Most gamers have experenced that level of obsesion where nothing but the game matters. For some, it lasts a day or two; others, months. My first brush with KOTOR caused my carpel tunnel AND near-sightedness to flare-up for a whole week. But once the fantasy fades, we are back where we started: in the real world.
The reason why video games can be addicting is their escapist element. They provide a world of imagination where there are no SATs, no finals, no breakups, no taxes. The harder life gets, the more aluring the game becomes (which is, ironicly, the exact worst thing that could happen). But regardless of the game, they will all end at some time.
Enter the Massivly Multiplayer Role Playing Game, or the MMORPG (or MMO). These games promise a persistent virtual fantasy world where men can play female elves with flaming swords with thousands of other players. Gameplay wise, theses are the lowest of the low. Click monster, wait until it dies, rinse repeat ad nausium. The real "meat" comes from the social element, where you team up with other humans to acomplish your quests. I, being the non-social gamer I am, never got into that part, leaving me with a dry hack-n-slash.
Then there's the monthy fees. You are charged 15 dollars a month ontop of the intial $50 for the game. If you want any expantion packs, their run you $15-$30 a pop. I spent over $100 on World of Warcraft in no time, and had more fun with Morrowind (which cost me $10).
For me, MMO's are anoying, not harmful. I'm lucky. I've heard countless stories of people who simply can't control themselves when it comes to gametime. Take the story of the man who played Everquest for four year, and clocked a total of two years gameplay time. That's 12 hours every day for four years, at $15 a month and $30 for each of 12 expantion packs, coming to a total of $1080 and two years of life. Imagine what you could do with all that time and money. It's quite likly that he was living with his parents with no job or girlfriend. He could have studied in college, gotten a job, or gotten a girlfriend (maybe even married). But all that is now down the drain with nothing back. There are many support groups for addicts to these games, the largest being for neglected spouses.
Now, someone decided to start 'em young and make a MMO for kids, Toontown. Now little Johny can get phat loot and learn those obsessive materialists tendencies while there parents pay the low, low fee of $10 a month. While most games have some type of subliminal calculations requred to play well, these games only require the urge to play longer then the other guy to be good. They reinforce the harmful "give me-give me-give me" mentality, all the while acting as a starter drug for the more hardcore MMOs when they get older.
For reference, the gameplay of MMOs are identical to a skinner box. A skinner box is cage with a lever in it. When the rat in the cage presses the lever, a pellet of food drops out. Soon he must press the lever 4 times to get a pellet of food, as it increases every time, just like the level system in a MMO. They have shown that a rat will press the lever until it dies from exaustion to get a pellet. Funny, as many addicts have played for so long that they, too, die from exaustion and blood clots in the butt. In one case, two infants died becuase their mother neglected them for her game.
Thanks Disney, how will I ever repay you for creating more young zombies that pay you to ruin their lives?
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