Why are people addicted to runescape?

Some good responses, keep em coming! For those who don't think it sad.. And count it as a hobby gotta laugh at that one. For example you meet new people everyday, when they ask you what your hobbies are you can't just turn around and say you like spending hours on computer games. That's just an embarrassment. Anyone playing the game won't admit it anyway lol

 

The reason I used to be addicted was that I wanted to be better then my friends at it. I would spend hours just so I could brag to my friends about my better stats. But in the end just before I quit the only reason I would come on would be to skill and boss with friends because it's something we had in common and I really enjoyed hanging out with them.

 

I was before eoc, now I can rarely play 1 hr legit, besides hosting lol.

 

tbh i don't know.. i started in 2002 and rarely played more than an hour a day, if at all.

 

I like how people are saying its a waste of time and is sad, and quitting was the best thing, if it was so sad, why did you play it for years, why did you waste your time?

I personally wouldn't play a game I found boring, sad and non beneficial for years on end, I used to play like 10-15 hours a day and quit when it was getting boring and I had started a full time job.

None-the-less its a awesome game which I was addicted too, I haven't tried the EoC so don't hate on me saying its crap now due to it, all I know I was addicted and enjoyed spending most of my time on it like a lot of other people, so it clearly entertained you.

 

So in other words hobbies/fun things non-work related shouldn't exist because you could be using that time to better yourself in something useful? Yep, sounds like the perfect life you're going to be living. I honestly don't even see where I was saying that obsessively playing was ok; I was just listing reasons as to why someone could be attached is all.

There's no shame however in bringing up a game you used to play if your (grand)children happen to get into gaming a little and ask you about something you could have potentially played back in the day. You don't have to go brag about it until their ears bleed but you also don't have to make it 'your little dirty secret'. In years past, I had taken interest in/looked at a few games that were around before my time/I was old enough to understand games only to have my parents take notice and then go on about how they remembered such and such games and what they remembered of playing them. Did I judge them? No, although I did make jokes about how it made them old(honestly who hasn't?).

A hobby is something you like to do in your free time and, last time I checked, Runescape is a game and playing games can be a hobby. Believe it or not, there are people who only play for a few hours a week at the very most, if even that; What do you make of them?

What if you were to meet someone who just loves reading books and could do so for prolonged periods of time if they desired or someone who just loves to run? If you're honestly going to look down on the gamer, then I honestly have to laugh at you as well because, in reality, any of those other 'activities' can be just as hazardous to your health/social life if done obsessively; Almost anything can be. If they aren't playing obsessively though, I don't see why it is a problem.

 

Everyone I know pretty much knows I play(ed). What's the big deal? What's your reasoning behind "it's sad and embarrassing"? As long as you're not neglecting yourself what's wrong with playing a game?

 

Yeah exactly. It can't be "because it's Runescape" either. If you call gaming a sad thing to do and what-not then look at popular games like Call of Duty and what-not. Literally millions of people play that game. Majority of my friends play it, with their time playing it per week varying. Are they all sad? Hell, most of the people in the modern world have played CoD. If they're sad, then our society is hella depressed.

 

Back before the release of god damn chaotics and before the BH was released, I was addicted so bad I used to play whenever I was free (8+ hours a day). Back then I was a poor noob asking for 10k and shit, and now I have a few bils and I don't ever plan on touching the game again.

 

To be honest when I played I had something to do on my free time, now that I don't play it I feel pretty bored.

 

To be honest, if you don't see the sad side in it, shows you're not normal in the head. Take my 9 year old cousin he'd be on his Xbox playing COD for endless hours.. Whenever his mum tells him to get off he carries out a fit. He would stay in all day on this game. He doesn't go out and hang out with his mates and as a result of this he goes sicko whenever he doesn't have the opportunity to play. And you think that's normal? I can guarantee runescape has the same affect on people similar to my cousin.

 

the problem is that the majority of the people playing rs are neglecting their social lives..

 

Then that's a parenting problem, it's not the kids fault. Why's a 9 year old playing Call of Duty anyway? That doesn't make the kid "sad".
Maybe it has the same affect, but generalising every person who plays Runescape as "sad" doesn't make sense at all. I used to play maybe 4 or 5 hours a day, but I also had a job, played sports, went out with friends and had a girlfriend I saw regularly (she knew I played and I wasn't embarrassed) so I don't see why one example of a spoiled kid means the whole player base is sad.

Yes, I agree some people play too much.. but as I said, as long as you aren't neglecting yourself then it's not really an issue.

P.s. if you have a problem with gaming I'd suggest a black market gaming forum isn't really a good place to spend your time. ^_^

 

Not a parental problem at all. The kid is addicted which is making him insane. Who are you to say that lol it's neglecting them from having a social life.. And clearly if you used to play 6 hours a day you didn't have one. I don't have a problem with gaming, I have a problem with people spending too much time playing them. Maybe soon enough when you get to a certain age you will understand. Oh and atleast I don't go around posting on near enough all the threads just to get my post count up.

 

It is the parent's fault in the sense that he probably wouldn't have gotten that addicted if they had cared to monitor his playtime/what he played regularly(I too have to ask why a 9 year old is playing CoD). That's like you working at a store and seeing the same people sneakily rob it on a regular basis and you not making any effort to confront them about it; If they know you don't give a crap, they're going to continue doing it.

What Roary was trying to say is that there definitely could be a problem with playing too much but it still isn't right to just classify the whole community as sad; you have the people who play non-stop and you also have the people who may only play a few hours a week, if even that. I'm not sure where you got that he was implying it was ok to play for prolonged periods of time.

The funny thing is that you call those who play it sad, yet you find the need to resort to petty/random insults to make yourself feel above someone who disagrees to an extent: "Oh and atleast I don't go around posting on near enough all the threads just to get my post count up." Before you go on rambling about how someone 'will grow up and understand' you should really re-read some of your posts.

 

Go and lecture someone else and let your boyfriend talk for himself lol

 

Because they have some sort of underline issue with there friends family/personal life. Just like any other addiction.

 

The game's rated 18 for a reason, he shouldn't even own it in the first place. It's his parents job to monitor what he's playing and how long he's playing it for, he's 9 years old.

I played between 4 and 5 hours a day, yes. But I also managed to attain good grades and maintain a place in a number of sports teams, as well as having a girlfriend and friends I met up with and went out with regularly. There's no difference spending 4 hours on a computer game and 4 hours watching TV or 4 hours doing something else you enjoy, which is likely what you do.

When I get to a certain age? I'm 18 and I provide fully for myself - why is my input not valuable?

Post count means nothing to me, I'm sorry if you're offended at my involvement in the community. If you think my posts are nonsense and spam, then please report them and let the moderators take it from there.

 

there are rules and boundaries yes, let's take a real life scenario for example where you're not allowed to have sex under the age of 16 but people still do it. Anyway even if it is his mums problem surely it doesn't concern you. Fair enough it's good that you had other hobbies other than runescape. But majority of players sit down playing 12 hours a day.. Knowingly there are 24 hours in a day... Do you not think of that being sad? Take a look at this, notice how an online game has fucked him over. Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u0n_iUfe3o&sns=em

 

The only reason I argued the point about your cousin is because you brought it up as an example, when it wasn't even valid.

Again, you're just presenting individual cases. I'm not in any way saying that there aren't people who abuse the game or their play-time. All I'm saying is that it's unfair to generalise a whole player-base based solely on a few cases.

Of course, as with any game there are people who do suffer from playing the game for far too long, but that doesn't make anyone and everyone who plays, "sad" or an "embarrassment to themselves", that's all I'm saying.