In recent years there has been a dramatic increase the amount of people playing games like World of Warcraft (WoW) or Age of Conan (AoC). These games are known as “massive multiplayer online role playing games,” and are generally referred to as MMORPGs. Within the genre players commonly take on a new persona as a fictional character in a mythic world where spells, dragons, and armor classes dominate. A player would advance through levels or ranks while interacting and socializing with other players to reach a common goal, end-game. But whether playing WoW, AoC, or the classic Everquest (EQ) lots of children, teenagers, and even adults have drawn their attention to MMORPGs for both social interaction and leisure. The top selling game world-wide in 2006 and award winner in 2006-2007, World of Warcraft, claims to have 9 million active subscribers.
Though impressive, these numbers are being used against corporations like BLIZZARD, the producer of WoW, for getting people addicted to an unreal situation. In fact many feel that this simple scenario of the gaming industry has turned into an epidemic of addiction. Currently there is a heated controversy of the psychological inquiry that accompanies this type of gaming, that this software is hazardous to player’s physical health. In 2007 the American Psychological Association (APA) reviewed video game addiction to be added in the new DSM to be released in 2012 and have it officially classified as a severe psychiatric disorder. APA and many other related organizations offer so-called “tell-tale” signs of addiction. Also on these sites steps gaming de-tox can be found.
APA feels that gamers truly need to seek psychiatric assistance, but also to allow suffers to get insurance coverage for treatment. A statistic on their site states that up to 20% of players of any MMORPG are addicted. That would be near 2 million people from Wow alone that could be ‘diagnosed’ with a mental disorder and prescribed medicine. Although pharmaceutical stocks would sky-rocket, the questionable problem would never be solved, if even considered improved.
According to Dictionary.com an addiction is “the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.” Which for some maybe true, for most though, it seems like just a game. In WoW forums a topic can be found called “Quit killing WoW” where a player posts his severe disappointment for BLIZZARD’s recent changes to the game. Of the 241 posts the vast majority of people responding have quit due to lack of interest in the game anymore, something that would not come about from an addiction. Ironically though the original poster finishes his time of the forum with the statement, “I would like to quit WoW but I still have hope that maybe it can be fixed. Also since I have been around since 2005 I have made countless friends and memories…” still leaving room for the addiction argument.
The sites that are calling these games psychological problems are often targeting parents of children who play. The sites reporting that they, MMORPGs, prey on a child’s insecurities, drawing them into a fictional world that can never happen. (DiConsiglio) Yet this “fictional world” is considered a great thing by most people if it is created by another source. A website created by an elementary school librarian, Mary Liane, who also writes for 2 book e-zines and speaks for reading conferences, quotes, “You see, children, and the people who love them and read to them, get to live in a magical world… It is a world of fantasy, of vivid colors, of absolutes–the meanies are surreally mean, the good guys are perfectly strong and certain in the right… And in this world, even children can be heroes.” Yet when this world is brought to digital premonition it is considered an epidemic treatable through ten-step programs and medication. Another misconception found frequently in the gaming world is the average age of an MMORPG player. According to a recent statistical survey taken in WoW, that average age is 39 years old. In fact, “the association’s annual consumer survey, released to coincide with the formal opening of the E3 show, found that 52% of people who have increased their game-play time have done so at the expense of watching TV, while 47% go to the movies less in favor of playing games.”(USAtoday) With that being said the rest of the statistics go like this: twenty-five percent of players are teenagers, and 50 percent have full-time jobs. That leaves little to no room for the ‘insecurieties of children’ to prey on.
Researchers suggest that role-playing in the virtual world, however, is actually a healthy exploration of the players themselves, especially young ones, expanding there range into different roles including gender identities. Within the game players take on new roles almost ‘alter egos’ parse. This allows them to be anything from a fighter, a healer to an artisan. Interacting this way also makes a name for your character and builds a social structure. In order to be successful within the game you must learn etiquette. You can be dubbed anywhere from a hero or all the way to a cheater or ‘ninja’. Regardless, socializing tends to be a big part of playing an MMORPG. To some players, socializing is the most important part of game play — some sources cite it as the reason why gamers spend almost twice as much time playing MMORPGs as apposed other games. (Caron) But in the game world they make the difference other people can rely on you to protect them from danger or even to save their lives or even vies versa. And this is often seen as WoW’s allure.
The main difference between MMORPGs and other console supported games is mainly that MMORPGs are not meant to have an end. They’re expandable, once reaching level 70 (or the highest obtainable) its still not over. One can participate in raids, daily quests and battlegrounds. Once any other game is over with, your done you’ve completed the goal you can quit playing.(Meenan) Another difference is that MMOs are an ongoing world. Weather your there or not, there is always something happening. If you leave your keyboard and go get a pop, the flowers you wanted to collect for you character might be gone when you get back, or worse off your character might have been killed by your competitor. There is no saving or pausing it, its continually played. It is with these traits that the game becomes immersive.
The problem with this classification of players is that it is way to broad. Relatively hobby, activity, job or even a belief could be classified as an addiction for specific people. Any one who generalizing players as being addicted is sorely mistaken. This leaves to question: where does the APA draw the line? That is if there is truly a line to be drawn. The statistic found on the APA’s site was that 20% of all gamers are addicted, that’s a big percent when dealing with millions. The conclusion is that there are cons to any and all topics across the world, the APA is just exploiting the dark sides of wow and refuse to see the benefits it can produce.
Because of its vastness in people, its economic stability, and its region based travel, the virtual world in many ways is comparable to reality. And offers a stunningly perfect grounds for many studies on human interaction. Economists have studied in-game cash flows, looking for insight into the real-world economy. Even a recent occurrence in WoW has even lead to a scientific breakthrough. As of late within the world of wow, panic and terror have stricken players; a new has plague emerged. Starting from a single infection of “corrupted blood” the virus has quickly transmitted itself into every player across the game. Starting in one particularly secluded area within the game; it took just hours to reach one of the capital cities. From there, people within the major city flew to escape the disease. However, With failure to quarantine and immune characters, who were carriers until infected, as well as pets, quickly turned the plague into an epidemic. With this given information “scientists were able to monitor how quickly the disease spread and where to, while assessing the players’ individual responses to the outbreak. The particular features of the game, such as the many hours players around the world dedicate to it and the emotional investment they put into their online alter egos, offer scientists a tantalizingly close match to real social conditions.” Scientists for many years have been trying to develop a way to study the spread of an epidemic without potential risk of a real disease. With WoW they may have found there answer. “By using these games as an untapped experimental framework, we may be able to gain deeper insight into the incredible complexity of infectious disease epidemiology in social groups.” (Bannerman) With this genius Research study in epidemiology, and the comparability of WoW to the real world, who knows what other research may be ideal to occur within this seamless reality.
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With that said greater part of the game cannot be completed solely, and often requires you to group with other gamers. Many groups are temporary just to kill a monster or finish a quest. However, one may also take part in a permanent group called a guild, often sharing a common goal or ideas. While grouping and completing quests and fighting monsters one must often communicate between themselves for strategic and sharing purposes. This occurs though either chat boxes or third party software that requires a microphone, such as Ventrillo.
The main difference between MMORPGs and other console supported games is mainly that MMORPGs are not meant to have an end. They’re expandable, once reaching level 70 (or the highest obtainable) its still not over. One can participate in raids, daily quests and battlegrounds. Once any other game is over with, your done you’ve completed the goal you can quit playing.(Meenan) Another difference is that MMOs are an ongoing world. Weather your there or not, there is always something happening. If you leave your keyboard and go get a pop, the flowers you wanted to collect for you character might be gone when you get back, or worse off your character might have been killed by your competitor. There is no saving or pausing it, its continually played. It is with these traits that the game becomes immersive.
Caron, Frank. “Proving the Obvious: Study Indicates MMOs Consume More Gamer Time.” Ars Technica. 10/18/2007 (10/30/2007)
http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2007/10/18/proving-the-obvious-study-indicates-mmos-have-large-time-investment
Brightman, James. “NPD: PC Games Bring Industry to $13.5 Billion in 2006.” Game Daily. 1/18/2007. (10/30/2007).
DiConsiglio, John. “GAMEOVER.” 23.4(2008) 6-9. 22 Oct 2008 <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=117&sid=77adddb2-0561-413d-85d0-008c8fbb1d7e%40sessionmgr108&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=28725844>.
An Interview with a long time gamer and her experiences with MMORPGs. Much
like chicken noodle soup for the soul. During the interview, frequently asks
general question often hard to answer without seeming bad “You tell yourself you are going to game for only a few minutes, but you frequently lose track of time and play for hours.” Who doesn’t do that with anything engaging. Ever tried to put down a good book?
Meenan, Anna L.. “Internet Gaming: A Hidden Addiction..” American Family Physician 76(2007): 1116-1117.
Biased article targeted towards parents concerted with there adolescent children
being addicted. Amazes readers with contradicting statistics, and more so warns
of what this kind of behavior might cause them later in life i.e. divorce, loss of jobs, depression.
Shapiro, Robert. “Fantasy Economics.” Slate. 2/4/2003 (10/30/2007)
http://www.slate.com/id/2078053/
Tanner, Lindsey. “Is video-game addiction a mental disorder?.” Associated Press 04 27 2007 22 Oct 2008 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19354827/>.
Report over American Medical Association’s review on gaming addictions. “have
it officially classified as a severe psychiatric disorder. Not only that but allow
suffers to get insurance coverage for treatment.” Could not find primary source for this review online.
Unknown, “Video game addiction.” Wikipedia. 2007. 22 Oct 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMORPG>.
Statistical research against gaming addictions. Disproves over half of the citations
on this page, and shows of there biased statistics. Reveals to me the extreme
targets of parental figures concern over ‘addicted’ children.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-05-12-gamer-demographics_x.htm
Rauh, Sherry. “Detox For Video Game Addiction.” 07 03 2007 22 Oct 2008 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/03/health/webmd/main1773956.shtml.
Yee, Nick. “WoW Gender-bending.” The Daedalus Project. 7/28/2005 (10/30/2007)
<http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001369.php>
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=7716836342&sid=1&pageNo=1
http://marylaine.com/myword/aloud.html
