World of Warcraft- I don't get it!

[Harleyquin]

The appeal of WoW or indeed any MMORPG is quite simple and one people seem to miss.

People.

The unique aspect about MMORPG's is that you are playing with, against and alongside real live people. WoW forces you quite early on to rely on other people - its very hard to go solo for long.

The "addictive" part is realistically compertition - people wanting to beat other people to that "best" item - to level your char a little faster than somebody else, to have a little more damage output than anybody else... We form bonds to people online and the atmosphear helps you escape into its own little world - sure you know these people live in different counteries but theres times you forget about that and you become a member of a strong community. Age and sex dosent matter so much her either - girls can go up against the largest ogre and kick its butt just as easily as guys do - you can play any sex you like for that matter so gender politics tend to go out of the window.

The trick with these games though is that things happen in real time - if you want to get the most out of it you HAVE to play at the same time as the other people you have come to know - if you dont your soon going to be left behind and its here when people start to leave the game. Its while your still in that race to keep up with others howeve is where the real addiction lies.

when people start to drift out of WoW is when we loose those bonds of fellowship to the people were playing with or we start slipping too far behind is when it comes appart.

Unlike normakl games where you can just "save" your position and come back in 3 weeks and start precicely where you left off - if you leave WoW for three weeks its likely that all your firends will have moved on and left you behind making you feel less welcome than you once did.

so its all down to interaction with people at the end of the day - this ofcourse flies directly in the face of percied oppinion that the internet isolates people - WoW does the exact opposite.

[Jason_Taverner]

look they games not drugs or drink no need to be silly.

Its simple you play the games when you have spare time, now rememeber if a better offer comes along to go out or to the pub or walk the dog you do it, but if you sat at home its raining nothing on TV for a hour you can't get into your book, whats wrong with playing a game.

Its easy when you are an adult thats what being an adult is, when you a parent its easy they get an hour a night or 2 hours after homework and if they don't like it you don't pay for their subs anymore simple as, or you take them off the computer.

What is a good element about online games is making friends, some people don't have a lot of friends and its a fun way of meeting new people, just be senisble and rememeber some people aren't who they seem, but the majority are like you and me so have fun, stay safe, and be sensible its very easy to do.

[Joel007]

I think Harleyquin makes an excellent point there, it's a community of friendly rivals who encourage each other on.

[Aerandir]

I never played WoW, luckily my computer wouldn't support it. I did get into FFXI, and most certaintly spent more time on it than I should have. I did wait until my daughter was in bed before logging in, but then I would stay up way too late.

For me the addiction was building the characters up, and obtaining the best equipment and items. I did socialize a bit, but not nearly as much as most people. I guess I'm just not a very social guy in person, or online. I've never had good friends online, just people that I killed time with here and there.

One thing I didn't like about FFXI is you had to have 6-18 people togather in order to get anywhere in the game. You spend more time waiting for parties then you do actually playing the game. Then there are the online money sellers that end up inflating all the goods making it nearly impossible to get the high end equipment you need to be competitive. You end up spending hours upon hours doing repetitive tasks in order to get another money togather to buy gear in order to wait hours for a party to use the gear.

LoL. It seemed like I was having fun at the time but looking back at it I guess it did cause quite a few frustrations.

[Quokka]

Yeah sorry if my earlier posts sounded a bit harsh they weren't really meant to be and you could replace what I said about alcohol with food, tv, work anything you like really... even reading I suppose its the old saying of its not what you do but how you do it.

I probably had a similar experience to Aerandir and others, it was fun at the time and when it started to be less fun for the amount time I was putting into it I found something else to do. I still enjoy playing online games sometimes, same as I do posting here or a card night with friends but i find how online gaming and the internet in general is developing really interesting. There's that whole scope from newbies to casual gamers to the extreme of people who really could be argued have an addiction, there are some who have just out right decided they prefer it online and increasingly those who earn a living out of it and I think we're only scratching the surface of how the internet could change how we communicate and spend our time.