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).
August 4th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
As far as I can remember video games always had a reward system, The first being the high score then came power ups, bonuses, secret levels and new characters etc. There is video games now where you can gain real world cash although truthfully only two jump to mind.
If addiction is tied to just a reward system then we are all doomed to be addicts. There is more to addiction than any one thing and MMO addiction is no different.
There was a news report a long time ago about a young boy of sixteen who had become “addicted” to World of Warcraft. He didn’t go to school and supposedly spent 14 to 16 hours a day on the computer playing WOW. Was his addiction due to WOW’s reward system or was it bullying at school, lack of parenting or something worse? I would say WOW’s reward system was the least of this child’s worries.
I would honestly say that MMOs are addictive due to a mixture of there size (there massive after all:), the fact there multilayer (this always brings you back) and the fact that there online (its still a novelty to many people). The should be called MAMOGs, Massively Addictive Multilayer Online Games:P
November 12th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
games…
API which includes many……