The Warcraft Awakening

Of all things to spend my time blogging about, I choose World of Warcraft addiction. Ironically, this is actually a very common blog subject. It should come as no surprise that the majority of those blogging about it are indeed World of Warcraft players. I submit the reason for this is because they are so addicted to Warcraft that it is naturally something about which they choose to write.


This leads the reader to question whether or not I am addicted. In fear of being "in denial," I refuse to answer. I'm honestly not sure. Regardless, I do play, and after much pondering last night, I know why I do it. It is for the same reasons why I believe the game is indeed addicting. My hypothesis consists of a mixture of positive stimulation through simple in game successes as well as social interaction in a virtual world where the gamer is unknown.

In the World of Warcraft there are several short term, medium term and long term goals. Every day when you log in to the game you likely complete something successfully. It could be a small success such as leveling an alt a few experience bubbles or farming some gold for your main. Or, it may be completing an epic quest line or earning that last piece of gear to complete your tier six set; both successes that require lots of patience and several hours of effort. Regardless of the type of success, you've accomplished something and it feels good.


This is not the case in real day-to-day lives. Many of us wake up in the morning and drag our butts to work. We don't get congratulations for turning out a memo on time or scrubbing down a floor to a perfect shine. These things are expected of us. And, it doesn't get us anywhere except the ability to keep our job. Perhaps our paychecks are our rewards, but they are the same whether or not we accomplished something special that week. Commission could combat this, except in a commission based position we experience the failures even more deeply than the successes. In WoW though you may not succeed at everything every time, you get to keep trying until you do succeed. And, you can always succeed at SOMETHING every day, every time you play. You get a re-do at any failure - life does not afford this luxury.


When you come home from your long day of work you're faced with making dinner, running errands, or a variety of other un-fun work. We don't get 5 gold for folding the socks or 1,000 reputation points for taking the dog on a walk. Of course, there are advantages to doing these things, but we've learned to ignore the advantages (organized sock drawer or healthy pooch) and consider them just things that are expected of us. Of course, we do entertaining activities in our free time, too. We can enjoy things like television or a game of poker with friends - but aren't these things that are touted as addicting as well? And, let's not concentrate only on those activities that are considered negative addictions. Even things that are "positive" can still be addicting such as working out. I argue that an addiction is inherently bad, but that's an argument for another day. It sees that anything that can potentially provide consistent successes are a breeding ground for addiction. Because Warcraft touts more than you average amount of chance to succeed, it is especially easy to become addicted.


Now, let's take a look at the average gamer and his social life within and outside of virtual reality. Is it a stretch to assume the most addicted players have a limited pool of friends? Or, perhaps they don't have the most challenging jobs? The correlation between a lack of a social life and World of Warcraft gamers can go two ways. They may have given up their friends and family to the game addiction, or they may have turned to World of Warcraft as a means to interact with others because they are not socially apt in real life. This is where my hypothesizing gets sticky. I suggest that the average gamer is already unfulfilled by his current friends and family. Though they may feel they are enough to sustain the gamer, perhaps they should face the ugly truth. This individual is addicted because he's looking for positive reinforcement he can't find elsewhere. Typically friends are a good source of positive interaction.


The same can be said for the gamer's work life. I don't see Warcraft as a common stomping ground for MDs or Wall Street brokers. One could argue lack of time, but someone that is completely fulfilled with his life is probably a naturally busy person. You never see a couch potato excitedly gushing about his fulfilling life. You could also argue that those with successful fulfilled lives are usually older than an addicted video gamer. According to one study, the average age of a World of Warcraft gamer is 28. And, remember that Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard at the tender age of 20 to begin his own software company now known as billion dollar corporation Microsoft.


Perhaps someone lacking a stimulating work life and a fulfilling social life need the constant successes that Warcraft - or really any non-chemically addicting activity - to prove his self worth. We enjoy the feeling of being successful, and being successful often. World of Warcraft is a tool that can be used to reach that feeling. It become addicting to those that have a need for that constant success. I do not believe the creator of World of Warcraft, Blizzard, has actually studied this phenom or designed their game around it. In fact, from what I read, most speculate the game is addicting because it never ends. Though I disagree - because there are many things in life that could go on forever (take stamp collecting as an example), I think Blizzard does expose this fact. They do intentionally offer expansive angles to the game and timely expansion packs as content begins to get old and redundant to the most hardcore players. I don't believe this causes the addiction, but it allows it to continue.

I didn't begin this blog to try and find a World of Warcraft addiction cure. Instead, I wanted to explore the possibility of the game actually being addictive and if so, why. I'll leave the counseling suggestions and the non-Warcraft ego boosting solutions to Psychologists and other professionals. I was just wondering if I am addicted or not and explored the reasons why I might be. No, I still don't have an answer to this. I don't have the best self esteem, but I do find worth in myself. This is probably why in my guild I'm listed as a casual player versus a raider. I don't show up to raids, spending every waking second studying strategies or farming for herbs to make consumables with (that's Warcraft lingo.) But, I do log into the game every day, even if just for a few minutes to check my auctions. It would make for an interesting study if someone had the time. In the meantime my low self-esteemand I are going to enjoy the adventures in Azeroth. Perhaps I'll be hoping for an answer that will peal my fingers from the keyboard and out into the sunshine, or perhaps I'll continue to enjoy the escape for years to come.