MMORPG ADDICTION

Awww, isn't she cute.... damn little duck's a gold (TOP game currency) hogger. This duckling may look like a cupcake but having a character like this will make you work twice as hard as other players because she's high maintenance.



Hi, I really did not update my blog because I thought no one was tracking it. Thanks for the comments. Though, I really wish I could understand them... but I can't.

Regarding my name, it was given to me by my boyfriend. He told me that it was one of their Chinese traditions that once we wed, he'd give me a Chinese name. So sorry for not responding to the comments.

Anyway, ever since this March I've been playing Tales of Pirates aka Pirate King Online. It's an international online game with characters such as sharpshooters, crusaders, champions and voyagers (ducky, up there, is one of 'em). I played it six years ago and then I stopped for almost four or five years just to get drawn again to the addictiveness of online gaming.

How to know you're addicted to Online Games:

1. You spend more than 3 hours a day playing it. I'm already pertaining to a computer savvy's average- not just some ordinary person.

I, for one, have my laptop on almost 24/7... I try to discipline myself to turn it off once in awhile but once I try to do so, my thoughts revert to opening my DVD burner software to make copies of old 80's and early 90's cartoons like Jem, Centurions, Swat Kats, X-Men, Justice League, Thundercats, and even anime that's taking up hard drive space.

2. You spend at least 3 hours a week researching where to loot, earn money, level-up faster, or prettify (yes prettify meaning, gem-up, fuse, costume-ize, and stat-raise) your character's apparel.

3. You spend at least 15 minutes a day (even while playing) in planning strategies to reach your specific game goal... like earning a million in your game's currency, attaining your ideal level, getting that suite or opening that chest that only a handful of players have.

4. Thinking or just imagining at least twice (in your gaming lifetime) how wonderful it would be if you could cheat, hack, or bypass the game's system.

5. Disobeying or postponing your body's request for a comfort room break because you're close to accomplishing something in the game. e.g. reaching the nearest town, healing yourself by using a skill or a potion because you're in the battle zone, finishing a quest or an event (like double experience, triple experience even, and other system events).

Note: I just took this picture from Google search. This is how one of the events would look like in Tales of Pirates. I was able to attend an event similar to this. We had to kill high level, high HP bosses from sand bags the GM opened.

6. Missing a meal or being late for meals just because you had to do something game related.

7. Adjusting your sleeping patterns to accommodate your gaming needs.

8. Catching yourself letting go of the mouse, pressing the keyboard keys incorrectly and/or closing your eyes while walking or attacking in the game map in an attempt to play just a little longer even though you're too sleepy.

9. Lastly, sacrificing family time or friends time because you prefer spending precious seconds in front of your computer showing off your little character, making it look cool, reaching the next level, or farming for the game's currency to buy items.

There are so many indications to determine whether you are addicted or not. At the very least, once you feel that your starting to deviate from your normal routine... STOP! And assess whether all this effort spent on something that you cannot eat, earn (for normal gamers only, others make money by selling in-game items in exchange for cold hard cash) or make you practically smarter in real life something worthwhile.

P.S. I won't judge you... Computers are my life. I go crazy a day without Internet so basically, I am an online addict, too. I promise I'll try to add pictures of my pirate game escapades next time.