I just read an interesting article on Joystiq written by David Hinkle about how he can never allow himself to play Diablo 3 because of the addiction he faced with Diablo 2. This reminded me of a lot of stories I've heard of people being addicted to games like Everquest, World of Warcraft, Halo, Call of Duty, and of course Daiblo 2. What is it exactly that gets players addicted to a game?
My guess is that certain games provide a certain stimulus to our brains and if it triggers and happens to never be satisfied, we end up feeding it endlessly. I just find it to be an odd concept as I never had a true addiction to any game I've ever played. When I was 7 years old, I was limited to playing videogames only on weekends after all my homework were done and by 8 years old I wasn't allowed to play throughout the entire year unless it was a special holiday or was a weekend of vacation. Whenever it was a holiday or a weekend during vacation, I did nothing but play videogames the moment I woke till I slept as it was the only chance I got throughout the entire year. When I finally got into college, I started playing games because I could. I played a lot and went through a good amount of PC and hand-held games (didn't have my consoles with me) but I had never got addicted to any one game or to playing too much. The closest thing to an addiction was the Christmas of my last year in college when my friend bought me Team Fortress 2. I ended up playing that game every Friday and Saturday night till the sun rose every week in my last half year of college. I never thought of it as an addiction and decided to call what I go through an "obsession". I chose to get really into a particular game and play for longer durations than I normally do, but I would also be able to choose when to stop whenever I wanted to. When I decided that Team Fortress 2 was messing up my sleep schedule, I no longer played it that much anymore and played it sporadicly at night for a few hours.
In the past, I have come across several games where I would play excessively but never had them take over my life. Starcraft, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Phantasy Star Online Ep 1 & 2, Team Fortress 2, Demon's Souls, and Terraria are among the games I played for long durations, but none of them ever took over my life. I still got work done, attended all my classes (when I was still in college), got exercise, ate and maintained hygiene, and the only thing I might have lacked was sleep. I play a large library of games, but I rarely play games day in and day out. I do have a few friends who would play as if they were addicted until they finished a game or until they got bored of it, but they generally stick with only a few games. I think what happens is that those who generally play videogames once in a while are more conditioned to play for short durations while those that don't play videogames as much are more susceptible to being addicted as it stimulates a part of a brain untapped before. It's like a new food someone has never tasted before and suddenly has the urge to eat more of it because it's so new to them.
So it seems that there are some people who are still afraid to get into Diablo 3 because of past experiences they've had with addiction to Diablo 2 or 1. I was very excited for the release of Diablo 3 when I pre-ordered it on May 1st (I didn't care too much before then), and my anticipation for the game last week was excruciating (more so when waiting for it yesterday: I didn't get the package from UPS till 9PM); however, here I am writing when I could be playing. So far, I like the game and its progression. I can see myself playing this game for the next few years, but I also don't see it ever becoming a problem. I know addiction to a game is real and it's alright if one just wants to have some fun playing a game, but it should never take over one's life. Everyone should practice time and environment awareness when gaming so that they don't lose all sight of reality. And if the game is still on one's mind, find a friend who you could talk to about the game and have some release there. Be sure to check out David Hinkle's article on the link below as it's worth reading. And if you know someone that's addicted to games, it doesn't help to simply tell them to get off of it. You have to actively help them take breaks and mix in other activities with their life so that the game won't be the only thing in their life. Videogames are great entertainment, stress relief, stimulator, influences and motivators in our lives and should never become a problem.
Source:
-Joystiq: I can never play Diablo 3 by David Hinkle
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