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Right versus Left

Murkes — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:35:40 +0000

Republicans versus Democrats in a handy overview.

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Fast Food calorie comparison

Murkes — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:02:25 +0000

Well-known American fast food items and their respective calories.

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50 years of space exploration

Murkes — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:14:43 +0000

All human achievements in the exploration of space for the last 50 years.

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Space Hulk

Murkes — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:29:38 +0000

The 20th anniversary edition of the Space Hulk boardgame has left permament ripples through the boardgame community.

This is one of the pieces, a painted Space Hulk Librarian

Internet explosion

Murkes — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:50:27 +0000

Worldwide use of the Internet.

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Gatchaman

Murkes — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:58:44 +0000

One of the best anime series of the 80’s. Also known as Gatchaman, G-Force, Battle of the Planets.
Image mutilated for a fairground attraction.

Science fiction space ships size comparison

Murkes — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 11:57:15 +0000

Chart showing imaginary spacecraft and their relative sizes.

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Japanese McDonalds

Murkes — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:11:14 +0000

Shrimp and Teriyaki burger at Japanese Mc Donalds

Whale menu

Murkes — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:08:18 +0000

Japanese menu consisting of whale meat.

Are MMORPG’s inherently more addictive?

Murkes — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:46:07 +0000

This is something I wrote in response to a post made by a friend of mine who mused on the level of addiction in MMORPGs.
The original post can be found at the SweetSauce.nl blog.

An addiction is something that you cannot let go of, and is deteriorating to your ability to function normally.

With that in mind, are games addictive? I do not think the experience of playing is an addiction, but the reward system itself is to blame.
Playing games has always been a social affair in the history of mankind. Homo Ludens is the phrase associated with this social behavior.
As early reward systems in games consisted of status (beating an opponent) or possessions (money or other things of value), the focus was always playing with other people.
Videogames introduced the solitary type of gameplay with simulated opponents. Since the rewards these games give cannot be measured in direct status or value, the only reward is the personal achievement a player feels.
Additiction in these terms can therefore only be claimed as a more compulsive behavior for personal achievement.

An exception to this rule are gambling-type games, which can be played solitary for direct rewards. Addiction is a known problem with these type of games, and can directly be related with the possibility of a reward.

MMORPG’s however, create an environment where gameplay and its rewards are part of the social structure. In this regard, they have reached full circle, as gaming has become a social event again.
But are they addictive for their gameplay? I do not think so.
The interesting point to make with MMORPG’s is that they combine the solitary videogame play aspect with the social aspects of playing. Addiction with these types of games mostly occurs when the player overreaches for personal achievement, since they cannot directly win value from other players. It is therefore the solitairy pursuit for personal achievement that drives these addicted players.

In short, I think addiction primarily occurs in solitaire style games with the possibility of direct rewards (as in most gambling games).