Are you an addict?

Just found this in this months PCGamer and I think i heard something about it on Radio1 yesterday.

I like how they have a fake cs pic on there to help with the games are bad thing.

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Tinterweb site
Deviantart

Human knowledge belongs to the world

Replace "game" with "World of Warcraft" and it all makes sense.

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"If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?"

• My yr11 Economics teacher

Smith and Jones WILD HORSES CENTER

Is this a joke?

I'd say almsot everything is a joke, the question is are smith and Jones in on it.

Nop, its real. We had a article about it on the radio here when it openend.

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RUST Gamedesign
pepper design

The strength of the turbulence is directly proportional to the temperature of your coffee.

If you're thinking "Smith and Jones" as in the British comedy duo,
DrGlass, don't. This thing seems to be entirely real - and TBH, even if
it wasn't, curing addictions to gaming is a very good idea.

I wouldn't put my (in)sanity in the hands of someone with such terrible tastes in webdesign for anything.

Seriously, some people are obsessed with proving other people are obsessed.

That's a silly thing to say :razz: I'm sure they're very good at their job

• I mean, Stephen Hawkings probably couldn't knock together a good

looking website about black holes and whatnot, but it doesn't make him
any less of a scientist.

Zinedine Zidane couldn't put together a self defence through headbutts
website, but it doesn't make him any less of a crazy person.

What im interested in is how what activities they make you do in the "real" world. Im not a gaming addict, even though I game alot. I dont have the feeling that many gamers have, where they think they will win next time. If I cant get past some part i normaly just stop for a couple of days then try again. I never spend ages trying to do better or whatnot. Im not a competetive person, I just play game for enjoyment and to consume time.

I admire you for being able to take "
The Smith and Jones WILD HORSES CENTER" and their little essay seriously.

i think they are the crazy ones.

why would they put a fake pic of CS? isn't that ilegal? they are 'defaming' the game with that fake pic.

or they put it because they know nobody takes them serious?
or because nobody visits their webpage.

they suck.

True true, the average housewife who sees that picture will
automatically think all gamers are psychopaths (not to say that they
aren't, but COME ON, hanged terrorists?).

Next thing you'll know, you'll have to have a liscence to play games.

Honestly. This really falls under the heading of "game bashing" for me. Jack Thompson, these guys -- I feel they're only doing this to prove a point that doesn't really exist.

For once, I'd like to see the gamers bash the bashers! :razz:

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Breaking the laws of mapping since 2003 and doing a damn fine job at it

For once, I'd like to see the gamers bash the bashers! :razz:

And prove what? That we are so stoned that we can't realise our own
condition and prove to the world that we are indeed lost and
desperately in need of help? Some people are convinced that the
consumption of counterstrike is on the same level with the consumption of marijuana.

That we are so stoned that we can't realise our own
condition and prove to the world that we are indeed lost and
desperately in need of help?

But we are not :razz: So how would we be proving that?

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Breaking the laws of mapping since 2003 and doing a damn fine job at it

Well, most alcoholics don't admit that they are alcoholics, not even when they're dead drunk, so...

Well, most alcoholics don't admit that they are alcoholics, not even when they're dead drunk, so...

So this means that I'm a game addict and that each and every one of us is from SATAN
himself and that we are the bringers of doom and death to this world
unless these fellows Smith and Jones prevent us in time. :smile: I'm really
glad that the world accepts different people as they are without
judging them straight from the beginning.

And I just noticed this:

<div style="border: 1px solid limegreen; padding: 3px; width: 95%; background-color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">[*] Don't post editing questions here, or else we'll kill you. No, really.
</li>[*] Maps go in the maps forum; if they end up here, we'll just delete threads.
</li>[*] Don't request help with your mod without showing some media or something more concrete than just your c00l ideas!
</li>[*] Please do a [url=index.php?page=search&wut=forums&forum=1]<b>forum search[/url] before you ask a question about something.</b>

</div>

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''Everyone wades in s**t until they're competent enough to walk on it. Jesus style.''
Dystopia - Empires

huh, what's that forum quote about, Pvt.Scythe?

Doesn't the first line look a bit intimidating to you reaper47? That's from the top of the General Banter reply thingygummi. :biggrin:

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''Everyone wades in s**t until they're competent enough to walk on it. Jesus style.''
Dystopia - Empires

Doesn't the first line look a bit intimidating to you reaper47? That's from the top of the General Banter reply thingygummi. :biggrin:

I think I'd better not reply because of my recent rants about over-the-top metaphors... But that's a kind of humor I can handle. :biggrin:

Omg I'm a guild wars adict!

Someone lock me in a white room for 15 hours.

Come on, why do we give these guys any heed?

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Dark_Kilauea
DVS Administration
http://www.dvstudio-production.com/

Wow - reactionary responses. I think you're all being very ill and
narrow minded in your attacks on their philosophy. If you need proof of
how video games can possess people, look at "N64 Kid", or that
Korean/Japanese guy who died after playing Counter-Strike for 80 odd
hours solid.

I'd say addiction to gaming, and probably, in this companies view, the
internet and gaming is a very real phenomena. Rubbishing is the sign of
either ultimate stupidity or ultimate denial.

Noone is attacking your "way of life", noone is attacking your right to
play games - nor are they faking information to scaremonger people.
They're realising that addiction to computers and computer games are
very real issues of 21st century society. Like I say, some of the
reactions here are very worrying indeed - either people are rolling
with a bandwagon of misguided attacks on this company, or they are
seeing something within themselves which makes them uncomfortable. Just
because something isn't a substance, it doesn't mean it can't be abused
to the detriment of your mental/physical health and wellbeing.

Pvt. Scythe - The first line to "new topic" btw - I don't know if you're kidding or not, although i'd wager with the massive smackdown intelligence took in this thread, you're not. It's sarcasm, through and through.

Honestly, I've long wondered why video game addiction hasn't been treated in the same ways as alcoholism or drug addiction. I can always moderate myself when it comes to substances, I could probably never have another drink in my life, and certainly would never need to smoke again, and I'd be ok. Yet... videogames are the only real addiction I would say I've ever had in my entire life.

Ever since I was like... 4 or 5 years old I remember being unusually fascinated by videogames. It just hasn't stopped.

I go through periods of not playing any videogames what so ever (usually in the beginning of each school year) and my quality of life skyrockets. I'm healthier, happier, more social etc... yet for some reason towards the second half of the year I start getting the idea in my head that I really want to play X game, just in moderation. So, the next time I'm home I bring it up to school... and then everytime I don't want to write a paper or study for a test (which is... usually every free minute) I'll find myself playing myself into a corner.

I dunno, I consider myself a smart person, and I see the patterns of my behavior. I honestly think the best thing for me would be to break every CD in my house, somehow get myself banned from Steam, never come to the SnarkPit again, stop checking other videogame forums, etc. But ... I dunno. In my head I also know that videogames are something that I really enjoy. Going cold turkey would almost be like denying something about myself.

Sorry for the long ramble. I just wanted to kinda support gwil. I feel there are a lot of people who need help getting pulled out of a videogame rut. The bottom line is that some people are more prone to videogame addiction than others (just like with alcohol) and just because you can play videogames in moderation doesn't mean everyone else can too.

Additionally, I hope you all don't think I'm a huge weirdo now. :smile:

Exactly what AtM said - he puts it so eloquently compared to my "you're
all idiots" approach. I think a lot of people can relate here,
especially those in "adulthood" with video games being a detriment to
their social life.

Without sounding ageist (Orph and Doc Brass would love that
:razz: ), I don't think you really notice how video games can and will
impede on your life - socially, financially and personally until you're
outside of high school.

Anything habitual or routine which brings "happiness" and considered
"abnormal" for your personal routine is an addiction in my eyes.
Video games aren't being labelled as evil here, nor is anyone ever
saying (aside from the outrages about Postal/GTA et al) video gaming is
an evil hobby. The very nature of the video games today - full
immersion and escape, in a great deal of them - coupled with online
gaming is absolute PRIME territory for creating addictive cycles and
habits detrimental to your development in the real world.

It all ties into a larger cycle with technology in my eyes (I know I
suffer with this darned internet), but for this community here, gaming,
online gaming is the one we can identify with. Escaping reality
is good - essential, sometimes. Ignoring and bypassing reality for a
"fix" - is not.

Gwil said:
Escaping reality is good - essential, sometimes. Ignoring and bypassing reality for a "fix" - is not.

I agree. And sometimes its hard to see when you've passed from one to the other.

I think one of the biggest signs that I'm more addicted to videogames than the average person is that even after not playing for a long time... I'll suddenly and seemingly randomly feel an urge to play a videogame, really any videogame. It's like a craving that will just come out of nowhere. I guess its what recovering alcoholics would call a relapse. Or ... falling off the wagon.

Falling off the wagon? You sound like you have done the "Ten Steps" or whatever it is the AA do to help people :wink:

AA = religion.

Hahah, I dunno where I've heard that phrase before, but it certainly wasn't at an alcohol support group :smile:

Videogames may be a big vice in my life, but its the only one, thankfully.

wow Gwill and Addicted to Morphine. i like what both of you said. it sounds so... hmm grown up? mature? clap clap nice words.

AtM (not at the moment, Addicted to Morphine), you're right. i've never thought about that. you can't stop playing for the rest of your life (if that's what you meant). even my brother feels like playing sometimes.

i feel tired of playing sometimes but after a while i play like crazy again. and my situation is worse, because i don't study! i feel like i'm wasting my life -and i am.

and don't worry, we don't think you're a huge weirdo. we think both Gwill and you are.
(we = i)

Hmm... seems I stired something up :smile:

I was being completely scarcasic there, I'm going to edit my post and put it in blue text.

I agree with you guys though.

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Dark_Kilauea
DVS Administration
http://www.dvstudio-production.com/

I agree with you guys to a point, can't you say the same thing about TV? Some people spend their entire life in front of a TV.

Also MMORPGs can be a social outlet for people who normaly can't work in "real life" Just look at Second Life.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Dark_Kilauea</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Hmm... seems I stired something up :smile:

I was being completely scarcasic there, I'm going to edit my post and put it in blue text.

I agree with you guys though.</DIV></DIV>

we knew you were being sacastic... right?

there's no need of blue text!

Oh oh i noticed they added the N to the A before the word Addict in the title of this thread.

Yeah - addict has a double d, and when you're saying "a object" , if object begins with a/e/i/o/u, it is "an object" eg

A car

A book

A collection of small tribesmen from the South Pacific

An octopus

An ultimatum

An excellent description of the rules of English language albeit with noted exceptions :razz:

i know :smile:

Thanks asterix_vader :smile:

DrGlass said:
I agree with you guys to a point, can't you say the same thing about TV? Some people spend their entire life in front of a TV.

Possibly, but I wouldn't know. I'm only speaking from experience, and I've never had an addiction to TV. Although yeah, the numbers for the average amount of TV kids watch these days is pretty scary. But I did read somewhere that time on the internet and time playing videogames is growing in comparison to time spent watching TV. I wish I had a source for that, but I don't :sad:

DrGlass said:
Also MMORPGs can be a social outlet for people who normaly can't work in "real life" Just look at Second Life.

Can't work? Like can't interact with other people?

I would agree that MMORPGs are much more social than the play-it-alone-in-your-basement singleplayer game, but at the same time it's not a real substitution for face to face social interaction. At least that's how I feel. When I think about how much people communicate with each other via computers instead of talking in real life, I get kind of scared. AIM, Facebook, Forums, WoW... all these things seem to retard real people skills rather than develop them. Developing "people skills" is one of the most important things in life (I think) because with good people skills you can get help, get what you need, and most importantly establish real relationships. I mean, you could argue that all of us on the SnarkPit have developed relationships, but I don't think they come close to the ones you have with real-life friends and loved ones. I'm not trying to sound like I'm preaching, because honestly I know I can still be awkward in certain situations... but at the same time I have friends who avoid all these strange and disconnected forms of communication, and they're some of the most charismatic and instantly likeable people I've ever met.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Addicted to Morphine</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>... all these things seem to retard real people skills rather than develop them.</DIV></DIV>

you're right in that part. i can tell because i've experienced it. i chat more than i talk, and the consequence is that i get stuck sometimes with words when i'm talking and i just go "dasjienwgsdg blah, did you understand?". i'm not too used to talk now.

or maybe i'm wrong again? Crono? :smile:

my social/'people' skills are pretty bad. i call myself "anti-social" (and some people too). it's not like i like being always alone, but... oh well.

or it's that i'm stupiD?

Hehe, the irony of Morphine's post is that his nickname is "Addicted to Morphine

I enjoy playing games, but not on a large scale - mainly because I have nothing else do to. When I get an oppurtunity to do something else I take it.
I enjoy going to my friend's farm and having a great time, quadbiking and stuff. And I like watching movies, etc etc.

I have read in a very respected science magazine called "New Scientist" where they actually discuss the good consequences of gaming. Increased mental power,
reflexes, ability to make quick descisions, handling of stress, problem solving, complex thinking.

Ive never been very attracted to brainless games (Except HL), but more time doing other things also like inproving my knowledge, or mapping.thinking games like top-viewers and stuff. I find chatting on the internet makes me much more sociable in real life, because it increases my confidence when speaking. I normaly chat via skype.

I agree that playing game's like WoW for 15 hours a day is BAAAD, but just a 2 or 3 hours a day is fine. I spend most of that mapping and improving my general knowledge. The main thing is that if im not on my PC im generly doing something
non-constructive like sleeping. I do reading which I love, and other stuff also. But ive never been attracted to team sports, mainly because the people in the sport's are the most retarted bunch of idiots. I also find that the sporty people in our school are ALWAYS the ones who fail and do badly (And are not very bright), and the nerds obviously are the one's who do brilliantly and achieve high marks and get good jobs. And most nerd's are gamers?

And the thing is, these "sociable-people" spend most of their spare time watching TV or playing s**t like PS2 and Xbox.
And the other "sociable" people normaly end up going to parties, getting drunk, having sex, getting pregnant, going to rape council, failing exams, having bad relations with parents, etc etc. I learned at CHOICES (teen sex thingy) that while "nerds' normaly arent with the "cool group" they normaly end up with the long sustainable marrieges. The MAJORITY of cool people normaly get divorced after marriages. Nerds are the one's who have long healthy relationships. We also learned how these cool party animals normaly arent virgins by the time they marry, thus not giving their partner their virginity - and being a broken person.

My conclusion: It's much healthier to be a nerd than a cool person.

Oh, and Im surprised there is no TV addiction counsiling. In the science magazine they said that tv IS THE WORST! Much worse than gaming or anything. It is basicly the same as gaming, except that you are in a much worse posture and YOU DONT USE YOUR BRAIN AT ALL. Gaming you make descisions and in games like WoW and stuff you use your brain alot. Tv you just
sit there, not interacting or anything. Im surprised they dont have a million TV addiction clinics. I know people who sit watching TV for more than 9 hours a day, and yet noone gives a thought at the fact that TV is much worse than gaming.

:sad: I'm shocked... Deeply shocked. I tried to make my reply
half-serious. I know what game addiction is(turning the computer on
just after waking up and playing civilization 1 until the sun begins to
set). I've been there, came back. Everything works again. :smile:
Some
people can suppress the addiction others need help. We are all
different after all. In the end it's good to have "professional help",
but the best help you can get is from yourself or your friends or
relatives.

I'll let you back to your daily posting routine now... :razz:

Edit: Added the point... :razz:

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''Everyone wades in s**t until they're competent enough to walk on it. Jesus style.''
Dystopia - Empires

Would 9 hours simming count as addicted? Not really in a straight line offcourse, you can program te FMC to take control while your away, stil.....

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RUST Gamedesign
pepper design

The strength of the turbulence is directly proportional to the temperature of your coffee.

Pvt.Scythe said:
I know what game addiction is(turning the computer on just after waking up and playing civilization 1 until the sun begins to set).

i used to do that but not only until the sun began to set. until it was time to sleep (14-16 hours in total) and not civilization1, maplestory.

now that i can't play anything because the comp crashes after a while, i started mapping but (like always) i gave up again and i'm bored.

is there anything to do?

I think we are hypocritical to say what is an isn't an addiction. Apart from chemical dependency (which can arguably be anything) addiction is an everyday thing. Shopping, pot, sex, money, exercise, video games, etc. can all be addictions, while some are worse than others (while some are actually good) anything taken to the extreme is bad.

as for online communication. I think that the retardation of people skills is arguable. What are "good social skills?" pretending you agree with other people? Not speaking your mind because your afraid of what girls will think?

I'd say that the real world suffocates most people. Look at all the "fake" people out there. Is it more healthy to wear Buddy Holly glasses just because its some kind of fad? Or to sit at home and flirt with a lvl 47 dark mage?

What about that anti-gay rights politician who banned gays from adopting children and later was found chatting at online gay bondage web sites. Who is the real person? anti-gay man or L0ngshaft6969?

Are we fighting human evolution here?

lol'd

After reading this thread, I seriously was begining to think that I was an "adict" of some sort.

Well, trash that thought :razz:

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Breaking the laws of mapping since 2003 and doing a damn fine job at it

homosexualism is not evolution. it's retarlution.
i might have missunderstood.

homosexualism is not evolution. it's retarlution.
i might have missunderstood.

Here is the point of the homosexual example. The man, who can be assumed to be gay or have homosexual "urges" was able to be gay through use of the Internet. His real life personal, a politician, was hard line against gays. That is an example of self hate, he hated the fact that he was gay so he did everything in his power to attack "himself". Which begs the question, who was more real? The homophobic or the homosexual?

The "evolution" is in the way we as humans interact. 100 years ago you knew only the people in your general area, now anyone can communicate and even fall in love with any other person anywhere. I'd say its the medium of communication that is changing and not the act of communication.

back to the topic, video games can be "addictive" and a prime example is MMORPGs. My question; is that not just another facet of human communication? Is it any-less real or less fake than "real" life?

homosexualism is not evolution. it's retarlution.

Great, another one :rolleyes:

DrGlass, I wrote you a long response then my internet timed out and I lost it. Mildly frustrating. Let's see if I can get it to work this time.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>・quoting DrGlass</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>as for online communication. I think that the retardation of people skills is arguable. What are "good social skills?" pretending you agree with other people? Not speaking your mind because your afraid of what girls will think? </DIV></DIV>

<DIV>Well, those two examples of "good social skills" are not the ones I would give (they're a bit too jaded for my tastes). I've put some thought into it and I guess the best and most concise definition of "good social skills" that I can give would be to equate it with being charismatic:</DIV>

• Personal magnetism or charm

I'm not saying I think that "good social skills" means you have to bamboozle everyone into liking you, or following you wherever you lead them... but instead I feel like someone with "good social skills" can, upon meeting someone, find some common ground, converse in a meaningful way (about topics that extend beyond the superficial), and ultimately get the other person to warm up to them, to enjoy the conversation, to feel like a real human connection had been made. In my limited experience, none of those attributes or effects of "good social skills" (by my definition) really come into play online or through other forms of mediated communication.

Phone conversations may come close, but they lack a fundamental quality of communication that I think begins to answers this question:

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>・quoting DrGlass</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>back to the topic, video games can be "addictive" and a prime example is MMORPGs. My question; is that not just another facet of human communication? Is it any-less real or less fake than "real" life? </DIV></DIV>

The fundamental quality of communication that MMORPG's lack, in my opinion, is the physical nature of inter-personal communication. When you talk to someone face-to-face, there are subtleties in inflection, tone, facial expression (or lack thereof), and body language. A lot of these subtleties don't even consciously register, but they all add up to give each person a "feeling" of how the conversation is going.

I mean, have you ever met someone and after a few minutes of conversation realize you really like that person? And it seems pretty apparent that they feel the same way? I'm not talking about having a crush on someone, but rather, you feel a connection somehow, the potential for a strong friendship. There weren't enough words exchanged to give you this feeling, but instead the body language (a genuine smile for example) made you feel comfortable and happy to be around this person. I've experienced this a few times with a few different people. I wouldn't consider myself a charismatic guy, and I feel like its the only times I ever experienced charisma... if that makes any sense at all.

Anyway, that's just one example of how I think MMORPG communication is less real, or less substantial than face-to-face communication.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>・quoting DrGlass</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Which begs the question, who was more real? The homophobic or the homosexual?</DIV></DIV>

I really like this example, and this idea. As I see it, the experience of this politician deals more with identity that communication. Obviously, when he was online he was being truer to his identity than when he was walking around in real life. As a staunch anti-homosexual, he basically lives a self-contradictory lie, and in this particular example I would say his communication online was more HONEST than his communication in person. However, I'm not sure which was more REAL.

I have a feeling that this example of the politician isn't the usual case. Regardless, I think that physical inter-personal reaction is a life skill that shouldn't be ignored in favor of the development of an online persona. I spend more than average amounts of time online (mostly here), but I still truly value the conversations and interactions I have in person. They often illicit stronger emotions, more genuine and long-lasting relationships, and in the end make me happier (or sadder on occasion). I'm not trying to say that online conversation is worthless (I find this particular conversation VERY edifying), just that it should never be a substitute for face-to-face communcation.

Ok, thanks for all the food for thought DrGlass, I hope you take the time to read all this :smile:

Human interaction in reality is good -- but the major question is:

Which one (online interaction vs. Real-Life interaction) should be considered more important when the real life interaction seems to fall, "short" I suppose. For instance; I have had very few "good" real life interations. I am generally disliked, and most people would pick someone else to be with if given the chance. Since that's usually the case, which would I hold more weight? Online interaction, where if I get into a snit with someone, I simply press the disconnect button, whereas in reality I have to sit there and put up with the moron for the next hour or so (think school).

Now bare in mind, I'm all up for real life discusion and human interaction -- the issue is, is that I get so little of it (summer, where I am stranded in my house with no where to go) and poor interaction in general (school) that I generally have no greivances with talking to people via the internet.

Thoughts?

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Breaking the laws of mapping since 2003 and doing a damn fine job at it

Interesting G.Ballblue, I guess given your situation online communication is the easiest and best outlet.

Hmm. I guess everything should be taken on a case by case basis. But, in general, I feel like all things being equal (which they're not for most people) physical interpersonal communication is important enough that it shouldn't be ignored or abandoned.

The internet is my only link to others that share my mapping interests. I live in Iowa, and although we do have games and computers and such, I have not yet met another mapper. Ever.

Without the internet, I would be alone, unable to talk with anyone that shares what I'm most interested in.

So I do spend a lot of time on the internet, but I don't see it as an addiction, I see it as the best way to express myself.

---

Dark_Kilauea
DVS Administration
http://www.dvstudio-production.com/

I'd say that the real world suffocates most people. Look at all the "fake" people out there. Is it more healthy to wear Buddy Holly glasses just because its some kind of fad? Or to sit at home and flirt with a lvl 47 dark mage?

Yes. You know how many people I have spoken to over the internet who ACTUALLY speak their true mind? Everyone.

So many people in real life who have "social skills" always speak to satisfy their listener OR to improve what other people think of them. For instance, once I designed a map layout on paper in class. I showed it to a guy, he laughed. Everyone else laughed. They called me insults, and called me a nurd, and other crap. "real" life? Then I spoke to the same guy on the internet. He showed great interest. He gave me feedback. As I said, "social skills" refers to being able to satisfy the listener.

When they say take part in "real" life, do "real" activities - it actually means pretend about everything, not present who you really are. Change your interests and you true self.

Before I had got internet I was depressed. I hated sport. I didnt enjoy "hanging"
with bunches of brainless cool people. I had no interests - because I never knew they existed. When I found the web I found things I was interested in, things that made me happy. And best of all - I DIDNT FEEL ALONE. My oponion is that trying to take a gaming addict and prove to him he would enjoy doing "real" activities is the same as taking him, and forcing him to fake a smile.