Addiction

For the past several weeks, lots of stories concerning video game addiction have come out, in part because the American Medical Association has been chattering about it, trying to come to a conclusion on whether video games can properly be classified as addictive.

As a passionate gamer, I’ll ring in with my opinion. By the popular definition of “addiction,” I think it’s safe to say that some people do get addicted to video games, MMORPGs in particular. At least, many people play them compulsively, to the point that they ignore other important aspects of their life.

I know this because I have acquaintances who do this and friends who do this, and because I’ve done it myself. In fact, MMOs are specifically designed to entertain with a system of reinforcement and punishment that fosters addictive or at least compulsive behavior. Such games are certainly more worthwhile than slot machines—they have social dimensions and narrative richness and cost a lot less. But the lower cost actually means that people sink more time into leveling their characters or questing for gear than they’d ever do feeding slugs into a one-armed bandit.

Whether or not this behavior is properly defined as a psychiatric addiction is, to me, irrelevant. The fact is that it can mess up people’s lives.

So can alcohol, of course.

In fact, I think treating video game addiction like alcoholism is probably the best approach. We don’t need to outlaw or even further regulate video games, but we do need to watch ourselves and those close to us for signs of problem behavior. Let’s be honest with ourselves, seek help when we need it, and help others when they’re in need.

So even though I think the AMA and the media mostly say pretty silly things about video games and addiction, I’m very glad people are talking about it!

Do we have any other ex-addicts out there? If so, how did you break your addiction?

And hey, if you think you have a problem and don’t know where to turn, you can speak up here safely and anonymously. There are tried-and-true methods that work, and we can talk about them.

Add comment June 27th, 2007

A Game of Gloat

Over the past few weeks, I have—for the first time ever—become addicted to a CCG. And ironically, I’ve never even played it.

I never thought I’d get caught up in a CCG. I much prefer roleplaying games, rich with collaborative storytelling and infinite possibilities. The fantasy trappings of games like Magic: The Gathering have struck me as a fairly thin veneer on top of a stilted card game.

But I’ve been swept away by A Game of Thrones. This is no doubt due to my passionate love of George R. R. Martin’s astonishingly good fantasy series, perhaps the greatest fantasy series ever, ever written. On my birthday a month ago, I received a few booster packs from some good friends (along with other Song of Ice & Fire–related gaming goodness), and it lit a fire that nothing save getting every single card will quite be able to extinguish.

Obviously, at this point the pleasure I’m deriving owes much to the glee of gloating than the game, but it’s also quite fun to see the rules each card has, not just the artwork (which is, of course, uneven—some stunning, some astonishingly amateur). And even though I don’t know anyone else who collects the cards, Fantasy Flight Games has seen fit to release some pre-built, playable decks (I don’t know how competitive they are, but at this point it doesn’t matter). As a collector, I’ve gone ahead and acquired them, but I’ll certainly be shoving them into friends’ hands so we can try out a quick game.

Alas, it appears A Game of Thrones isn’t nearly as popular as other CCGs (none of which particularly appeal to me). Though a new expansion is coming in August, my local game store has decided to stop carrying the cards. Let’s hope the expansion will instill new vigor in the fan community and give me a chance to get out and play more.

But I find the simple act of collecting surprisingly entertaining. I now have notebooks with card sleeves to display every single one, bright divider sheets, boxes for storing the surplus, and careful indexes.

Add comment June 27th, 2007