World of Warcraft: A Very Real Addiction

For years, there has been no shortage of negative press related to the pastime of video gaming. Generally, the popular media's ire is directed toward the violence and sexual content found in many games. More recently, however, a certain amount of the negative focus has shifted to the addictive quality of many games and more specifically, those of the online role-playing variety. The Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (or MMORPG) has exploded in recent years. For the uninitiated, this is a game genre in which players become immersed in a persistent, real-time game world with thousands of other players. They create a character that represents their individual taste and play style - be it magic user or melee fighter - and enter a world full of opportunities to level up, increase their skills, and interact with other players while questing. The one title most directly responsible for the recent surge in MMORPG popularity is Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft (WoW).

As a recently-retired member of the WoW community I can attest to the fact that, while the popular media is often way off base in their characterization of games as a force for evil, corrupting the minds of those who play them, World of Warcraft can be (and often is) very detrimental to the lives of those who play it. There are many people - including defenders of games such as these - who would say that all things are fine, when taken in moderation. However, I would suggest that by its nature, World of Warcraft is nearly impossible for anyone with a competitive bone in their body to take in moderation...in much the same way as Heroin, by its chemically addictive nature, is impossible for someone to merely "sample."