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.

The painful ease of which I speak: certain key mobs (i.e. monsters) are no longer elites. Elite mobs, for those untainted by Warcraft, are those that possessed far more deadly abilities than normal monsters. It was an ingenious game mechanic to add them and far better to have certain key mobs present the player with bigger challenges.

For my upcoming research (more details soon) I’ve, you know, found it necessary to add a few levels onto certain key characters in order to experiment with a new form of sampling. I’ve been incredibly disappointed with mobs that I always looked forward to as a refreshing challenge. Monsters with more deadly powers had to be taken seriously, with preparation and skill. Add to that there was always a, shall we say contingent chance that you’d get torn to pieces. It makes the otherwise mindless grind a bit more thrilling. Gets the blood pumping, yaknow?

This ultimately gets to the heart of where the addiction discussion can crap on games. If developers make commercial decisions that are the least bit influenced by wanting to create something that’s easy to keep healthy, they play with a delicate balance between fun game design that goes in tandem with our real world obligations - or attempts that fall flat. Without any thought to real-world balance, you get something different. Something I’d suggest Warcraft felt in the time of 40-man raiding and Grand Marshal/High Warlord grinds. There’s an incredibly alluring dynamic in the game world - but the toll exacted by preference to that world would, and has, added a new dynamic to the online-space-race that’s finally going to gas up for its pageant.

I know at least four people who just fly around Shattrath when they play. They have this world that they’ve invested in - largely in a time when the raiding spirit was only somewhat plagued by the notion of balance. Now the world firsts are long gone, the essence of raiding that brought in so many people is tired and people are looking for a unique new kind of dynamic within games but interlaced with reality. Raiding has always been on the menu of the hardcore gamer, WoW made its contribution, but whether by the attrition of exhausting addiction or the imbalancing of the WoW raid dynamic, there’s an essential spirit that’s gone missing.

And yet the bonds that hold Warcraft together are only beginning to bend. This online space race, the commercial war of the worlds, will be a lot of things. Interesting is one that I’m betting on, though for more betting see my last post.

That’s a Mage in Westfall, right?

This is very likely why the timing of Warhammer and Warcraft’s release dates has been liquid. Timing is literally going to be everything when it comes to WotLK (Warcraft’s upcoming expansion) and Warhammer Online’s release. I suspect that both Blizzard and EA Mythic are dealing not just with actual delays in production, but a cat-and-mouse game, heavily based on user statistics and strategies in attracting population. There’s just too much money in this for that not to be a top consideration. Having 700,000 users ready for a beta is impressive, but like AoC it teeters on that edge, where the publisher really needs to be a 2150+ rated PvPer if it wants to compete with all the investment that gamers have in WoW. WoW has its detractors as well, though some of these carry over to virtual worlds in general.

From what I gather having played their games and met their people, EA Bioware/Bioware Austin could, in the words of the immortal Tim Gunn, “Make it work.”

Or perceived addiction serves to burn out the entire industry, making this whole experiment in game-like virtual worlds (in the words of my friend Nik) “a flash in the pan.”

“FEAR THE RAVAGER!” Comic ©2008 Jared Norberg, reprinted with permission.

Addictor the Ravager! Fear his awesome reach!

Addictor now battles the Pantheon of Age of Conan, which already boasts 400,000 visitors. Honestly I don’t think that’s critical mass. Their pace has to quicken significantly and soon if they hope to capture the long-term income that the linked news piece suggests they need.

A lot goes into grabbing and sustaining MMO player populations, with many hardcore players (to an extent regardless of Crom’s skill in combat) very likely to turn back to WoW come Wrath of the Lich King. I tried going in-depth on one of the big determining factors with the Beating Warcraft at its Own Game article. But there were many, many other enabling factors employed (knowingly or not) by Blizzard when they united the diverse ‘tribes’ of gamers. Many of those moves were long term, not fully utilized by Funcom. At least not with a great deal of the player populations out there.

Then again, did Funcom really want to live forever?

Click for a bigger picture

On-Demand

Part of this conversation had to do with the way offline relationships work. Someone suggested that we don’t always live by the people we’d prefer. As the conversation went, at times people who live in a proximity to one another are obligated to give support during hard times when they might not even like these people. Are these the gesticulations of people who are perceptive, sith masters or just spoiled by WoW?

“ALL I WANTED WAS A CUP OF SUGAR!!!”

Relationships online are with people who we literally pick and choose to socialize with. Does that make them more lovable, or is there a consumptive element? Or is it both? As soon as we’ve gotten our fill of that “on-demand channel,” we can flip channels or just turn them off.

“The force is strong with you. Let’s be friends.”

Obviously gaming empowers new types of connectivity, which some people really take advantage of in finding enjoyable conversation. On the other hand, when we turn off the game or, as I have done, “take a break,” what happens to those relationships? It seems that there’s really no platform that compares to “let’s grab a beer,” or “see ya at church.”

Is it the ’same as it ever was,’ or are new dynamics in play?