And once again, I warmly welcome you! I hope you have had a good Christmas and that some MMO titles were placed under the tree for you – or at least a voucher to get the desired title yourself.
For most, the direct post-Christmas period is the perfect time to stay up all night indulging in gaming passion, while some struggle to do anything else.
But what factors contribute to everything else becoming secondary and gaming taking the top spot on the priority list?
What reasons are there to roam through fantastic worlds until dawn and spend the next day in bed? That’s exactly what I want to talk about today!
To get the most important point out of the way: There isn’t just one main reason. Many factors come together and are expressed differently for each player, so here I present my personal views:
1. People
My biggest motivator is always my fellow players. In the worlds of World of Warcraft or SW:TOR, I have met so many nice people that my main aim is to continue doing things with these individuals and to actually do them.
If a guildmate wants to level with me until 5 AM – please, I’m in! But even when the last friend has gone to bed at that hour, my fellow players are still a reason, because if I want to have fun with them again tomorrow, it can’t be wrong to craft a potion or two or collect some armor, as I don’t want to be a hindrance!
2. The Story
I would never think of pausing a good movie and finishing it on another day; the same goes for me with books and video games.
I want to know how the story continues, I want to know why the princess has teamed up with the dark lord, and I want to know it, damn it, right now!
If I had these questions in mind when going to bed, I could forget about sleeping anyway. Of course, this reason doesn’t apply to all MMOs, because especially at max level, exciting stories are rarely experienced anymore.
Far too often, you can only complete “daily missions” that unfortunately offer no exciting content. That’s exactly why it’s easier for me to shut down my PC prematurely when the “leveling phase” is already behind me.
3. The Character
Only in third place is the continuous improvement of my character – which doesn’t mean that it’s unimportant to me! I am happy when my Cortyn finally breaks the 30,000 HP barrier or lands her first critical hit over 5,000 damage.
The slow accumulation of attribute points has surely cost me one exam or another where I could have performed better.
4. Success Experiences
I consider as success experiences everything that makes me happy somehow in the game. This category is actually a mix of the three previous ones, because what could be better than defeating a big end boss with my friends, who just happened to have the armor piece I need, and then being rewarded with a story sequence? Nothing.
It’s exactly these moments that make me love this hobby so much, when all previous criteria come together and I can’t find anything I dislike at that moment. And it’s precisely these moments that make me addicted to it.
It’s not just the cool item, it’s not just the level-up, and it’s not just my fellow players. The perfect mixture of all these forces me to keep playing and not let go of the keyboard. And I like that.
Do you see it differently? What keeps you glued to the monitor?
Let me know in the comments, and otherwise: Until next time when I write about the topic “Addiction or just a time-consuming hobby?”!
