5 Creepy Ways Video Games Are Trying to Get You Addicted

[woodyear99]

Interesting article. Do you think with the right mix of various elements a game can become digital crack?

http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html


So, the headlines say somebody else has died due to video game addiction. Yes, it's Korea again.

What the hell? Look, I'm not saying video games are heroin. I totally get that the victims had other **** going on in their lives. But, half of you reading this know a World of Warcraft addict and experts say video game addiction is a thing. So here's the big question: Are some games intentionally designed to keep you compulsively playing, even when you're not enjoying it?

Oh, hell yes. And their methods are downright creepy.


Read more: 5 Creepy Ways Video Games Are Trying to Get You Addicted | Cracked.com http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html#ixzz1ww2ezl1S

[shivanandrs]

I see this everyday here on GATT, interesting article btw, good stuff.


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[LQDSNK]

Really good article,luckily i broke free from WoW a long time ago but i see the tricks up many a game sleeves.

[woodyear99]

Hehe yeah just don't have the time to do all that grinding, wife would beat me up....

[Berzerk]

Diabloooooo

[TriniLink]

Diablo 3= Adv Gauntlet gaming for the masses * Warrior needs food... Warrior needs food BADLY!!*

[W1nTry]

Damn good article there woody, good find

[TriniXaeno]

brilliant article woody.

A little surprised by the raw gritty language (man even dropped an f-bomb) but I think its an important message that should be scientifically put together and brought before a broader audience.

[Berzerk]

brilliant article woody.

A little surprised by the raw gritty language (man even dropped an f-bomb) but I think its an important message that should be scientifically put together and brought before a broader audience.

         

 better yet a local study. With local gamers as guin...errr subjects.                                                                                                                                

[woodyear99]

Do you think that this is ethical? Game developers create entertainment for the masses but is it okay to make them addictive on purpose. I think there is a grey line here with how far is too far.

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[Berzerk]

It is not ethical, but their is no real outcry for people to take notice. Perhaps with proper empirical evidence, shouldered by proper support, some of the right heads could turn.

But people are getting exactly the product that they want. That is where it gets technical. People becoming more aware is key.

[woodyear99]

It's true you would have no idea and players would assume that they were just "enjoying" the game more.

[TriniXaeno]

Same can be said for gambling, tobacco, alcohol and the list goes on.

awareness is key

study this, if virtual goods are just as valuable as real world goods....would a virtually succesful person be considered just as valuable as a real world successful person?

Because, at the root of the matter, an accomplished gamer is often looked upon by society as a failure. Having "wasted" countless hours in digital pursuits.

Should a balance be struck?

[TriniLink]

More of a should than a would, as well as the thinking of a generation. Work in my parents and grandparents' day was actual farming/ work done by hand then selling physical items to earn income. For the virtual world and e-commerce, this new way will be looked down upon by the past generation, might even be labeled as "wasted time" or even given a mafia/gangster label in that you get paid for doing very little and by having a virtual warehouse to earn your income.

It comes down to the society and the way of life in general and the mindset. For me i grew up with the thinking way of having work and play balanced and earning an honest dollar, for the next generation their way will be different as they may deem yard work to be harsh and demeaning, all the while spending away our hard earned dollars that we choose to save up for them. 

What you teach is what you form, teach the next gen the right way not the lazy way. 

Spare the rod and spoil the child.
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

[TriniXaeno]

Well that's just the thing.

What if the old way is no longer relevant?

Changing times.

Hard currency is no longer status quo.

Everyone's money is more or less virtual. Being swiped around in bank accounts via credit cards numbers, paypal, ewallets and such.

We are seeing games courting with the idea of "real money" transactions.

Some people already earn a decent income doing virtual trade in games.

The line will get blurrier.

At that stage, do you beret a child who has made us$100,000 after spending endless hours selling epic armor in World of Starcraft and tell him he's wasting his life?

As opposed to spending endless hours in a cubicle to make the same amount?

[TriniLink]

Cubicle work => not much choice, work to support the family/ your gaming habit, hardly considered what you like where you work, very rare stated.

Online gamer => Seeing it as a job/work seems taboo, Actually have fun to some degree, addictive and you get PAID to play? Sign me up! To most bye to health, sleep, sanity, socializing, relationship. As Balrog of Street fighter says "I GOT PAID!!!" *troll face* Problem?

No wonder a guy married an online avatar...