Is this what they call Gaming Addiction?

[Mercen-X]

I believe RPGs are bad for me. Not the story, not the plot,... the mini-games/sidequests/item collection stuff. Even though I've seen it online or in a magazine or seen someone else obtain something or have a strategy guide that shows it to me, despite the fact that this extra crap doesn't actually physically help me win the game or affect the story or even ties into the plot, if I've heard of it, I have to find it/have it/do it/try it. No matter how much of a frickin' waste of time it really is. I mean, I'm not so fanatical that I'll spend money on extra features for a game, I find those types to be out of their ass insane. But I should be able to stop veering off from the main story, unless the item I'm seeking really is something I could use effectively in combat since that's the main place where you do anything to affect the story. My inability to shut off a game and my irritability at being lectured about gaming is one of three reasons my gf broke up with me. I don't want gaming to dominate my life even though I do want to construct my own RPG... the fact that I can't say no makes me feel physically disgusted with myself. I'm not the only gamer like this though am I? What am I supposed to do?

[Roogle]

I usually hack a game if it demands too much of my time to fulfill a simple requirement. For example, I don't think that Final Fantasy IX should be completed in a short time in order to fill out all of Steiner's abilities, and I don't think that one should have to dodge lightning over 200 times to unlock Lulu's ultimate weapon. I circumvent these inane requirements by using a Gameshark or custom firmware to accomplish what would take me a long time to do.

There is an article about video game addiction on Wikipedia that describes it in great length. If you feel like you fall under that category, then you should seek treatment as you would any other addiction. I feel that this mostly applies to online games that are designed to take much longer than traditional video games.

[Mirage]

I just don't do things if they have ridiculous time requirements. It doesn't really bother me that I never got Excalibur II or Lulu's ultimate weapon.

[Pike]

I'm not a psychologist or anything, so I don't claim any surety on any of this, but:

I'm pretty sure there was a period in my life where I could have called myself legitimately addicted to WoW. The reason I feel that I was addicted was that a.) I seriously was not ever thinking about anything else, and b.) if I didn't play WoW for at least a few hours a day I would go to bed feeling distressed and unfulfilled.

I feel that this was different from your typical, average "I want to play a lot of videogames" mentality that I've always possessed. Sure, I've been madly in love with games before-- I still get that way-- and "ONE MORE TURN" syndrome is certainly not something I am unfamiliar with But if it skews your worldview to the point that it occupies every waking thought for months on end and you plan your entire life around it and you play even if you don't feel like it because it drives you to fits if you don't, then you might have an issue.

(SPOILER)Not gonna lie, my biggest regret from playing WoW is not that it took away my life, because I had no life to begin with, but that it meant I hardly played anything else for years. I'm glad I quit and am back to playing all sorts of games now. For behold, man cannot live on a single vidya alone. 1 Gaben 3:42

So yeah, that's my two cents on that~

As for clearing games 100%, I never had the drive to do that. I almost always find it tedious so I just... don't.

[Jessweeee♪]

Well, personally I think it's just an addiction when you let it interfere with your life in a negative way. Doing a lot of pointless time consuming things isn't bad if you get some kind of satisfaction out of it, but failing a class because you were doing that instead of studying, for example, is.

[theundeadhero]

Does this mean you took the insane amount of time it took to revive General Leo in FFVI? Impressive!
I was addicted to WoW's hooks at this time last year to the point where I rarely did anything else outside of work and ate significantly less because of it, sometimes not even stopping to sleep if I was off the next day.

[Chris]

I got Lulu's ultimate weapon once, but it wasn't nearly as satisfying as I had hoped it would be. Luckily, it didn't take me too long, so it wasn't a complete waste of sleep. I have never bothered dodging those freaking birds, as it would spell nothing but sheer hatred for one of my favorite games, and I can't have that. xO

Generally speaking, I cannot be bothered by stuff like this. I consider it to be unnecessary stress, and unnecessary stress is most likely something most people can do without in an already stressful existence.

[Iceglow]

Video game addiction can become an issue. Video game addiction for a developer is worse. I'd know I've been there and I'm debating the return to writing for the second updated version of the same game as a developer right now. Part of me wants to go do it, I enjoyed the challenge of writing, I enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing my writing online in a game.

However it did quite literally become something I had to play every day and whenever I was on a computer be it in the library, college, friends etc I would play this game religiously for the time it took for me to at least burn my turns with a master and survey that my character development was going to plan. Because I worked on the game there was a distinct situation of no escape, I worked and played the game (I was a player first and frankly addicted prior to working on it) as a developer I needed to play the game to test features and quests out but as a gamer I found it to be excellent since this allowed me to keep a couple of test characters as well as my own characters thus allowing me to play 3 or 4 characters a day compared to the 1 - 2 allowed under the rules. The game literally affected my life, socially and romantically I had girlfriends get jealous of the game and try and ban me from playing several times and each time it would fail depending on the outcome of that attempt the relationship would also fail.

The situation of the above paragraph is one I don't wish to see a return to. The newer version of the game if anything being more developed and balanced is actually even more addictive. I've begun playing the game though I am trying very hard to get sucked in to it (though that isn't kinda helped when I got the original creator asking me my thoughts and opinions and if I want to write and one of my best friends playing the game is actually one of the former developers of the original version who worked with me and he has taken the offer of helping to administrate, test and develop the new version). Even if I do accept the position I need to find a way to enjoy the job, the game and not to let it affect my work or love life.

In my opinion if you reckon you have trouble with gaming addiction and are concerned about the idea of developing your own game you're probably in the right, being concerned is what I would be. Game development can seriously wreck homes and destroy lives. As a freelancer or a independent developer you have to remember that games development is a time consuming role often bound with strict deadlines which can make the difference between earning the full value of your contract or nothing at all and independents often work unpaid financing their very expensive server and net connection speeds and the wages of any staff members working for them out of their own money until the game is completed and launched.

Spend some time playing a beta/alpha online mmog such as Black Prophecy or even try the game I am currently wrestling my own conscience over which can be found here, Curse of Backdraft. get involved in the feedback and ideas sections of the developers forums, get to know them and see how they feel about the game. Often they will love the game yes, however they will also hate many things about their job such as dealing with cheaters, it has to be done but these players sometimes are people you get to know, they can be nice guys but they broke the rules and their end user agreement. Doesn't mean we take relish in dealing with them for that. Who knows, prove yourself worth the interest and time and maybe someone will let you trial as a game admin/dev and see what you can do. Don't jump off in to the deep end of game development before you've walked at least 1000 miles in the shoes of a developer.

[Dreddz]

I actually envy that you can stay occupied with a game outside of its main story. Once I've beaten a game I usually put it on the shelf and move onto the next one. I would save a heck of a lot of money if I played some of my games more than I do.

[Mercen-X]

I circumvent inane requirements by using a Gameshark or custom firmware to accomplish what would take me a long time to do.

Maybe I should seriously consider doing that too.

Mirage: Yeah, I never did those either. Don't get me wrong, there are certain things even I won't waste my time on. Random possibility in FF12 just seems like less of a waste of time than putting in the effort to clear the story in a set time or dodge 200 bolts (hard enough to dodge more than 10 for me).

Pike: I've tended to avoid online games like the plague... unless they're free. I would usually use up the "free trial" for online games and then stop playing. I don't pay to play unless... I'll pay to own... save continuous payments for rent, car payments, mortgage, and other bills. Seriously.

Jessweeee♪: Yeah, well, I've done that too at one time or another.

theundeadhero: Um... no. As a matter of fact, I haven't gotten past the Magitek opening, that's how very little attention I pay to my "precious" 1st gen games. I got Cecil as a Paladin in IV but then my game freezes when I try to exit a certain save point so I gave up.

Chris: Well put.

I had girlfriends get jealous of the game and try and ban me from playing several times and each time it would fail depending on the outcome of that attempt the relationship would also fail.

The situation of the above paragraph is one I don't wish to see a return to.

Yeah, I've been there and I know how you feel.

Dreddz: I've given this consideration before. Yes. It is great that I don't seem to ever get bored of a game because I don't need to focus on the story to be entertained, but at the same time, the entertainment value only seems to appear during my shortlived period of accomplishment and the rest of the time as I play I'm irritated that things aren't going my way. CHAIYILDISH!

[black orb]

>>> Im kind of addicted to videogames too. Since im also addicted to other things
I dont have much time to play videogames anyways..
Its not a big deal, atleast you wont end with lung cancer or cirrhosis with videogames..

[VeloZer0]

Probably keeps you significantly safer from skin cancer too, as if you are addicted to video games you probably aren't seeing as much sunlight.

[Haha_YouAint]

Does this mean you took the insane amount of time it took to revive General Leo in FFVI? Impressive!

You can actually revive him? o_O

[Mercen-X]

I actually wonder if this was a joke like Reviving Aerith... I've never wasted any time trying to accomplish the tasks handed by the infamous rumor mill.