November seems to be the month for big name triple A games. Batman: Arkham City came out earlier this month (and is currently competing with my study time) and Skyrim just came out on Friday. Just like when the newest Starcraft game comes out I think we will all see an appreciable drop in attendance in classes that has nothing to do with the fact that classes end in just under three weeks.
So before we get into the holiday rush and the bountiful amount of gaming time that December provides – with a bit of time for final exam studying, of course – I figured a talk about video game addiction would be a good topic.
Now I know people are going to point out the fact that I regularly complain about the public perception of gaming as a violent hobby that produces homicidal maniacs. But that is different, because the generalization made there is that all video games of all kinds will cause all consumers to become murderers and murder all other people in the world – Kill all the things! The biggest point that I can make is that there is a much higher percentage of gamers that have played games for years and never committed a crime than there are gamers that do commit crimes. So is it the games? No, it’s the people.
But back to the topic, I do acknowledge that addiction can be a very real problem for some gamers, sometimes with dire consequences. I believe I have previously mentioned a couple that spent so much time in an internet cafe playing an MMORPG that they neglected to feed their daughter, who they left at home. After the death of the young child due to starvation, the couple was placed under arrest, and gaming was blamed as the cause. While I personally believe that a person has to have something seriously wrong with them to get so engrossed in a virtual world that they forget THEY HAVE A CHILD AT HOME STARVING, game developers have created the perfect environment for pre-disposed people to develop these dependancies.
Several months ago I read an article about a university professor’s autobiography about his video game addiction. Attributing his life-long depression and mental illness issues to an abusive child-hood, the author described how the world of MMOs – in this case the often publicized World of Warcraft – allowed him to escape his life and become the greatest being in his new environment. Driving up enormous debts and losing his chance at tenure, the man allowed his addiction to almost ruin his life, all while losing out on spending time with his wife and children.
This is an extreme case, but one that is probably extremely common, just not publicized. The author described the continued draw he feels every time a new WOW game is released, even describing the occasional relapse he has had, and how the continued support of his family helps him pull through.
This extreme case is probably not something that the vast majority of games would ever really consider a problem or would experience themselves, but game developers have been able to market on human nature to make many more addictive games to sell to the general gaming consumer.
One of the trends that lends itself to this type of game development and marketing is the growth of mobile and browser gaming. Games like Angry Birds and Zynga’s CityVille and FarmVille have inundated the market and captured the attention of gamers, core and casual alike.
Many more games like Angry Birds have sprung up, using extremely short levels to allow for casual pick-up and play style gaming on the go. This level lends itself very easily to the “just another level” kind of addiction – obviously not the same level of addiction as some games. But I have seen some people get extremely angry when they can’t beat a specific level of Angry Birds. It hasn’t been pretty, and I’m sure the bus driver didn’t like them throwing their phone at the window.
Recently I installed a ‘free’ game known as Wind-up Knight for Android. The game looks great, with 3D environments and simple but addictive gaming. The first couple levels were basic tutorial types, introducing you to the main game mechanics, with each gradually ramping up in difficulty. Interestingly, right before you start level four, a message comes up saying you have a one-time offer to unlock all the levels in the game (for $5). As this was a free game I passed on the option of paying for a game I wasn’t really interested in. And, of course, level four is hard enough that I’ve tried about ten times and can’t get past. Now I’m sure I could go and purchase that unlock code to get past that level, but I really don’t want to support a company that markets a game as free just to lure consumers in, then slide the collecting tin under their noses a minute later.
FarmVille and CityVille (which are basically the exact same game) are great examples of an incredibly simple gameplay model that has trapped hundreds of people. While it seems to be fading out now, just a year ago I was getting about five emails per day from Facebook because friends wanted to share some stupid building or crop with me. The games took the basic mechanic of the RollerCoaster Tycoon games and made them a community environment.
Even console and PC games attempt to draw consumers in, with downloadable content and in-game collectibles. The achievements and trophies in Xbox 360 and PS3 games respectively are big examples of this process. Some people are so obsessed with having a higher gamer score than others that they will willingly buy horrible pointless children’s games just because they can get the thousand points for all the easy achievements. If spending $50 on a stupid game you don’t actually want because you want your virtual score to be higher than some unknown person from the other side of the planet isn’t an addiction, then I don’t know what is. Luckily the days of limited save points in games is gone except where the developers just want to be evil. Remember the days when you had finally beaten that horrible boss fight, only to fall off a platform or get caught on an invisible wall. Those are the times when the ability to save a game anywhere at any time is the greatest advancement in gaming in years. Though it does remove the classic excuse “But I haven’t reached the next save point yet, just five more minutes Mom”, well, you win some, you lose some. So, don’t get to caught up in gaming to forget what really matters. See you next time.
Keep on Gaming!
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