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patentdragonYesterday, it was Big News that an expansion (or "new edition", as it was reported) of World of Warcraft had gone on sale - and *gasp* what an evil game it is, sucking children into a virtual fantasy world that some prefer to real life!!!!!!!! Oh look, the BBC are even wheeling out an "expert" to back up the last horror story...
One story that was churned out as the "addiction" story was regurgitated over and over throughout the day was of particular interest - the father whose children had "bought a six month subscription without permission", and had become so hooked on the game that he had "considered banning it". Excuse me, sir, but why didn't you? It's your house, and your family - but of course, you want the Government to do something about it rather than facing your children and laying down the "law"...
I don't play "WoW" - probably because of the hype, the apparent swarms of "kids" playing it, and a probable over-reliance on PvP. I'm quite happy to admit that I play Ultima Online, that wheezy, creaky old grandfather of MMORPGs - eight, nearly nine years and counting - the game doesn't impose PvP on you "'cause it's cool"; if you don't want to spend half the night dying, getting rezzed, then dying again as the PvPers camp your body, then don't go to Felucca, the PvP facet of the game world. I don't, unless there's a goal that needs to be met, and there's no alternative...
Example of play, tonight: Logged on. Watered the plants. Fed the fish-tank. Offloaded gold at the bank. Went out to pick off some peripheral Hallowe'en event spawn around the cemetaries. Rezzed my cu sidhe when the stupid beast ran off and got herself killed. Total time for that: about half an hour. Spent the next two and a half hours at my favourite RP tavern (The Trinsic Rose, Europa Shard - just west of the Trinsic moongate) with friends, listened to the local news, and watched a little scenario unfold. There was no mindless massacre, no-one was called a "n00b", everything was in character... all in all a very pleasant evening.
Addicted? Me? Back in the early days, the novelty of anything has you spending all the time you can spare to explore as much of the "new world" as possible. Once it becomes familiar, the urge to devote a lot of time to the game does subside, and it helps if you're not trying to "win the game" - these games don't have winners, because there is no end-of-game to reach, no false sense of achievement gained by being first to finish it - characteristics of the teen-gamer generation, curiously enough the ones who seem to have most of the problems.
I like UO because, being "an old game", it isn't full of these ignorant children, who have long since moved on to the latest shiny gizmos, and all the pretty graphics. I hear unpleasant tales of the way pre-adult players on the online services for the various consoles resort to insults and racism, and that kinda crap I can do without...
I could go on and on - to be honest, anything can be addictive, but only games get any coverage like this because they're a new addition to the entertainment realm - there have been "moral outrages" about just about everything new, and I've seen more than my share of those. One factor seems to be constant throughout, however - parents just will not accept that they are, in part or entirely to blame. "It's too complicated" just doesn't cut it any more, ladies and gentlemen - you don't want your "kids" (sorry, but "kid" = baby goat; baby human = child) falling prey to this "new evil", then it's time for you to get your head out from under the bedclothes, and DEAL WITH IT.
Bored now. Last thoughts on this go along these lines: If I had to, for example, share a cave with a WoW addict, or a chemical addict, I'd know which I'd prefer.
One story that was churned out as the "addiction" story was regurgitated over and over throughout the day was of particular interest - the father whose children had "bought a six month subscription without permission", and had become so hooked on the game that he had "considered banning it". Excuse me, sir, but why didn't you? It's your house, and your family - but of course, you want the Government to do something about it rather than facing your children and laying down the "law"...
I don't play "WoW" - probably because of the hype, the apparent swarms of "kids" playing it, and a probable over-reliance on PvP. I'm quite happy to admit that I play Ultima Online, that wheezy, creaky old grandfather of MMORPGs - eight, nearly nine years and counting - the game doesn't impose PvP on you "'cause it's cool"; if you don't want to spend half the night dying, getting rezzed, then dying again as the PvPers camp your body, then don't go to Felucca, the PvP facet of the game world. I don't, unless there's a goal that needs to be met, and there's no alternative...
Example of play, tonight: Logged on. Watered the plants. Fed the fish-tank. Offloaded gold at the bank. Went out to pick off some peripheral Hallowe'en event spawn around the cemetaries. Rezzed my cu sidhe when the stupid beast ran off and got herself killed. Total time for that: about half an hour. Spent the next two and a half hours at my favourite RP tavern (The Trinsic Rose, Europa Shard - just west of the Trinsic moongate) with friends, listened to the local news, and watched a little scenario unfold. There was no mindless massacre, no-one was called a "n00b", everything was in character... all in all a very pleasant evening.
Addicted? Me? Back in the early days, the novelty of anything has you spending all the time you can spare to explore as much of the "new world" as possible. Once it becomes familiar, the urge to devote a lot of time to the game does subside, and it helps if you're not trying to "win the game" - these games don't have winners, because there is no end-of-game to reach, no false sense of achievement gained by being first to finish it - characteristics of the teen-gamer generation, curiously enough the ones who seem to have most of the problems.
I like UO because, being "an old game", it isn't full of these ignorant children, who have long since moved on to the latest shiny gizmos, and all the pretty graphics. I hear unpleasant tales of the way pre-adult players on the online services for the various consoles resort to insults and racism, and that kinda crap I can do without...
I could go on and on - to be honest, anything can be addictive, but only games get any coverage like this because they're a new addition to the entertainment realm - there have been "moral outrages" about just about everything new, and I've seen more than my share of those. One factor seems to be constant throughout, however - parents just will not accept that they are, in part or entirely to blame. "It's too complicated" just doesn't cut it any more, ladies and gentlemen - you don't want your "kids" (sorry, but "kid" = baby goat; baby human = child) falling prey to this "new evil", then it's time for you to get your head out from under the bedclothes, and DEAL WITH IT.
Bored now. Last thoughts on this go along these lines: If I had to, for example, share a cave with a WoW addict, or a chemical addict, I'd know which I'd prefer.
