Why are MMORPGs considered so addictive?

[finalark]

Link to original post: [drupal=1085]Why are MMORPGs considered so addictive?[/drupal]



MMORPGs are considered the most addictive games out there. I never did quite understand this. I've played a number of MMORPGs and yet I never found them much fun. While yes, I am a fan of the Warcraft series and I enjoyed playing World of Warcraft for a bit I never quite saw what made it such a big hit. Yeah, I had fun but after a while I lost interest in the game. The same thing happened with other MMORPGs I played. In City of Heroes once I got to level ten the game started to feel repetitive, with Final Fantasy XI.... well, I just couldn't get into it. With Lord of the Rings Online I got bored at around level 22. That's not all of the MMORPGs I've played, but with all of the ones that I have it just didn't hold my interest long enough for me to even hit the cap. So am I somehow immune to the addictive effects of MMORPGs or is there something I'm just not getting that makes them so additive and apparently fun?

 

[Firus]

Probably because they're grindfests and the goal to get really good in all skills, beat all of the quests, etc. can be aimed for for quite a while. I was addicted to Runescape for about a year before I stopped, many years ago. I don't entirely remember why it was so addicting, but it certainly was.

It always helps when your friends play, too.

 

[kr3wman]

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Two-...t-Gamers-Have-Died-Becouse-Of-WoW-11821.shtml

 

[finalark]

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Two-...t-Gamers-Have-Died-Becouse-Of-WoW-11821.shtml

I remember this article. That's just sad, if you ask me.

 

[Red Arremer]

I seriously have no idea. I've never been playing MMORPGs except for Ultima Online, which basically was real roleplay just... well... online. I was playing a baker. ¬¬

Anyway... the current MMORPGs like WoW or Guild Wars or whatnot just are totally bland to me... all you do is go outside, slaughter monsters until you have the highest level, strongest skills and best equipment, and then you go into PvP, where people of the same kind are, with the highest level, strongest skills and best equipment. In the end it depends on who presses the button faster and has better tactics or - dare I say it - mindgames.
So in the end it results in endless hours of grinding and then buttonmashing.

I can have that without the grinding... *pats Smash* <_<

 

[PrepareYourself]

You can't win. You try to win. It lasts for a long time

Winning in MMORPGs is different for everybody, but usually only the patient (or obsessed) people reach their "goals".

 

[Pelikinesis]

I spent an entire quarter writing an essay on this very subject last year.

But for the tl;dr version:

1) Make friends. As a fellow forum-goer, I figure that you don't need the skinny on why online friends can be just as valued as RL friends.

2) Accomplishments. Kill things, complete quests, get trophies, monies, gear for your character. It might seem stupid from an offline perspective, but gamers can get quite immersed and lead mostly separate lives.

3) Screwing with others. You see trolls on the forums. It's like that, but more elaborate based on the game mechanics.

4) Community. A little different from friends in that you feel like you're part of a team when you party quest with other people. Everyone is useful, everyone is rewarded.

I would say those are the basics. But there are other reasons.

In an MMORPG, you can travel, so to speak, pretty much to all kinds of places and do all sorts of things which would cost a lot more money and time and trouble IRL. When you kill things, you get money and gear. The work-reward system is much more direct than in real life. In real life, when you work, yeah you get money, but how often will you get promoted?


Overall, the fact that the synthetic world isn't "real" ceases to be of importance, and some people begin to prefer it to the real world. Pathetic? In the case of that Korean gamer who died after playing Lineage II for 68 hours straight, probably.

But lots of people play MMORPGs. Statistics show that people between the ages of 8 and 80, males and females, from all different social classes and religions (heck, even housewives for 13% of one study) play MMORPGs.




And no, I don't play them myself, although I see the appeal and I know people who do. Did i mention I got a C on that particular essay?

 

[PowaStar]

I was addicted to this MMORPG called Ragnarok Online all of my friends joined and it was fun because we all ACTUALLY knew each other we had a race to who could get to max level the quickest ah those were the days =).

 

[cryptic metaphor]

Because they're so competitive and you are barraged with the necessity to keep making yourself better.

 

[Browny]

Its quite simple, but people who play MMORPG's will never admit it

they are addictive because there is soooo much time you have to put into the game, and all the rewards are ingame. This is not like FPs for example, while FPS does not reward you outside of the game (excluding tournaments), all the time one spends playing an FPS will transfer over to another game. you can spend 1000 hours on a game like Counter strike, but that time will not be wasted. for every FPS you ever play after that, you have a 1000 hour skill advantage over everyone else.

However with MMO's, you can spend 10,000 hours playing, and all that time spent means absolutely nothing outside of the game. MMO players know that if they quit, all thier time (and money) will have been a complete waste. The only thing that remains after you play an MMO is the experience. with a game like WoW, i believe it was a truly fantastic MMO experience and i will remember it for the rest of my life. I quit after about 600 hours, however there would still be people playing now, no doubt getting in the order of 20,000 hours. Has playing the game for THAT long made it any more of an enjoyable experience?

For as long as mmo players continue to play, they will find the game a rewarding experience. But once they quit, they know all that will be gone, and they will be left wondering why on earth they spent sooo much time and money playing one single game when they could have experienced probably 10-20 new games in the meantime. But if it means losing all your time + effort in one game, its not always easy to say 'it was worth it'

IMO, of course

but I honestly think all MMO players will feel the same once they quit. MMO players can argue here now, call me an idiot and whatever, but i can almost guarantee you will all feel the same way I do once you quit.

 

[Firus]

Yeah, as someone who quit an MMORPG himself, I can say that there was a lot of disappointment over losing everything I had done. I wouldn't say it was entirely useless, though; first of all, it taught me to be cynical. Got scammed waaaay too many times. Second of all, as you said, it was just a good experience -- there were definite downs, like despite getting up to level 71 still being called a noob until the end, but it felt pretty satisfactory to get that high up and everything anyways. But it also taught me that MMORPGs are really annoying grindfests. Once you got up as high as I did, leveling up was hell. Just imagine if I had gotten up even further. You would scarcely want to give up the grinding while you're playing because you have to do it to progress, but after quitting the thought is rather loathsome.

Also on the bright side, I may be able to pull a couple of bucks out of it one day if I decide to sell the account. I wasn't exactly amazing, but I had pretty good skills.

 

[Mith_]

However with MMO's, you can spend 10,000 hours playing, and all that time spent means absolutely nothing outside of the game. MMO players know that if they quit, all thier time (and money) will have been a complete waste. The only thing that remains after you play an MMO is the experience. with a game like WoW, i believe it was a truly fantastic MMO experience and i will remember it for the rest of my life. I quit after about 600 hours, however there would still be people playing now, no doubt getting in the order of 20,000 hours. Has playing the game for THAT long made it any more of an enjoyable experience?

EXACTLY.
That is exactly how I felt when I quit World of Warcraft. All of that time I put into the game, staying up until 12 or later raiding, staying in on weekends and skipping out on hanging with friends to grind, I was so addicted. I wanted to quit but I was just like ****, what will come out my quitting? Loads of wasted time. So I kept playing. Once the expansion came out my friend quit and then I lost interest and ended up quitting. All of that time wasted.

I want to return and give it another shot but I won't be raiding.

 

[The furosious robot has left]

Because when you level up, your accomplishment will be known by all. It makes you determined to be the best. It makes you want to be #1.

For example:
You completely beat and metagamed the hack out of a Genesis game. Does anybody know? I think not.

 

[Flamingo]

You can't win. You try to win. It lasts for a long time

Winning in MMORPGs is different for everybody, but usually only the patient (or obsessed) people reach their "goals".

I agree.

10truthzz

 

[SexTornado]

I never really did get that much into these games. I played runescape for like 2 weeks then quit and I never bothered with WOW because I heard it was similar to runescape (srsly mmorpgs are all the same) BUT I am addicted to ssbb which honestly isn't much better. They are probably more addicting though because you have to keep getting better and it's impossible to "win" There is always something else to do.

 

[MBreeto]

Because you can compare yourself to real people. If you were just playing against AI, you have nothing to prove. It also has a lot to do with ego. You generally want to get to the highest level possible in these types of games so you can be "respected".