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[PATV] Thursday, September 1, 2011 - Extra Credits Season 3, Ep. 5: Game Addiction pt.2

DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
edited May 2012 in The Penny Arcade Hub
image[PATV] Thursday, September 1, 2011 - Extra Credits Season 3, Ep. 5: Game Addiction pt.2

This week, we conclude our two-part series on the much-debated topic of "Game Addiction" (in a very, VERY unusual way).

Read the full story here

Dog on
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Posts

  • welknairwelknair Registered User new member
    Wow. I am very impressed that you had the guts to say all this. I'm certain you've helped many a gamer with this episode.

  • The Guy is Zonef137The Guy is Zonef137 Registered User regular
    Wow. That was really good. What more can I say.

  • FramlingFramling FaceHead Geebs has bad ideas.Registered User regular
    A lot of that mirrors my experience with ADD.

    you're = you are
    your = belonging to you

    their = belonging to them
    there = not here
    they're = they are
  • ChiYoungChiYoung Registered User new member
    Thank you for talking about this.

  • SaikyunSaikyun Registered User new member
    Great episode, you had me in tears.

  • LsakurifaisuLsakurifaisu Registered User new member
    Such an inspiring video. I rarely leave a comment on anything on the web but this left me with such a feeling of inspiration that I couldn't not do so. James, thank you for your bravery in talking about your own hardships with game addiction/compulsion. Your truths and from the heart story left me unwilling to detach myself from the screen. I'm certain that many people will see this video and be changed because of it, count me as one of them.

    I would also like to thank the extra credits team, I hope you keep doing what you do as I feel more motivated and inspired every time I watched one of your episodes. The insight and knowledge I gain from watching this series is so valuable and the information I gain from watching I know I will one day put to good use. So now I go to share this to the world, as I hope many other will do the same :)

  • codycody Registered User new member
    "Life will always welcome you back."

    Great stuff.

    My mom came to New York and bought a full length fur coat. I said, "Do you know what they had to kill to get that? Some other rich lady."
  • zerix807zerix807 Registered User new member
    Go James!!

  • MortadelegleMortadelegle Registered User new member
    Best.Episode.Ever.

  • Khromosomes_XXKhromosomes_XX Registered User new member
    I was an Everquest junkie, too :(
    I missed out on so much stuff I could have done in high school, but I do have very vivid memories of my adventures in that game. This definitely hit close to home...thanks so much, James. It felt really good to hear someone else in this situation discuss it.

  • SirDaviesSirDavies Barcelona, SpainRegistered User regular
    edited July 2012
    This was really inspiring. Thanks for sharing your memories and thoughts about this topic. This video helps to see it from a perspective much more powerful and meaningful that an analytic view of it would. Thanks.

    SirDavies on
  • lordshelllordshell Registered User regular
    This is one of--if not THE reason--I've avoided MMOs since they first appeared. I've had way too many friends slide into this swamp. At least two friends have lost their jobs over it and others have come close.

    At first the reason I avoided them was, well, I'm a cheapskate. The idea of paying a monthly fee stuck in my cheapskate craw.

    As time went on, I dismissed the 'addiction' stories as more hysteria/internet fodder. It wasn't until those friends lives started crashing and burning that I gave it a second look. Now I'm a believer. My opinion (for what it's worth) is that the reason the MMOs have such addictive power isn't necessarily that they're superior to the stand alones. I think it's because there's nothing to tell players to stop. In a stand alone game, no matter how long, eventually you come to an end. Maybe you go back and play it again but eventually the game begins to pale. With an MMO, that cue isn't there. There's no "I got to the final chapter and now I can stop'. It's a world that keeps growing and expanding and is incredibly immersive. Too many people don't realize that NOTHING IS GOING TO TELL YOU TO STOP.

    Makes me thankful I"m such a cheapskate. Probably saved me from my own addiction story.

  • betrayerkolbetrayerkol Registered User regular
    For me, in an MMO every day things got better for me. I had better stuff, I had better stats, I knew other players better and how to work with them as a team and was able to do more interesting things.

    Meanwhile in my real life things just kept getting worse. Part of it was because I was becoming too impatient and didn't handle failure well, part was medical issues, part was bad luck, but a big part was because things kept spiraling and I spent more time playing MMOs and less time trying to improve my real life.

    I finally stopped when I realized that I wasn't actually enjoying my time playing WoW anymore. I was distracting myself from my real world problems, I was hitting the skinner boxes so I got a sense of accomplishment each day, but I wasn't actually having fun anymore. Even then I had to sell my computer before I could stop for good.

    Learning to deal with setbacks and bad days is hard. It's taken a lot of retraining for me, and I'm still not doing that great and having to learn real life courage. However, I now only play games to enjoy them and because they make my life more fun, not as a way to escape.

  • KinmornKinmorn Registered User new member
    A note to people who are in the position I was--yeah, maybe you're not addicted to an MMO, maybe you don't see your life going wrong--are you still affected adversely by how often you play games? I finished high school last year, and I was on and off the console, with some intermittent online games. You can not be "addicted" and still have your grades, your relationships, and your health slip because you keep staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning each night playing games and not studying or doing homework. In college, it only gets harder. So take my advice--if you want into get into a better school, moderate your gaming--don't stop playing, because relaxation is important, but don't go overboard. Do your work first. This is going to have long reaching effects you may not believe--if I had just spent 4-5 hours a week less on games, I could easily have upped my grades to the point where I would be getting a full scholarship to my college--and trust me, you do NOT want student loans hanging over your neck. They never go away, even if you declare bankruptcy. And the way things are looking, the cost and interest of these loans is only likely to go up. So take some time out now, while you still can. You can use games to hide from studying and working, but not from money.

  • Rags23Rags23 Registered User new member
    It takes a lot of guts to open up like that. I don't like to toss around the words 'inspiring' or 'emotional' or....but this episode was all that and more. Thank you so much for this.

  • lordhobanlordhoban Registered User regular
    Well said, James.

  • pyrusmolepyrusmole Registered User new member
    "I have watched the greatest minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked/ dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of the night."-"Howl", Allen Ginsberg
    Thank you, James. It took bravery to say the things you did. To be that open and personal. You probably know this poem, actually I'm pretty sure you've referenced it on the show (I'm not going to browse through the episodes to find out.) I believe that this beautiful piece of literature sums up my thoughts about this episode better than I could in the constrains of the web comments section. It's all about rejection, escapism, depression, fear, doubt and about all that pain that comes with these things. Anyways, it's not very relevant I know but I thought I would add it to the discussion, put it on the field, in hopes that it'll resonate with somebody watching this episode, they'll look it up, and find the wisdom in these words older than our hobby itself and certainly older than their compulsion.

  • DrifterxionDrifterxion Registered User new member
    I know this was posted awhile ago... but this is probably the most important video I needed to watch. I'm struggling with game compulsion. Its caused a serious depression and anxiety disorder and I struggle with holding jobs. I'm seeking help, but this made me really consider. I needed to hear from someone who struggled like I am. James... I respect you for all that you said and did on this video. As many other have said... it took a lot of courage and I hope... I genuinely hope I can take a little of that with me. Now I'm not perfect but I have to start somewhere.. I'm glad its starting here.

  • Scott_LaRoqScott_LaRoq Registered User new member
    Type your comment here

  • SkexisSkexis Registered User regular
    edited October 2012
    Thank you to Extra Credits for taking on this issue with open arms. I recognize a lot of the same things that James mentions in my own play of games...shelter from criticism, validation of character traits, and even philosophical reinforcement. (Journey was quite the experience for me)

    I've been lucky enough to have friends who are clearly more openly sociable than I am, and they've given me those opportunities you mentioned. These days, I usually take them up on it. But that wasn't always the case, and it's a gracious and good thing you're doing to let others know that this can be a problem if you let it, and also that it's certainly not insurmountable. Like anything else, Life just takes a bit of practice.

    (Okay, now I feel like I'm in a Quaker Oats commercial or something, so I'll just stop.)

    Skexis on
  • ChimneyImpChimneyImp Shifty Eyes BostonRegistered User regular
    Thank you.

    Z04due2.png
  • hackersremixhackersremix Registered User new member
    Thank you James. You have articulated something that has bugged me for the last 5 years, that I felt the effects of in a different, yet as personal way. Your words moved me and gave me a pause to really think about things I hadn't before. So, as meager as this is, thanks.

  • BugsinspaceBugsinspace Registered User regular
    Really important point, but don't want to just skip over the meat of the episode so I will just say: James, wow man. Legendary. Thank you for having the balls. EC is making the world a better place, no doubt about it, and this is one your finest hours (nearly =P).

    But dude - when you said you've seen all the Civ wonders that are still standing I started blowing kisses at the screen so fast I accidentally slapped myself in the face and my labret made my gums bleed.

  • MycroMycro Registered User new member
    "I hope it can do somebody some good."

    Like you have no idea, James. This brought back years of depression, fighting, being scared, hiding away, and more importantly, reminded me just how far I've come since then.

    I'm not one to cry too quickly but you moved me to tears.

    Thank you.

    Thank you.

    Thank you.

  • Spiffy McBangSpiffy McBang Registered User regular
    I'm 35 and this is the first time I've ever seen or heard this discussed from the perspective I have on it. It remains a struggle; I may merely procrastinate over something for a week or two rather than have my life fall apart, but it still hits me because I'm still trying to build the type of life you described. And one of the hardest things has been feeling like everyone else in the world has a better grip on their habits than I do on mine.

    So, thank you for this. And to the commenters who acknowledged their issues as well.

  • VezRothVezRoth Registered User regular
    Without trying to minimize the impact that this episode had on me, I need to say:

    My name is Vez'Roth, and I am a game addict.

    It started very early in highschool, around 9th grade so nearly 10 years ago now. I had progressed to a point in my life that I was being bullied, constantly. From that point I found an escape in various games. Pokemon was big for the time, then I graduated to higher and higher games. Super Smash Bros. used up a lot of my time and life for a while, then Halo came out and I was lost.

    The progression started with Halo and I had a close friend I would spend a lot of time with playing through Halo over and over again. We got to the point where we were so good at the game that we would play through the Library. On Legendary. For FUN.

    As time went on I fell along different paths for games, whenever a new Halo came out it was back to the old runs. Harder, and faster. We got good, but neither of us had Xbox Live so it wasn't really a thing for true Multi.

    I was truly lost about 2007ish. I had wanted to play World of Warcraft for a while, but never really had the inclination to go for it. I heard about how insanely good it was, and really wanted to learn and try it out. I got in shortly after Burning Crusade came out and I've been trapped in a prison of my own making ever since.

    My lowest point ever was near the middle/end of Wrath of the Lich King. I pretty much existed solely in the game. I would wake up and go to the game, no TV, just wake up boot up my laptop and log in. I would chain instance runs for hours at a time ignoring my wife completely for days, weeks at a time. She was sitting right next to me, so what did it matter? We were spending time together!

    But we weren't. It wasn't spending time together, it was just sitting next to one another. No interaction. No communication of any sort. Just me, on the computer filling green bars by emptying blue bars. (Shaman healer.)

    I have a seizure disorder. I've known about the disorder since I was 16. It's not photoepilepsy, tests have concluded that. But the trigger is unknown, it's believed to be stress-related. I have had seizures while playing games and I know I need to take it easy, because they most often come on when I'm tired, or hungry.

    This is important because Dead Space (the original) caused a seizure. The asteroid part, along the spine of the ship? Yeah, you know the part. Well, when I woke up... my wife asked me if I knew where I was. I told her that I was on the Ishimura. She was confused, and I looked right at her and said that I was on the MEDICAL BAY of the SS Ishimura. The SHIP that Dead Space took place on.

    I struggle every day with my addiction. I struggle with the rejection of reality on a daily basis. Dozens of applications and resumes have been sent out. All I receive are rejections.

    But it's not all negative. I've taken my step. I've begun my fight for self control. As of January 4th I begin college at my local Community College. Much of it is back to basics (I dropped out in May 2001) but god dammit. I will do it. I can devote two nights a week to struggling against the same raid boss over and over again? I do devote the SAME devotion to getting through college.

    James?

    Quest Accepted!

  • VezRothVezRoth Registered User regular
    edited December 2012
    Double Post, my appologies.

    VezRoth on
  • YattaYatta Registered User new member
    edited December 2012
    I never considered myself addicted to video games. I just always found them more fun than most things real life had to offer. I mean, I played plenty of sports from childhood to adolescence, 3 hockey leagues, ~5 baseball leagues, 1 soccer league, but they always got boring while video games stayed fun. I also did a lot of bowling in my adult years (I'm only 23 though, so that doesn't say much).

    I went to community college, but dropped out when I only needed one more class to transfer to a 4 year university. The fact that it just felt like high school 2.0 (so much general education) was a total turn off, and the fact that after transfering I was just going to be in high school 3.0 (MORE GENERAL EDUCATION), where most of my classes were irrelevant to my interests, defeated me. It's not like it was hard, I maintained a 3.0 without ever opening any of my text books.

    Luckily, I should be getting a life time career sometime next year, and it's a good career with practically guaranteed job security, so I should have plenty of motivation to stick with it.

    P.S. You had an RX-7? I am fucking jelly. So fucking jelly.

    Yatta on
  • PeriodPeriod Registered User new member
    I'm going to take a rather more negative tack for a moment:

    For myself, I wouldn't consider it an addiction. Instead, gaming just happened to be There, it presented itself as A Thing To Do. I could just as soon stare at a wall as play games, but I needed something to fill my time. A 'healthy' analogy is to read, or craft, or Learn. Despite the years poured into gaming, it never cost me sleep, or meals, or friends, or grades, or employment. Even today, I don't particularly enjoy the time I spend gaming. It's just something to do, for a lack of anything else.

    That doesn't mean that my history isn't damning and shaming - perhaps even moreso than is evident here. James, even in the depths of his 'compulsion,' still maintained friends, even lovers, even if some other interests decayed for lack of care. Myself, I had no friends to lose. In fact, I distinctly recall the moment where I realize, in retrospect, that I stop even trying to make friends. It wasn't anything hurtful or obvious, just the usual inclusion/exclusion that adolescents practice. The other outcasts with whom I temporarily bonded were hateful and pathetic (two attributes that likely could also describe me then, and likely now) so I quickly let those ties rot away.

    Maybe that's just a sad, pitiable lesson I must unlearn, but today, other forces stop me from bothering. Chiefly, a lack of desire, but also the realization that yes, I am 'behind,' or I'd describe it as out of sync: all those experiences and desires and dreams that define a person, their only answer is NULL. It should think it quite impressive that I don't drink at all, or do drugs. While I suspect a lack of access is the major factor, not any strength of character, I also suspect that I'd try them willingly, but find - like gaming - I wouldn't enjoy it. I would only continue as A Thing To Do, something to occupy my time.

    'Life will always welcome you back'? Life never welcomed me in the first place. I spit on it today. And I assure you this isn't me just being shy or depressed or whatever else. I won't describe my specific life story, and I'll accept culpability for my later and current years, but the early years that taught this attitude is certainly no fault of mine.

    Now, it is entirely possible that whatever issues I may have differ from what was described in the video and presented in the comments, and it is only the very minor intersection of gaming that brought me here. Indeed, that seems the story of my life, as ridiculous as I know it to be: 'Oh, so you think you're Different? How novel.'

    .

  • PiggiePiggie Registered User regular
    edited January 2013
    So you suffered from game compulsion...and you STILL lost your virginity before college. But life is supposed to be fair? Psh.

    All joking aside, that was beautiful. Thank you.

    Piggie on
  • demontracedemontrace Registered User new member
    That was a really great episode. I just recently really started watching this show a bit more. I really liked the more personal touch on this episode, and was very well received by me, especially as it resonated within myself. I found it uncanny how similar your tale was to my own, but I'm sure that's shared by many it these positions.
    You looked like you were rather upset by this story, and reminiscing on that part of your life looked like it almost had you to tears, but I understand. I feel a large amount of shame at the time in my life I have wasted to video games, late nights just watching videos on the Internet(like tonight), and adding drugs into the mix, like especially weed, although I can happily say I haven't smoked in a very long time.

    Video games are extremely easy to fall into, especially given the accomplishments they offer you in a virtual world, that you would love to feel in your real world, but find too hard to accomplish. I have been trying to get back into making something of myself, but the career prospects are daunting. Nevertheless I will persevere and continue trying to make something of myself. Thanks for the episodes, and your words of encouragement to anyone with these issues. I try to be an optimist in spite of my past and present issues, and it's nice to have someone else sharing that same view. You can't ever give up.

  • ShaostoulShaostoul Indie Game Dev for Project Sand Slag Washington, USA (Not DC)Registered User new member
    This was by far the most important video of all of yours I've watched. Thank you, seriously thank you. This touched so closely to my life it was... amazing. Everything you said, couldn't of been said better, it was amazingly personal and it showed that there is light at the end of the tunnel, you just have to push through towards it.

  • hack451hack451 Registered User new member
    Could your girlfriend have lied to you about thinking she was pregnant to get you to stop playing games?

  • zluvsanimezluvsanime Registered User regular
    holy god that was heavy... just terrible man. i cant personally understand it but you have my sympathies and respect. at their core games for me are just my preferred method of entertainment. i have used them to vent my frustrations and escape a harsh reality but it never got to the point where it held dominion over my life. as many times i have seen it happen (i know someone who up until recently played gta vice city for at least 6hrs every day since its first release beating it possibly thousands of times) i still cant understand how a form of entertainment can hold such power over some people, even games that envelop me in the most profound sense of belonging and joy i can feel when ive played too much and i just get up and move around or socialize with my family for an hour or so before coming back. but even though i cant understand the problem itself i do accept that it is a real problem that people struggle with and i have seen the damage it can do at its worst so those of you who overcome it have earned my respect, +3 life to you good sirs XD

  • mikebravemikebrave CaliforniaRegistered User new member
    that was a really courageous thing you did, thank you for that, I've been there too and you handled it better than I think I ever could have. Thank you.

  • TheHentaiChristTheHentaiChrist Registered User regular
    :3

  • Gabriel94Gabriel94 Costa RicaRegistered User regular
    Great video, and congratulations for this episode

  • coalczarcoalczar Registered User regular
    That was truly beautiful and heartfelt. I'm proud of you for taking the time and making the effort to say what you did.

    What you said about the void that games (or drugs, gambling, etc...) fills is spot on. I am also impressed that you had enough insight to realize that it wasn't just *anything* that you chose to fill the void with, but that games have special qualities that pulled you away from real life.

    I hope you know that what you did is powerful, brave, and absolutely worth it.

  • 8bitdragon8bitdragon Registered User new member
    This episode was hard, ever harder than narrative mechanics :(

  • DakkaronDakkaron Registered User new member
    There is one rule I came up that absolutely helped me to have a sane relationship with games: "As soon as a game stops being fun and starts being work, there is no point to playing. If I want to work, I go out and work in Real Life. There, at least, I get real money."
    This rule especially blocks the realy compulsing games like MMOs from doing harm.
    I used to play like there's no tomorrow after my first girlfriend dumped me for someone else (that's when I started playing WoW). After a few months of that I realized, that the larger part of my gaming time was spent on doing things that were boring: grinding, grinding and more grinding. I realized, what I did was not fun, but rather work to earn my entry to all the high level stuff. That was when I stopped playing, since it was neither more fun nor more rewarding than the real life.

    Also, in the last few years I added: "No guild play." Guilds (almost) always tell you "There are no obligations" and stuff, but it is always the same: as soon as you get to the higher levels and want to get into the end game you need to play with your guild and then they require you to follow the schedule: "Be there, do that" and not only that, but you have to do it regulairly, no matter if you want or not, you have to go, else you might get kicked out of the guild.

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