Comments: 3 Comments (Go to Comments)
Categories: Commentary, Internets
Tags: irl, rpg, timesink, warcraft
I found this video over at Hawty McBloggy and it’s worth watching even though I disagree with Brian Schmoyer’s assertion that video games, as entertainment, have no lasting value. The short version is that after 30 years of gaming, the Schmoyer found himself “alone, overweight and divorced,” and he blames this on the time he spent playing video games.
Coming off of two Dragon Age playthroughs and one run through Mass Effect 2, I’m probably more sympathetic towards Schmoyer’s POV than a gaming blogger should be. I’ve basically minored in BioWare RPGs. However, I don’t think I could have made better use of that time so much as I would have made other use of that time — at the very least, I should have done more laundry.
Still, in between my tours of Ferelden and Masseffectium, I’ve managed to keep my approval rating high among my friends and family. Likewise, I continue to have a strong romance with my wife, which I attribute to the diversity of conversation options we have available. Finally, though my quest log is never empty, I remain a kickass Collection Development Librarian (it’s all about the graphic novels).
Amanda:
I think he’s making it black and white when it is a matter of addiction. Especially using WoW as an example. Anything you’re addicted to can have the same effects on your life and there are plenty of people who game, and perhaps game frequently, who are not addicted. I agree–it’s a balance. Anything that’s causing one to miss out on one’s own life is cause for concern.
That being said–my gaming has gone way, way down since my writing became more of a career than a hobby. I find myself more frequently reaching for puzzle games as a short and sweet form of entertainment, rather than involving myself in huge time-sink games like The Sims or Oblivion, like I used to.
Paul:
My concern is that the wrong people may try to hold this up as proof that gaming is a bad or destructive thing. As the poster above said, in this persons case it’s about adiction and having the ability to know when to stop. One could easily make the same video but replace it with reading, or quilting, or wood carving.
Michelle:
I think he’s using gaming as a scapegoat for the bad decisions he made in life – makes those choices slightly easier to cope with after all.
MMO addiction is a slightly different issue to other games imo, I don’t like the assumption that everyone that plays games is taking it to far, and that games are wasted time, frankly I’d say the average non-gamer wastes more time than I do. My gaming time is limited, and therefore precious.