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How to be free of an MMO addiction.
NH03
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
This should help a lot of you who are addicted to mmorpgs.
The first step you should take in an mmo is never make friends in the game. If you do, make sure they have aim and don't play the game 24/7.
2. Never join a guild. You could be the best of the best and not have a guild. You don't have to have a guild in order to have fun. Guilds give their members schedules and are mostly made up of people who don't play other games since they are committed to making the guild a success. Guilds also bring drama and unpleasant things such as promotions to people who are more active than the casual players.
3. Don't create a schedule around the mmo. Schedule your every waking moment with the idea that the game isn't as important as putting time into things such as socializing with your friends or giving that extra effort to your work projects. Go watch tv if you don't have many friends. At least you're not committing to it.
4. Play other games that are not mmos. I've heard of people playing 2 or 3 different mmos at the same time. They wonder why their addicted. Buy a console if your pc is not upgraded. Maybe invite a couple friends over or make new ones with your gaming interests.
And what you can take from these steps is simple. Never commit yourself, make a schedule around, or get your real life friends/wife/sister/father/mother into an MMO.
The first step you should take in an mmo is never make friends in the game. If you do, make sure they have aim and don't play the game 24/7.
2. Never join a guild. You could be the best of the best and not have a guild. You don't have to have a guild in order to have fun. Guilds give their members schedules and are mostly made up of people who don't play other games since they are committed to making the guild a success. Guilds also bring drama and unpleasant things such as promotions to people who are more active than the casual players.
3. Don't create a schedule around the mmo. Schedule your every waking moment with the idea that the game isn't as important as putting time into things such as socializing with your friends or giving that extra effort to your work projects. Go watch tv if you don't have many friends. At least you're not committing to it.
4. Play other games that are not mmos. I've heard of people playing 2 or 3 different mmos at the same time. They wonder why their addicted. Buy a console if your pc is not upgraded. Maybe invite a couple friends over or make new ones with your gaming interests.
And what you can take from these steps is simple. Never commit yourself, make a schedule around, or get your real life friends/wife/sister/father/mother into an MMO.
NH03 on
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Sometimes I Stream Games: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/italax-plays-video-games
Yes, but here's the problem with those guilds. Their in the game and not somewhere else. You can have social fun outside of the game, and you guessed it; there's more things to do outside of the game.
These guilds also bring friends that have 1 thing in common with you: playing the game. How are you going to meet these friends outside of the game when most of them are inside making plans around that game?
Try bringing those people outside of the game. It would be very difficult since you only have 1 thing in common.
So being a part of a social guild that is there to have fun and play a social game is a problem?
I don't get it.
XBL
Exactly. Why play an mmo when you can socialize for real? Its almost like the game is just a place for like-minded people to gather to make the game world itself. Now heres a question for you. How many of those people would be happier meeting outside of the game and doing things that don't require you to pay money to meet.
Thank you coming down from the mountain with your stone tablets to tell us this.
Sometimes I Stream Games: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/italax-plays-video-games
Why watch TV when you can go go to your local mall and listen to some stereotypical teenage drama?
XBL
I don't see how that's a problem. It would be terribly inconvenient if the guild was outside of the game since one found assume that one would like to have a guild for the purpose of having fun inside the game.
True, but you can't slay dragons or frost giants outside the game. Well, technically you could slay frost giants outside of the game here in Finland, but it's illegal.
These forums bring people together that have one thing in common with you: they like games. Are you arguing that these forums are a bad thing?
I think the biggest difficulty would be that they're spread out all over Europe/US/the world. I mean, if you did get together atleast you could use the one thing in common as an icebreaker and then get to know with these people. Though that part has probably already happened inside the game, so now you'd just have a bunch of friends hanging out. I don't see how that would be a bad thing.
Why play war games when you can just join the army? The US totally needs soldiers to [strike]use as cannon fodder[/strike] liberate Iraq.
What I don't get is why people would want to socialize in a game they have to pay for. Communities are fine when they aren't based around something thats addicting. Pretty much the only thing you have in common with these people is that you have an investment in your character, and they want to help you out get better stuff, and just plain hang out. Why in the world would you want to socialize with these people when you could be socializing for real. If you're addicted to an mmo, its probably because you made a ton of friends to do things with in the game that is making as much progress in real life as sitting in front of your computer screen and pressing buttons.
You have no idea how condescending you're being, do you?
Here's a tip, it's a lot.
Sometimes I Stream Games: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/italax-plays-video-games
~fin~
Really now? Why simulate real life when you can walk outside and do something?
You would rather SIMULATE socializing instead of talking with people in real life?
I don't pay for a game to socialize. I pay for a game to play it, and have fun. If socializing is a part of the game, and a part of the fun, why not? And actually, I've met some of my best friends online, and I happen to have a lot in common with many of them.
Apparently like-minded people tend to gravitate towards things that you'd be participating in. Who'dathunkit?
XBL
Why don't I come to your house and strangle you instead of just thinking about it?
I mean, this isn't exactly the kind of attention I think you'd want, NH03.
XBL
You are not simulating socializing, you are in fact socializing. Just because you are not face to face with the people does not mean you are not interacting and having real conversations and forming real attachments to these people.
You're advice can be summed up as just saying "Don't play MMOs"
That's shitty advice if someone has a real addiction problem. Also, what MMO addicts are you talking about? Not everyone who plays WoW is addicted, just like not everyone who enjoys a glass of wine is an alcoholic. Most people here seem to understand you need to play MMos in moderation.
Sometimes I Stream Games: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/italax-plays-video-games
I mean really, does this help anyone?
XBL
Expand your horizons NH03.
Yeah but, the thing people don't realize is that MMOs are giant socialization rings. Believe me when I say the internet is not real socization taking place. The shear amount of variety that comes with not using text for your socialzation is phenominal. Emotes are just emotes. The variation of people actions are infinite. I'll agree is socialization, but its what a tug boat is compared to the titanic.
Like how you're just passively aggressivley attacking MMORPG's and MMORPG gamers. I don't know if you noticed, but this forum is full of those people. If you want to have a discussion with those people than it's probably not best to start out with a bunch of generalizations and assumptions about them and what they do. Generalizations are a bad way to make an argument, and you're consequently doing a shitty job. There is a reason they're a logical fallacy.
If you don't know what passive aggresivity is than look it up.
EDIT:
Until you stop this nonsense I'm just going to disseminate your shitty arguments.
No. No I will not believe you.
Are you an authority on the internet? Are you the end all, say all, of the internet and its social dynamics? I doubt it.
Thus, this is an argument from an illegitimate authority, and it really doesn't matter what you say after it. It doesn't matter. That's right, your opinion matters just as little as every other random schlub. Now please, kindly move along.
XBL
Why wouldn't I play WAR with them?
I have in fact spoken to real people before and understand the difference between verbal communication and text. What about the people who play MMOs with friends from Real life? If you're interacting with someone you really know via text, does the text make that interaction fake? Should we get rid of things like AIM and Text Messages on mobile phones at well, because they only communicate via text.
MMOs are great ways to keep in touch with people you knew once who moved away etc, yet you can still keep a kind of connection with them via this common bond. You're ignoring all of this in favour of the stereotype that people who play MMOs are social lepers afraid to leave their homes.
Sometimes I Stream Games: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/italax-plays-video-games
You are a moron. Unless the person I am conversing with on the other end is actually a computer, then I am not simulating anything.
I'm honestly contemplating the worth of keeping this open for discussion, since I imagine the majority of it is going to be people coming in here and repeatedly exposing the flaws to your logic.
Aggresively helping a "group" of unspecified individuals on the internet doesn't come across very well.
You're not exactly wrong on some points, but your generalizations sound very accusatory.
Try an experiment yourself. Play war with them. Get invested into the game.
See if they want to play Soul calibur 4 or play war with you.
Called it.
XBL
Do you carry out all activites with all of your friends? Does anyone who's not a 90's sitcom character do this?
Looks like it's time for him to find a nice big cross to nail himself to.
DO IT FOR US! SAVE US FROM OUR SINS!
... no, really, save me.
If anyone needs me, I'll be offering GM's head for an offhand Warglaive.