Reseachers Call For Less Addictive MMOs

[suitepee7]

but, then they'd be shit... if they're concerned about the impact its having on 'teh childrenz', then blame shitty parents for not paying attention to what the kid is doing. if they're concerned about adults, then just fuck off. you shouldn't have authority here, stay the fuck out of what i do in my free time

 

[Genocidicles]

I hope they get legislated. Maybe then MMO devs will be forced to make interesting games instead of a load of Skinner's boxes.

 

[llamastorm.games]

Fuck off. That's really all I have to say to them.

It's okay
This researched stemmed from Derby and Nottingham Trent 'Universities'
Basically two of the shittest Uni's in the UK
It basically means nothing

So basically they're just trying to drum up controversy to get some ink and hopefully a little more cash with that?

No idea really.
I would have guessed it simply being because all the worthwhile things to research had been taken up by reputable institutions and this was all they had left.

 

[Charli]

Okay then stop advertising bingo and poker websites on TV.

No?

Spoiler: Rrrrage

THEN SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET YOUR HALF ASSED RESEARCH OUT OF HERE TOO YOU HYPOCRITICAL FUCKWITS.

This isn't going to change anything and if anything MMO's should become even more 'addictive' (See: Compulsion, not addiction.) than they are now, because there's not been any major booms of development of the formula in the last 8 years really.

MMO's are not addictive. Anyone who claims they are, are trivializing 'addiction' and blaming their own weak characters on something they're relying on to escape reality. Nothing in an MMO is chemically altering your physical makeup or mental capacity. Your lack of sleep, or bad eating habits as a result of playing too many games/mmo's? Yes that might be fucking you up a bit, but you still have control of yourself there.

That's like me blaming my incessant need to finish the Harry Potter books the night of release and staying up until the next day at 8:30am to do so, on the book.

Pretty. Fucking. Stupid.

It's okay
This researched stemmed from Derby and Nottingham Trent 'Universities'
Basically two of the shittest Uni's in the UK
It basically means nothing

Ohhh okay. Escapist, I get the feeling you take British headlines way too seriously some days. There's a good chunk of reporting here that's about on par with Fox News. The only way to combat it, is to not pay it any heed, or it gets what it wants.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

"Researchers call for less addictive MMOs"

Let me fix that for you:

"Researchers call for less addictive crack"

On a serious note, I once again reference Extra Credits: "Games are not addcitive, they do not physically alter the brain's chemistry, rather, they are compelling"

Also, if they wonder why they are almost addictive to some people, then they should either:

a) play the games themselves and see why people find them so interesting(a sense of community, a large world begging to be explored)

b) watch the extra credits episodes on Game Compulsion (because they are the only people that I have seen that understand the argument and provide the right answers(also because I got emotional on part 3))

 

[cidbahamut]

You kidding me? The current MMO industry has been a race to the bottom to see who could make the most generic and boring MMO out there. They all go down a check list these days to make sure they meet the required number of required WoW factor. There hasn't been a fantasy MMO out there that I've enjoyed in the last 3 years, RIFT and TERA came close but they still missed the mark by a mile.

Definitely not the digital crack it is made out to be.

May as well end the thread right there.

I broke my MMO habit by simply taking a short break to play some other better games. Came back and thought to myself "why did I stick with this for so long? It's kind of awful."

These days my friends and I crank out a monthly podcast reviewing MMOs. They're not all that addictive and even the ones that get their hooks in you can be thwarted fairly simply.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

90 hours in a session?! ba-jesus! what's their secret?
there's not really a way to even regulate any of it effectively, the only thing you can do in my opinion is create talk-groups to help people who want to quit.

if they don't want to quit, they won't quit, you can't force them legally.

 

[Dyf91]

Well this is just... well, it's just plain stupid. It is clearly the fault of the MMO for being 'addictive' and not the person playing for sinking 90 hours into the game without breaks, great logic there 'researchers'. I mean I like MMO's, and when I find one I do like I play it pretty much during all my spare time during the day - SPARE time. Not the time I should be working or sleeping, just the time I have to spare (which is usually quite a bit, admittedly). I'm lucky in the aspect that end game grinding for loot bores the shit out of me, so I can never get really 'addicted' to an MMO, I tend to stop playing a few weeks after I hit max level and get semi-decent gear, but trying to stop people who do like that sort of content is just ridiculous. My friend used to raid several nights a week whilst keeping a full time job, it's the fault of the person (or that person's parents, depending on the age) if they get 'addicted' and spend unhealthy amounts of time playing an MMO.

I'm just going to leave and pretend I never read this now. It's just too ridiculous.

 

[Tiamat666]

We all know that conventional videogames have a definite beginning and end, while MMOs can effectively go on forever.

There are some non MMO games that can be played forever.

I'm looking at you, Bethesda.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

Pffft, these people are barking up the wrong tree.

Everyone knows that turn based and grand strategy games are the true roots of video game addiction!

 

[DataSnake]

We all know that conventional videogames have a definite beginning and end, while MMOs can effectively go on forever.

There are some non MMO games that can be played forever.

I'm looking at you, Bethesda.

Pretty much my thoughts. If your criteria for "conventional videogames" includes having a definite end, you've just excluded a wide swath of games, from Skyrim and Saints Row to Fruit Ninja and Tetris.

 

[MarsProbe]

Fuck off. That's really all I have to say to them.

It's okay
This researched stemmed from Derby and Nottingham Trent 'Universities'
Basically two of the shittest Uni's in the UK
It basically means nothing

So basically they're just trying to drum up controversy to get some ink and hopefully a little more cash with that?

From what I hear, at least in the UK, that's basically what universities need to do these days to get noticed and therefore, get funding. A certain uni near me has a quota on the number of papers it's staff has to produce each year (otherwise they will get "marked down", I imagine). It wouldn't surprise me if this is something similar...some university staff needing to make their quota by the end of the year so decided to do some "research" on these game video things that people like to watch these days.

 

[Yuuki]

You kidding me? The current MMO industry has been a race to the bottom to see who could make the most generic and boring MMO out there. They all go down a check list these days to make sure they meet the required number of required WoW factor. There hasn't been a fantasy MMO out there that I've enjoyed in the last 3 years, RIFT and TERA came close but they still missed the mark by a mile.

...What the hell did I just read
First you say you dislike Wow-clones, then you say RIFT and TERA "came close but missed by a mile" (???) but both those games borrow HEAVILY from WoW. Rift especially is basically WoW with a different color palette, even the fans agree.

So you've played RIFT and TERA and say that MMO's are shallow WoW clones. Talk about irony.

Try EVE Online, Guild Wars 1 and Guild Wars 2.

 

[LetalisK]

Fuck off. That's really all I have to say to them.

It's okay
This researched stemmed from Derby and Nottingham Trent 'Universities'
Basically two of the shittest Uni's in the UK
It basically means nothing

So basically they're just trying to drum up controversy to get some ink and hopefully a little more cash with that?

From what I hear, at least in the UK, that's basically what universities need to do these days to get noticed and therefore, get funding. A certain uni near me has a quota on the number of papers it's staff has to produce each year (otherwise they will get "marked down", I imagine). It wouldn't surprise me if this is something similar...some university staff needing to make their quota by the end of the year so decided to do some "research" on these game video things that people like to watch these days.

Kinda makes me happy about my university. I don't know if they had quotas, but I know the head of the psychology department at my university had one research topic he stroked the shit out of for a couple years before he published it.

 

[synobal]

You kidding me? The current MMO industry has been a race to the bottom to see who could make the most generic and boring MMO out there. They all go down a check list these days to make sure they meet the required number of required WoW factor. There hasn't been a fantasy MMO out there that I've enjoyed in the last 3 years, RIFT and TERA came close but they still missed the mark by a mile.

...What the hell did I just read
First you say you dislike Wow-clones, then you say RIFT and TERA "came close but missed by a mile" (???) but both those games borrow HEAVILY from WoW. Rift especially is basically WoW with a different color palette, even the fans agree.

So you've played RIFT and TERA and say that MMO's are shallow WoW clones. Talk about irony.

Try EVE Online, Guild Wars 1 and Guild Wars 2.

Rift was a step in the right step with the idea of dynamic events, Tera was close with their combat system. I've yet to play guild wars so I can't comment on it, but Eve Online was my first MMO and is still my MMO of choice.

 

[Lunar Templar]

right .... *looks at some of the notable MMO releases that have been utterly boring* problem seems to be fixing it self.

 

[CriticalMiss]

It's okay
This researched stemmed from Derby and Nottingham Trent 'Universities'
Basically two of the shittest Uni's in the UK
It basically means nothing

I was going to say something along these lines. I can't wait to not read what the DeMontfort University Psychonomy & Tourism department have to say on this matter.

Does anyone actually play an MMO for 90 hours in one sitting? 90 hours being about three and a half days. Seems like an exaggeration or a very VERY small minority of players who would do that. And I reckon it would be fairly easy to figure out a way to limit the amount of time people can play and make money at the same time.

Introduce a kind of stamina system that, over a certain period of time, reduces the amount of experience you gain, then drops the amount of damage you do and gradually nerfs your character until you are useless and playing any longer is pointless. Put in a 'rest' period over which the character recharges or add in a microtransaction potion that gives you back some energy. Since people hate microtransactions they will hopefully just piss off. More likely they will load up another character and keep playing if they are super addicted, but you aren't going to be able to stop a determined WoW-drone.

 

[braincore02]

Pffft, these people are barking up the wrong tree.

Everyone knows that turn based and grand strategy games are the true roots of video game addiction!

lol My friend picked up Civ for the first time ever and told me he basically got no sleep over the weekend. One more turn...

 

[MrStab]

Reseachers Call For Less Addictive MMOs

"One idea could be to shorten long quests to minimize the time spent in the game obtaining a certain prized item."

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But isn't that kind of the point with MMOs though? I've never been a big fan of them myself but isn't the whole rewarding point of those games that you go through the long grind to get the best gear? Isn't it sort of removing the point if you make it shorter and easier so that everyone playing can get the sharpest stick without much difficulty or time consumption?

 

[Nosirrah]

"One idea could be to shorten long quests to minimize the time spent in the game obtaining a certain prized item."

But that is what makes it a prized item! the hassle is what makes it prized in the first place!

For example, in skyrim the quest "picking up the pieces" can only be activated at level 20, requires you to run around the world, then fight several daedra, climb a mountain, then, after collecting your reward, gives you three more daedra to fight, then ends. The reward? a dagger with a 1% chance to insta-kill ANYTHING.