The Abhorrent said:
Directing one's ire towards one particular game certainly seems more sensible, but it's quite clear that the issues are not restricted to any single game. As I said, this is a problem the basic design template. So long as the game is reliant on "carrot-on-a-stick" techniques to keep ahold of it's playerbase, in order to keep them continually paying their subscriptions, these issues will persist. If it were just one game to which was doing these issues, the complaints would be directed solely at that game. They aren't, it's part of the fundamental design template for every single known MMO.
The most basic, and fundamental, of these design decisions is the idea that the game does not end. If you can name any MMO which doesn't at least try take advantage of this, I will be surprised. So long as the game doesn't end, those subscriptions just keep coming in. Some MMOs have moved to Free-to-Play models, but those still take advantage of micro-transactions. Both versions have some form of carrot-on-a-stick techniques at play, making players keep going rather than relying on the game's actual merits to be enjoyable. Of course, other non-MMOs use carrot-on-a-stick techniques as well... but the fundamental difference remains, they end. By giving a game some finality, the issues with dependency go away even with the most expansive titles; but when you keep adding new content and especially new incentives (gear upgrades being the most obvious example) to do said content, the issue just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
It's a strange thing, to allow that single player games also use carrots to compel the player onward, and to imply that the problem with the MMO is that there is no discernible point at which the player is forced to stop. We are saying, at that point, that they are giving us too much game. Too much of a good thing. Like saying a buffet is inherently wicked, because you don't know when to stop eating.
I've been playing the genre off and on since Ultima Online, and I really do sincerely believe that they have become less psychologically addictive, and I'm not even 100% convinced they were ever more psychologically addictive than gaming in general, and I'm not 100% convinced that being psychologically addicted to your recreational activity of choice is necessarily Evil with a capital E. Certainly there are people who have run their lives/marriages/jobs into disarray by playing too many MMOs, but we've been hearing horror stories about people derailing their lives with video games since they first came into existence. People are not good about balancing their responsibilities with their pleasures.
The Abhorrent said:
As for the player being at fault as well... the point is that they aren't the only ones who carry the blame, especially since those minor cases are not isolated. The former MMO player does learn from their mistake, but at the same time they see all the signs of the same issue in the people who are still playing. I've used the excuse "I'm nowhere as bad as the worst cases" countless times when I was dependent; and it's just that, making excuses. Now think about what one would feel when they see others doing the exact same thing. As I said, the issues are endemnic; as is the rampant denial and watering down of the true scope of the situation, from both the players and the developpers.
And don't you dare start with the "It's not your problem" argument.
Well, you're going to have to allow here that your own dependency/experience is going to color your judgment here, to the same degree that you suspect mine is going to color mine. I have a friend who is a casual gamer. He has tried MMOs, including the most savagely addictive of them all, Everquest. He played them casually for a short period of time, then stopped. If the problem lies in the game design, and not with the gamer, should I not have seen at least SOME evidence that he was enthralled?
MMOs have changed, over the years. You have raid lockouts. You have rest xp. You have games that prompt you "It's been X hours, you should take a break!". The developers acknowledge that people pour too many hours into this hobby sometimes. I just don't know that it's a MMO specific problem. That Korean kid that died from self-neglect during a binge gaming session? That was STARCRAFT. I think we need to address compulsive gaming/neglect of self as a problem independent from the MMO as a genre.
The Abhorrent said:
You might be correct about the basic problems not being worse than the rest of the 'net; nevertheless, the situation is worse due to the aforementioned lack of moderation. These are the jerks who will use any excuse & defense to justify them ruining other people's day, and in MMOs they have it.
Here's the thing, though. The degree of forced interaction in MMOs is going down and down and down. Having your play time gated by idiots is becoming less and less of an issue. Griefing was a HUGE hot button issue for me when I first started playing these games. It's barely on my register, now, because it hasn't really been a problem for a good long time.
Anyway, good points. Thanks for the discussion, seriously. I'm bored at work.
