at one point in time i was a hardcore opiate user, i lost all my family and friends because of this. i know what it is like to be addicted and playing an MORPG is not an addiction. i underwent 3 rehab programs costing about $5,000 each and was met with nothing but failure. then i found MORPG's, met some great supportive people online and managed to get clean. mind you i stayed up for 70 hours a time during withdrawls playing EQ but it took my mind of the pain, insomnia and mental anguish.
I now play WoW, am a junior in college, have a wonderful girlfriend,work a entertaining part time job, practice martial arts and am a tutor for GED students. i have been drug and alcohol free for almost 3 years now.
MORPG's are better than T.v., better than drugs and in todays society they are a great tool to fight depression.

oh, and by the way. i quest with friends from NA meetings

I would like to post my opinion on MMORPGs. But first I would like to give you a brief overview of my short life just so you can see where I am coming from.

Now from a young age I would play computer games on consoles with my friends. Friends who I began to take cannabis with at about the age of 13, at first it was a usually only every other weekend. But as time went on I began to smoke it more and more frequently.

At the age of about 15 I began to take harder/stronger drugs, By this point I was stoned almost 24 hours of everyday, and High on other class 'A' drugs most nights. This went on for around 4 years.

For the last year or so I began to become very distance and found it harder and harder to socialise with freinds/colleagues and I even found it hard going to the stops. At this point I would only go out to work and to pick up my cannabis.

At around this time I began to play EQ2 where I met a lot of people I could talk to and they would listen to me, This helped me give up drugs and allowed me to start rebuilding my socialising skills.

Now it may sound a bit over the top but I believe EQ2 saved my life, without it I would still be in my own little world thinking there was no one around who cares.

Thanks For listening.

p.s. btw I am not condoning the use of illegal drugs In any way!!

p.p.s. I have not made up this story to try get onto this documentary as I would not even take part If I was asked, I just wanted to get another viewpoint across.

sounds like a load of malarkey, ohh!!, look at me i play vidoe games all day..make me a movie star please!! oo and then maybe i can be even more of a ******** loser, o'YEA!~ count me in

i kick *** at fighting and im addicted wow so give me money and travel for this exciting quest virtual or real i dont want to miss it www.mromoplata@hotmail.com
omoplata is a MMA/ UFC fighting move

What I am really curious about is why does someone come on a site dedicated to mmo's and ridicule them? Isn't that the epitome of pathetic. Even though that is how it looks we cannot assume that, we can safely say the post is pathetic. Many people do use video games as an escape from their real life, and thats ok. Other people use books... does that mean books are like marijuana? No it means people by nature want to get out of their real lives for a bit.

And a point i have always found funny is while many americans and koreans and so on and so forth are at each others throats wanting to nuke each other me and my fellow online crowd are figuring out how to raid with them... we work together regardless of race and we try to win... sounds like a better foreign policy than most countries have now.

Remember when MT:G came out? I did. It was neat, complex, had to think and puzzle solve but.....it needed like minded people to play.
Now first, let me explain something, prior to MT:G, I was on my own for a while and very lonely. The thrill of having my own place and all that started to wear, in my late 30's having gone through two upheavals,
i.e. no job, plenty of experience and just not getting the jobs offered, then finally getting one and hanging on- twice- being beoke due to lack of employment one time then being made broke by a GF who had alot of problems a second time and losing the job- HAVING to apply for welfare, all this was a nice kick in the teeth.

Previously, I would " go out" which meant picking a trendy bar maybe, and hoping I would strike up a conversation, I would even have great lead in lines that I would come up with on the spot. It took a few years for me to learn that- although not ugly, and somewhat handsome, I had the "look" of someone that is really married, although I am not. Also, when I would express ideas or reference fact, people would think I was insincere, or lying. ( one instance I referenced La Grande Vitesse a train in europe that could go I think 100mph? someone in the train biz had never heard and she thought I was lying ) another, I had read the story "bloodmusic" and one of Steve Butchers dresden novels, she had read interview with a vampire and was into celular biology, but not as study beyond study and was something she did at work. I pondered hmm, from a fictional standpoint could cancer be the ultimate evolution of vampires?, after all in human form they were hunted down, etc etc and linking the conversion in "bloodmusic" to this idea....she didn't get it.

So, I posted a small notice in the place I bought MT:G cards, saying, looking for people to play with, don't be wierd, please contact. and they did, and we got together to play cards, like would get together to play poker. Sometimes 3 times a week, always at a different apartment after all got to know each other. They liked my associations and also had read some of the same books.

Lives changed, some moved on, it broke up but for a year or so, it was pretty good. We even played Jyhad before it got it's name changed to Vampire. So Time passes, and I thoughtI would give EQ a shot. Now, before I heard of EQ I would go to a local bar ( not the trendy ones ) spend about 2 or 3 hours there, sometimes every other night, and after a while all I did was go there to spend money and get a slight buzz, sometimes dinner- to go home and watch- oh, ER was popular at the time- in retrospect I thought this was boring.

What happened? I saved money, monthly subscription was cheaper than going to a bar for 5 hours a week and buying drinks. I met people on-line who were on-line the same times I was, and we grouped, we had fun. DiD I spend full days playing? yes, sometimes. Do I play almost every day? Yes. Do I exersize? no, sadly, but...I have lost weight, I am able to push aside the hunger with the game. really, the only thing that makes these addictive per se? is not having a number of people around at the same time. That's it, you get that? and you are gathering to group like you would play poker, maybe 2 or 3 times a week.
People stay on for days and days because they are looking for folks on at around the same time, and are constantly trying to mesh schedules. Has it affected my job? no. Do I sometimes want to stay on for another 2 or 3 hours? yes, especially after we take down a particularly nasty raid monster, I get very jazzed up. do I? no, because thatls it, we're done for the day. Do I get morose if we fail on attempts at uber raid monster #10? yes, but it fades in a few minutes because I know, it will always be there tomorrow, or next week.

I wonder if it would be worth putting a plie of complaint into the press complaints authority about the utterly pathetic line of questions that are solely about putting the game in it's worst possible light.

Christ it's like doing a programme about football and only asking for holigans to respond.

I have to admit, that at times, it seems to me, that I play WoW, and other games, whether they be computer games, or console games, not necesarilly multi-player games either, more than I should. Sometimes I will have marathon-esque sesions of gaming, lasting 6-7+ hours, consuming the entire day. When I look back on these sessions, I do feel a slight disgust with the amount of time I spent, and at other things I could have done with the time, whether it be talk with my parents/grandparents, play with my dog, or even do a few chores that I've been putting off for a few days, because I don't think that my room needs to be cleaned. Although sometimes i look back and see other things i could have done with the time, i don't regret those sessions, because it was my choice, and my time.

I wouldn't say that I'm addicted to WoW, or any other game for that matter though. Sure I enjoy playing them, and sometimes lose track of time, but it is the comparable fun, and focus, that say a model plane builder would put into his hobby, or a coin collecter would have when looking for that one special coin to complete his collection. It is a hobby, plain and simple. I usually spend probalby, 1-4 hours playing a day, sometimes less, sometimes more, depending on what is going on on that day. Sometimes I will play, despite needing to do some work on something or other, or wanting to go hang out with my friends, because I want to relax on my time, and have a little time to myself away from other people. Other times, I will go without games for a few weeks, or months, just because I feel like doing other things with my time. The time I spend on games, is entirely mine, and is entirely my decision on what to spend said time on.

I have friends that I have made in games, and spent time with in the real word, and to be honest, I have more "friends" in games, than I do out. This is for the main reason, that when meeting people face to face, instead of taking you for your personality, wit, humor, and overall characteristics, people judge you first and foremost on looks, and the social norm. To be honest, I dont look to good, due to wieght issues, and the social norm for the people I am with day in and day out, is nowhere near me, my lifestyle, and my look. Most people I meet face to face, discount me right off the bat, and drom that point on, it is an uphill battle through loose sand and mud to change thier peception. When making "friends" online, they can't see you, and can only judge you based on your personality, wit, humor, and intelligence, making it easier to make friends, because there are no pre-concieve notions to battle through.

Despite what some people may think, the majority of gamers have ample social lives, and are normal in every way, and instead of going out and doing that extra, un-needed wieght training session, or watching sports on the t.v., they play games. I personally am not a fan of professional sports, and every now and then, i will do wieght training, but I enjoy games more, they are my hobby. I have many friends that I hang out with, at each other's homes, at malls, movies, lunch/dinner, parties, you name it. Sometimes we play games, because they are easy to get into, and a lot of fun when playing with friends. Most of the time though, we are playing basketball, soccer, wrestling, talking, running around, joking, normal things people do with thier friends. I enjoy sports on my level, like football, soccer, lacross(I'm a goalie), squash(I'm on the varsity team) golf, and even track at the odd time.

I also take my academics very seriously, and personally I love science, math, and technology. I will sit infront of my computer for hours at a time, tinkering with its insides, or with some program, or even making programs of my own. I am facinated by math, science, and technology. The shear amount of things you can do with them, the simplicity of thier design, and the logical flow of everything about them. I enjoy testing my teacher's knowledge, and at times will sit down with them after school and spend hours discussing this proof, or that experiment, or some program, and getting into discusions about something well and beyond everything that we do in class. I enjoy music as well, and will sit for hours listening to classical music, or playing my clarinet or piano. For me this is the greatest, and I enjoy every minute of it.

So, before you call me a video game addict, just take a minute to look over the other things that I can do, and enjoy doing, and then tell me that I am more than just a kid who enjoys a hobby.

Edited, Aug 27th 2006 at 11:21am EDT by dragonmar

i admit i had a slight problem with wow when i played it - i played it too much. i've stopped whilst im studying at uni. in a large (maybe any) community/society u will have those at one extreme to the other and those in between. imo, wow is addictive, and if u lack the will power/self restraint/poor time management skills etc anything that u find wondrously attractive will probably hook u throughout life. i see online gaming as a hobby/lifestyle. personally though, i'd recommend not playing any pc games like wow which quite often easily consume 4-5 hrs a day. having said that, as soon as holidays start: i'll be back on the warcrack :P
epix!!!!


/grammar police: 'might of' should be 'might have'

Well, my name is Brandin, and I am 16 years old. I have played games since I was around 3 years old. I have always been told I am good with electronics, but I am not some expert on gaming and computing, I haven't taken many computer classes, and the ones that I have taken deal more towards Web Site Creation and Management. But I am an avid gamer for sure. I play all sorts of games all of the time. Whether it be and MMORPG such as WoW and FFXI, or a normal RPG such as Final Fantasy, or the adeventure games like Diablo, I play many different games, from fighters to first-person shooters and I love them all. I would never believe that video games have ruined my life in any way. And in no way am I addicted to any of them. I constantly play WoW, sometimes almost all day, but that is only because I am not in school yet, but I still take time to work-out, be with my girlfriend, be with friends, go to local malls, trips, etc. I am a person who plays when there is time to play, but I can handle being away from the game for a week or more, and it is always good to take breaks, and not only to let your rested EXP build up. I enjoy WoW, but not because it is a game that is enjoyable and constantly expanding, I enjoy WoW purely for the people playing with me, I enjoy having friend online, most of which I either know in real life, or have met through other games. Some I meet through WoW. But you gain a connection with these people. And sometimes you come upon one or two people who are actually addicted to this game, care about nothing else but this game. And I don't think that is healthy whatsoever. I think it is a good thing to have another world to be in where you have people you can be with and have fun with and get to know, but to surround yourself in that world is no good. But overall, I would not say that MMOs are ruining our youth or people for that matter, I would say that people just need to learn to keep themselves in check and know when enough is enough. And I know that there is that whole entire argument of "If it wasn't there is the first place, we wouldn't be having these problems." But take a look at our world, there are a lot of addictions, starting with the smallest addictions like watching your favorite TV shows all of the time, those are unharmful addictions. But then you look at the harder, more harmful addictions, drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, pornography, sex, and other illegal acts. I believe that MMOs may have caused some of the trouble with how the people of America and all over the world are today. But I believe it is only a small percent that are affected. Why do we focus on such a mediocre subject as games, when there are much more things that should be looked at. Why find ways to stop people from overplaying games? It may be damaging to us, but the decision of whether or not to become addicted is up to us. And that is the same for everything. I just think that there are more important things in this world to worry about than MMO addiction, many are dieing all over the world by diseases, disasters, and crimes. And not to mention all the other addictions in the world make up a huge sum of our annual death rate.

Some of you may agree with some, most, or all of what I say. But chances are, most of you won't. But opinions are opinions, and none of them are wrong. Remember that, and post your own opinion.

im a lvl 60 that plays this game about 3-5 hours a day on a regualar basis (sometims less some times more)... but i have a regular life... i play football and baseball... im just putting this out there that u can play mmorpgs and not be a nerd or socially inept

I think the questions asked should be, Does the MMORPH community use most of thier free time Gaming or Watching TV. Seriously, everyone here is biased towards MMORPH games. I know I am I have been an avid gamer and reader of Science Fiction and Science Fantasy books for years. Take a guess what my punishment was when I didn't do my homework or clean up after myself?
HHHHhhhmmmm, give up? No Star Trek or Twilight Zone. I don't mean TNG or any of the other Sequel shows that have come out these last few decades. I mean the originals. Am I one of the Final Fantasy buffs that some of you folks are? Can I tell you when the different games were released? Can I tell you the stats of some of our professional atheletes. The answer is a simple NO. I can tell you I have Nintendo, Super Nintendo, N64, PS1, PS2, and I can build a computer from scratch components. Install the software and programs in the systems I build.
Am I a GEEK? Nope kind of wish I was but I am a gearhead. I work on autos and light trucks as a career. Been doing that for 20+ yrs. I enjoy using my free time playing FFXI, and will continue doing so till the day I die. I have had too many surgeries to run out and play ball anymore. Three more steps and I will be part of the over the hill gang.
I only hope that the BBC is fair and concise in the info they use and want to see the type of people they portray as gamers.