Curse

JeniM · Jan 06, 2008, 05:35 AM // 05:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neo Nugget

I have heard of people that have died from playing WoW.....i think it was WoW at least.

I've heard that too and yea pretty sure it was WoW. Not heard of anyone being GuildWars'd to death.....yet

Skawtt · Jan 06, 2008, 06:46 AM // 06:46

If you dont know your own limits and when to take a break uninstall please.

unienaule · Jan 06, 2008, 06:51 AM // 06:51

Saying people die from WoW is like saying people die because guns kill them. Guns and video games don't kill people. People kill people, in this case, by depriving themselves of food and water for hours on end.

slonik · Jan 06, 2008, 07:48 AM // 07:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antheus

The only solution to this problem is a level 80 female only persuasion spell.

That works. 'Nuff said.

«Ripskin · Jan 06, 2008, 08:04 AM // 08:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake_Steel

I still wish I could disable that damned message....

I lol'd.

Hard.

«Ripskin · Jan 06, 2008, 08:10 AM // 08:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neo Nugget

I have heard of people that have died from playing WoW.....i think it was WoW at least.

I heard about it from some game.. Second Life I believe.

Sha Noran · Jan 06, 2008, 09:18 AM // 09:18

LOL like ANet is worried about people grinding things that can potentially take unbelievable amounts of time. The whole object of PvE is, I'm sure at least in ANet's eyes, to get titles. Come on now, 10,000 chests open to max Treasure Hunter?

Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box. Put in the key and open the box.

Meat Axe · Jan 06, 2008, 09:25 AM // 09:25

I honestly don't think there is a problem with GW in terms of being so addictive someone can forget to keep themselves alive. The game doesn't need to be addictive like other online games, since there is no subscription fee. Sure, there are certain aspects that can become an addiction, but I think that ANet has done all they can do without ruining the game for all those people who can control themselves. The message that reminds you to take a break is all that can really be done, and I think it does work rather well to remind the player they have been playing too long.

For other online games, I do agree that, to some extent, the blame does lie on the developers. Developers of subscription-based games deliberately design their games to keep their customers playing, otherwise they don't get any money. Since the player is paying a subscription fee, they feel the need to get their money's worth, so they are incredibly vulnerable to become addicted to doing certain activities in the game.

You can't just shrug it off, saying that it's solely the person's fault if they get too engrossed. We have addictive personalities by nature. Any stimulant can become a habitual thing. Sure, we shouldn't get rid of all stimulants just because a few people more easily become obsessed or addicted to them than others, but it is important to implement some system to help keep their addiction at bay, even if it is just a reminder message.

And yes, people have died from playing computer games for too long. I think one of the most famous cases is the guy who was sitting in an internet cafe for three or four days, and eventually the attendant had to call the police to try and get him to leave, and they discovered he had actually died. Another case that I heard of was that a couple went out to an internet cafe, leaving their young child at home alone. The child managed to fall off the bed or something, and he or she died.

This is quite a serious matter. I can't believe some people can just shrug it off with the excuse that it is the person's own fault. It mostly is, yes, but I think that the entire human race would be mindlessly addicted to one thing or another if nobody did anything to help each other.

maraxusofk · Jan 06, 2008, 09:33 AM // 09:33

Im one of those people who suppport the control urself argument. relax its a game. if ur too adicted to it its ur own fault. anything is possible. uve certainly heard of ppl becoming addicted to anything and learning hwo to quit, havent u? its all in one's own will.

Sleeper Service · Jan 06, 2008, 09:35 AM // 09:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neo Nugget

I have heard of people that have died from playing WoW.....i think it was WoW at least.

Everquest was one of the first.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=31536

And my personal opinion is that its (un)natural selection in effect. No offence but these people would have died of something else rather quickly. There are deeper issues at work than just "loot".

shoyon456 · Jan 06, 2008, 09:39 AM // 09:39

ok, i agree GW has become one big grindfest with so many high end weapons and minipets, and a bunch of annoyingly long titles to accomplish (ill leave my opinion on this matter out of the way for a moment).

However, in that instance you talked about someone dying was the very reason those messages were put in back in the day. I remember hearing from my guildies at the time that the guy was found in his feces and urin, hadn't eaten in a long time, and had suffered a heart attack from all the stuff he was taking trying to stay awake. And yeah, anet issued some kind of official "im sorry it happened" thing. No, it wasn't GW (never found out what game it really was) but they saw how something similar could happen to them.

Now, on to what you're trying to say...
So, you want anet to make everything easy to get? Or do you want an "OCD" checkbox when you buy the game, so that it kicks you off every X hours and keeps you off for X hours?

OCD checkbox=discrimination, which might mean less sales

Autokick+lockout=infringement of players rights, since we paid for the availability of it

Basically, if you want people with such tendencies to be protected against grinding in MMO's, the best help you can give is prevent them from going to the store and buying the game in the first place.

Rhedd · Jan 06, 2008, 09:55 AM // 09:55

Your thread is now 2 pages long. Please take a break.

^_^

Turbobusa · Jan 06, 2008, 10:49 AM // 10:49

^lol.

If you can't control yourself you don't need help from Anet, you need real life help.

~ Dan ~ · Jan 06, 2008, 11:44 AM // 11:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fidelity

How can you blame Anet for this? Seriously. Learn your limits.

You win this thread.

Tamuril elansar · Jan 06, 2008, 11:47 AM // 11:47

if you play a game like GW for more than 12 hours straight, you need help (seriously, after 2 hours i'm bored as hell).

Anet cant help this, and no1 is going to look at a labal on the box of the game, and if they see it, they dont care because they wanna play.

willypiggy · Jan 06, 2008, 11:55 AM // 11:55

lol, this is quite funny,me and a friend laugh at those alert things, the most we have ever got is 14 hours. They don't annoy me but they do remind me that I need to take a break (Which is nice) I even went as far as installing an add-on when I used to play WoW which displays how long you have played for. If you put a game before our personal needs that perhaps you need to see a shrink?

oljomo · Jan 06, 2008, 01:14 PM // 13:14

Hi

most ive got on that thing is `8 hours....

Thing is, taht was hours play, followed by 16 hours AFK followed by an hours play....

I think the timer thing would be much more reliable if it found a way to reset after x amounts of AFK minutes, rather than just how long youve had GW.exe open.....

Oljomo

pkodyssey · Jan 06, 2008, 02:39 PM // 14:39

My god man get a F***ing clue!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haijiibirdhead

imo , being a responsible company is doing that. Lets say that someone died from the Polar bear thing who was under an obcessive compulsion. Perhaps some of the blame might fall at the person , but much of the blame imo , falls at the corporation for setting that scenario up I think.

I love how people REFUSE to take the blame for thier own actions. Anytime something like this occurrs, whats the first thing that happens? Lets blame it on someone else. This is the root of things from kids bringing guns to school and insurance rates being to high. There is no accountability for ones self. Example, its not the rock salt manufacturers fault if you slip and fall on a stretch of ice outside the local coffe shop. So why are people suing them, the owner, the employees, the landscapers, and the local municipality when incidents like this occurr?

This chain of thinking begins very young with parents and thier children and continues as learned behavior as an adult.

Your opinion, isn't an opinion it is a fundamental flaw in a learned behavior. You need to learn what responsibility is before you can understand what I am saying.

Your response will be ignored because you don't understand the basis of the of the problem.

crazybanshee · Jan 06, 2008, 03:25 PM // 15:25

I was going to point out the kid who killed himself after dying in EQ but someone beat me to it. Also the guy in Korea (I think) that played for like 4 days straight on one of the grinding MMOs and died of sleep deprivation.

It's not the company's fault. They put out a game to make money, and want to keep it interesting enough that people will pay $15 or whatever a month to keep buying the service. Some people have things in them that make them easily addicted (to gambling, mmos, porn, whatever) It's possible that the fake game world gives them power that they do not have in the real world.

GW is not a monthly subscription service. The original intention was not to have people play all the time, it was to get people to play the new games for a while then stop, but be willing to buy the games as they come out to play again. That's not what happened. However, that's not to say people can't get addicted to it. GW has a really low level cap. It's really easy to get max weapons and armor (thus no spending 2 months trying to do a quest to get an 'epic weapon' or mount or whatever. The only difference between a collectors max item and a super rare green item is the pixels. Same with mini pets. Some are uber rare, but they serve no purpose. I like mini pets, I have a bunch. I'm annoyed that I knew nothing about the polar bear pet cause that would have given me something to farm when I got bored with snowball. But I have no intention of spending 3 days peeing in a cup so I never leave my screen, trying to get this uber rare item that does nothing, in a video game. Thus they've not done anything to make the game super addictive. The people that still get addicted have problems that can't be diagnosed on this board.

JASON626 · Jan 06, 2008, 08:19 PM // 20:19

ANET needs to add to there online store: $100.00 for all titles unlock

might as well.