Addiction, it’s in the game
Nothing beats an addiction like a wedding. The planning, the in-laws, the booze, it is all about the love and not the internet spaceships. A piece of me is crying inside, I swear. EVEMon has been shutdown, I know the last skill I planned 2 weeks ago was 9 days long, and the last thing I remember I was watching my vexor go down in a blaze of glory. Ah the good old days.
Was I addicted? I’d say so. Happily addicted, of course, since there were so many exciting things going on at the time. KenZoku left town, Agony was moving, the universe was changing. Walking away from it all was simple, since the circumstances forced me to pack up my PC, grab the laptop, and hit the road. That does not mean, one bit, that I don’t think about getting just a minute in to shoot at something.
EVE Online is probably the most addicting game I have played. World of Warcraft comes in a close second. I’m hoping Fallen Earth will make the list, but EVE is the winner. You can not simply play EVE, you need to live EVE. I come home, read the forums, update the alliance news, talk to contacts, listen to ventrilo recordings, and get intelligence updates before I undock, fight, log out, and then keep my reader updated for work. Rinse and repeat, day in, day out. The only break is sleep and the occasional dog walk or dinner out.
I have never been this involved in a game. Hell, I write about the damn game. How can I not? An active market that amazed even my economics loving father. A history professor who took an interest in the unique foreign policy the game offers. Serious thought about military affairs and governments and business ethics. It’s the real world all balled up in a neat little package for a low monthly price. Toss in the comradery you gain in a good corporation and it is hard to keep the computer off and pick up those crazy things called books.
I know how you feel. My wife has finally just given in and learned to understand that a portion of every night is going to go to Eve. I wonder how pissed my boss would be at me if he knew how much time I spent reading Eve-Online forums and writing blog posts at work. Probably pretty pissed.
Yeah, I’m starting to think someone needs to do the upcoming “what mechanic would you like to see removed from the game” Blog Banter with removing addiction from the game as their topic! As my husband often observes wryly, “That’s not a game. That’s a friggin’ lifestyle!”
Wow, this addiction is really something eh?
More powerful than drugs. A friend of mine in the game would rather wake up for an alarm clock op than to wake up to go buy some “weed” at his friend’s house.
This game is eff’ed up :S
Cool!