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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

#121

Post by CarlTheAwesome »

hosh wrote: post #68
CarlTheAwesome wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm Chinese, I never heard of monks of Taoism. Those people believe in Taoism philosophy deeply, call themselves Dao Shi. And only some of Dao Shi train Taichi(a slow sport to help find inner peace), not "Wudang Kung Fu". I'm just stating as far as I know. Maybe there're truly monks who practice "Wudang Kung Fu" and Taoism. But as far as I know, Taoism is about living peacefully and healthily and as long as possible,…

I am Chinese (Tawainese if you want to get picky) and grew up in America. "Wudang Kung Fu" is a fairly popular moniker, even for those who know better. My Northern Shaolin teacher will sometimes work up a rant about it from time to time, but few people outside the martial arts circle really care about it. Many non-martial-artist native Chinese don't really know the specialized jargon and distinctions in the martial a…

You're right. I'm not really into Taoism, I heard the talking of "about living peacefully and healthily and as long as possible" from a friend, who has been to meditation leading by a famous Daoshi in my area, and also heard real Taoism monks don't practice martial arts at all except Taichi if you count it as a martial art or kungfu.

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

#122

Post by jseliger »

onli wrote: post #100
Tichy wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess there is still a chance that playing those games gained you some super powers, similar to Karate Kid washing the cars. There are also a lot of ways to waste time. Few people seem to make good use of it, so perhaps again it is not really Computer Games that are to blame?

Who didn't lose a lot of time on 7th and 8th grade to something? That age is defined by being a lost time for the most of us.

I think a lot of people were playing sports, or practicing an instrument, or learning how to deal with the opposite sex (or maybe even the same sex), or reading. . . all of them, to me, more viable activities than Starcraft, at least at the level I played.

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

#123

Post by nostrademons »

TheMagicHorsey wrote: post #119

Believe it or not, even learning can become addictive. I know a lot of people that have an addiction to learning new technologies, but they never actually build anything. The pleasure of learning new things is what they crave. They learn something, then they go learn something else, then something else. Sometimes they get two or three degrees in unrelated fields. It gives them a false sense of productivity. In the en…

Accomplishment can also become addictive. That's why they call it workaholism.

Usually these things result from a misfiring in the brain. Some are more impressive to the outside world than others, but none of them really satisfy the person.

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

#125

Post by Too »

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…

Hmm, must have remembered wrong because the talk didnt have the game-definition thing. Anyway, Jesses talk is quite interesting.

The farmville comparision i was refering to is probably this one http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/content/cultivated-p...

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

#126

Post by illuminate »

JonnieCache wrote: post #9
picklefish wrote: post #7

This sounds so fake :/ There are certainly video game addicts out there, it's a serious problem in korea and china, but I think this is a troll and/or pathological liar.

I do know what you mean. All that stuff about becoming a monk was curiously non-specific. Still, we should assume good faith here: we stand to gain nothing by making accusations.

Snopes is pretty good evicence that "why would X person lie?" is a naive worldview. People make up stories to get people to believe them, for laughs.

Addicts think and speak out of the bounds of "good faith" on a regular basis. They are very unreliable narrators.

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

#127

Post by illuminate »

ericdykstra wrote: post #97
Claudus wrote: post #16

It seems like he was already screwing up his life pretty well before SC2 was released: "Fast forward to summer '10. By now I had moved out of three apartments with my friends. I lost three jobs. I tried being a drywaller, and a welder twice. In between my friends and I would do odd-jobs that lasted a week at a time then would get paid one large sum, then blow it all on alcohol and marijuana. Living literally off of p…

Agreed. The title should be changed to "How self-indulgence and living in the moment without planning for the future left me an unsatisfying life and, surprise! No future."

I'm sure underaged kids for years will enjoy him buying them beer while listening to his stories of high school football... er a navy SEAL ninja lord who had to be the best at everything he did.

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

#128

Post by rsanchez1 »

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…

You could see the pattern even before he got to the part about video games. He let martial arts training take control of his life. He became obsessed with training, ignored everything that didn't have to do with training, went to southeast Asia just for training. What caused him to really hit rock bottom was settling for a habit that didn't benefit him at all physically, playing Starcraft 2. But now it sounds like his time is split between both martial arts training and Starcraft 2, he's giving up control to both of his obsessions. It's really sad and I really hope he can pull through and have a less-obsessive life.

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

#129

Post by alttab »

mechanical_fish wrote: post #66
alttab wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I stay away from any game with "craft" in the name - knowing that I have a hard time not not playing video games with no end. Then very recently I had my second back surgery. I purchased Minecraft for Xbox 360 as I knew I'd be able to lay in bed and play for hours on end, which is what I'd have to do to recover anyway. Well, a week and a half later I pretty much mastered it, and purchased the PC version because it ha…

Sounds like an entirely appropriate use of the technology. It also sheds a completely different light on the analogy between addictive games and addictive painkillers. ;)

You're right. Minecraft for Xbox is codeine while the PC version is clearly oxycodone. PvP and Raid servers is like using an IV.

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

#130

Post by awef »

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…

Seeing as I have yet to read up on the matter I can't say that I do or do not have the trait myself. But from the little that I've come to understand I'd say it's highly plausible.

I'll continue to look into it, I find awareness of oneself's personality of highest importance and I always strive to learn more about why I do the things I do.

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