Addicted to experience

A very warm welcome my friend!

Time has passed since I knew Nimreidhreth Taleth first. He always had been a proud elf; proud of his heritage, proud of his skills, proud of his race. Now he is close to achieve his maximum power, and he is feeling the need to reach that last step. He has been eagerly fighting inside Mirkwood against goblins, wargs and orcs to hone his skills.

Proud warrior Nimreidhreth.

   I am happy about him, and it seems that his letters are being written with more and more excitement, even though he may try to write them as serious and, well, elvish as possible. But his efforts and experiences are noted. For months he travelled through plains, forests and mountains, he explored the depths and the heights of Eriador and beyond. He fought many an enemy.

   Now he sits in the dark woods, brooding on his destiny, preparing himself for that last step. He should rest, I say, but sometimes when someone is about to achieve a goal he forgets about everything else. We’ll see if his endeavor becomes fruitful, but I do surely wish him best of luck. May, as he says, the Valar protect him on that last part of his travels. In the mean time, I’ll sit at the campfire for a while, smoking pipeweed with you and enjoying a good tea. I even got a new and excellent brand of leaf!

   Oh! You are going already. Well then, have a safe trip, I hope I’ll have more to tell next time, but…

   Until then, fare well.

[There have been many articles I have read in past times about a “new” kind of addiction that have been bringing some question on the world of computer gaming, above all of MMOs in general. The article I most remember came out a few years ago in a german magazine called Spiegel, in which it stated that there was even a consideration of including a program for game addiction into the social health bill.

   But the first question I’d like to ask, concerning this topic is: what is an addiction? It has become pretty much less and less clear to me to understand that concept, and I don’t mean by scientific/physiological standards. Studying social science makes you critical on those terms.

   Let’s get one thing clear on that: we all pursue to feel good. Getting a bit of endorphins loose, or any other of those accelerating and good-feeling hormones, is an essential part of our joy. Humanity has always tried to get that little extra to feel better about its surroundings, and it’s normal to us to look for a little thrill. I don’t mean by that extreme sports or something like that, but many find pleasure in reading a good book, in leveling a character in his favorite RPG or simply by having a walk in a park or forest. There are numerous ways to feel good after all.

   But usually, when it goes to addiction to something, people tend to put video games over other activities. This means, if you spend all day reading, no one is against it, but if you play LOTRO all day long, then you are addicted. How do they decide that? Isn’t there some bias against certain types of activities? I really can’t say.

   I myself accept I am addicted to various things. I love my tobacco and my pipe, as well as cigarettes. Still, at the moment I am writing this I am well over three days of not having touched a single leaf of tobacco. I don’t feel the need to drink it. But I know I am addicted. Same with Coke. I love it. But I am well known to hold off a whole month without drinking a drop. It pains me a bit more, but still it is possible for me (be it noted that I usually drink at least one liter of Coke daily… so yeah, I’m killing myself. Still I am very healthy, for some reason…).

   A few weeks ago I discovered that I became addicted to LOTRO. But a few years back I played a lot of games; this raises the question of how can I tell I am addicted to that game in particular? Well, I think a safe reference is to use the following points:

a)      You play a long time on it (usually about six hours or more would do it, although, if you think three hours is too much, then this may be your personal addiction limit).

b)      You tend to disregard outside events. You stay home to raid instead of going to that party or high school reunion to see old buddies.

c)      You get in a bad mood whenever the game is down. You are better to be ignored during server downtime.

d)     You only think about that activity. You are planning on what to do next time you connect every second of the day. Or any other thing you would do in-game. But you can’t get yourself to plan for the next day’s fishing trip or picnic because you are thinking just about the game.

e)      No place for personal relations. You shove your mother/brother/girlfriend/wife aside, you can’t stand up to get the trash quickly out or come to dinner. If you are in a raid I understand it, but if you are in a normal place and you can’t park your character for five minutes in some corner to help out, or just go AFK for 30 minutes to eat, then you might have some trouble.

   Only one factor may not be enough to say that you may be addicted, but as soon as you experiment two or more, I think it is pretty clear that the game has taken hold of you.

   In my case I came to my conclusion using only point a). I would even say I have a minor gaming addiction, since it hindered me a bit on my work. I had to control it any way or another. It is true that the first rule to get rid of an addiction is by recognizing you have one. But the second one, the most important one is taking steps. A few tips from me would be maybe:

a)      Put in official hours. I usually try to play only form 19 o’clock to 23o’clock. It is still a four hour playtime, but it is much less than a few weeks before, where I got up to eight hours of playing. I put an exception on weekends and only if I am in a raid, which tend to take longer. In this case, the team spirit comes before, but as soon as I am out I disconnect and do bartering and repairing the next day.

b)      Get in contact with your friends! I usually don’t have much trouble with this one, since I sometimes NEED a drink (obviously jokingly) and I rarely do drink a glass alone. I have still a clan life to follow, my family has festivities from time to time I like to go to, or even once every few months I accept to tolerate a University party (I can’t stand drunks too much though) just to talk to friends outside the normal academic ambience. Also, you might want to get in touch with your significant other. I usually see my own girlfriend every second day AT LEAST, since she is a priority over my game.

c)      Get other activities. Reading can be fun, I do it. But there are also other things to do, and no, playing another MMO doesn’t count. Of course there is work, but it doesn’t count as another activity. You could start collecting something. A walk in the next park wouldn’t be wrong either. Tending a garden does help, or, as I do from time to time, cooking can get your mind off the game. Or just start a blog!

The scenery in-game may look hauntingly beautiful –in this case Forochel- but

Always remember there is no place like the real outside.

   But then there is this other problem: I am a fan of LOTR. Granted I barely read more than the three basic books (this means: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings –it is originally one book parted in three- and The Silmarillion), but I collect stuff regarding Tolkien and I also happen to read Tolkien Studies from time to time, or even listen to the Tolkien professor. Being a medievalist sometimes pulls me directly into Tolkien when trying to get an example across. Am I addicted? My father much of the times only thinks about his physics. It is his profession, but can you consider it an addiction? Some would say no, but maybe because his activity tends towards a productivity standard. What I mean by that is that it is considered work, and in our modern society work is barely bad. Then again, we go into the Workaholic area, which functions as a dependence too.

   So now some might think that I playing four hours a day might be already an addiction. All I can say is: I don’t know. But I have a lot of other things to do, and I gladly trade a game night for an interesting party or festivity. Maybe humans are naturally addicted to something at all times, but juggling three addictions is more productive than just stagnating into one. So, by my definition, an addiction is just when things get out of hand. But that part is up to you to decide.

   I think that maybe addictions are not bad in themselves. As long as you have certain control on them. It’s like this basic idea of water: if you have almost none, you die of thirst, if you have too much, you drown. The same should apply to you daily activities, but this limit is very personal and it is up to you to decide. If you suddenly play one day for eight hours to reach finally level 65, then I would not say you are addicted. You just took a day off. If that day off repeats itself and with no real good reason, then you probably are addicted. I repeat myself. This is up to you to decide, but it is necessary to think about.

Resting after a battle in the Rift. Raids may take hours of playtime, but

they are extremely fun to go through.

   See you next week then.

      All Hail!]