Continued from the previous post!
I don’t think time spent is the direct indicator of addiction. At one point in 1999 when I was forming a guild, I was in-game for 37 straight hours – the longest I have ever been. And while I was doing my doctoral research, I was spending perhaps between 60 to 90 hours a week in-game. OK, so I was researching, but still… there’s a lot of time.
No… the better indicator by far is to determine if the need to keep playing games supersedes everything else, including time to eat, drink, sleep and tend to other bodily functions, and your studies and work.
Now, the effects on social relationships is a lot trickier. There’s one line of thought that if your your social circle and activity stops only at /gsay and /tell messages, then you’re neglecting human relationships in favor of virtual ones. But evidence elsewhere points to that virtual relationships are every bit as realistic as the earthly ones. I mean, I met our great Missouri friend Matt in EverQuest after all, and if he ever gets round to it, he’ll relate this story of our first encounter 11 years ago on a sandy beach while running from crocodiles and stomping sand giants.
But then again, my interest in MMORPGs like EverQuest and WoW have always been more social than game-centric. Achiever-centric accomplishments (e.g. leveling up and getting new skills and toys), a core game design mechanic which sustains many game subscriptions, means very little to me as a gamer. I get the most kick out of chatting and yakking with people online.:)
All that said, the doctoral studies was the high-point of the time I spent in games. It’s ironic: now that I teach and lecture in game design and development, I spend far less time now playing games for leisure than anywhere in the last 10 years. Perhaps an hour some nights, usually less.
What’s changed? That I’m married now, and that gaming tends to be (but not always) an exclusive sort of hobby when it comes to spouses. I’ve blogged here before that I’m trying to make sure we get plenty of couple time doing things together. So the games I pick up these days, where possible, are the sort of titles that I think there’s a chance Ling will be interested in, or if not, at least don’t mind watching. Like Prince of Persia, Hakuna Matata, and Aquanaut’s Holiday. Not that there’re many games like this on the PS3 though, and no, I’m absolutely not going down the Wii route LOL.
All that said, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is due out later this year. Ling enjoyed the first installment, so when the title gets released, it’ll be something for her to get into again.:)
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