I can hear it in my mind, as I write this...what it would be like, attending my weekly meeting.
"My name is Ladnar, it's been four months since I've logged in."
"Hello, Ladnar!"
As you read this, hundreds of thousands of people are being taken completely and blissfully out of social circulation by one game. In fact, depending on the time of day, they number closer to a million souls...locked in a nigh-endless battle. A battle waged not just in cyberspace, but in their daily lives. A person would have to live in a cave not to at least know the name "World of Warcraft," it has been widely reported on in just about every form of media - print, radio and television. While some see it as a somewhat benign pastime, those who have "escaped" it will almost universally acknowledge that World of Warcraft (more popularly referred to as "WoW") is slowly, steadily devouring one life at a time. Many who are in its clutches are aware of the effect it's having on their lives, but feel powerless to stop it...others are so deeply ensconced in the world of Azeroth (or Outlands), have so neglected their real lives, that they no longer care for the pursuits and relationships of the outside world. WoW is destroying marriages, erasing friendships and eroding careers...and much like any drug addict, those who are closest to it - the players - will likely tell you they can quit at any time. They just don't want to.
As someone who played the game since before the launch, during the open beta, I can testify to the game's addictiveness. Within the confines of WoW, a player's character slowly becomes a digital extension of their own ego. Because the game's goal, at its core, is the pursuit of more and more power...this will drive players without power to desire it more, and envy those who already have it. This is particularly true in the player-versus-player realm, where inequities in the quality of their weapons and armor will tip the scales between two evenly-levelled characters. Gear envy becomes the primary motivator that drives players to invest steadily increasing numbers of hours into gearing their character up. Unfortunately, in order to keep monthly subscribers coming back, Blizzard (the game's developer) continually updates the game with more difficult challenges and stouter equipment rewards. Those who invest the most time in mastering the new content are rewarded with the best the game has to offer. They subsequently become the envy of all other players, who see their character as "not good enough" when faced with vastly improved items.
In time, players become so entrenched in the pursuit of these intangible rewards, that they suddenly find real-world concerns no longer measure up to the greater glory that awaits them, in-game. A player who invests so much time in the game that they can attend all of their guild's dungeon raids and obtain all the best loot the game has to offer are a powerful force within the game world...whereas, in the real world, they may not feel very significant at all. A life spent in classrooms or cubicles becomes less attractive than logging in as a member (or officer) of a WoW server's best guild, the envy of thousands of other players who wish they had that level of gear and experience. In the real world, they may be the envy of no one...in Azeroth, they are legends.
Is it any wonder that people become addicted? I was one of them. So addicted, in fact, that my first attempt to quit (after selling my accounts) was thwarted by the release of the Burning Crusade expansion. I rejoined the game and poured all my free time (and some of my work time) to reaching the new level cap, in order to raid the "new endgame" content with my guild. During my return to the game, however, I began to realize the toll the game had taken on me and my life. I felt compelled to log into the game whenever I had a free moment at work. I stayed at the office after work to raid with my guild, because the raid schedule would not allow me to get home first. My wife slowly began to feel that she was taking a backseat to the game, and started expressing her feelings rather vocally. My dedication to the game was harming my work ethic and my relationship with my wife. I no longer felt the need to hang out with my friends, preferring to continue pushing into new territory with my guild. World of Warcraft had gradually taken over my life.
Gradually, because that's how it starts; from the first time a player hits level 2, to the first rare equipment drop they receive off a kill, to the first dungeon boss they kill with a group of other players, to the first raid dungeon they clear...the desire to do and see more of the game, receive another "epic" piece of armor or weapon, gradually grows from the moment players begin their characters. A player below level 40 envies those above it who are riding around on their mounts, 60% faster than everyone else. A level 40 player with their new mount envies those level 60 and above, who have their "epic" mounts with 100% movement speed. Those with epic mounts envy players with the flying mount in Outland...who, in turn, envy those wealthy individuals who've managed to buy the "epic" flying mounts. The same line of thinking can be applied to any equipment or weaponry in the game, as well. There is always something better available, if you will only make the "sacrifices" necessary to obtain it. The sacrifices, of course, are of the real-world variety.
One might say, then, that World of Warcraft is a "young person's game," its goals and structure are not well-suited to people with careers and families of their own. After finally calling it quits for good, however, I am reminded of the prophetic line uttered by the computer to Matthew Broderick, in the 1983 feature film, "Wargames."
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
