Debate: WoW is Addictive

Another article written for Helium, this was a debate where we had to choose if World of Warcraft was addictive or harmless. I'm on the addictive side of the fence. While it's gotten bumped down to number 8, I can say that this piece has earned me a couple pennies despite some bad typos.
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From Flintlocke's Guide to Azeroth, another creative use for this
timesink of a video game (that I still play /cry).

Like many things in life, it comes down to how you make and shape your experience. Blizzard's World of Warcraft MMORPG is no exception to this little saying, but I fall in with the side of its great capabilities as an addictive alternative reality.

In Azeroth, since the BETA way back in 2004, I have participated in all of the three main aspects of game-play; intensive raiding, player-vs-player combat and role-playing. Two of these have reward systems involving armor and weaponry, but all three involve an intense status ladder to climb and a substantial time investment. No one likes being called a "noob," or being at the bottom of the totem pole, so what else is there to do, but be the best you can be?

Raiding, especially within a guild, players usually meet and play for hours on end, progressing as carefully as possible to be proficient in an instanced area or dungeon. Guilds will set specific meeting times to assault these areas, strictly allowing players to enter group only if they arrive on time. If a player is late, just like a job, they are penalized and not allowed to participate. Time and game currency is heavily invested by dedicated players to create consumables (potions, repair bots, bandages, etc), repair armor and weapon damages, as well as researching the best way to assault a group of enemies or boss. The more difficult the raid dungeon, the higher quality of items drops. Some guilds adopt a Dragon-Kill Points (DKP) system to determine who gets the epic items. DKP points are usually earned according to attendance and contributions to the guild. There is one of the biggest time investment there.

With Player-versus-Player (PVP) combat, high status is gained basically by how many people you defeat in both designated battlegrounds and open, World PVP combat. Over and over again. The more people you kill, the more Honor (PVP currency) you gain and the more high-level items you can buy, and show off. It is sometimes disputed that PVP combat requires much more skill then Raiding. While it does employ much quicker thinking on one's feet, PVP carries with it a great chance to elevate a player's status, but this ladder is flimsy. If a player were to get cocky, but be defeated, their status can be very quickly compromised. While I enjoyed PVP combat much more then raiding, the time investment to grind the point necessary for the items was just as involved and repetitive as the raiding environment. Relationships were also more of rivalries then as teams.

With Roleplaying, status is earned through how many players you know and how many stories you can tell. The most difficult thing I find about the roleplaying environments is how sensitive players can be when their storytelling is compromised by another's. Within these communities, you will have players who will become leaders and guide other players along to fit in with their master plan. With roleplaying, the time investment comes with never missing anyone else's roleplay. To be in attendance and to be as involved as possible is the best way to reach high popularity with their peers. Here there is a very likely chance that egos will be hurt, emotions will be trampled and cliques will be notorious. But if you can be friends with everyone, there is less danger, right?

These high-level item drops and experience, coupled with the players attitude can earn them a high status within their active server community. This someone can now be called upon and admired for their power, knowledge and skill, thus able to get even more shiny new armor and weapons. No longer a "noob," they can strut their stuff on their epic mount through a capitol city, showing off their shiny new armor and glowing weapon to all who can see. It is one thing to try to beat a game that will constantly have new content added on, but it another to sacrifice time that can be invested in true life relationships. The game is fun and challenging and the people I have met through it come from all walks of life, some of them becoming good friends. There is a point however, where a player must sit back and register what their true goals are within this alternative reality and how they weigh in with their current goals outside of the game. Will those purple pixels get you a job? Will that epic mount help you pass your exam? Will the PVP Arena gear set want your spouse to spend more time with you?

I do not mean these things sarcastically, because I have seen people balance game-time with jobs, school and relationships. But as a gamer who has let myself fall far into the game world, I can only implore that you, the player, the player's friend, the player's parent make the effort to intervene when the World of Warcraft begins to consume one's life at an unhealthy rate.

I personally recommend these little tips to helping yourself or helping another who has lost their way a little bit:

1) Make full use of parental controls.
Have a close friend or family member set the password for lesser playing time during the week. This is a great way to ween yourself off of long hours of binge-WoWing.

2) Uninstall the game for a week or two, and just take a break.
You can always download it again and reinstall if the shakes start up.

3) Pick up a hobby during the downtime you would usually play WoW.
Go biking! Go draw! Go dancing! Cook yourself dinner on the stove (non-microwavable)! Call up the friends you've been ignoring for weeks!

Thank you for your time, and safe travels in both real-life and Azeroth folks!