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Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

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Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#101

Post by routerbox »

mrbonner wrote: post #63
tomku wrote: post #12

As somebody who went through nearly the exact same experience with a different game several years ago, it's really disappointing (and unhelpful) to see so much emphasis put on the game. Starcraft 2 didn't destroy his life, his lack of self-control did. There are millions of people playing Starcraft 2 worldwide who did not do what he did. Taking action to overcome the Starcraft addiction is a good first step, but it w…

How in the world, somebody with that kind of martial arts training, got in the best fitness of his life became addict to alcohol and weed and games? Doesn't martial arts requires tons of disciplines?

He was addicted to martial arts. If you think about it for a second it makes sense. The martial arts thing was the same as the starcraft thing, just a different subject. If you consider that he has an obsessive disorder that presents as addiction, you can put those two things under the same umbrella. Obsession can seem like discipline.

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#102

Post by dredmorbius »

mariusz331 wrote: post #93
dredmorbius wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could make the same argument that a lack of self-control destroys the lives of heroin addicts. That self-control is based, however, on biological and physiological pathways. Dopamine receptors, and anomalies with the dopamine system, in particular, can leave people vulnerable to various addictive habits: http://www.people.co.uk/lifestyle/real-life/2010/10/03/ms-tu...

Since you brought heroin up, I found this a really interesting read: http://www.quora.com/How-does-it-feel-to-be-high-on-heroin

Very interesting read.

I've had next to no direct experience with narcotics. I've read some about it, and seen the effects on others (many times tragic). I'm familiar with the Opium Wars and the effects of heroin on China under British rule.

There was a book title some years back which rambled for a long sentence to the effect that the problem with smack was that it was so hard to quit and then once you did the worse thing was that it felt do damned good when you did use it again.

An earlier title pretty much sums it up: "It's so good, don't even try it once".

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#103

Post by dredmorbius »

tsotha wrote: post #55
luu wrote: post #18

This article has a lot of things which sound fake. Here's one: I was 6'2'', 168 lbs, 1% body fat When I was climbing competitively, I once had my bodyfat measured (by DEXA) as just under 3%. For climbing, pretty much any weight (even most muscle) is just dead weight, so climbers are as skinny and lean as any athletes out there, and I only very rarely ran into people as lean as me. I've known a lot of bodybuilders and…

At 1% you're literally on death's door. He's either exaggerating or just making this story up from whole cloth. My guess is it's one of those cases of "the older I get the better I was".

Or measuring it inaccurately. Various estimation methods break down at extreme (high or low) BF%.

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#104

Post by maayank »

lionhearted wrote: post #19
awef wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never heard of the term 'rage to master' but I've been told this behaviour is common in people with Aspergers Syndrome. Intense interests which takes priority in life only to be substituted with something else weeks, months or a couple of years down the line. Maybe you can shed some more light on the 'rage to master' personality trait you're talking about?

Ellen Winner coined the term in the book "Gifted Children: Myths And Realities" -- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465017592/ref=as_li_ss_tl?... I'm not able to find the definitive research paper on it right now which was titled "The Origins and Ends of Giftedness," but here's one on the trait in the visual arts which should give you an idea -- https://www2.bc.edu/~winner/pdf/talent_in_visual_arts.pdf Despite the t…

the definitive research paper on it right now which was titled "The Origins and Ends of Giftedness"

It seems this is it http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.110...

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#105

Post by alberich »

tankbot wrote: post #90
alberich wrote: post #78

This is bizarre, really. You known, while being addicted to something may be a big problem, the OP sounds much more depressed than addicted. Come one, 21 years old and his life is destroyed? how come? He even has money for beer and cigarretes? The guy should take a walk into some hospital to watch people that are screwed up really bad, both physically and mentally. And I don't mean to be moralist, even if I sound lik…

You do realize that obsessive/addictive personalities and depression go hand in hand right?

Sure, and I'm also aware that there is cure for this, but you must go for it. If this story is real, I hope that now that he is aware that he is troubled, he will seek professional help.

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#107

Post by scott_s »

ericdykstra wrote: post #96
potatolicious wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference between Starcraft and heroin is that the vast majority of Starcraft users do not become addicts. In fact, only a very, very small portion of users do - heroin has no claims to the same. This also brings social gaming in as a concern - what is the moral stance on games what have been specifically and deliberately engineered with said biological and psychological pathways in mind, with addiction as an in…

A very small percentage of people who have ever tried heroin are current users. Of course, it's much, much smaller for everyone who's tried to play Starcraft, but the point remains.

There is a clear difference, though. Heroin and other addicting drugs create a physical addiction. If you are addicted to heroin, nicotine, caffeine, etc., your body really does need the drug to function normally, and you will go through physical withdrawal if you can't get the drug.

Activities that people get addicted to (like gambling or videogames) are only psychologically addicting. Yes, of course psychological addiction does have physical effects (dopamine levels in your brain, for instance), but we can still clearly differentiate addictive drugs from addictive activities.

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#108

Post by scott_s »

routerbox wrote: post #101
mrbonner wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How in the world, somebody with that kind of martial arts training, got in the best fitness of his life became addict to alcohol and weed and games? Doesn't martial arts requires tons of disciplines?

He was addicted to martial arts. If you think about it for a second it makes sense. The martial arts thing was the same as the starcraft thing, just a different subject. If you consider that he has an obsessive disorder that presents as addiction, you can put those two things under the same umbrella. Obsession can seem like discipline.

Obsession can seem like discipline.

I've long suspected they're the same thing - or, at least, on a spectrum together. I know that I just don't "feel right" if I work less than I want to, or if I skip out on a workout session I had planned on. And I know that with myself and other people I train jiu-jitsu with, we will train with injuries that rationally we know we should not. When we talk about it amongst ourselves, we say things like "I just can't sit on the couch doing nothing." I suspect this "discipline" to get back to training is similar to obsession and compulsion.

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#109

Post by K2h »

Too wrote: post #94
dromidas wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the end, is there really any difference between making a game that is fun and a game that is addicting? I really don't think there is even if they went in with the idea of "lets make this game addicting". I've never once seen a game that is not fun, but is addicting. Although my friends have said Master of Orion 3 fits that description, but I never actually saw them ever play it so I think it was a joke.

There's a great talk about this from some guy at Digital Illusions. He found some definition of what a "game" is and compared that definition with Farmville, it failed on every single bullet. I can't remember the exact details but it contained things like it has to be challenging, a skilled player should easily beat a newbie, not requiring grinding. What's interesting is that the definitions are not designed with the…

at 17 min or so is the swiss army kitchen utensel. I dont watch very many of these types of talks, but really like this one. thanks for mentioning it.

http://www.g4tv.com/videos/44277/dice-2010-design-outside-th...

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