WoW Moviewatch: "Level Up"
by Eliah Hecht 
Feb 5th 2007 at 6:28PM
Here's a nine-minute mini-documentary on MMORPGs in general, with a focus on WoW. It attempts to investigate possibilities of addiction, effects on socialization, and the feeling most of us are familiar with that sometimes WoW is more work than play. This is perhaps not a piece that asks any new questions, but it's a nice summary at any rate. As far as addiction goes, I have to agree with Gamesfirst.com Editor in Chief Shawn Rider that talking about WoW and other MMOs in terms of addiction is generally "a way of hyperbolizing the situation to make it sound much more dramatic than it actually is."
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, WoW Moviewatch
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Grorgx Feb 5th 2007 8:11PM
well that was pathetic, they interviewed so veary bad people who were on the extreams of the subject, also that insanely high number they showed for getting from 1-60 was CRAZY! i'm currently 66 and haven't even played HALF that long.
Natali Feb 5th 2007 8:25PM
to #1 - it took me 19 days to level my main to 60 (the first 30 levels being solo'd), and I consider myself slightly above the realm of a casual player in terms of how much I play. I wouldn't say it's an insanely high number at all.
LOL @ the rest of it. It's only classed as an addiction because it's not accepted by the mainstream. I know a lot of people that dedicate as much time to sport, as I do to gaming. That Australian kid still needs a punch (an internet punch) in the face.
cap Feb 5th 2007 9:26PM
My first 60 was in 16 days (mage), my second was in 10 days (played time). I consider myself a *very* casual player, I'm just very strategic in my play. I never grind without rested xp, and I focus as much as I can on quests that are 1-2 levels below mine, so that I can complete them very quickly (this does yield more xp/hour than quests 1-2 levels above, even with the diminished experience values).
I would not call myself addicted to WoW, but it is my primary hobby. I would play a lot less if there were no monthly fee--sometimes I feel like I *have* to play a certain amount to get my money's worth.
Gorath Feb 5th 2007 9:37PM
What a joke. Would someone rather me waste my brain on TV instaid? As far as I can see, it gives me something to do rather than watch TV or play sports(cause I'm no good at them...) Because TV bores me and I'm better off using my brain than my brawn.
If something more important comes up I don't toss it to the side and play WoW, As for the rest of the community...
umamasyean Feb 5th 2007 9:54PM
These things are so stupid. Because gaming is part of the “modern age” of entertainment, so many people are stuck in the past don’t accept it. The problem is many of these critics are short-sighted, old-fashioned, and narrow minded. What’s the difference between enjoying and spending a great deal of time doing WoW as opposed to football (like #2 points out) or even hanging out with friends in the local loitering spots. There are many people who will devote too much time in ANY activity while sacrificing responsibilities to various degrees. For, example…doing drugs. Now that’s addicting! So WoW is equivalent to narcotic activities now??? Phht! I have friends who failed out of school because they played pool, for example. I’m sure many of you know such people. As for the 36-hour dude (may he rest in peace), there was probably something else wrong with his health. I can personally say that I stayed up 72 hours doing reports/tests/studying and a personal friend of mine did 76. And don’t tell me WoW is more stressful than what we did (along with those thousands of other dedicated students who did not die). What is that author trying to point out?
As for those in the video who mention lacking a “social life”…like an MMORPG is not “social”??? Is “socializing” defined as: “to physically meet someone to perform conventional physical activities such as attending cinema or having tea such that it requires the presence of all members of the social group to be within vocal proximity of each other”? Which dictionary is that in? What about those AIM addicts? That’s more social than anything I’ve even witnessed in my life! For those idiots claim that these games are for nerds and geeks devoid of real social skills…”Throw out that cassette player and take a step into the modern era. There’s this real successful small device that can magically store 500 songs…yeah it’s made by that fruit company you must have heard of.” Perfect example is that “Stephanie Lester” chick is hot! And she chooses to use her time to play WoW!
And so many things are sweeter when it requires a struggle to achieve it. There is a sense of accomplishment. Blizzard understands that all too well. Do you think Sir Isaac Newton enjoyed every moment of that 18 months locked at home to figure out the laws gravity? If all you want is some constant state of “nirvana”, see my reference to drugs above.
Monigote Feb 5th 2007 9:55PM
WOOT drama... Watch how "scientific studies" claim this leads to satan-worshiping and lots of violence, school shootings and suicide... They're always looking for things to blame for societies problems.
NE priest - lev 53 11 days. I think that's too much time...
grorgx Feb 5th 2007 10:34PM
Ok, i'm an idiot and i REALY regret not taking my time writing the first post.
1-so was supposed to be some
2-yah i feal REALY REALY REALY retarded now cause I thought it said days instead of hours on the play time.
sorry i'm such an idiot T_T
Matt Feb 6th 2007 12:32AM
I explain it to people like this. It's 10 degrees outside. My choices are 1) watch TV, or 2) play video games. The former is entirely passive, where I stare at a box for hours on end. The latter, however, allows me to team up with people from across the country to work together and achieve something, however small and inconsequential.
This usually gets them.
priest Feb 6th 2007 2:55AM
If we ignore, for one minute, the general habit of "my played time doesn't equal addiction" which, really, prooves nothing, and get an actual definition of the word, "addiction":
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/addiction
If you read through that, you'll see (I hope) that it would actually be very hard to class WoW as an addiction. It can be a compulsion, sure, but addiction? Probably not.
Addict is one of those words that the media continually uses to hit a mass audience with a known phrase, it has massively negative overtones and is used to set the tone of a body of work to the extent you don't even have to watch or read the rest of it.
Me? I play a few hours, most days, as does my wife. Can we leave the PC and go out? Can we go on holiday? Yes we can. Do we talk about WoW when not playing? Yes we do. If we are bored and away from PCs, do we think "shame we can't play right now", yes we do. Are we addicts? Not at all. We have a hobby that we throughly enjoy and we are happy to give our time to.
It's more constructive / social than sitting in front of the TV, that's for sure.
Asynchronous Feb 6th 2007 2:58AM
On the article: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001543.php?page=1
I really really reeeeally like the football analogy. It follows along some pretty deep questioning.
On TV:
http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/000891.php
Very interesting.
I'm honestly surprised the Daedalus project hasn't been cited yet.
Wamphyri Feb 6th 2007 5:56AM
@6 - I'm totally screwed then, I play WoW AND I'm a Goth!
I haven't seen the video, as my PC at work won't allow me to install the add-on to my browser. But, I get the picture from the comments made.
I don't have a television at home, I refuse to get one because all we seem to get on TV in the UK is 'reality' shows or repeats of repeats of repeats on satellite. We also have a silly licence fee we HAVE to pay if we watch TV. So, my spare time is used in a more interactive way, I play WoW. It allows me to communicate with people, allows me to keep my brain active and, is entertaining.
I still have to pay regularly to use the game, but I see it as more value for money than anything television has to offer. WoW isn't an addiction, it's my chosen method of entertainment.
Wamphyri
Dr. Funbags Feb 6th 2007 8:33AM
The comments sound like a lot of addicts justifying their addictions.
Skibba Feb 6th 2007 8:46AM
I heard that those kids at Columbine played WoW.
If I lost a roll on the baron's steed from Strat i'd commit those acts too..... but then I would've ninja'd the mount anyways....
Sylythn Feb 6th 2007 8:59AM
@12 - When you can show me that the *majority* of the WoW community is physically incapable of the following things, then I will admit we're a bunch of addicts:
1) Cannot go on vacation without a laptop and internet access for playing WoW...I happen to love vacations away from technology.
2) Ignores the advances of their spouse/partner in favor of playing WoW...if my gf walks in and gives me a seductive kiss on the neck while playing WoW.../logout are my very next keystrokes.
3) Ignore all other outlets in favor of playing WoW...we had virtually no guildies on last night because of the new 24 episode - and I had a friend tell me she had to get chores done before she could log on and quest.
4) Schedule their entire life around WoW...in my life, dancing comes first - if I have a class, I'm not going to tell my guild I can do a run that same night.
Game players are NOT game addicts.
Oh, and an interesting tidbit about the people who play WoW - one of my co-workers holds a PhD, heads up a department at work, and she's probably one of the least likely to be pegged as a gamer...but what does she enjoy doing after putting in 11hr days - you got it, log on to WoW and kill stuff.
These days, gamers can end up being anyone.
Kabira-Fenris Feb 6th 2007 9:20AM
I always tell my mother when she calls and complains that I play games too much that I'm working on hand-eye coordination.
Ephor Feb 6th 2007 10:06AM
I'm going to risk the ire of the community and say that I actually liked that op-ed piece (wasn't a documentary). It was marginally less slanted that similar segments and bothered to point out aspects that are usually slighted: getting to talk to people across the world and the fact that social networking sites and non-mmo games can also be addictive.
I think the addictive aspects of WoW are sensationalized, but the denial of the community that WoW isn't remotely addictive is equally ridiculous. It takes effort to moderate your play, any serious player knows this, and I can fully understand how some people are worse at this than others and a very small segment might need outside help to moderate or quit, and we shouldn't scoff at this possibility.
All that being said, I need to grind some honor now...
Odas Feb 6th 2007 10:57AM
Whoah. Blossom totally works at GameStop.
This documentary was lame. It clearly had an agenda - which goes against the whole spirit of a documentary.
teh lose
tommy Feb 6th 2007 12:51PM
14... everything has an 'agenda' as you say. I think we are well past the point of declaring objectivity as something attainable (or desirable).
I play this game alot, but in thinking through my 'digital romance' it strikes me that I've always played video games alot. From Wizardry to Final Fantasy VII to Ocarina of Time, video games have always held a fair percentage of my captivation. I would like to add to the record, however, that this 'addiction' hasn't really resulted in the lack of other accomplishments. As an accomplished musician, juggler, boulderer, and academic, I would suggest that WoW - like other video games - is a harmless diversion. More fun than reruns of Friends and healthier than marijuana.
Dave Feb 6th 2007 3:09PM
Hey all, I was involved in the production of this video. You have some very good points, but I would like to clarify a few things.
1. We, the creators of the documentary, play MMOs. I played a lot of DAoC back in its heyday and Matt is an avid World of Warcraft player.
2. A lot of people seem to be missing the Shawn Rider sections of the video. To summarize, he states that to call these games addicting is to hyperbolize the situation, that these games are merely a new form of socialization, and that any form of entertainment has its own amount of drudgery involved.
3. The statistic on the time involved to take a character to level 60 is taken from and cited to the Daedalus project.
http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001370.php
And for a more thorough analysis on how he arrived at his numbers
http://blogs.parc.com/playon/archives/2005/07/leveling_time.html
4. The piece was meant as a sort of a short primer for general audiences. As such, the content had to be engaging enough to warrant a non involved person's attention, which is why we included bits such as the Australian report. We tried to show the other side of the issue by having others, such as Shawn Rider refute the claims. The balance was not perfect.
5. The argument that time spent on MMOs is as valid as time spent watching football or surfing online communities is mentioned by the narrator in the closing lines. I wish we had the opportunity to pursue this further, however time and production constraints gimped that effort.
There is much more screen time devoted to players stating the addictive qualites of MMOs than those who refute it, and that is unfortunate. However, we intentionally allowed Shawn Rider, by far the most qualified individual on the subject in the piece, the last word on most topics. The aim of this piece was to engage and entertain the viewer while also encouraging them to pursue further thought on the subject.
A number of you have very valid criticisms and I thank you for them. I also thank you for watching the piece.
Ragbar Feb 6th 2007 2:26PM
this "documentary" is so ridiculous and biased. So you're asking kids if they are "addicted". I'm sorry, these kids don't know what the definition of an addiction is!! It's just something they like doing and do a lot, so as far as they know, it's an addiction. They are kids that don't know how to budget their time and control bad habits, it's not an "addiction".
PLUS, that kid they show talking about the World of Warcraft "is a great game..." wasn't even a WoW player. He's just some kid that talks about WoW and if you listen to the whole clip he talks about building towers and researching technology. It's a complete bias.