "me". I have played RPG's for so many years that elves and dwarfs have absolutely no appeal anymore. Logging in and just chatting with guild members for a few minutes holds my attention for a few weeks prolonging my final departure from the game. Playing a Star Wars/Star Trek MMO's is not much better and sort of like digging out old VCR movies stored in the basement.
Even standalone games such as Dragon's Age did not hold my interest past a few days. The first game I have completed it a while was Mass Effects 2. It was a nice change and I was sorry to see it end, Yes I have completed others, Hellgate, Fallout 3 etc but they fell in to the category of lets just get it over with.
Unlike the younger players, I do miss out on many aspects of some of the game features. PVP and raids are no longer possible. Slow reflexes, and stiff fingers eliminate them as viable game options. I don't expect game makers to accommodate my special needs. However; it would be nice if they could create intermediate milestones in the game that at least make you feel as you have achieved something important relative to the storyline. Something that you an accomplish on your own without a group or the reflexes of a 10 year old. Different storylines based upon consequences of actions you chose or quest series for different classes or races would be nice abet time consuming from a developers standpoint. I know some developers have tried to a limited extent.
So here I sit a GAME ADDICT looking for something new to help pass the time of day until late spring arrives, meanwhile there is housework to do, meals to fix and crossword puzzles to solve. Oh joy!
Maybe that new BETA I saw will be the fix.
I also eventually get bored with MMORPGs. My first time through WoW I got up to a level 41 Warrior (not that high really), I have stoped and started several times since then, including: 38 rogue, then 37 priest, then 32 rogue, then 12 mage, 30 hunter, 10 warrior, 12 priest, 8 druid, 5 rogue, and probably others, and all with various breaks in between. What I notice is that it takes less and less time to get bored. [Kill, loot, level, repeat]=GRIND. I'm playing EVE now, and even with my Hulk, Iteron V, Orca, and Obelisk, I will eventually get bored.
One bit of advice for MMORPG companies, you better make it easy to quit (not confusing, and annoying, and calling customer service). Easy to quit also means easy to come back, and I probably will. If you make it hard to quit, I will never come back.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning.
It is by caffeine alone set my mind in motion.