Panorama Doc - 'Addicted to Games'

Sabre0001

Did anyone catch this last night on BBC? Repeated again on Friday I believe...

I missed most of it - caught a middle part but just going to watch it later. No delicious irony though: wasn't playing games at the time

The bit I did catch, I didn't think much of. There are people addicted to games; perhaps they are addictive as a source of entertainment (but then again, how many people just stick on the TV for hours on end).

Now, why didn't I like it: what I saw didn't use balance and used statistics that appeared to help sway a certain side.

Example: 66% of children between the ages of 5 and 16 own a console.
My response: Quite likely - DS, Wii -> Aimed at children and parents who buy them for kids so they can all spend time with each other. Scare mongering.

Example: Went to S. Korea and walked into a PC bang (café). Said to the camera - it's a Saturday evening and they are playing games rather than going for a drink or to a nightclub
My response: Yes, SO much better! Replace one addiction with another. Plus, if they're all hanging out in PC bangs, that may be their form of socialising.


He didn't seem to understand his subject at times. He said that in the UK, we primarily play on consoles but that may change with better internet access - what? Essentially, he was equating online gaming and gaming addiction to PCs - where it is more known for admittingly thanks to World of Warcraft and other MMORPGs stories.

Your views?

Canis Lupus

I'm in two minds about it. For myself I have played alot of WoW and Eve and they can take over your life a bit. You start thinking to youself why should I go out and drink when I can have a cheap night in.

But repeat that too much and you fall into a pattern of doing it. Soon people just stop asking you out and you struggle to think of the last time you had a meaningful conversation with anyone outside of work

I think games provide much more of an incentive to fall into this pattern. I've never ever passed on a night out in order to catch the latest episode of Dr Who but I've not enough fingers and toes to count how many times I passed on nights out so I could level a ****ing druid.

Kiith

I play a lot of games, and have for years. I'll sit down and play the console or pc most evenings, as it's something that i enjoy. It's not an addiction though, it's a hobby. There's a big difference. If i'm out with friends or doing something else that i enjoy, i'm not sitting there thinking i wish i was at home playing a game. And i don't get withdrawel symptoms if i don't get to play for a while. I might look forward to it, but it's not going to affect my personality.

chin_grin

Found myself shouting at the TV for most of this! Was a cocktail of lazy researching and BS scaremongering.

They chose one (or two) MMORPGs with a CoD game and ran amok with them. I don't play any online RPGs but I can sympathise with those who get hooked. The way it was put across though was VERY patronising to someone who would know the industry or even a casual gamer.

I expected Chris Morris to pop up in a segment drinking Mountain Dew and shouting abuse at kids on a headset!

Agricola

The lack of balance was a joke. I mean grabbing a games industry suit and putting him in front of the camera to defend the games he makes money from, is the same in Joe Public's eyes as getting the CEO of a big tobacco company to defend smoking!
They needed to have some normal gamers on it, playing some normal games. Not just titles like WOW which are already well established as a huge time sink for many people.

The whole premise is rubbish anyway. As long as there are pastimes that people enjoy then there will always be people who go too far. Chocolate and other junk foods are directly linked to childhood obesity. Does that mean we should hammer Cadburys and Nestlé and blame them for the worlds problems!

By the way, lol @ the idea of PC Bangs being the sign of things to come on British or Irish shores. That would require such a huge cultural shift its ridiculous.

Grumpypants

In fairness it is a show about gaming addiction not gaming so its not going to be balanced. I must have a look at it later but im sure its the same old garbage of a tiny % of people who get addicted to a certain lifestyle. Ive a friend who is addicted to doing exercise but i dont see any TV shows about that.

Im addicted to games i dont think it has done me any harm and doesn't affect my normal everyday life, only the other day i was out for a nice walk ate some mushrooms and jumped on some turtles.

Zero-Cool

I was flicking around and saw a guy saying he was addicted to games until his dad through his console out the window. He then went onto say it's a serious issue and he only plays games at a friends house because he doesn't trust himself to play them on his own. Oh, he also advises people to put down the joypad and go out and get 'SMASHED' with your friends.

1st, I shouted at the TV 'You pathetic Bas*ard!!!', then I turned it off because any programs that encourages you to get smashed instead of playing games is just very bad tv.

Such a pathetic bas*ard :mad:

I really don't know why he made me so angry, he just did!

Headshot

Duggy747

Gonna give this a watch tonight but I can already imagine the type of balance that will be on display judging by the above posts.

Heh, I know a guy who's friend is obsessed with Counter Strike, never shut up about it when he talked to me.............like I gave a shìt. I don't even play CS. :pac:

I drew the line with him when we were at a night-club. We were sitting down and I was admiring all the lovely girls coming in & out of the entrance. Next thing he leans over the table to me and begins talking about Counter Strike.............again. I told him to shut up and drink his beer (half-politely)

Last I heard of him he was spending all his money creating CS Lan parties every weekend.

Sabre0001

Posted this over in Starcraft too - really interesting watch. Depending on your viewpoint both Day[9] and his brother Tasteless (now a professional commentator in Korea) could be regarded as addicted. Though before one tournament, Day[9] does 14 hour day preparations so perhaps But I suppose traditional sports stars do a lot of prep too.

Interesting documentary (more a speech / conversation) but word of warning, it is two hours long! Provides a better balance though - talks about the highs and lows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJztfsXKcPQ

There are some interesting gaming documentaries out there (and eSports documentaries) and I think most of them provide a better and more balanced view.

Ross_Mahon

Sabre0001 wrote: »

There are some interesting gaming documentaries out there (and eSports documentaries) and I think most of them provide a better and more balanced view.

Second Skin and Frag were really good, I kind of felt bad about gaming for once, And thought to myself 'I will never become like that'

Heres the documentary from last night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1yYKdTdGdY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOpNtOH05jM

YouSavedMyLife

Ross_Mahon wrote: »

Second Skin and Frag were really good, I kind of felt bad about gaming for once, And thought to myself 'I will never become like that'

Heres the documentary from last night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1yYKdTdGdY

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOpNtOH05jM

I gotta agree with the doc. I played WOW for like 2 or 3 years and it is addictive, or i have an addictive personality blah blah. I hate when people say this and that aint addictive its just said person has an addicitive personality, what a load of shoite. Anyway back on topic. Some times i would be playing WOW on days off from the moment i wake up till the early hours of the next morning. Thats like 11am - 7am next morning. It sucks you in like no other game i have played before. I had my girlfriend playing it and she doesnt play games... The pull of this game is that ****ing strong. The reason i quit was my monitor broke (from overuse maybe :P) and about 1 month later i picked up another monitor logged back into the game and my guild had kinda merged and **** and disbanded so I ****ing quit. THE FORCE OF WILL!! On the more casual console gaming to get my fix now. From Heroin to Cocaine.

Bonavox

I actually love how incorrect this documentary is.

• He refers the midnight launch of "Starcraft." Not "StarCraft II, the sequel to one of the biggest strategy games ever." Just "Starcraft."
• He calls Call of Duty the biggest selling game in Britain. Um ... which one? There are seven, y'know.
• He interviews a woman who beats her child for playing games, yet asserts that the actual games are the real evil.
• His solution to gamers in Korea? Go out and get pissed in a nightclub on a Friday night instead of playing games.
• He only acknowledges the fact that videogame addiction isn't an official medical problem after someone from the industry actually says it. Then he has the nerve to say he's only right to a certain degree. No, Rowe, he's 100% right, actually.
• He then warns parents about the "powerful psychological pulls" that game developers use in games. What did they turn out to be? Extra lives, equipment and in-game goodies for doing stuff right. Mechanics for a good game, basically.

Not only was this one-sided, but it's completely uninformed, it wasn't researched, it's incorrect on so many levels and basically isn't worth the time of day.

Carl.Gustav

Is there any ironing here - a tv program about games addiction,

I didn't get to watch it because my sister had

neighbours
home and away
emerdale
corrie
eastenders

already lined up 0o

Carl.Gustav

I just started watching the link above and the first thing he said was

'half of all UK homes have at least one computer games console'

There's no such thing, I guess thats a good start ...

krudler

Lets think, have I ever been threatened by a WoW player at 2am on a Saturday out on the streets? yup going out getting drunk is clearly the better alternative to playing games.

Nehaxak

krudler wrote: »

Lets think, have I ever been threatened by a WoW player at 2am on a Saturday out on the streets? yup going out getting drunk is clearly the better alternative to playing games.

Those Dwarves are little bastards though, 3 of them jumped me outside Org a few days ago and broke my nose :mad:

Jumpy

Panorama is Rock Bottom from the Simpsons.

"BUT EVERY SCOTTISH PERSON DOES IT"

richymcdermott

Better having people playing games than outside doing drugs

Leopardi

Carl.Gustav wrote: »

Is there any ironing here - a tv program about games addiction,

I didn't get to watch it because my sister had

neighbours
home and away
emerdale
corrie
eastenders

already lined up 0o

Ha! Don't forget the choice selection of mind-numbing American pap, which is "loike OMG, loike so cool, loike" that is presumably a healthier alternative for the supposedly empty minds of impressionable youth.

Jazzy

i think you will find neighbours is the best program ever

Canis Lupus

richymcdermott wrote: »

Better having people playing games than outside doing drugs

It's often fun to combine those two activities :P

richymcdermott

Canis Lupus wrote: »

It's often fun to combine those two activities :P

lol :P

Retr0gamer

As poorly researched as the program was it did raise some valid points and the psychology side of things was well researched. It wasn't scare mongering really against games but there are certain people that do get addicted to these games and it should be recognised and perhaps games companies should take more responsibility whenit comes to making online games and MMO's. It pretty obvious games like CoD and WoW include elements that are used to in gambling to get people addicted.

koHd

The doc itself was too short to really go into any kind of detail. So of course it's going to have it's flaws. But there is certainly a debate to be had about games and addiction. It does need to be monitored. Especially in the age of Facebook gaming and MMO's.

There is big money rewards for online 'games' that can get people addicted (large numbers of people under your influence for micro transactions and advertising). So obviously there will be a business man briefing his development team on making their next online game as addictive as possible.

Some developers argue that people become addicted to games that are good. So you are asking developers to stop making good games? I think they know this isn't true and are just trying to cover up the obvious. Good games are engrosing, but the mechanics that lead to addiction (leveling and rewards) and not required to make a good game. They are required to make an addictive game.

There was a very good post on GameSpot recently about this exact subject. One developer made a Facebook 'game' in which the 'player' simply had to click on a cow at set intervals during the day. You could only click once at the set time and then had to wait until the next opportunity to click. As a reward for clicking the cow, you got upgrades to make your cow look different. If you missed a turn, you missed the click, and the reward.

This 'game' was made as a mockery of Facebook gaming in general, but apparently people oblivious to this were playing and it was a success.

I would like to see less games with addiction as the main incentive, so it's definitely time to have proper scientific research into the area of video game addiction. Then there can be some proper regulations and we can get better games that are engrossing, not addictive.

Carl.Gustav wrote: »

Is there any ironing here - a tv program about games addiction,

I didn't get to watch it because my sister had

neighbours
home and away
emerdale
corrie
eastenders

already lined up 0o

Definitely no ironing going on with all that lot on the tele for the wimmins! And I need my shirt nice and fresh for my ten hours of gaming online tomorrow! :mad:

veXual

I find you can often negate these arguments about people being addicted to computer games by posing the question of how much tv do people watch in a week.

Bonavox

Carl.Gustav wrote: »

I just started watching the link above and the first thing he said was

'half of all UK homes have at least one computer games console'

There's no such thing, I guess thats a good start ...

What do you mean there's no such thing?

Branoic

Bonavox wrote: »

What do you mean there's no such thing?

Technically, there's no such thing as a "computer games console".

"Computer" implies a PC. The xbox and ps3 etc are just "games consoles".

Bonavox

Branoic wrote: »

Technically, there's no such thing as a "computer games console".

"Computer" implies a PC. The xbox and ps3 etc are just "games consoles".

Technically they're "game" consoles, not plural. Sometimes people can get a little over technical. :rolleyes:

Kinetic^

Bonavox wrote: »

• He refers the midnight launch of "Starcraft." Not "StarCraft II, the sequel to one of the biggest strategy games ever." Just "Starcraft."

Bonavox wrote: »

Technically they're "game" consoles, not plural. Sometimes people can get a little over technical. :rolleyes:

Yeah they can.

Bonavox

Kinetic^ wrote: »

Yeah they can.

If you're referring to me being over technical with the SC thing, look at the bigger picture. He's making out that hundreds of gamers arrive at a shop in the middle of the night to buy some stupid game. If he actually justified his visit by at least saying it was a game in development for years, and the sequel to a blockbuster entertainment title, I might be a little more forgiving.