Ok.. you know you have no life when this bothers you...

[MrLinus]

Seriously. I want to shake this guy and remind him: IT'S A FREAKIN' GAME, DUDE!!! GET A LIFE!! THEY'RE $10 AT THE DOOR!!!

That aside, I have seen game addiction result in divorce and near breakups. There is one game I used to play that resulted in being so involved because of the character development was actually part of the player itself (it was entirely text-based and revolved around interactions between people for political and social power within the game) that it wasn't unusual to see people playing 24-hours straight (I've done it and it did strain my relationship). But at least I did clue in that it was getting out of hand and got a clue (and a life).

So now I'm addicted to cycling instead.

Source: Canoe.ca

The cruelest form of revenge: deleting your ex's video game data out of spite
Will this poor soul ever play an MMORPG again?
By Eric Weiner
January 21, 2005

Those who are in close dating relationships might want to take heed to one man's "punishment" for breaking up with his girlfriend--backup your data, at least whenever possible! A player of the semi-popular MMORPG Lineage lost a multitude of game-data when his ex-girlfriend illegally broke into his account and deleted his file. In Lineage players must battle hordes of enemies in order to raise the funds to buy more powerful weapons at exorbitant prices, so even though no real money was stolen, the fake funds this 30-something lost will undoubtedly be quite painful to him. Perhaps the message that can be gleaned here is that if you're going to dump someone, dump that person as gently as possible.

This is not the first time playing an MMORPG has resulted in additional angst. In the most extreme example to date, 21-year-old Wisconsin resident Shawn Wooley commited suicide on Thanksgiving morning 2001. He would play the game almost non-stop, and the reason for his suicide was ostensibly because a fellow "guild member" stole his vast amount of in-game currency.

[Cybr1d]

Sigh....

I've played a few MMORP games, including Ragnarok, FFXI and now Beta Testing The Matrix Online, but holy ****...i couldn't care less of whatever happens to my guy in the game or how much money I have....sex is defenitely more important/satisfying than how much damage I can deal with my expensive weapons lol

So sad...

[Egaladeist]

No games for me...no Xbox...no playstation...no games at all at home or on my comp ( except the ones Microsoft supplied)...I occasionally play arcade games on the net...but I still prefer pinball...hehe...do I sound old or what?!!

[|3lack|ce]

As a seasoned mudder (Realms of Despair 8 years now, Legends of Excalibur about 1, and Unicorn Valley about 6mos) I can see how addictive these games can be. I, too, have played many hours and neglected almost everything else (including Mrs |ce.) I found a balance in my RL vs mudtime in that I spend a maximum of 4 hours per week actually on the mud - a nice compromise I made with Mrs. |ce btw. It matters not if I do it all on one day, or if I spread those 4 hours out over the week, 4 is all I let myself have. I have met, both in person and online, many people like me who suffer from 'mud addiction,' several of which have lost jobs, spouses, homes, the works over spending their lives in text-based cyberspace. I have seen 'equipment' from one mud in particular (RoD again) traded on ebay for THOUSANDS of rl dollars. It's positively stupid if you ask me, but if someone has the rl cash to spend...

Is it escapism? Probably. Not only is the player taken away from whatever problems he or she suffers in real life, they're transported to the most mystical world of all, that of the human imagination. Muds tend to enhance one's mood - if a player is happy when they login, they have an incredible time there, producing a 'giddy high' in the player's emotional state. If they're upset or angry the inverse occurs, resulting in a 'devastating low'. It's a wonder we haven't heard about suicides from folks who hit 'death traps' where all their precious equipment is lost...

What's the value in mudding? Time. It starts out as a simple game, something to waste one's time while they are entertained. It turns into a time investment. Quite literally thousands of hours are spent levelling, adepting skills and spells, and acquiring that precious equipment mentioned in the article MsMittens posted. Add to that the cameraderie of the person's 'online friends' (which the person may or may not ever meet or know the true name, sex, or location thereof). It's a sad thing seeing a mudder's resume references because after playing for so long, one has no other friends.

I could go on for chapters about this. Instead I'll end it with:
Too many people have no lives. I used to be one of them.

[Double//Cut]

Originally posted here by Egaladeist
No games for me...no Xbox...no playstation...no games at all at home or on my comp ( except the ones Microsoft supplied)...I occasionally play arcade games on the net...but I still prefer pinball...hehe...do I sound old or what?!!

ditto, i mainly did it because i wanted to be different. Every one of my mates using computers played games for hours and hours on end. I'd just sit there doing programmin. Now i dont program or game, i watch eps + hack. Thats all.

Dont get me wrong, games are fun, and i did thrash Generals and UT2k4 but in the last couple yrs, those are the only two.

"IMHO general binge gaming is a waste of time"*

* = I know i will offend, IMHO

[Tiger Shark]

It's a lot about an addictive personality..... Which I have.... But I have redirected it somewhat to computer security.... which is handy since it's work related....

But I do love Counter Strike... I could play it all day and I try to on weekends... .... But my sweetie reminds me all too often that she is there and there are chores to do.... Since I get up at 05:30 every day I can slide in nearly 4 hours on a good weekend morning but the "death knell" of my pleasure is the call from above, (well.. ok... upstairs), is "It's shower tiiiiiime".... So I sit there for few seconds thinking "I'm pretty sure I had one yesterday... didn't I?"... But the reply is always "Yes, dear..." Then I sneak a couple more rounds in and give in... But if I can get her "redirected" during the day I might slip back into my favorite server for as many rounds as I can slide in there before sweetie realizes that I'm enjoying myself....

But generally my sweetie sees to it that my particular addiction is well regulated..... and I'm too scared of her to challenge her authority....

[Drakain Zeil]

Heh... glad I don't play games thesedays...

[er0k]

i once committed suicide after my outwar account was banned.. sigh, i regenerated when UT2004 came out

[MURACU]

I have always had a bit of an addictive persnality when it comes to computers. Ever since i figured out that the goto command wasnt the only way to do a loop on my zx80. I play mainly anarcy on line, a mmorpg. I ,like Tiger Shark, will spend as much time on line as i can. I enjoy the social interaction with the other players. What I dont do is let it get in the way of real life or take the game seriously. I look at it like the forums i visit. Nice way to pass a bit of time, get some different opinions on what is happening in the world and meet interesting people. Of course in the game when somebody doesnt agree with you you can just shoot them . In any case while you are not a bad bunch of people. I much prefer being in my local with a nice pint of guinnes and a world changing debate going on rather than being on line. Of course I will be more than happy to buy anyone who turns up in my local a drink and if necessary a conversation (see monty python's The meaning of life).

[ZomBieMann77]

Heh Im one of the lucky ones i guess. My wife is as much of an avid gamer as i am. She is perfectly understanding when I go on one of my rare binges. Coming to bed at 1:00am when the alarm clock goes off at 4:30am. Just as long as I dont make too much noise when i get to bed. She even plays counter strike from time to time. She tends to stick to rpgs because her laptop just cant handle alot of CS and we dont have the money to build her a gaming desktop ATM but we will. HEll she's even cool enought o stop what shes doing when the CS clan has a match to come cheer us on and so she doens screw up my ping