Video Game ADDICTION: MMOG S. Wh3n u pwn N00bs, u r r3ally pwning urs3lf even if u r 1337.

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1 Video Game ADDICTION: MMOG S Wh3n u pwn N00bs, u r r3ally pwning urs3lf even if u r 1337.

2 Addiction Explanation Two types of dependency Physiological Psychological?Social?

3 Physiological Dopamine Neural transmitter Pleasure chemical Game stimulation of dopamine production other dopamine stimulators: food, sex, cocaine

4 Problems: - Dopamine levels produced are negligible - Why aren t t we addicted to solving math problems? Note: - Over-activity of Dopamine in the brain has been associated to Schizophrenia and other psychosis

5 Psychological MMOG addictions share similar traits with other psychological addictions (i.e. gambling) - Provides an action high and escape from reality - Sunken cost fallacy: spent money or time on game and stopping means loosing that cost and would be unacceptable - Sunken Cost and Second Life?

6 Problems: -What stops us from being addicted to everything? -Maybe games are just fun?

Recall Mihaly Csikzentmihaly s s 8 Factors of Flow: 1. Challenging activity that requires skill 2. Clear goals and feedback 3. A merging of action and awareness 4. Concentration on the task at hand 5.

7 Recall Mihaly Csikzentmihaly s s 8 Factors of Flow: 1. Challenging activity that requires skill 2. Clear goals and feedback 3. A merging of action and awareness 4. Concentration on the task at hand 5. Loss of self-consciousness 6. The paradox of control 7. The transformation of time 8. Autotelic experience Flow: "The state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter (King and Krzywinska 28).

8 Albert Bandura s s Operant Conditioning Process: Videogames progress as a behavioral addiction in 4 stages: 1. Initiation: behaviors are rewarding and pleasurable 2. Transition: behavior as a mechanism to relieve stress, loneliness, s, depression, preoccupation, anxiety etc 3. Addiction: excessive use that creates negative effects such as loss l of sleep, the neglect of relationships and responsibilities, withdrawal symptoms etc 4. A change to deviant behavior *Strong association between flow and behavioral videogame addiction*

central to understanding the dynamics of video game

9 Concentration on the task at hand, loss of self-consciousness and the transformation of time are central to understanding the dynamics of video game addiction. Does flow simply produce a state of addiction or does flow require addiction?

10 Recall Geoff Howland s s definition of videogame hooks: Any activity performed by the player for the purpose of furthering their play (K&K 23). - Videogames that run out of hooks to keep a player immersed in its virtual reality can only cause addiction for a determined period of time. - Once a game has been beaten thoroughly (games are becoming increasingly complex and longer) the less likely a person will experience the flow channel for that game. - players spend the majority of their time on a small set of actions. - Eric Zimmerman calls this a core mechanic of a videogame. (K & K 23)

outside of an MMOG find the game addictive because that is where their

11 Social(?) Is it possible that gamers that don t t have a strong social network outside of an MMOG find the game addictive because that is where their friends are? The game becomes the social interaction part of their lives? Note: All of these points are theory, more research needs to be done in the field.

Choosing to use the computer or play video games, rather than see friends.

12 For Children Most of non-school hours are spent on the computer or playing video games. Worsening grades. Lying about computer or video game use. Choosing to use the computer or play video games, rather than see friends. Dropping out of other social groups (clubs or sports). Irritable when not playing a video game or on the computer.

For Adults Computer or video game use is characterized by intense feelings of pleasure and guilt. Obsessing and pre-occupied about being on the computer, even when not connected.

13 For Adults Computer or video game use is characterized by intense feelings of pleasure and guilt. Obsessing and pre-occupied about being on the computer, even when not connected. Hours playing video games or on the computer increasing, seriously disrupting family, social or even work life. Experience feelings of withdrawal, anger, or depression when not on the computer or involved with their video game. Fantasy life on-line replaces emotional life with partner.

14 There are even physical symptoms that may point to addiction: Carpal tunnel syndrome. Sleep disturbances Back, neck aches Headaches Dry eyes Failure to eat regularly or neglect personal hygiene

15 Keith Bakker,, director of Smith & Jones Addiction Consultants, agrees. The person is trying to change the way they feel by taking something outside of themselves. The [cocaine] addict learns, I I don t t like the way I feel, I take a line of cocaine. For gamers, it s s the fantasy world that makes them feel better.

16 Super Mario Bros. Hooks include: action, strategy and time. Very simple hooks. Once you run out of lives, the game is over. There is an ending. No real reward for progressing in the game. Offline games less addicting because no one is urging you to continue playing, no one to prove yourself to. Gameplay is never altered. Every time you play the game it is the same as before. Everquest or WOW Hooks include: action, resources, strategy and time. MMOG introduce new social and goal oriented hooks. Players must continue playing in order to prosper in the virtual world. Players often create online friendships and in order to maintain them they must progress at the same speed of their friends. Many goals involve tasks commonly referred to as camping. This consists of players waiting hours for a particular enemy to appear. Constantly changing environments and added expansions have players coming back for more.

17 How do MMORG s s Differ? - Online virtual world is much more vast in virtual space. - Players and developers build the virtual world together. - The cooperation and synergy in building the virtual world causes the quantity and quality of game play hooks to increase. - As we have seen, people can make a living by achieving hooks (sword, spell, accessory etc) and selling them for real money. - Players have a more intensive connection to their online identity. - Online identities are withheld by online relationships.

18 MMOG TIMELINE: The beginnings of so many wasted lives

19 SPACE WAR ONLINE (1969)

20 FIRST MUD (1975)

21 HABITAT (1986)

22 MERIDIAN 59 (1996)

23 ULTIMA ONLINE (1997)

24 EVERQUEST (1999)

25 ASHERON S CALL (1999) DARK AGE OF CAMELOT (2001) THE SIMS ONLINE (2002) STAR WARS GALAXIES (2002)

26 LINEAGE (2001)

27 (2004)

28 MEET CLARKE: World of Warcraft Addict

29 Going Straight to the Source On average, plays for 20 hours per week (He wishes) 50% detriment to his studies 40-50% detriment to his social life

30 BUT, Is It Addictive? Absolutely! How isn t it addictive? I don t know who in their right mind would say that it isn t. Is this even a debate? I think it s s pretty obvious that it is Anyone who says it isn t t obviously hasn t t played it. Or they re just stupid.

31 What Makes It Addictive? Designed to make you play Always a goal, with some sweet reward Promise of guild makes player want to play more early on When in guild, meeting times, guild requirements Sense of community encourages participation Treated like a job to be taken seriously

32 Not Without Its Redeeming Qualities Large amount of social interaction success depends on it Transferable Real World skills (people skills, problem solving, team management/team building) Most of all: It s s just so much fun!

33 What Do the Experts Think? They [game designers ie.. Blizzard] design these MMORPGs to keep people in the game. I do think the problem is tied in with other things like family issues, but the games themselves are inherently addictive. That's ultimately the cause of the problem. Dr. Maressa Orzack

34 How Big is the Problem? Let's take World of Warcraft as an example. Let's say there are around 6 million subscribers for the game. I'd say that 40 percent of the players are addicted. There are now 7.5 million players (Nov. 9 06) Yeah, that s s potentially 3,000,000 addicts Addicts to WoW possess similar symptoms to gambling addicts (neglecting work, social relationships, etc.)

35 Like Rats in a Maze Dr. Orzack believes on reason for addiction to the game is the use of variable ratio reinforcement If a rat must press a bar to receive food, then it will press faster and more often if it doesn't know how many times it needs to press the bar. An equivalent in World of Warcraft would be purple (epic) loot drops: you never know when they are going to happen, but that just increases the anticipation of getting them.

36 Lung Cancer, Sleep Deprivation, What s s the Diff? Dr. Orzack suggests, as a solution to the growing problem of MMORPG players becoming addicted to the games, that these games come with warnings I I think there needs to be warning labels on MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, similar to warning labels on cigarettes. People should know that these games are potentially harmful.

37 The Daedalus Project Started by Stanford grad student Nick Yee Has studied MMORPG players since 1999 Daedulus Project used to present his findings

38 On average, MMORPG players spend 22 hours a week playing in virtual worlds Only 25% of players are teenagers, 50% have full-time jobs, 36% are married, 22% have children His studies have shown that approx. 50% of players would consider themselves addicted That being said, 80% of MMORPG players play with someone they know in real life, treat the games as highly social

39 Second Life: The Next Big Problem? My Sexy Dance Moves

40 orld_of_warcraft_players_addicted/ html ming-evolution.ars/4 eek1/

41 R3al C4ses: In South Korea a 28-year year-old man died of heart failure after playing Starcraft for 50 hours at an internet café. In China: A 13-year year-old boy committed suicide by throwing himself off a 24- story building "to join the heroes of the game he worshipped" after playing Warcraftt for 36 hours. A 16-year year-old student in Shanxii province murdered his uncle to get money for online gaming. A Shanghai man was convicted of stabbing another gamer to death for selling his virtual sword in the game The Legend of Mir 3. 3 Ten South Koreans died from excessive addiction-driven driven gaming in 2005, compared to only two known cases between 2001 and A New Zealand man fell from his roof after attempting to hang himself with his Playstation controller; the fall killed him; this was after playing God of War for 30 hours straight

I ve been screwed over a lot of times in the world. But I didn t want it to be like that.

42 R34ding: David Reber,, ex-navy serviceman, Best Buy employee, video game addict. Spent money upgrading his computer and his command center instead of fixing his car Anarchy online player who has several characters, each one with a separate personality. I ve been screwed over a lot of times in the world. But I didn t want it to be like that. I wanted to show the world, or the world of Rubi-ka at least, that there are good people out there, who are not out for blood, for lust, for money, always having to get something for something. (SB 160) Majority of his social interactions and friends are online, including romantic relationships. Takes the day off work to play Star Wars Galaxies. Reaches the level of Jedi.

43 SO WHAT CAN WE DO??!?

Treatments: McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts has set up Computer Addiction Services under the direction of clinical psychologist Dr. Maressa Orzack.

44 Treatments: McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts has set up Computer Addiction Services under the direction of clinical psychologist Dr. Maressa Orzack. She was interviewed August 8, ,, speaking of the game World of Warcraft she said, "I'd say that 40 percent of the players are addicted. Note that the 40 percent figure was not derived from a scientific study overseen by Dr. Orzack,, but rather came from "a forum that Nick Yee runs". She added that "even if the percentage is 5 to 10 percent which is standard for most addictive behaviors, it is a huge number of people who are out of control."

45 Treatment: What Happens? Treatment is difficult "Like an eating disorder, you can't expect people to give it up completely," Orzack says. "Tempting 'food' is all around at work, at school, and in their homes. You have to limit the time spent in front of a machine the way you limit the time spent at the table. Moderation is important, especially for the new generation of kids who begin to use computers in the first grade, or even before then." One of the hardest things is to get people to come in and talk face- to-face with a therapist. They want to do it all on the Internet. The average treatment takes three months of regular sessions and telephone (not ) e checkups. Some people require a year or more to deal with their bad habits. "Nobody's ever cured," Orzack says. "You just learn to deal with the problem."

The future is here: Gaming, Gambling and the new challenges of treatment

Harlan Vogel, LMHT Keellia Guevara, Problem Gambling Prevention Specialist The future is here: Gaming, Gambling and the new challenges of treatment 1 Who are we? What are we doing? Heartland Family Service