neils clark

Most of the people who know me well know that I love the Weekly World News, harbingers of pivotal cultural phrases, like “Experts say.” E.g., “Experts discover radioactive alleycats inhabiting Martian dumpsters.”

It’s a cool magazine and I just had to get that out of the way.

While I’ll assault those around me with the latest and greatest from the WWN, I’ve kind of been out of sight this last month while I pre-tested and collected data for a long exploratory study. Many of the factors tested were based off of literature review conducted after the M.A. thesis, in the process of writing a book on gaming addictions. The survey covered videogame immersion, socialization, game structures and factors which could influence addiction. Or so-called addiction. In some ways that remains to be seen. The respondents were either current or former World of Warcraft players.

Though most players know that gaming can be a major problem with some people, the link between their problems and addiction is still, in many ways, tenuous. My website has always used the word addiction, but my reasons for that are probably as complicated as the word itself. I overthink things to a degree that would probably give most people the illusion of being trapped in the ball pit.

So the factors being analyzed dealt less with the way we’ve been looking at excess gaming and more about factors like going “between worlds” or encouragement to play gotten by other players. Some of these were potentially pathologic, though most were not.

But before I talk more about it, the free open-source survey app I used: limesurvey, must be hailed as easy to use, dependable and, of course, amazing. I would recommend it without hesitation and nobody’s paying me to say it.

Back on topic, there is a lot of data. Enough to warrant writing “there is a lot of data” rather than using the contraction “there’s a lot of data.” You’d still have the italics, but it would be a completely different feel.

I is drowning in data.

So far it’s been relatively easy to eyeball the statistics. Key factors appear to be (for starters, anyway) the meaning that players attach to in-game relationships, raiding and raid-related communication and the applicability of Internet Addiction Disorder criteria. The most fulfilling and vexing, so far, have been the relationships that seemingly came out of nowhere. So right now I’m working on regressions for some blog bullet-points, the first set of those will be what this data says about our current way of measuring addiction. The plan is to fully analyze those before moving on to a game’s structure and culture, then finally “addiction factors.”

Finally, one last time I’d like to say that no online survey can diagnose addiction. The person who built mine (that would be me) isn’t qualified to diagnose addiction either. Addiction is complicated. The people who diagnose it in individuals pull that insight from more than just quick and quippy questions. If you took the survey and have questions, then emailing through this blog is a great way to get a hold of me. That said, my sincere thanks to any and all who participated. And anyone whose been interested enough to keep reading.

Neils Clark :: Jun.30.2008 :: Game Addiction, Games, General, Media Experience, Neils' Gaming Journal, Real Men Write Poetry. True Story., Research :: No Comments »

It looks like I’ll be an invited speaker at the [Games for Health conference], held next month in Baltimore, MD. I’ll hold off until after the conference to talk more fully about the presentation. As of right now it’ll be thematically very similar to my Gamasutra article from last week, [Gaming Addiction: Clearing the Air, Moving Forward], though will feature a handful of more concrete and easy takeaways. Among them will be the three most basic areas that can cause addiction and addiction-like symptoms; as well as where game devs and researchers most need to focus efforts in order to move our understanding forward in the short and long term.
I’m 100% excited.

Neils Clark :: Apr.15.2008 :: General :: 2 Comments »

I must confess an unconventional love of spam email. When I see phrases like “BIGGER THAN EDISON! BIGGER THAN LIFE ITSELF!” I crack the hell up. It doesn’t have to be your bag, that’s fine. It’s just that these guys have a creative inspiration that occasionally lets the sun shine through on a cloudy day.

So I was jolted today when I read a popular Marshall McLuhan quote in the body of an email (you know, gmail gives you a little snippet of the beginning of emails). Though the sender had a believable name, he was not in fact a media theorist. He was selling \/ | a g r /\.

Please, a round of applause for the genius that is spam email.

Neils Clark :: Apr.14.2008 :: General :: No Comments »

Haven’t had solid internet access for the last two months, and my Wordpress has been hacked. Just to link the one excellent resource for parents:

http://www.whattheyplay.com/

And to say that I’m doing an article that looks at the game industry’s more subtle (and hopefully more fascinating) thoughts on game addiction. I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts, but keep it to email until I have the access I need to repair my wordpress (I’m actually strongly considering ditching WP after this and some other retarded time-sinks).

Besides this hack - everything else is going famously. This coming week I’ll re-link the resources that aren’t showing up, but right now my time has to be directed at making my professional deadlines.

Neils Clark :: Jan.20.2008 :: General :: No Comments »

Damn. I’ve got a short list of things I’d like to do before I die, and ‘work for bioware’ was one of those things. And it actually didn’t start out as Bioware, I wanted to work for Interplay - until they were shut down by the state of California after not paying their employees. Both of these companies wove together truly creative, artful, and fun games. What they created was, at least for me, something that spoke in a way that no other media was capable of.

So I’m more than a little put off that they’ve been roped in by the largest, most notoriously questionable publisher in the games industry. The escapist’s piece by Sean Sands grabs on a lot of the speculation. Whether or not conspiracy theory is warranted, ‘work for bioware’ is off my list for the time being.

And I’ll admit it proudly, despite being told off by the makers of the game, I’m a Fallout fanboi. I know, I know. At this last February’s Game Developer’s Conference, the people who made the game told me how bad it was, and at the time I was too flabbergasted, or exhausted, to really put up much of a fight. To me it still stands out as a game that pushed the medium, and was in gamasutra’s top 5 RPGs of all time.

So, in a salutory style, I’d like to give you one of my favorite quotes from Bioware. This comes from one of their expansions to Neverwinter Nights, Shadows of Undrentide, where an artificer of ancient artifacts (hehe) discusses his being pulled into an elaborate device, and how that connects him to your honorable adventuring instructor.

—

I was doing some research on the Netherese, when I found a small puzzle box.

–

It Seemed to be just an interesting toy, but when I played with it, I was sucked inside an elaborate maze, where I wandered for several months, until I was found and released by Drogan.

–

The Netheril were so powerful that even their toys could capture the mind and hold it captive.

–

Imagine a society so rich and powerful that they can waste time and money on elaborate entertainments that last days, even months before the fascination wears off.

–

It must have been an exciting place to live. But anyway, Drogan is an old hand at solving puzzles and dealing with magic. Once he rescued me, we became friends. And that is all there is to tell.

(and that’s it)

Something that’s been wearing on my mind, lately, is that I haven’t had any luck helping to pull one of my sisters out of World of Warcraft. She’s lost her ridiculously lucrative job, insurance, and is about to loose her car. It started when, because she was playing, she just didn’t go into work. In the last two months, she’s just leveled up to 70 - not applying to any new jobs, while living in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

It’s especially hard for me not only in that I opened up to her, and talked really frankly and honestly about what I went through, but I also know exactly where she’s at. I can see exactly why she’s playing - exactly what’s going on in terms of her difficulty with giving primacy to the online game world. I also know that she’s only just started to play like a fiend, so that on a lot of the neurological and psychological levels, traditional addiction isn’t exactly cemented in, but that it’s going to be a lot harder for her if something doesn’t intervene.

In the end, I think that she’s going to have to hit bottom on her own - since I honestly don’t see her boyfriend kicking her out (although in how I’m seeing things, that’s all he really wants to do at the moment).

So - these are the things that have got me a little down at the moment.

Neils Clark :: Oct.30.2007 :: General :: 2 Comments »

And we only started sending queries about a week or two ago. From what I’ve heard, it’s pretty rare (and therefore completely awesome) to have heard from agents so soon.

Publishing is interesting, because every agent or publisher wants a different set of materials. Some want a book proposal and one sample chapter, and some want the book’s first four chapters. Do you polish your proposal and your two best chapters, or do you polish the beginning of your book?

While I’m still dealing with serious Jet Lag (just got back from Singapore), and Shavaun has court dates for most of the week, we’re going to putting together these different packages for agents. And sure, I know that we don’t have an agent yet… But…

…

Yesssssssss!

Neils Clark :: Sep.17.2007 :: General :: 6 Comments »

It’s good to be traveling on Sept. 11th. The day has come and gone in this time zone. Though it’s 4am after a pretty full day, it’s still Sept. 11th in the States.

Exactly one year after the twin towers were bombed, I flew between Seattle and Texas. I didn’t intentionally choose that day during my booking, but that doesn’t change the palpable feeling of flying in the face of blind hatred and violence.

The significance of the day kept making itself known, even here in Singapore.

Continue Reading »

Neils Clark :: Sep.11.2007 :: General :: 4 Comments »

I got this message while trying to log onto Pandora.com, my favorite streaming radio:

Dear Pandora Visitor,

We are deeply, deeply sorry to say that due to licensing constraints, we can no longer allow access to Pandora for most listeners located outside of the U.S. We will continue to work diligently to realize the vision of a truly global Pandora, but for the time being we are required to restrict its use. We are very sad to have to do this, but there is no other alternative.

We believe that you are in Singapore (your IP address appears to be [ip removed]). If you believe we have made a mistake, we apologize and ask that you please contact us at pandora-support@pandora.com

Etc. Etc.

We share your disappointment and greatly appreciate your understanding.

Sincerely,

Tim Westergren
Founder

No wonder people are using torrents.

But seriously, Pandora is one of those things which actually expands markets for music licensing companies. I’m sure that there’s a good reason for blocking Pandora from Singapore, one that’s buried under a few tonnes of profit-motivated and lobbied legislation. What seems more hurtful to music companies, and in ways which should seem self-evident - 1) they’re keeping artists’ music from hitting a larger audience (limiting culture, an artist’s popularity and income) 2) But more importantly, they’re pissing people off.

And it’s been such a long-term thing, I just automatically blame groups like the RIAA. I used to buy a lot of music, and when unexplained and seemingly cryptic legislation blocks me from accessing a cool site like pandora, I just feel less beholden to the recording industry, and any artist that supports its inquisitions.

Neils Clark :: Sep.08.2007 :: General :: 7 Comments »

Tonight I set out at about 11 PM on a quest to find Singaporean gamer cafes, and find them I did.

Before I get into the boring details of the night’s culture spelunking, which is more an acquired taste, I’ll throw out my favorite quote.

Neils: “how late do you stay open?”
Attendant: “until the cops come.”
Neils: “hah hah, no really.”

…

Attendant: “well, the doors close at 3am…”

Somebody call the cops.

Continue Reading »

Neils Clark :: Sep.06.2007 :: Games, General :: 3 Comments »

That was the first time I’ve had an MP5 (or any kind of machinegun, for that matter) pointed at my forehead. Try everything once, I say!

“You know,” Evan was telling me, “they only have one bullet in those things. Just for firing a warning shot.”

It was the tourist police. And as this officer swayed side to side, amicably chatting up the hostel attendant, the gun strapped around her torso seemed to be permanently tracking the top of my head. Ok, ok. Maybe I’m being a bit skiddish, but those things have been known to go off uninvited!

Last night, for at least the fourth time, I said goodbye to Dave and Chris, a couple of righteously dorky Englishmen. This last one was probably my favorite in a long stream of goodbyes. I was in the shower, when I heard, “Open the door, bitch!” Cheeky banter followed, and they shook hands with a towel-wrapped, moistened Neils. Probably won’t see them again, since they’re headed to Phuket and I’m going back to Singapore for more briyani and ginger tea. They’ve been off for 11 months now, and haven’t many weeks before they wind up back in jolly old England. Last night, along with Casper the friendly Dane, we had pizzas, beer and vodka.

Beyond sexy hostel parties, Shavaun has been helping me to get acquainted with more developmental/child psychology. We decided that the book proposal’s other sample chapter will probably be on the whys and hows of healthy playing in children. And if we can make a topic like that an easy and enjoyable read… then…

Go us.

We sent out our query letters starting about four days ago. The actual book proposal is finished, 20 pages double spaced, and polished a little. The first sample chapter is finished. It’s entertaining, and something that could teach my grandma about games, though I want to make it read like a gripping thriller - if I’ve got the time.

Still, my serious adventure was going between the jungles of Malaysia and the hostel in Singapore, because the train broke down. More on that later.

Neils Clark :: Sep.04.2007 :: General :: 6 Comments »