The MMORPG Addiction Interview

Warcry recently sat down with Dr. Mark Stanwick, who apparently specializes in MMORPGs, for a short discussion about the addiction surrounding massively multiplayer games. A snip of what was talked about:

Q: Tell me, why do you think people get addicted to online games?

A: Unlike many conditions, addiction to online gaming fetches a rather simple psychoanalysis. What causes individuals to be addicted to online games, or MMORPGs? The sense of accomplishment and status. Advancing in online games requires a lot of investment with plenty of virtual rewards. Often people find themselves bored, or stagnant, in their real lives, overwhelmed with obligation and responsibility. As a sidenote, it should be mentioned that most chronic cases of severe addiction to MMORPGs are found in adult men, not children. In a virtual-reality environment you are in complete control of your life and of what you can achieve, with absolutely no consequences to pay if you fail. It differs from the stresses of a work environment because, while in real life it’s isolating, in the virtual life it’s liberating. The addiction is not so much to the game itself, but to the accomplishments made and the status had. Where one might be a clerk at a market or a postal worker in their real lives and feel they are going nowhere, in an MMORPG such as Everquest or DAoC they can actually gain status in a relatively substantial community for their accomplishments. In online games–all of them–there is a social infrastructure. A “food chain,” if you will. There is usually a leader, be they a leader of a group, a guild, a raid–any number of things–and that individual has people listening to them, taking direction, guiding them through a “critical” task (such as slaying a dragon) and seeing it to completion. Then there are the followers, the supporters, all dedicated to the ultimate purpose. Now, for most, they have never been a part of, much less in charge of, such a massive task. Therefore, the thrill and the sense of being “somebody” or a part of “something” substantial is where the addiction lies.