Video Game Addiction

I'm wondering if anyone have any good ideas for framing the pros/cons of playing MMORPG's for hours on end.

Pros:
1.Social. You hang out, and talk with actual people.
2.Time consuming. Good time waster if you have nothing productive to do, but still entertaining.
3. You can meet new people.
4. Sometimes make you to actually use your brain.
5. It builds confidence to spend a year make a level 100 character on a game. It makes you feel like you can do more important stuff.

Cons:
1. You may be social, but you're still not talking with people face to face.
2. Can become addictive, causing your grades, health, and real life relationships to suffer.
3. Some of those new people can be creepy.
4. Some MMORPGs are just giant chat rooms with a crappy game. Some don't make you to think much.
5. It can make you become anti-social to actual people.
6. It may build confidence, but it can also be upsetting and mentally frustrating if you're an addict.

I don't play many MMORPG's, but I understand why they're bad and good.

I play WoW. I'd say I'm fairly 1337 and mad pwnzor. It is the sweetest game ever. Pros: It is mad fun, a bunch of my friends including two of my good basketball team buddies play it so we have lots of fun pwning 2gether, and it does take skill. Cons: My grades have fallen and my muscles have shrunk and I'm getting fat. I spend less time and effort on grooming now too. And I don't sleep anymore.

I've also played EQ II (Everquest 2) before. It was about as fun as watching paint dry and grass grow at the same time.

I , personally, am hopelessly addicted to playing the Dynasty Warriors series from Koei. It also happens to be loosely based on the Three Kingdoms period in Ancient China. I am also addicted to the Command and Conquer series. I have every game made including the First Decade. I beat them all multiple times.

Dynasty Warriors
pros: Get used to the Chinese names after a while and remember who they were historically.
cons: It is a mindless hack and slash game.

Command and Conquer:
pros: It makes you think a little bit.
cons: Not really based on anything historical.

It depends on what games you play, for instance, Games that are based on history like Axis & Allies actually teach you history (if your fighting for the allies) since they under go every scenario of WWII in order. Command and Conquer, only useful if you plan to join the military:roll: . Basically, all games are time wasters but life would be boring without them.

renmin said:

It depends on what games you play, for instance, Games that are based on history like Axis & Allies actually teach you history (if your fighting for the allies) since they under go every scenario of WWII in order. Command and Conquer, only useful if you plan to join the military:roll: . Basically, all games are time wasters but life would be boring without them.

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Agreed, but what about other games like Age of Empires?

TheHarkonnen said:

Agreed, but what about other games like Age of Empires?

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AoE is based a history based game so i guess it is helpful. The tribes are real so it should teach you somethin.

until they made age of empires 3, which is just crap. no more history based campaign by great leaders like saladin or lionheart. just a made up story of some family in north america. they really limited the civilizations in the third game, only 6 european nations, and can only fight in north america, so it's pretty boring.

And flight sims, they teach you about aerodynamics, avionics, etc

... although none of that is really useful unless you want to become a pilot

PiSigma said:

until they made age of empires 3, which is just crap. no more history based campaign by great leaders like saladin or lionheart. just a made up story of some family in north america. they really limited the civilizations in the third game, only 6 european nations, and can only fight in north america, so it's pretty boring.

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well the whole made up campaign started in AoM, although there are some myth stories in there that are recognizable (such as the siege of Troy, etc.). but AoE3 does have a "History" section where you can read the history of each civ, still, how many gamers would actually read it when they can play the game?