next »

[A James]

There are some wonderful quotes in this article...

"A man in China hired virtual "assassins" to hunt down his son in online video games and kill off his avatar, according to local media.  The man, named by the Kotaku East blog as Mr Feng, was concerned about the amount of time his 23-year-old unemployed son was spending online.  He hoped his actions would deter his son from playing the games, he is reported to have said.  His son eventually asked one of the gamers why they kept targeting him.

"It's not going to do much for family relations," Prof Mark Griffiths, a gambling and addictions expert at Nottingham Trent University told the BBC.  "I've never heard of that kind of intervention before, but I don't think these top-down approaches work. Most excessive game playing is usually a symptom of an underlying problem." Prof Griffiths said he heard from many parents who were worried about their children's gaming habits but often it was not an addiction.  "I've spent 25 years studying excessive video game playing," he said. "I've come across very excessive players - playing for 10 to 14 hours a day - but for a lot of these people it causes no detrimental problems if they are not employed, aren't in relationships and don't have children.  It's not the time you spend doing something, it's the impact it has on your life."

Father and son are said to have reconciled but World of Warcraft expert Olivia Grace said she did not think Mr Feng's actions would necessarily act as a deterrent.  "Being killed by someone happens all the time," she said. "People are just like that online.""

[Uncle Bulgaria]

Most days I spend about 10-14 minutes on my MMORPG - just long enough to harvest, water and plant, and fill any special orders or quests.

I've been stuck in 2nd place on my server for about two years, but I will be the first player with a 5th garden, so could begin to catch up.

I've probably spent quite a bit on in-game purchases, but over the four or five years I've been playing, it's not much per month.

I'd be sad to give it up as it's a very small, but constant part of life. However, if I did give it up I wouldn't start on anything else as I can see that I am, in my own very small way, addicted.

[Simon]

In my MMORG, I haven't been able to revolve the goose at the correct speed for some time. As a result, both librarians are beginning to be attracted to one another and if that happens, it'll be almost impossible for me to sneak the bus past Hitler without him setting off the alarm knees.

Plus, I'm not prepared to spend an entire day online just to keep The Magnetic Pope from stealing my best zombie coffee.

[Uncle Bulgaria]

  Tunty Gits 

[Simon]

 

[Mouse]

I'm a little surprised to see this happen in real life after American Dad!, South Park and The Simpsons have all done it. 

[The Naughty Sorceress]

I'd love to be a hired assasin on Warcraft  All of Azeroth would fear my shooty-panda!

[Briefly Icky Giantess]

That's obviously a very disturbing euphemism...

[roger]

heh