Quitting MMOs (online gmaes) for good.

[Furtive]

This is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I keep making a thread and deleting it before hitting submit. I've finally realized that I am completely addicted to an MMO (in this case World of Warcraft) and I'm taking the first steps to get it out of my life completely.

 

It might be my personality, but MMOs have ALWAYS been my escape, well over a decade's worth. I need to be doing something all the time, feeling like I am accomplishing something, and MMOs did/do that for me. I know it's hard to understand for those that haven't played or even those with the ability to play casually and keep it that way.

 

I'm of the personality where I need that next level, or I need that gold, or I need that class, or I NEED THAT ITEM! Whatever the want can be in the game, I was working towards it. All the time, thus keeping my brain thoroughly occupied well I sit on my rear-end drinking soda into obesity. Naturally this leads to sleepless nights, not because I can't sleep, but because 'why go to bed, think of how much I can accomplish if I stay up.'

 

It's time to be done with that feeling, done with feeling like I'm missing something by attending REAL events.

 

Done with putting off expanding my mind and improving my physical health.

 

Look, I've written this thread several times without actually posting it. Half the time I'm trying to convince myself that the games have been more good than bad, and I know that's not the case.

 

Just wondering if anyone else was addicted to this crap that successfully quit without coming back.

 

How do you adjust to suddenly not having anything to do (the feeling at least)?

 

To give an idea about how long I've been playing MMOs...since Everquest. Didn't play Ultima because of parental refusal to use a credit card online back in the day.

 

I think the standard person would die if they saw my /played. I'm ashamed actually.

 

I should add that in quitting this time, I've sent an e-mail to Blizzard support in the hopes of getting my account completely shut down. I've thought about selling it, but...you know...;(

[purrbaby]

I used to play Ultima Online and played for many years, so I know how addicting those types of games can be. I also understand how hard it can be to quit them. Especially, when you've made friends and connected with people. I quit for good (gave away all my items, deleted characters, shut down account) a several years ago and can honestly say it's the best thing I've done. I went back to school and found an even better career path and that's kept me too busy to even think about playing! It's been a wonderful change and I STILL talk to those friends I've made, a few of them have become very good friends of mine, even without the game. Focus on other fulfilling things that make you happy. It won't be easy at first because it IS an addiction, but it will be worth it once you get out there and enjoy real life.

[no0biee]

I love playing video games, I think WoW is pretty gay if you ask me but, trust me, It's all I do. Other than that I go to school. I play my video games as if I had two lives, my real life and the one I use for my gaming... I spent like 2k on my rig... to prove I'm a real gamer, regardless, I still have a relationship with my girl im working at presently and a real life future ahead of me. I never let my gaming life control my real life. You dont have to stop gaming, you just need structure, principles and most importantly prioritize before gaming.

[Furtive]

I feel you completely. I need to find something else to do in place of it, and it sure as hell can't be browsing the web a lot. (It's been my method of quitting in the past, but eventually you get the itch to just read up on things...then you want to try some things, and before you know it, you're back on.)

 

In regards to your post Jonny, I have done other things. Haha, I know my topic seems really dire, but I more or less need a way to drop the games completely. As long as they're around, I'll come back to them. I can go small or start out small, but I start playing more and more as I think I can get just a little bit more if I stay on longer, just a little bit more. It's a vicious cycle. But yes, well playing games this hardcore I have finished my four year degree with honors, got a decent job, quit said decent job for graduate school, and now I'm almost done with that (for a different field).

 

Thank you Purr. It really means a lot to know that someone else has dropped the addiction. "What'd you do this weekend?" Shouldn't be a question that's feared, I'd like to have a decent answer that isn't bluffed. Who can be honest when it's "oh you know, say on my rear end in front of my computer for pretty much the whole thing minus eating and sleeping." Instead it's "oh, not much."

 

So far my goals are: reading more for deeper understanding in my graduate courses. Learn to draw decently (have a pretty good book), and slowly - maybe - pick up a second language. Something meaningful related to future employment prospective in the states, Spanish.

 

Hopefully those things can keep my mind off of WoW. I think if I can be free from it for a few months, and not allow myself to read up on it, that I can quit for good.

[no0biee]

Sounds like your doing good, it's all about moderation I know fathers with great families who

Play wow there should be no reason you can't either

[horses]

I work for a company that makes a very popular MMO and usually my job is to come up with ways to keep people playing. However in the business I've seen people who are genuinely addicted and it's such a difficult situation - I've seen players who don't like the game, don't want to play it but still hit 10+ hours a day because of the addiction.

 

Addiction happens when the in-game world is more desirable place than the real world. That's been true in 100% of cases I've seen. This is easier said than done, but you have to tear yourself away from the game and spend that time investing in yourself. I got close to addiction - then my PC broke. I spent a week going nuts. But I read a lot. I got back into linguistics, something I used to love. I talked to people and went out, even if it was just walking by myself.

 

My advice isn't great but I see your situation on a daily basis. Good luck.

 

Getting your account completely deactivated is usually a legal process and can be done.

[FathomFear]

I played Diablo 2 between 2001-2004, and WoW between 2006-2009. WoW in particular was very addictive. My experience in quitting was that the first few months are very difficult, as you need to break the habit of not always playing, going to the popular web sites for news updates (MMO Champion), etc. If you can get beyond the 1-2 month mark you're home free in my opinion, as you'll start to see how much of a useless time sink the games really are. Especially in WoW, which keeps perpetuating the illusion of progress by continuously releases patches which have items with higher stats on them. But even then you'll start to see it for what it is. An illusion.

[Furtive]

I played Diablo 2 between 2001-2004, and WoW between 2006-2009. WoW in particular was very addictive. My experience in quitting was that the first few months are very difficult, as you need to break the habit of not always playing, going to the popular web sites for news updates (MMO Champion), etc. If you can get beyond the 1-2 month mark you're home free in my opinion, as you'll start to see how much of a useless time sink the games really are. Especially in WoW, which keeps perpetuating the illusion of progress by continuously releases patches which have items with higher stats on them. But even then you'll start to see it for what it is. An illusion.

 

That's what I'm hoping for...and yes...MMO Champ addict, haha.

 

I know, I just need to get rid of this feeling of missing out and realize I'm not missing anything.

[Furtive]

Haha, I'm trying...incase they won't shut it down I've even been selling gold as a backup get banned plan. However...no issue, maybe they've determined my account is worth too much with the hundreds of dollars I've spent in different things, not including monthly fees.

[trezeralietas]

 

Just wondering if anyone else was addicted to this crap that successfully quit without coming back.

 

How do you adjust to suddenly not having anything to do (the feeling at least)?

 

 

Go to this website and read other peoples' stories. It will give you some sense of support and let you know you aren't alone.

[abitbroken]

I would replace this in any way you can with interactions with people face to face. If you tend to be a homebody who likes solitary activities, join a book club where reading is solitary and then you interact with the group once a week or month. The other thing you can do to feed your competitive nature is some kind of sport, or even something like a geocaching group where you can go on a quest to find the next geocache, and therefore feel you are winning something. Also, try to call up friends who have went by the wayside and go have a meal.

[Oneironaut]

Just wondering if anyone else was addicted to this crap that successfully quit without coming back.

 

I have to take a bit of offense at this statement.

 

These games are not "crap", anymore than alcohol is "evil". The way individuals -handle- them is up to the individual.

 

For example, I have been playing Final Fantasy XI for over 4 years now...in fact, I'm playing it right now, as I surf the web.

 

Do I still have a life? Yes, I do. I have not let it take over my life; in fact, I see it as a long-running novel, rather like the Wheel Of Time series, except that I actually interact with the story line.

 

In fact, there is growing scientific and medical research which shows that people who keep their brains active as they age are at less risk for Alzheimer's. Doing this or that quest, leveling and learning a new job class, or leading a party/alliance of multiple people certainly does just that.

 

To each their own, and if you want to quit that's fine, but please have the courtesy not to denigrate those of us who choose to keep playing by using derogatory labels.

 

Good luck to you.

[hrtlsngl7]

.......You guys, are addicted to a freaking videogame?!?!? ...REALLY? I've been sober from ALCHOHOL for 30 years... comE-ON!!!

[Furtive]

.......You guys, are addicted to a freaking videogame?!?!? ...REALLY? I've been sober from ALCHOHOL for 30 years... comE-ON!!!

 

I know, I know. I have relatives, some that broke away from alcoholism and some that drank to their death as their livers gave out and they got cancer. Not here to compare, just find other people trying to do the same thing, or those that have done it.

[Furtive]

I have to take a bit of offense at this statement...

 

...To each their own, and if you want to quit that's fine, but please have the courtesy not to denigrate those of us who choose to keep playing by using derogatory labels.

 

I didn't say anything about people that play these games, in fact, I even stated in the OP that people who play the games casually would probably not understand where I'm coming from.

 

I'm sorry you took offense to me calling them "crap." Obviously, I don't think they're truly crap, or I wouldn't have played them for 10+ years. I'm sorry you took that as a classification rather than, "I need to quit this crap." I guess I'm getting a little tongue tied as I don't want to offend you more...I'm just trying to say it was a figure of speech as anyone trying to quit something is going to refer to it negatively.

 

I have nothing but respect for people that can play them casually; I however, cannot play them casually. It just grows and grows until it occupies all my free time again, and I'm putting other things off. I'm feeling really good this time though, only logged in once today and spent the rest of my day off cleaning the house.

[Furtive]

I would replace this in any way you can with interactions with people face to face. If you tend to be a homebody who likes solitary activities, join a book club where reading is solitary and then you interact with the group once a week or month. The other thing you can do to feed your competitive nature is some kind of sport, or even something like a geocaching group where you can go on a quest to find the next geocache, and therefore feel you are winning something. Also, try to call up friends who have went by the wayside and go have a meal.

 

Noted. I in fact am meeting with a large group of people in the next couple of weeks for October Fest. Definitely working on bringing my social game up. I really don't have any social awkwardness, and maintain a lot of friends. People always ask me to go out or do this and that, and I would sometimes. But, I'd also put things off for the game...ending that.

[Furtive]

Going to read a lot of these tonight, thank you.

[Lonewing]

The hardest part will not be quitting. It will be not starting back up. Because all it will take is one game, one bored night, and poof, you lost another five years to a game.

 

I long ago refused to pay any more for a game than the initial CD. I decided I woud NOT play WoW right from the start. I knew from computer games and runescape [never went further than the free servers!] that I would be buried by it. Greatest thing I've ever NOT done!! Now Kingofchaos was great because it was free, and then I got into an alliance [with their own forum site] and that was a great place to hang out. We had our own text based battle thread in there, against one character who was the site spammer becasue he was so active there. I left them a couple years back as gmes subsides...

 

My last "game" was this facebook lookalike that spawned up back in 2006 and I got into that pretty heavy - we'd sit and bicker with each other into the wee hours of the weekends. I'm still good friends with many of those people - but the thing is, it wasn't the game that held us there, it was each other. Now we talk on facebook; it's fun. But not the same.

 

The hardest part of leaving the gaming world was the people - because we were there, together, having a good time talking to each other. That's why it thrives - it's a social environment. And everybody is more or less on an equal keel, unless they dump their paycheck into the game, and we know who those people are. Once you spend time in a bar, or a dance club, you relaize that the online gaming environment is really no different, and it's actually quite a bit healthier in some aspects; if Online shut down at a certain time, it would be equal!

 

But I did leave. And it was fine...

 

You realize, though, that even ENA can be the same vein of MMORPG, though? Yeah, it can...

[Furtive]

 

You realize, though, that even ENA can be the same vein of MMORPG, though? Yeah, it can...

 

Oh, I know. Forums in general are something else I have to work on. I'm not as active here (yet) as I am on other forums, but active none the less. I'm thinking about just dedicating a day a week to no technology and expanding it from there. IE no computer, TV, for anything other than necessity. Obviously it'd be dumb to ignore your phone in case of an emergency, or fail to read an urgent email.

[Oneironaut]

.......You guys, are addicted to a freaking videogame?!?!? ...REALLY? I've been sober from ALCHOHOL for 30 years... comE-ON!!!

 

Addictions can happen with anything: Religion, jogging, pets, watching TV, shopping, pornography, eating, sex, and yes, video games.

 

I would think, as a recovering alcoholic, you would have a little more compassion and understanding for the fact that with more than 6 billion people in the world, there will be a tremendous number of things people can become addicted to, and that no one addiction is "better" than any other...my bad.

 

OP, you're right, you weren't really putting down those of us who still choose to play, and I apologize for coming accross as such. I guess it goes back to the days when I used to play another online game, and was involved in a forum related to the game...every few weeks or so, there was a thread from someone saying, "I'm quitting the game, and you losers need to get off your asses and start going out and getting a life, too!"...as if everyone who plays is just a hermit who does nothing else. It irritated me to no end.

 

If playing MMOs has become too engrossing for you, then yes, absolutely you should stay away from them entirely. Alcoholics cannot have a beer or a glass of wine here and there...they have to abstain completely.

 

In any case, billions of people live very happy, satisfying lives without ever touching an MMO, and I'm sure you'll find something to occupy your time in a gratifying way, as well.

[feenyx]

I used to play a lot of MMOs while in college. It gave me a sense of accomplishment whenever I leveled up. I was sort of lonely, sort of not. I went on dates on the weekend and joined clubs. But I was a was a definite level cruncher.

 

I quit once I focused my time on other things like work and grad school. It was also because I moved closer to my family too. I have little siblings, so playing with them helped too.

[Philos]

I've bounced between games and life over the last decade. I've played WoW big time before.

 

You just have to do what you feel you have to do. I've played an MMORPG for 1 month out of the last 2 years since I quit playing steadily, and now my brother just got me hooked on Rift. It's nicer though because I'm playing his characters and don't have to do any leveling and it takes my mind off of the stresses I deal with now, which are substantially more dramatic and big-time than anything I dealed with when I played WoW a lot during BC and early WoTLK.

[wheelerdealer]

I didn't start playing WoW because i was addicted to Warcraft III Frozen Throne. Bnet and all of the different types of custom games meant that it never got old. It's one of the main reasons that I screwed up college twice (that and partying.)

 

I'm glad you posted this thread. When I look back on it... it really is sort of sad. That game was my life for the most part from 2003 until the end of 2009. I still did stuff and went out. But I lost sooo many hours to that game. I could have been growing improving my communication with people in real life. More so just finding myself and growing upin the real world. I found the game at the end of my teens, and stopped around 24. But I put 1000's of hours in it. I remember thinking it was becoming a problem when even my dad asked if I ever wondered how many man hours I'd wasted on it.

 

When I quit I just did it like a band-aid. I was playing a 12 player match, and said "guys I think this is my last game." They were like "what? ever?" and then some people said they were trying to quit too. I was like holy crap. So I won and just uninstalled. Haven't played it since.

 

For me I have problems with escapism in general... Lately I've been dealing with being on the net too much.

 

But uninstalling Warcraft was definitely worth it. You miss out.

[Furtive]

Thanks for this reply man, I greatly appreciate it.

 

I'm not logging in like I was...but I still am, still have the feeling of I need to do this or that, but I'm still keeping it low...account expires on the 12th, and they won't flat out delete it. We'll see, we'll see.

[Furtive]

Well, I did it...today.

 

I deleted every single character on my account. I was tempted to sell some of the items i have, but I knew that would eventually draw me back as it has before for the extra income for what seems like no work.

 

So, I went through and deleted everything and gave away all my gold to someone I deemed nice...just said something along the lines of "if I was suicidal who would talk to me..." and only one person out of hundreds contacted me, so he got it all for being genuinely nice and caring.

 

It feels like there is a major weight off of my shoulders right now. I know none of my characters exist any more, so I won't HAVE to log in to do this or that...

 

It's all about the future from here on out. Going for my run with my dog, coming back and reading some of the texts for school, then we'll see where it goes from there.

 

Thanks everyone for the wonderful opinions/support/criticisms. I'm going to check into this forum often, but I'm not about to allow myself to spend all my former WoW time browsing the internet. Been there, done that, it's time to be proactive in my life.

 

Thank you.