Who's still playing WoW then?

[listy]

Hoping Play get my copy to me tomorrow... Wondering why I bothered pre ordering it if they couldn't get it to me.

thinking about getting a mate to get me an extra on way home from work

lol have 3 account so extra copy wont go to waste

[mat-ster]

I read a few of the quotes on that site and let's be honest, these are the kinds of people with varying degrees of an addictive personality (diplomatic way of saying they lack self control). As with everything in life it's all about moderation. Sure, if you don't have self control then WoW, or any MMOG probably isn't a good idea. For the majority of us who are able to self moderate our lives it's just another form of harmless entertainment.

Very interesting take Bugbait - sounds to me like you are one of these people....still in a state of denial?
Many peoples lives have been destroyed by this game, many studies have been completed exploring this very aspect of WoW.

This is not some kind of joke, I find it disturbing - which is why I stopped playing and deleted my characters.

If you consider Blizzard developed this game with these key objectives:-
1) Reward time played rather than game skill - so "rubbish thick people" or children think they are better than they are which massages ego and appeals to male competative mindset.
2) Use techniques that appeal to Children - to get them hooked as early as possible.
3) Employ game mechanics that ensure a "personal investment" - to keep people paying up!
4) Use tricks applied in the gambling industry to keep you playing even when no real progress is made.

Blizzard are excellent at this, some good points here for example http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060809-7459.html

Matt

[Bugbait]

Very interesting take Bugbait - sounds to me like you are one of these people....still in a state of denial?
Many peoples lives have been destroyed by this game, many studies have been completed exploring this very aspect of WoW.

State of denial about what? I'm not saying WoW can't be addictive but that applies to many games and many things, eg. Cigarettes, gambling, drugs, and alcohol to varying degrees to name a few. Most if not all your points can be applied to these substances as well. Did you know that some, if not all shopping centres consult psychologists in the design to foster an environment that encourages consumer spending? Or something more recent in the news, banks encouraging people to borrow more than they can afford? How is this different? I put these in the same bucket. The consumer or customer is ultimately responsible to an extent. I would say they're fully responsible but that might be a bit harsh.

To blame one game (or any of the examples I listed) for the bad things in one's life is part of the problem in modern society, lack of personal responsibility. My argument is that a person with self control can manage any addiction. I'm not saying I'm perfect, I've spent too much time playing online games in the past but when my partner (now wife) spoke to me about it I made a conscious change. Sure, there are others that may not be able to pull themselves away and some that might need professional help to do so, but I stand by my argument that these people are easily addicted to things in general.

I don't think addictions should be taken lightly but too many people blame the substance instead of taking atleast some responsibility for their actions and doing something about it. I'm sure someone will argue that the nature of addiction is that you loose control. Yes, but you can't expect someone else to fix everything for you (in general, not referring to you in particular).

The article you linked suggests something similar:

And yes, people who spend too much time on these activities to the exclusion of all others risk negative real-world consequences. But in my opinion, the answer to these issues is not to simply label them as addictions and blame the activity itself, or to get the pharmaceutical companies all excited about more new products that they can push on the general population. The solution is to promote greater awareness about the necessity of balance in our lives. That, perhaps, is the greatest variable ratio reward of all.

[idimmu]

Very interesting take Bugbait - sounds to me like you are one of these people....still in a state of denial?
Many peoples lives have been destroyed by this game, many studies have been completed exploring this very aspect of WoW.

This is not some kind of joke, I find it disturbing - which is why I stopped playing and deleted my characters.

If you consider Blizzard developed this game with these key objectives:-
1) Reward time played rather than game skill - so "rubbish thick people" or children think they are better than they are which massages ego and appeals to male competative mindset.
2) Use techniques that appeal to Children - to get them hooked as early as possible.
3) Employ game mechanics that ensure a "personal investment" - to keep people paying up!
4) Use tricks applied in the gambling industry to keep you playing even when no real progress is made.

Blizzard are excellent at this, some good points here for example http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060809-7459.html

Matt

are you for real?

[Acorn]

You make some great points there Mat-ster. I completely agree.

I wish I had never started playing WoW. Feels like it stole a chunk of my life.

[kalniel]

Very interesting take Bugbait - sounds to me like you are one of these people....still in a state of denial?
Many peoples lives have been destroyed by this game, many studies have been completed exploring this very aspect of WoW.

This is not some kind of joke, I find it disturbing - which is why I stopped playing and deleted my characters.

If you consider Blizzard developed this game with these key objectives:-
1) Reward time played rather than game skill - so "rubbish thick people" or children think they are better than they are which massages ego and appeals to male competative mindset.
2) Use techniques that appeal to Children - to get them hooked as early as possible.
3) Employ game mechanics that ensure a "personal investment" - to keep people paying up!
4) Use tricks applied in the gambling industry to keep you playing even when no real progress is made.

Blizzard are excellent at this, some good points here for example http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060809-7459.html

Matt

Guess you've never seen a soap opera then.

[LWA]

You make some great points there Mat-ster. I completely agree.

I wish I had never started playing WoW. Feels like it stole a chunk of my life.

I don't understand how a game stole a chunk of your life?

I play WoW.
I enjoy WoW.
Does it interfere with my social life? No. (in fact I've met some really nice people through WoW)
Does it interfere with my private life? No.

I think certain people have addictive personalities and a game like WoW does not agree with that - people end up playing it 24/7 to the detriment of their lives.



Back on topic, I'm loving the expansion. Some of the best quests I have ever done (and I love questing) and the new lands are superb. I'm up to level 72 on my druid and really enjoying taking my time in order to experience everything!

[idimmu]

i got my copy yesterday. think im going to level my warlock first... friends ran me through the first 2 lowbie instances... looked nice but wasnt great fun, but then again i am a pvper. looking forward to trying the first quests tonight, and creating a deathknight!

[kopite]

I just got it all patched up.

Bit peeved with some of the changes they have made to warlock. Now you can get the warlock epic mount from the trainer. It took me ages to do the quest to get the dreadsteed and now anyone can get them

[kalniel]

I just got it all patched up.

Bit peeved with some of the changes they have made to warlock. Now you can get the warlock epic mount from the trainer. It took me ages to do the quest to get the dreadsteed and now anyone can get them

Surely you were having fun in the process of getting it?

[kopite]

It was a fun quest yes.

What I`m getting at is its a really long hard quest to get the dreadsteed. it meant that Locks who had the dreadsteed had gone though a hellish quest to get it and deserved the mount. it was like a mark of honour. Now every lock can get it it taints it a bit

[kalniel]

They may take your mount, but they'll never take your fre^H^H^H fun.

[idimmu]

It was a fun quest yes.

What I`m getting at is its a really long hard quest to get the dreadsteed. it meant that Locks who had the dreadsteed had gone though a hellish quest to get it and deserved the mount. it was like a mark of honour. Now every lock can get it it taints it a bit

whilst i agree with what your saying, when TBC came out and settled down, it turned more into a quest to do if you could be bothered and had the time, as opposed to a challenging quest with good rewards.

i just got mine last week after 3 years as a lock

[kopite]

Just been reading that all 3 25 man raid instances have been completed
http://kotaku.com/5090741/lich-king-...ready-defeated

[listy]

yeah by sponsered wow players

[DoNNi]

I play WoW, Lvl 54 Druid, got WOTLK, just for the Deathknight when I hit 55 , Is Arthus a raid in Lich King?