Vestril Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 Hrmmm, I think my interest in buying SWG just dropped a notch, I really don't want to become this addicted. How utterly scary... http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/conditions/06/02/online.suicide.ap/index.html Probably old news for most of you, but news to me. Yikes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrion Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 I feel scared, very scared... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabbas WhOr3 Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 oh and geee wiz SW Galaxies is coming out........................... shall i elaborate on the amount of lives this has the potential to ruin......... mine for 1 I O\^/N JOO Ph33R ME!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iguelmay Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 ugh, if people can't take a game as a game, then thats their problem. Like really, killing yourself over EQ? am i the only one who thinks thats pathetic? i shall leave now, before i start ranting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurgan Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 Sad, very sad. People with epilepsy aren't even supposed to play 99% of computer games... sounds like he had a lot of problems and being addicted to a game like that didn't help him any. ; p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vestril Posted June 5, 2002 Author Share Posted June 5, 2002 Very true Kurgan, though I wouldn't have thought EQ was the sort of game an epileptic would have trouble with...but then I only know a tiny bit about the disease. I'm just going to take it as a reminder not to take everything seriously, and to go outside once in a while (or at least sit under an open window ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyJAllTheWay Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyth'emos Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 Unless you have so real mental problems I don't see why this should effect you purchasing SWG. The people who do this are not normal people with a normal life, they are people who are really screwed up inside for one reason or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vestril Posted June 5, 2002 Author Share Posted June 5, 2002 Read the entire article and think about the level of gaming addiction they are describing. Then imagine yourself as someone who loves Star Wars, and considers the idea of being immeresed into that universe as 'very cool.' Then consider that Ever Quest is an extremely addictive game without the added bonus of imersing people in a famous pop culture universe. I couldn't see myself commiting suicide because I lost some amazing items, but I could see myself wasting an incredible amount of time and losing the thread of contact I have to the real world because of it. It's something I had never really considered before, not buying a game because it was potentially dangerous to my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabbas WhOr3 Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 This is also not the first time something like this has happened! i read about 1 year ago that another person..this time female...ended her own life over a stupid game (ever crack). bad stuff ...... ........... Also!! people on the darn game were getting married!! OMFG they invited other "characters" to this online marriage in some weird lookin temple! all their online ever whOr3's mates turned up and made a circle around the 2 ppl (yes I saw screenshots) it was freaky!!! 1 Question....who did the catering? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arawyn Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 Some people like to roleplay. Some people are very very good at it. When you have played with someone long enough you gain deep respect for them. It's a common thing for many RPers who play online a whole lot to have their characters marry each other. It provides something for their guilds to do. I used to play EQ and attended several weddings. There is nothing wrong or freaky with it because everyone, including the two people getting married realize and understand that it is ONLY their characters that are doing it because they WANT an added level of depth. I'm *really* sorry you aren't mature enough or grown up enough to realize that Jabba. I'm sure it must be very easy for you to label everything you don't understand as "freaky". It wouldn't surprise me to know that you are prolly the type of person who makes fun of people for being different than you. Do grow up, and do get a clue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunClown Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 Do you guys remember the guy who was facing at least 15 years in jail at least because he locked his child in the closet because he was crying and wanting food so he could play everquest uninterrupted? The child died. Apparently the guy wanted to play uninterrupted. Its a few people who shouldn't play these games. The majority can. I don't understand how people can really get that addicted to game seriously? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vestril Posted June 5, 2002 Author Share Posted June 5, 2002 According to the article, the average EverQuest player plays for 20 hours a week...that's about 3 hours a day, which is pretty impressive when you consider that it's a game. More than that, it means that there are a solid number of players out there who play more than that, maybe even a lot more (since there are sure to be a lot who only play once in a while). While you may not understand the addiction, it is real--and though there aren't many extreme cases, they suggest that there are a lot of people out there with less notable, but nearly as serious problems... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jubatus Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 I've played EverQuest since it was released and up to about 2 months ago. I was addicted, but not to the extent this person was. I went to work, maybe lost a little sleep here and there, cancelled a few of my social callings but that was it. In periods I'd play up to 8 hrs+ per day for several days, but primarily because it's demanded (read: expected) by your guild in the highend game. Now I have cancelled my accoúnt, deleted the game and keep a casual contact with my guild through their board. The game itself is not to blame for people dedicating their entire lifes to it and perhaps ultimately ending their lifes. Escaping into such a game is only the symptom, not the disease. I firmly believe you have to be in one way or another 'negatively' predisposed in order to let yourself sink into a virtual reality providing, if only for your mind, an escape from a reality you cannot handle. EverQuest is only a tool to do so for these people. The game's alluring nature makes it an easy target for it to be blamed as being the cause too. I for one do not believe in guilt, therefor not in blame, but if blame must be placed, place it with life. Jubatus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acdcfanbill Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 i bet people have killed over D&D and Magic before, you just never hear about them becasue some uppity mothers dont like gameing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vestril Posted June 5, 2002 Author Share Posted June 5, 2002 I don't know Jub...but people who have these issues should be aware of it, and it's a growing problem that's showing up in a measurable chunk of people, a chunk that is growing. I think it's in our best interest to examine how addicted we are, and how it affects our life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jubatus Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 No arguing there. My point was simply the game is not to blame. Jubatus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vestril Posted June 5, 2002 Author Share Posted June 5, 2002 This is true, but games are becoming more addictive as developers learn better how to hook us, and I think that soon everyone is going to have to deeply consider how addicted they become to a game, and how much it affects their life. I kind of see it as potentially a big issue, in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulless Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 hmm...this is partly the reason I never play MMPORG's anymore. I used to play The Legend of Mir until it took up alot of time. Then I quit cos my life was falling to pieces. I didnt touch a computer for 4 months after that. When I got back on it I didnt feel the urge to play anything, so my computer is now for internet, work, music ad the occasional game WHEN I AM BORED. But i will never touch a MMPORG again to be honest....although many people will disagree, addictive gaming is bad. Dont get me wrong, I have been playing games since Sonic the Hedgehog came out and I do still like them. But I suppose thats sometime for the younger ages, I am growing up (18 now!) and there is a whole world for me to live and love. So I shall... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jubatus Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 I too see it becoming a major problem in the future. MMORPGs are so vast and time demanding in the essence that they have no real end goal. It's a potential addiction that can ruin you socially just like alcohol, gambling and drugs. The difference, which should awaken society to reasonable awareness, is that these games are legal and easily accessable from a very young age, thus having a greater influence from scratch due to easily impressionable young minds. But I'll argue again the tool of an addiction, be it alcohol, gambling, drugs or a game, is only symptom of the real problem. We are all well-informed of the ill consequences of alcohol and drug abusement; guess what we need is awareness of online gaming addiction, too. Looking for the root of the problem we really ought to view how our modern day society is structured with regard to the individual. Isolation and alienation from your surroundings has for a long time now been the way of an illusional self preservation. Therein lies the danger of addictions to the irrational. Jubatus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian832 Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 I think this guy that killed himself was a serious RPer. I think he was so in to the game that when his character got killed, he thought it might be realistic to kill him self. Or maybe another explanation is his son somehow got of the closet and shot him(i know its not the same story, and i know the kid died, but hey it could happen) all in all i think this is very sad, i onlysit at the computer about 4 hours all together each day, i have never played EverQuest. I have never played Ultima Online either, but seen someone thats an addict, they look like a druggie, eyesacks all saggy, eyes bloodshot, that dumbfounded look, and mosley wearing a beater and boxers all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chastan Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 If wasn't this game he killed himself over, it would probably be something else. I am guessing (notice: I am guessing, I'm not a doctor ) that he was chronically depressed, which is a serious disease. If there wasn't Everquest around, there probably would be another thing he would have latched onto. AC/DC fanbill: Yes, there have been cases with D&D in the like, they were well known, but in more recent times the spotlight has been on computer games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrion Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 The one thing that will save me-my very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very low attention span:D all the addictive games like DII and Starcraft addicted me for about 3 months.And as far as I know, I'm not depressed and I have alot of friends.Although I have to get out of the habit of daydreaming...2+2 equals 5 right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vestril Posted June 6, 2002 Author Share Posted June 6, 2002 If there wasn't Everquest around, there probably would be another thing he would have latched onto. Makes you wonder though, that if he hadn't latched onto that maybe he would have figured out what was wrong with him, rather than immersing his self into a computer game and letting his problems stew and heat to a boil. It makes me wonder, is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunClown Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 One thing I should say in SWG's defence is that the devs have said that one of their main goals for the game is that someone can play for one hour and that session will still be fruitful. This game is being targeting a lot for the average gamer who may only play for one hour a day or during weekend. Hard core gamers will of course still be able to have fun. But I'm more of the casual gamer who doesn't and won't let himself play for too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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