neils clark

Because games are no longer addictive in any way. At least, that’s the message people will get after reading this Reuters story. Thanks to Russell for linking me today’s juicy article:

Addiction experts say video games not an addiction

The AMA’s committee on gaming effects “backed away from its position” that “video game addiction be listed as a mental disorder in the American Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders,” something that we covered recently on this blog (Follow this link if you want to check out that article). What I really dislike about this coverage, especially from the headline and Dr. Stuart Gitlow’s quotations in the article, is that 95% of the readers are going to walk away from this saying “Games are in no way addictive,” and that assumption is going to cause major harm to thousands of people. People are going to take Gitlow’s quotes, and figure that there is no problem. The other 5% are going to see that he’s trying to make an ideological point, and to me this is beyond unacceptable.

Basically, I take from this quote (and he may have been misquoted), that he ascribes firmly to the disease model of addiction, considered by many (myself included) to be outdated and harmful when used too broadly.

The ‘regular folks’ out there have already gotten used to calling our gaming problems “game addiction,” and very few people are going to understand vague references to ideologies or stigmas. They’re going to see that an “expert” has said that “gaming isn’t an addiction.” Period. Never you mind that (and I’m going to say this in the addictologists native tongue of obscure) people can develop dependencies on behaviors and display compulsivity that affects neuro-hormones. Even on a basic level, an inability to stop gaming is causing major problems that Shavaun and myself have seen personally. Something serious is happening. Certainly, not all of it is addiction, and that’s a key point that I have been making for months, but part of it absolutely has deep ties with addiction.

But on a lighter note, it’s good to see that the experts still love their alcoholism analogies:

“Working with this problem is no different than working with alcoholic patients. The same denial, the same rationalization, the same inability to give it up,” Dr. Thomas Allen of the Osler Medical Center in Towson, Maryland.

Ok, so I’m guilty of the occasional alcoholism analogy. Some of what we’re seeing looks like alcoholism, but we must keep in mind that gaming is not only substance-free (for most gamers, most of the time =P), but it’s pulling people in with completely unique hooks. Can, for instance, a kitten become addicted to Battlefield 2?

No, but he sure does love his Irish beer!

While I am happy, overall, with the direction of this medical debate, I am deeply, deeply disappointed with this media coverage. I am also deeply disappointed in addiction workers who are putting treatment ideology before public health and awareness.

But to end this post on a high note, the following quote will show why I’m happy with the debate. The committee took a second look at “Internet Addiction” criteria, found it lacking, but are still open to the probability that some type of exposure is necessary.

The psychiatrist group has said if the science warrants, [game addiction] could be considered for inclusion in the next diagnostic manual, which will be published in 2012.

Neils Clark :: Jun.25.2007 :: Game Addiction, Games :: 4 Comments »

Ok, ok, well I haven’t much been blogging about my time in WoW. But I have been dreaming about it.

Thrilling caption.

I’m not even joking. For the last three nights in a row, I’ve had dreams (or the memory of having a dream) that had, at the very least, Warcraft-like elements. The first night I was dual-wielding (a skill I had trained that evening in WoW), the second night it was just some muddled imagery. From last night, I don’t really remember anything about the dream – just that it happened. And these started only after my second day of coming back to the game (after a break which lasted over 3 months), and it makes me wonder about something. Sometimes people say that dreaming about WoW, or any other videogame, was something that happened at the height of their problems, and was a key reason for their quitting that game, or gaming in general. Dreaming is also one of Kim Young’s suggested criteria for addiction, whether to the internet or videogaming. I’ve gotta wonder if this is warranted.

Neils Clark :: Jun.22.2007 :: Neils' Gaming Journal :: 1 Comment »

Think Before You Twink
It’s pretty easy to get on gamers for not stopping to exercise, or stopping long enough to make non-toxic meals. I mean, why not be incredulous when they can play for 6 hours, but not spend 10 minutes making a salad and/or 30 minutes walking or running around the block? Its easy to think that a gamer is neglectful (and I’m not saying that they aren’t), but the nature of addiction, and even immersion into gaming, can often preclude being able to do these things during a play session.

Don’t jump! There’s so much to live for, and you’re only a young man… And you’ll only take a non-lethal percentage-based fall damage!

So hardcore gamers: take advantage of the excited feeling that often pops up before you play. If you think that you have the time to play for a few hours, or you’re excited enough by a game that you’re going to play whether or not you’ve got the time, then it may serve your stomach well to prepare something beforehand. That way, whether or not you feel like making something during worth eating after your session is over, you’ll still have something to eat before crashing into a bed. Or to eat while you stop chain healing and wait for the raid to wipe. Basically, you don’t want to starve yourself, and your mom wasn’t lying when she said 2 straight weeks of hot pockets could kill you.

Exercise is important too (sitting can kill you, after all), but let’s not get our hopes up.

That Loving Feeling
I’ll admit, today I played enough to surprise myself. What’s interesting is that after only first starting to play yesterday, I noticed throughout the day that there was almost this underlying murmur, tempting me. It was a very, very subtle nudge which seemed to communicate: “Sure, doing this real world work is good, and benefits your long-term goals… but gaming would be just a little bit more yummy in your tummy.” Dun dun duuuuuuuun. That feeling is back after only one day.

I feel a little bit like Darth Vader just revealed himself as my true father. I’m searchin’ those feelings, and I know that getting into WoW again isn’t giving me exactly what I envisioned 2 days ago. I know it to be true.

But is there still some good in him? I mean, it’s been so long since the whole Youngling incident…

Whoa, nevermind. With a face like that you’d probably better jump, orcy mcsuave.

I also got a bit sick.
Let’s talk about that, shall we? This was actually really fascinating for obscure pseudoscience reasons. While pumping mad iron at the gym today, I was suddenly struck silly by this overwhelming urge to vomit. I’ve gotten a little bit light-headed at the gym before. You know, a lot of midgets stealing my oxygen. (Inside joke follows: “So you hit the midget with the manhole cover because he was stealing your oxygen?”). Still, this was different. I actually walked to the bathroom, feeling utterly and completely motion sicknessed, and I just had to wonder. Was something about going back and forth between WoW and real life tripping out my physiological systems? I went from getting excited over SS crits, to getting the same chemical level of excitement from benching 300 pounds on the reverse rowing machine (rofl). Fascinating, I do say! Hip hip!

Time Played Today: 4 hours 42 minutes, plus about a half an hour of playing with character creation. Sweet Jesus!

Time Breakdown: It’s interesting how the time adds up. About a half an hour while making a dinner-sized lunch for me and my girlfriend (better to eat bigger meals earlier on in the day). About an hour and a half of mindless playing while my gf and I listened to some Harry Potter books on tape. Then, after she’d gone to sleep, I turned on some ethnic Turkish music and wound up playing for another two and a half hours. I’m not surprised, but I am not happy about it. I wouldn’t say that I’m disappointed, since the gaming has (at least in the short term!) put me into a far better mood than I’d been this week. The random gym sickness was also still running strong at 10pm, and the playing helped (or at least distracted me until it was gone/long enough for me to quit focusing on it).

Conclusion: I’m enjoying the writing portion of this experiment way more than is healthy.

Neils Clark :: Jun.19.2007 :: Neils' Gaming Journal :: 9 Comments »

Maybe I’m kidding myself, but I feel like getting back into World of Warcraft (WoW) might not be such a bad thing. For the last few days I downloaded the clients, figured out where I’d get a game account, and generally anticipated being able to go back in-world; and what I’m planning on doing is journaling out some of my thoughts, feelings, in and out-of-game experiences, and how much time I wind up playing.

Today I played for about an hour. I finally explored the Blood Elf starting area, appreciated the architecture, read all of the quests, listened to the music, died once, and really only made it to level 4. Even most “noobs” (new/inexperienced players), in contrast, would likely be able to “ding 4” (get to level four) in 15 or 20 minutes. Mostly, I really just enjoyed having my senses transported into this kind of secondary world. It was a really nice thing to do after three months of just writing about it. Towards the last ten minutes I realized that my friend Cam might be online on this server. He was, I said hi, and almost instantly he had transported his level 70 paladin to my location. We danced, he invited me into a raid guild (just starting Karazhan), and we both giggled in our high-pitched female Blood Elf voices. Portent of destruction? Time will tell.

Too lazy to produce my own screenshots, I stole this picture from the Internets. I’ll be better next time.

What I’m really interested in is whether I can keep my play at a level where it only really benefits aspects of my life. Can I use it as a kind of place to go and unwind, or will I just flip out and lose control? Either way, writing about it might just make for an interesting read down the line.

Research-wise I’m also primarily interested in seeing firsthand whether ‘heroic rep grinds’ and 25-man raids, two elements of the Burning Crusade, are structurally just as bad, or even worse than 40-man raiding. From what I’ve heard, at least some people are putting in more effort than is healthy.

More later.

Neils Clark :: Jun.17.2007 :: Neils' Gaming Journal :: 1 Comment »

The American Medical Association recently finished its survey of game violence and addiction material, and they have suggestions for the DSM 5, scheduled for release sometime around 2012, the year in which the Mayan calendar ends. Arts Technica gives very excellent coverage of the AMA’s report here. Being rancorous in nature, I of course have some negative comments on the AMA’s conclusions.

And thanks to Mike of Modern Dragons for linking this article to me.

From Arts Technica’s review:

In terms of “gaming addiction,” the report suggests that it is likely to be a subset of internet addiction, as it most frequently occurs in players of MMORPGs (footnote 1). In both of these addictions, the current definition is currently informal—the described symptoms actually most closely resemble pathological gambling, rather than an addiction. In either case, the report notes, “there is currently insufficient research to definitively conclude that video game overuse is an addiction.”

…the AMA is called upon to include Internet/video game addiction as a formally described disorder in its upcoming revision to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This description would include diagnostic criteria, which should improve not only the ability of physicians to treat it, but also the ability of researchers study it in a formalized manner…

This cannot happen. The AMA cannot formally include game addiction criteria in the next DSM. That should seem surprising to hear from me, since this blog is about raising awareness, but there are very good reasons. It’s not that I’m in gamer denial. You know, “Games aren’t addictive! They just aren’t! They’re just fun! Waaahhhh…” It’s also not that I don’t think it’s a good idea, in theory, to give therapists criteria for game addiction. The DSM has a very far reach. Many, many therapists and medical professionals get their hands on it, and in theory, I would like them all to know what to do, and how to help somebody who has a gaming problem.

Why shouldn’t criteria make it into the DSM, then? Because this report focuses on “Internet Addiction” criteria that, 1) does not actually reflect “game addictions” (let alone probably Internet addictions) 2) could cause individual and societal harm and suffering if used in relation to game players. Giving “Internet Addiction” criteria to tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of therapists and medical professionals will intensify this problem severely.

As was suggested earlier on this blog by Dr. Jerald Block (see our discussion in the comments section), the Columbine shooters only began planning to siege their school after the game was removed by parents on the advice of a therapist. Medical professionals need to understand the underlying reasons for excessive or strange gaming on the part of their patients or clients, rather than seeing all heavy gameplay as a malignancy that should be removed when found. The problem is that this requires not only a deep knowledge of gaming (and technology in general, a topic that some, especially older medical professionals are loathe to examine), but it also requires that medical professionals understand their clients and patients more deeply, looking at how their interactions with a game serve negative, but also positive (and even theraputic) ends. The popular “internet addiction” criteria confirms societal fears and misgivings about technology, and it’s almost definitely the one we’ll use if criteria make it into the DSM-V.

All that said, implementing “internet addiction” style criteria would reflect badly on the AMA for a three more key reasons:

1 The criteria were, and generally still are, copied nearly verbatim from Gambling addiction.
2 These criteria were created over 10 years ago, before current MMO games even existed. Moreover, “Internet Addiction” criteria were copied almost word-for-word from gambling addiction criteria which were made, what, 20 or 30 years ago?
3 These criteria largely only reflect elements of “behavioral addiction,” but these “games” are actually fully functional worlds. These worlds very accurately reflect human experience, and present a number of other sophisticated non-addiction reasons to play excessively.

(footnote 1) rofl, go play some games Dr. AMA. Gaming and teh internets are separate entities.

Neils Clark :: Jun.14.2007 :: Game Addiction, Games :: 2 Comments »

That’s right, the most important book of the 20th Century (lol) is only about two months off! This last week I met with my co-author, Shavaun Scott, and we expect all of the major content to be finished in under a month. The following month will probably involve intense editing for humor. The running title is Game Addiction: The Book.

Watch for a press release probably in the next few weeks.

Neils Clark :: Jun.11.2007 :: Game Addiction, Games :: No Comments »

Me and my girlfriend have a deal. It might seem foreign, maybe even a little bit questionable to some, but it’s our deal.

Here goes: If and when I’m able to attain 6-pack abs, I get to reward myself with a full ‘marathon’ game of Civilization 4. Oh yeah.

RwWwwWrRAaAaaAaRrrrRr

Sure, this deal has been going on for 2 or 3 months. And sure, I’m nowhere near there. Still I thought I’d bring it up, since right now I’m pouring over a chapter of the book on general gamer nutrition. And also since most gamers need to maintain their bodies better. For reals. Something like 8-minute abs isn’t too hard to find, and if you’ve got 8 hours to grind faeries, camp spawns, or wipe in Kara, then you have 30 minutes to run, walk or waddle. If you have someone that you can make a deal with, then you might want to give it some thought.

I’m not going to get too deeply into my opinions on the nutritional research I’ve seen, though it’s a post I’ve been thinking about. It’s upsetting because the bulk of the researchers are just looking at whether gamers, and child-gamers are fatties (so that they can warn concerned parents against gaming), but the nutritional problems surrounding games don’t just have to do with getting fat. After long stints of gaming I’ve gained large amounts of weight, but I’ve also lost it. I lost 40 pounds while playing Star Wars Galaxies 16 hours a day. As gamers, we need to demand that researchers actually go beneath the surface, and tell us what we need to know to keep our bodies healthy.

For now, just make a sufficiently outrageous deal with somebody. =P

One of my longtime friends shared this story: That he would often bring food to his computer desk, and then not eat it for hours (possibly days). When he did finally get to it, it would often be very spoiled.

Do you have any good nutrition or food stories?

Neils Clark :: Jun.11.2007 :: Games, General :: No Comments »

So, yeah. I purposefully don’t advertise on this site, but I do want to plug my friend and co-author Shavaun Scott. I think that any and every therapist or medical professional who wants to know more about gaming-related problems (and they all should) needs to talk to Scott. Sure, I’m writing a book with her, I’m biased right? Of course. I trust her judgment so completely that I’m writing a book with her.

Myself, Shavaun, and Nick Yee during the filming of Dark Cave’s “Gamer Chronicles.”