A recent study reported by CNN says they're not alone. People who play MMORPGs tend to sleep less and spend more time playing than players of other computer games. It may seem obvious, since MMOs are by nature somewhat of a time-sink, but there is undeniably something more to it; any activity can potentially be a time-sink, after all -- so what is it about MMOs that makes people actually sink time?
The answer is up for debate, of course, but one important factor is that WoW's community of players gives the accomplishments within the game a context of reality. The game's goals, dangling in front of us like carrots, would be nearly meaningless if we could only appreciate them in a single-player context, but with a whole realm of other players working alongside us to get them too, they can feel very important. If the choice is between a few hours having dreams you won't remember, or getting a little closer to riding an impressive dragon mount, then certainly sleep can seem boring and useless by comparison.
As they note in the study, this problem is not addiction. Instead they call it "enthrallment:" the power of the game to capture the fascinated attention of players with amazing items, powerful abilities, and most importantly, other people to share these things with. The study's author noted how very little attention the media gives to enthrallment in comparison to the much-hyped dangers of violence in games, as well as the fact that enthrallment in games can have both positive effects (such as awesome group experiences) and negative ones (such as losing sleep).
Do you feel "enthralled" by WoW a lot? Does this feeling of being captivated by WoW seem like a good thing or a bad thing to you? When does it seem like a few hours sleep is a worthwhile trade for whatever in-game accomplishment you have in mind? Or are you at +150 resistance to enthrallment, with the log-out button just a simple click away at all times?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-26-2007 @ 4:49PM
gegen said...
I think they hit the nail on the head with "enthrallment." Such a better term and definition than "addiction" - while some of the more extreme players may be genuinely addicted, I think "enthrallment" applies much better to the majority of people who are called (or call themselves) "addicted."
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10-26-2007 @ 4:55PM
Burgdorn said...
Well that is a part of the key ingredients to creating a world isn't it? You want people to sort of live there, and really in context to a real world that demands existence in the Norm anything new different or different ends up pushing against that fabric of real world obligations. The TV has been there, hell board games and card games have been there too. Thing is that as you stated those things don't have the "Look what I got" mentality. I think it is artistically interesting how WoW brings out social issues that already exist but in a different context. How do you get the time to spend with people? It is becoming an increasingly more complicated issue, with all the "take home" work we have to do. Here to make time people are trying to have fun just by cutting on their sleep. Is this really the games problem or is the social dynamic of the world we live in fighting WoW by saying it right?
Thankfully it is known that the older you get the less sleep you need to properly function, so lets just put the kiddies to sleep and start raidnig =D.
I kid I kid.
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10-26-2007 @ 4:58PM
Haikou said...
The main problem is (as I see it) that a lot of the objectives in WoW overlap and many people find it difficult to log off without completing "just one more thing".
For example, you're grinding quests and decide that you're going to log after you complete the one you're working on. While finishing up that quest, you find that you only have a little more to go to complete another quest, so you keep going. You turn in the quests and gain a level where you can train new skills, so you go find a trainer... etc. Next thing you know, you've spent another hour or more.
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10-26-2007 @ 5:05PM
Karl said...
The game offers goal oriented progression. This is a very absorbent method of gaming. In some games, your goal is simply to get to the next area or level of play, or past a boss. While WoW does have that as well, they also offer stepped progression of those goals, and award you with better items or money for completing these small steps. The "absorbent" part is that these small steps lead to larger steps. If you are a goal oriented type of person yourself, and want to see a large goal accomplishment before you go to bed, you will step through the progression without realizing the amount of time it takes to complete each little step. Often the steps are of little effort (take this letter to person X and they give you the next part), but getting to person X may require you to travel 15-20 minutes or more. Then you have to travel back. Before you know it, 3-5 simple tasks have taken you over an hour. And once your final goal is complete, you have had no reason to believe it took so long to accomplish this task.
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10-26-2007 @ 5:07PM
Vaca said...
The whole game is immersive, you block out everything around you and that includes that bright red alarm clock beside the pc that for some reason always seems to be flashing 12:00 am, regardless of when you look at it.
I play late at night after my wife and child are asleep, I find that if I play while everyone is awake I don't feel like much of a father or husband. It's hard to carry on a conversation with someone when their eyes are glued to a monitor. Even though I have a job to be at early in the morning, I sometimes stay up till 1-2 am just to finish what I am doing or just to chit chat. The game can do that to you. Strap on a set of headphones and plop in front of the PC and you may as well be in that world.
Enthralled=Addicted, it doesn't matter what they want to call it, that is exactly what they mean when they say someone is enthralled with the game.
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10-26-2007 @ 5:23PM
Runstadrey said...
When I began playing I was in a guild, but always ran solo and never had any trouble logging at a timely hour.
Now I almost never solo and have an incredibly difficult time logging off. Whether it's the camaraderie or the desire not to leave my friends hanging, I can't say. But it definitely has something to do with how you play.
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10-26-2007 @ 5:29PM
jeff.buelow said...
I think the problem you describe is most common among raiders. And lately I have heard an increase in complaints from my raider friends about the toll it takes on them and the sleep loss it requires.
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10-26-2007 @ 5:35PM
Seperioth said...
I'm in college right now.. and my WoW time has dwindled comapared to when i was working full time.
I use to log on at 9pm and log off at anywhere from 3-5am. I've always looked at sleep as being somewhat useless. Once you get used to only sleeping a few hours a night its just like sleeping 9 hours. You wake up refreshed and ready to go!
I can however just walk away. The only reason I play so much is usally because I have a specific goal to reach that night or that week.. or other friends are on.
If other friends are on its usually jokes and laughing until 5am.
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10-26-2007 @ 5:53PM
prudychick said...
I'm usually only enthralled when I'm in a dungeon or on a group quest. The longest I've ever stayed up was running Sunken Temple and that was like till 2 AM. My problem is having an overactive brain. I have to be off WoW about an hour before I go to bed otherwise I'll lie there and think about what I did or should have done better.
Then again, on the weekend I pretty much have to force myself not to play so I can clean house, etc. Let's see do house work vs. playing WoW it's an easy choice.
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10-26-2007 @ 6:11PM
Chilblain said...
Hilarious... I took today off from work to rack up some AV honor.
...huh? I don't have a problem... I can quit anytime!
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10-26-2007 @ 8:12PM
vyndreen said...
As some have already mentioned, college makes for an interesting balancing act. Personally, I force myself to log off by midnight, since I've got 8am classes all week. And the thought processes required by my major, I feel, just simply can't be achieved on only 3 or 4 hours of sleep.
However, this was most definitely not the case back in high school and the days of EQ.
...sleep?....I think I got some of that last tuesday...I'll have to get back to you on that...
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10-27-2007 @ 12:52AM
Andelorn said...
Actually, as one of these people I can tell you right away that playing WoW is not even close to the -reason- I stay up late. Since I was a child I've always been the sort to stay up late at night, and long (many years) before I got into MMORPGs, I was living on a few hours sleep at times often.
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10-27-2007 @ 2:48PM
Theserene said...
I used to stay up very late reading books. I still do.
My sister will stay up very late watching TV because she'll always find something she 'has' to watch.
I do think it is more prevalent in raid guilds though, one of my best friends heads a raid guild and rarely if ever gets to bed before 1am.
I on the other hand have to get up at 5am to go to work, so raiding is out for me. Job first.
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10-28-2007 @ 8:07PM
Markymark said...
I remember times ive been up till like 12pm the next day playing WoW but with me when i'm tired ill go to sleep.
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