MMORPGS... to play or not to play

LegacyUser

I've had a struggle over the past few years on whether to quit online gaming (in my case eq2 rather then wow). I tend to feel sometimes i takes over my life a bit and i do nothing for a while and just stay inside but sometimes i tend to do that anyway with programming/movies/other games or just random stuff.

I can't decide whether gaming is really bad... I've quit a number of times and done well for a couple of months or even up to half a year and then i just go back gaming... I enjoy it but i can't decide whether i should give it up.

Everyone jokes about it being "ever crack" and being hellishly addictive...
I can't decide when i'm playing it whether it's ok to be doing something that has no pay offs. You don't learn anything, you aren't exercising much brain power, learning, building anything, improving yourself (and i get really agitated if i'm not doing something somewhat productive)...
I can't get over the feeling that i'm doing nothing with my life but i don't know if it's ok to be doing that? When i used to go to counselling my counselor told me that someone could say to tony hawks for example, all you do is skate... you've wasted your life and that's all you do... or someone could be the expert on ..."bla" and to someone else they could have wasted their life as well but in their eyes or in other peoples life they haven't. I suppose i don't know if this is something bad in my life.
So how do i determine if it's something that i need to cut out of my life... essentially an addiction is only an addiction when it affects your life negativity but isn't that subjective? Doesn't that depend on what you see as negative?

RossFixxxed

unregistered wrote: »

So how do i determine if it's something that i need to cut out of my life... essentially an addiction is only an addiction when it affects your life negativity but isn't that subjective? Doesn't that depend on what you see as negative?

You've half answered it there really. If you enjoy it then that's fine. It impacts your life if you miss out regularly on real social interaction or if you are at risk of losnig a job etc etc. If you can't go do something else without alwasy thinking of EQ then you're on the wrong road.

I'm not a big online game fan, but I do love my xboxing. If someone called me and wanted to do something, I'd turn it off and go on out. That's my guideline on it!

Darthhoob

i play everquest 2 too, so does my partner....but seeing as we have children, we can't really go out very often, so play eq2 instead, once the kids are in bed ofc. been playing for about 5 years now, on and off.

as long as it doesn't take over your social life completely, i dont see the problem in playing it. some people prefer to sit in front of the telly and vegetate...that's seen as normal. others play games, some go out every night.

how much do you play it though? as i know some people play it for HOURS (one guy i knew played it for 20hours a day cos he worked from home) :eek:

i know it's sad but alot of my friends came from eq2, had guild meets and made some friends along the way, made some RL friends from it. so it does have a social aspect too.

if you enjoy it and it doesn't affect your life in a negative way, then why not?

Nevyn

Take up another hobby that you can do at home when you want and use some of your time on that. Yes online games and thier tasks, goal and little online achivements make us feel like we are doing something achieving something but it dosn't translate into the real world. Yes its easy, a lot easier then learning any of those skills in realy life and yes it will mean researching and paying money for tools but you will then have a greater sense of having changed and impacted on the real world you live in.

A virtual life in a game is a nice escape but it should not become the norm.

RossFixxxed

Thaedydal wrote: »

Take up another hobby that you can do at home when you want and use some of your time on that. Yes online games and thier tasks, goal and little online achivements make us feel like we are doing something achieving something but it dosn't translate into the real world. Yes its easy, a lot easier then learning any of those skills in realy life and yes it will mean researching and paying money for tools but you will then have a greater sense of having changed and impacted on the real world you live in.

A virtual life in a game is a nice escape but it should not become the norm.

True yeah, a lot of people play five+ days a week! That's a job, and you can't jsut put it down mid level like single player games.

It's like me with guitar hero, fun game, good laugh but realistically I should spend more time with my REAL guitar! And I'm trying to do that! More satisfying and transferrable into the real world

fasty

I played WoW for 2 years when it was launched and really I wasted those two years of my life. I didn't play my guitar, I didn't read books, I ignored and lost some of my friends and all it got me was the drama of raiding in a guild full of adults who act like petulant children.

If you think you can play it casually, then sure... But if you think you'd play it like I did, then run away!

klumsden1982

Hi OP,
I think you should try to substitute playing online games with some real activities that get you out so you can mix and socialise. why not join ur local rugby/GAA/soccer club, mix with lads you own age, i know there will be all sorts on here telling you that online role playing games are just as valid an activity as sport or whatever but you wont ever feel like your doing something with your life if you continue to partake in this very insular activity...

Pete4779

unregistered wrote: »

I can't get over the feeling that i'm doing nothing with my life but i don't know if it's ok to be doing that? When i used to go to counselling my counselor told me that someone could say to tony hawks for example, all you do is skate...

If you want to look back over your life, at 80 years old and what you can describe is that you spent a large part of your waking hours as a youth levelling up an imaginary character then sure, keep playing.

Cuddlesworth

If its a fun way to pass the time and doesn't effec your life in a overtly negitive way then go ahead and keep playing.

If its not fun or does effect your social life then walk away from it.

RossFixxxed

If someone phones you to go out to something fun, and you can't put down EQ (or WoW ) to do it, then it might be a problem. Assuming they're inviting you to something you might want to do!

Nevyn

That is easier said then done rossfixxed as the game play is dependant on working with others and making the comitment to do so, so just not playing when you have arranged do to do with other's is not as easy as turning off a single player game.

pwd

I tried an mmorpg for a month.
It was really compulsive, and I spent too much time on it.
But it wasn't actually enjoyable. It constantly gave the feeling that once you got a little bit further in, it would be great fun. But it wasn't fun, it was just compulsive.
So I quit it. Never had any desire to try it again, or try another one.
I like games, and I like online games. I play a good bit of L4D and TF2. I think that there are games you play because they are fun and you enjoy playing them, and to me that is a good way of spending recreational time. There are also games that aren't particularly good fun, but are compulsive for other reasons. A lot of turn-based strategy and rpgs/mmorpgs fit into this category imo. To me they are a total waste of time and something to avoid.

rainbow kirby

fasty wrote: »

I played WoW for 2 years when it was launched and really I wasted those two years of my life. I didn't play my guitar, I didn't read books, I ignored and lost some of my friends and all it got me was the drama of raiding in a guild full of adults who act like petulant children.

If you think you can play it casually, then sure... But if you think you'd play it like I did, then run away!

Same situation here. Played WoW for 2 years, a complete waste of time and I regret every minute I spent on it. All those missed nights out, arguments and damaged relationships with friends, underachieving in college... and for what? Changing a few numbers in a database? It's actually depressing to look back on it. I'm so glad I got out of it, but the worst part is that I still sometimes have cravings to play. *sigh*

Terodil

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Same situation here. Played WoW for 2 years, a complete waste of time and I regret every minute I spent on it. All those missed nights out, arguments and damaged relationships with friends, underachieving in college... and for what? Changing a few numbers in a database? It's actually depressing to look back on it. I'm so glad I got out of it, but the worst part is that I still sometimes have cravings to play. *sigh*

Same here, almost exactly, except I played it far longer and really caused a lot of damage to my relationships. I regret it to the core and would warn anybody against getting into the habit of playing for achievement/competition. I guess if you can really keep it casual, you can also step away from it. It gets dangerous and sticky if you are interested in being really good at stuff and to reliably fill a position in the social network these games offer.

Become main tank / officer / strategist / ... in a guild and kiss your life, and your relationships good-bye.

And that is NOT good.

MrEko

Just going to add my two cents. My brother and I have played WoW on and off for two years, nearly three now. For us its more of a thing we can do on a Sunday morning or week day evening and its entirely casual. Hell, we've played that long and never once reached max level.

Those games can be fun. You work towards a goal and your character exists in an ever changing world. Granted we really dont join guilds as we dont have the time to commit but there is still stuff to do.

Games are what you make them really. Let them takeover and they will but mmos are not the evil social life killer that they are made out to be.

sunnyside

True it's not the most productive way to be spending your time but it is a good way to pass the time and it's an awful lot better than situations where people are depressed and stay in bed all day and literally are unable to do anything.

It's also free (OP has his Xbox or whatever and games already). Social activities, clubs, night classes cost money.

So it has advantages.