5 Creepy Ways Video Games Are Trying to Get You Addicted

[#1]

I thought this was a great read, especially considering there's a 20 page CODMW2 thread only a few pages down the list.

5 Creepy Ways Video Games Are Trying to Get You Addicted | Cracked.com

[Foxbat]

Nothing shocking there.... people who play roleplaying games have always been weirdly addicted, and the normal dude has always enjoyed **** that blows up. Has little to do with why COD is sweet and the common sense of why that kid who used to live on your floor and didn't talk to anyone is not shockingly living in his parents' basement playing WoW.

[Yellowledbetter]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Nothing shocking there.... people who play roleplaying games have always been weirdly addicted, and the normal dude has always enjoyed **** that blows up. Has little to do with why COD is sweet and the common sense of why that kid who used to live on your floor and didn't talk to anyone is not shockingly living in his parents' basement playing WoW.

COD4/MW2(never played World at War) and most FPS/RTS games now have elements of RPG in them...need to reach certain levels in MW2 to be able to use certain weapons, then accomplish tasks with those weapons to gain even more advantages

[MattR644]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Nothing shocking there.... people who play roleplaying games have always been weirdly addicted, and the normal dude has always enjoyed **** that blows up. Has little to do with why COD is sweet and the common sense of why that kid who used to live on your floor and didn't talk to anyone is not shockingly living in his parents' basement playing WoW.

He actually lets COD off the hook, and has a funny quote about it: "Competitive games like Modern Warfare 2 are just sports for people who lack athleticism."

[AASpartan]

Originally Posted by MattR644

He actually lets COD off the hook, and has a funny quote about it: "Competitive games like Modern Warfare 2 are just sports for people who lack athleticism."

Considering how addicted some people get to those FPS games like COD, it's hard to differentiate them from RPGs anymore. The behaviors are the same, but the gratification (frags) comes quicker. People who like those games view themselves as normal and RPGers as weird, but they are on the same hamster wheel. One just is less complicated than the other.

[#1]

There was even a nekkid boibeys reference in there with a link to a dude who would rather have played Everquest than have sex with his woman

I Kept Playing — The Costs Of My Gaming Addiction - gaming addiction - Kotaku

[pawlosk1]

any game with levels and achievements for gaining levels is a RPG.. without the role-playing part.

[Dorian]

No doubt this is happening. We've had to cut back my son's playing of Ruinscape. What started as "good fun" started to become a weekend bender lasting 12 hours.

[Cameron]

Originally Posted by Dorian

No doubt this is happening. We've had to cut back my son's playing of Ruinscape. What started as "good fun" started to become a weekend bender lasting 12 hours.

Your son is a MAC level video game addict. Seriously, Runescape?

[Zombie]

Originally Posted by AASpartan

Considering how addicted some people get to those FPS games like COD, it's hard to differentiate them from RPGs anymore. The behaviors are the same, but the gratification (frags) comes quicker. People who like those games view themselves as normal and RPGers as weird, but they are on the same hamster wheel. One just is less complicated than the other.

Completely agree. If you name the common elements of an RPG I bet COD multiplayer includes most of them.

[SpartanRocky]

Originally Posted by AASpartan

Considering how addicted some people get to those FPS games like COD, it's hard to differentiate them from RPGs anymore. The behaviors are the same, but the gratification (frags) comes quicker. People who like those games view themselves as normal and RPGers as weird, but they are on the same hamster wheel. One just is less complicated than the other.

You can see the evolution of this in the Final Fantasy series. I'm a big final fantasy fan and until final fanasty XII I didn't see the "random drops" being a big issue in the game play. The leveling thing is always present in an RPG, but you can beat just about any FF game by going straight through the story line and leveling up "naturally" (i.e. not taking time to just run around and encounter enemies). Additionally 95% of the best "stuff" came from set chests that you had to go through a maze to get. They'd always be there and 99% of the time the chests would be in an area you had to be in to complete the game anyways. Almost all enemies drop "gold" (or "Gil" in recent versions) so you didn't

Enter Final Fantasy XII. Instead of enemies dropping "gold" they drop different types of "loot" which in turn you sell to a merchant. When a set amount of "loot" is sold to the merchants, "Bazaar" goods become available. The best equipment in the game is acquired through the Bazaar, requiring you to spend hours "farming" (doing repeated runs of areas to acquire randomly dropped items) to get the materials necessary to get the best equipment. There are also random sidequests called "Hunts" (50 in all I believe) that unlock other stuff outside of the main storyline. The only benefit is between all these sidequests you never need to just sit around and level; you do so much running around you end up 10-15 levels higher than necessary to beat the final boss. Expect more games like these in the future.

I know I'm a super-nerd.

[groverj3]

Mass Effect 2... must... play... unless... I can get laid... then I'll do that instead....

See, I don't have a problem.

[Dorian]

Originally Posted by Cameron

Your son is a MAC level video game addict. Seriously, Runescape?

Yeah, I'm sure Runescape has been surpassed by other games out there. He started playing about 4 years ago when he was 12. According to him, he's at a fairly high level now.

What's interesting in that article is how they're hooking into elementary school kids. My daughters have virtual fish tanks, that they need to feed - and if they want an octopus, they need to log in 8 hours of effort, etc.

Computer games... I hate 'em...

[hexydes]

Originally Posted by SpartanRocky

You can see the evolution of this in the Final Fantasy series. I'm a big final fantasy fan and until final fanasty XII I didn't see the "random drops" being a big issue in the game play. The leveling thing is always present in an RPG, but you can beat just about any FF game by going straight through the story line and leveling up "naturally" (i.e. not taking time to just run around and encounter enemies). Additionally 95% of the best "stuff" came from set chests that you had to go through a maze to get. They'd always be there and 99% of the time the chests would be in an area you had to be in to complete the game anyways. Almost all enemies drop "gold" (or "Gil" in recent versions) so you didn't

Enter Final Fantasy XII. Instead of enemies dropping "gold" they drop different types of "loot" which in turn you sell to a merchant. When a set amount of "loot" is sold to the merchants, "Bazaar" goods become available. The best equipment in the game is acquired through the Bazaar, requiring you to spend hours "farming" (doing repeated runs of areas to acquire randomly dropped items) to get the materials necessary to get the best equipment. There are also random sidequests called "Hunts" (50 in all I believe) that unlock other stuff outside of the main storyline. The only benefit is between all these sidequests you never need to just sit around and level; you do so much running around you end up 10-15 levels higher than necessary to beat the final boss. Expect more games like these in the future.

I know I'm a super-nerd.

Probably why I don't bother with any of the new FF games, or even deeper MMO's like WoW. Fortunately, for as into RPGs as I am (I've played FFIV, V, VI, and VII probably 25 times combined between them), I just can't stand farming. I don't mind grinding, so long as the battles are short and sweet (which pretty much ended with FFVII...) but I can't stand the concept of a game that never ends.

I have an extremely non-addictive personality though. I can usually just walk away from something and never look back.

Good article though, classic Cracked. I will say, the author made a very good point at the end, that the problem isn't so much that these games have extremely addictive aspects to them (which they do), but that the root of the problem is that so many people, especially in the last generation or two, are very unsatisfied with their lives growing up. They use games as a form of escape (similar to drugs, or pretty much any other escape mechanism), which takes away time from them honing useful skills, talent, or knowledge. That limits their potential as an adult, which leads them to yet further lack of fulfillment in their careers, which just leads to more escapism. That's why I really think that schools should focus more on career development, life skills, community involvement, extracurricular activities, etc. and much less on college prep. It's almost impossible to convince an 8th-grader that it's important for them to spend hours and hours studying pre-algebra, so they can continue on to more advanced math, so that they can go to college, and learn more math. And that's not to advocate that we should stop teaching math...just that we need to de-emphasize the absolute importance of theoretical college prep material, and start injecting a curriculum with more tangible, immediate satisfaction...which is pretty much what the sum of the conclusion of the article stated.

[bill brasky]

I've noticed this becoming more and more prominent over the last 10 years. I hate it, and (probably fortunately) I play video games less and less because of it.

CoD DEFINITELY has some of these elements in it. My roommate plays it all the time, and for about a good week I would hear him constantly bitching about how awful the gun he was using is. I asked him why he kept using it, and he told me he wanted all the achievements for that gun. There was no tangible reward for the achievements, it was just a thing in and of itself that did nothing. Amazing.

[hexydes]

Originally Posted by Dorian

Yeah, I'm sure Runescape has been surpassed by other games out there. He started playing when he was about 4 years ago when he was 12. According to him, he's at a fairly high level.

What's interesting in that article is how they're hooking into elementary school kids. My daughters have virtual fish tanks, that they need to feed - and if they want an octopus, they need to log in 8 hours of effort, etc.

Computer games... I hate 'em...

Right, but...it's not the games' fault, or even the designers. It's that kids have a lack of other tangible, interesting things to do with their lives. Kids used to have things like auto shop, woodworking, robotics, life skills, home ec. things like that, and we've been systematically removing them from their day so that we can provide them with more and more core-curriculum classes. Kids can't go home and take the skills they've acquired and say, "Oh boy, I'm going to build something, or make something, or bake something, etc."...what are they going to do, go home and say "Oh boy, I'm going to do some fractions!"

They've found something to fill the void. The job of a good capitalistic game design company is to find a way to get them to play, and once they're there, keep playing. They certainly know how to do that.

[Spartytruth]

People who play these games are losers.

[Dorian]

Originally Posted by hexydes

Good article though, classic Cracked. I will say, the author made a very good point at the end, that the problem isn't so much that these games have extremely addictive aspects to them (which they do), but that the root of the problem is that so many people, especially in the last generation or two, are very unsatisfied with their lives growing up. They use games as a form of escape (similar to drugs, or pretty much any other escape mechanism), which takes away time from them honing useful skills, talent, or knowledge. That limits their potential as an adult, which leads them to yet further lack of fulfillment in their careers, which just leads to more escapism. That's why I really think that schools should focus more on career development, life skills, community involvement, extracurricular activities, etc. and much less on college prep. It's almost impossible to convince an 8th-grader that it's important for them to spend hours and hours studying pre-algebra, so they can continue on to more advanced math, so that they can go to college, and learn more math. And that's not to advocate that we should stop teaching math...just that we need to de-emphasize the absolute importance of theoretical college prep material, and start injecting a curriculum with more tangible, immediate satisfaction...which is pretty much what the sum of the conclusion of the article stated.

Yep... You nailed it.

It's very easy to give your adolescent kids a pass on these games. It's not like they're into drugs, destructive behavior, or some joining some wierd cult. They're at home (safe and sound) and quiet. But before you know it, they're going on 16 hour benders playing videogames. And you're like WTH? You going to talk to someone today?

[JMCSpartan08]

I think it's important to keep some perspective...people can play addictive games without being addicted to gaming.

For instance: Batman: Arkham Asylum. I rented it, love Batman and thought the story was pretty cool and the cameos were great. It kept my playing and I played quite a bit because I wanted to know what happened next in the story and solve the riddles in the game that I thought were clever and added to the Batman universe. But once I beat the game in a week or so, got all the riddles I took it back, no big deal.

Now was that game "addictive" in a lot of ways mentioned in the article...kind of. But would I say I was addicted? I don't really think so.

I think in a lot of ways video games are a new medium for telling stories. The way movies are/used to be except you get to kind of control it. As with any artform there is good art and bad art. WOW and Everquest might be examples of bad art, the story sucks even if the characters are compelling and the visuals are good. Fallout 3 or Batman (as I was explaing) are pretty good examples of the video game as good art (like a good movie) with karma and everything. Interesting as hell story that you're the main character in and you get to decide what the character is like a little bit. The story has an end that you're interested in getting to since you had a hand in it.

I dont really think games like that are all that unhealthy.

[SCOTTS BLOATED LIVER]

Ok...I need a mindless game...want to kill some people and blow **** up...I got my PS3 in December and just now got around to playing a game or two of college football...I need something that doesnt require a lot of effort just to be able to make some people go splat...something graphic would be nice...like a head exploding in great detail...stuff like that...any suggestions ?

[Watch out Pylon!]

Originally Posted by SCOTTS BLOATED LIVER

Ok...I need a mindless game...want to kill some people and blow **** up...I got my PS3 in December and just now got around to playing a game or two of college football...I need something that doesnt require a lot of effort just to be able to make some people go splat...something graphic would be nice...like a head exploding in great detail...stuff like that...any suggestions ?

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Zombie]

Originally Posted by SCOTTS BLOATED LIVER

Ok...I need a mindless game...want to kill some people and blow **** up...I got my PS3 in December and just now got around to playing a game or two of college football...I need something that doesnt require a lot of effort just to be able to make some people go splat...something graphic would be nice...like a head exploding in great detail...stuff like that...any suggestions ?

Sounds like God of War to me, but unfortunately in between the heads exploding there are some puzzles to figure out.

[Negotiator]

Originally Posted by SpartanRocky

You can see the evolution of this in the Final Fantasy series. I'm a big final fantasy fan and until final fanasty XII I didn't see the "random drops" being a big issue in the game play. The leveling thing is always present in an RPG, but you can beat just about any FF game by going straight through the story line and leveling up "naturally" (i.e. not taking time to just run around and encounter enemies). Additionally 95% of the best "stuff" came from set chests that you had to go through a maze to get. They'd always be there and 99% of the time the chests would be in an area you had to be in to complete the game anyways. Almost all enemies drop "gold" (or "Gil" in recent versions) so you didn't

Enter Final Fantasy XII. Instead of enemies dropping "gold" they drop different types of "loot" which in turn you sell to a merchant. When a set amount of "loot" is sold to the merchants, "Bazaar" goods become available. The best equipment in the game is acquired through the Bazaar, requiring you to spend hours "farming" (doing repeated runs of areas to acquire randomly dropped items) to get the materials necessary to get the best equipment. There are also random sidequests called "Hunts" (50 in all I believe) that unlock other stuff outside of the main storyline. The only benefit is between all these sidequests you never need to just sit around and level; you do so much running around you end up 10-15 levels higher than necessary to beat the final boss. Expect more games like these in the future.

I know I'm a super-nerd.

I'm gonna steal from zero punctuation and say RPGs are now 2 parts gaming and 1 part accounting. Hell, governments are already looking to get their cut (shameless plug begins)

http://www.law.msu.edu/clinics/tax/p...AleksBomis.pdf

Originally Posted by bill brasky

CoD DEFINITELY has some of these elements in it. My roommate plays it all the time, and for about a good week I would hear him constantly bitching about how awful the gun he was using is. I asked him why he kept using it, and he told me he wanted all the achievements for that gun. There was no tangible reward for the achievements, it was just a thing in and of itself that did nothing. Amazing.

It's called "completionism." Not only does someone want to beat the game, they want to beat every single achievement, grab every single item, unlock every single character... it's one step removed from being a game tester with the added benefit to the company that they're not paying you to do it. This is nothing new. Pokemon first came out when I was in middle school. The franchise's motto from day 1? "Gotta catch 'em all." And naturally some of these achievements are more random than baseball stats you hear during a broadcast. "While using the Cloak and Dagger, kill one enemy three times in the same area in a single life." They're also extremely difficult. For example, Mega Man 10 has the achievement "Beat the game without getting hit." Without getting freaking hit! And of course people will try for it anyway.

Originally Posted by Dorian

Yep... You nailed it.

It's very easy to give your adolescent kids a pass on these games. It's not like they're into drugs, destructive behavior, or some joining some wierd cult. They're at home (safe and sound) and quiet. But before you know it, they're going on 16 hour benders playing videogames. And you're like WTH? You going to talk to someone today?

And I think what you're seeing is the parenting not being on pace with the technology. Go back to 1990 when Super Mario Brothers 3 was considered the pinnacle of gaming. None of these parents knew people who wasted their lives playing games (unless they knew Billy Mitchell). People who are rearing kids now likely know someone who's addicted to WoW, or FFXIII, or what have you, and they'll likely know when to step in. I'm sure some new thing will come along that our generation hasn't seen that will **** our own kids up, and when those kids grow up they'll be wiser about it like we're wiser about games with our kids.

Originally Posted by Watch out Pylon!

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That's not mindless, that's mindf***, dude.

[Watch out Pylon!]

Originally Posted by Negotiator

That's not mindless, that's mindf***, dude.

That is true. This is a trippy game, and the first time I fought the octopus chick it freaked me out. But if you ignore the plotline it does come down to a game where you blow **** up with a large amount of weaponry.

[Negotiator]

Originally Posted by Watch out Pylon!

That is true. This is a trippy game, and the first time I fought the octopus chick it freaked me out. But if you ignore the plotline it does come down to a game where you blow **** up with a large amount of weaponry.

Yeah, but aren't you forced to sit through the cutscenes? The 9 hours of cutscenes?

Eh, end of the day, games are addictive enough to the point people will stick around to see the next cool event. It's kinda like how some posters will stay on the RCMB for 5 more minutes to see what kinda **** gHost will start talking this time.