EverQuest

November 21, 2000 11:06 AM

EverQuest is just a game right? At what point do you play it so much that is becomes your life? And just what does it take to be a player?
posted by john (5 comments total)

This is the same kind of thing that's been happening on IRC and other chat systems for years. Virtual suicides and other imaginary psychodramas are undeniably painful for those involved, but they're not as unusual as this article makes them sound.

What amazed me is the fact that the article several times refers to the average player putting 20 hours a week into this game, as though that's not in itself an astoundingly deep involvement. That's just huge. That's all evening, every weekday... or all day, all weekend... or no sleep, or something. Do Everquest players generally not have jobs, or do they just not have lives? How can people afford to spend that much time on a game? Is this just a situation where the game simply doesn't appeal to casual users who might normally bring the average down?

There was a time when I spent 40 hours a week or more on IRC, but I was getting paid for it...

-Mars
posted by Mars Saxman at 2:25 PM on November 21, 2000

This game is scary. I've never found myself a gamer. Let alone an online gamer. I bought the game by the pressure of a few friends now I'm logging on every night for at least a few hours. I've been putting off laundry, grocery shopping, even paying bills to play in the virtual world of Norath. You log on and completly forget who you are. So far I go to work...play everquest and go to bed. I've been getting better, but you REALLY have to pull yourself away. I put in 20 hours a week easily and I still have friends who can put in 3 solid days worth of playtime in a week. It's insane.

-Gimpy
posted by Bubbagimp at 2:39 PM on November 21, 2000

It's taken Final Fantasy IX to break my Ultima Online habbit. Why watch some chump get to be the hero when YOU can be the man character in a heroic adventure.
posted by captaincursor at 5:18 PM on November 21, 2000

Speaking of the impact of games. Have any of you been following Justin Hall's journal about his immersion into the gaming world and his accompanying loss of his girlfriend, and just about everything except his electronics equipment?

My favorite, albeit somewhat depressing read was this statement, "if I stop playing games long enough, I begin to feel itchy."

I play between 6-9 hours of something per week. Was D II, but now I'm into BGII. Can't play the first person's -- as I'm a motion sick puppy.

Woe is me? Not.
posted by josholalia at 12:38 AM on November 22, 2000

Oh, I forgot this link from Justin's site really says it all.
posted by josholalia at 12:40 AM on November 22, 2000