I enjoy video games. MMORPG wasn't exactly amongst the first types i played, but it certain is one of my favorite over the years. While the total amount of time I spent on each type (FPS, RTS, MMORPG, Simulation, etc.) of the video games might be even, the amount of time I spent on MMORPG during a certain amount of weeks/months is definitely the highest. Since the nature of MMORPG is to have everything saved for the next time, you just want to get ahead of a lot of other players. So it leads to almost endless of playing when you have the chance. Any downtime would make you (at the peak of your addiction) feel you have wasted time which could have made your character stronger, better equipped. As a result, it was hard for me to stop playing lol. Unlike FPS and RTS, I might do "just one more round", but I certainly would have no regret when I finally turn the game off. To think about it, when I was playing FPS and RTS types of games, I might play 2~3 hours a day or maybe a little longer. When it comes to MMORPG, it was 6~8 or even longer hours per day. What about you guys? Is it too time consuming to play MMORPG for you?
I think that's kind of the point when comes to these games. These aren't just one hour short games, and you go on your way. You build your character from the ground up, and you will have to suffer all the hardships that all beginners go through before you can be one of the pros who have countless hours under their belt. That's the thing, if MMORPGs are too short, then where would be the fun in that? The best ones take YEARS to play through, and that what makes it an amazing genre to play in.
It was my point. You can pick up a FPS such as Counter-strike and finish a few rounds of no more than 10 minutes each and be done with it. You can pick up RTS like Starcraft or Age of Empire III and be done with it within minutes or no more than an hour under most circumstances. The next time you play them, you start from the same beginning. MMORPG let you progress over the years to come, and each time you start at where you have left off the last time. It makes us all want to play longer each time to have the progress go quicker. So in the end, MMORPG takes more time to play if you want to be any good at it. I am sure there are casual players who just want to fool around and kill some time. But I always played hardcore.
MMORPG is life. It will take up all of your time if you let it. I remember 10 years ago I played Ragnarok to the point of addiction that my grades and my health suffered. I even bought playing hours which is now unheard of today! You really have to take some time off gaming and the internet after while before it consumes you.
Yeah, I was pretty much in the same situation over a decade ago. Actually the one got me started was Neverwinter Nights (1), then it got worse with Lineage 2. I lost 30 pounds due to skipping meals. Such bad habits isn't even sustainable for gaming. Either we might do so badly in real life that we can no longer continue the game, or we would burnt out quicker than the more causal players.
I think it is where things started to get unhealthy. Back in the day, you paid $40 and the developer promised you 40 hrs... and maybe a second playthrough if you wanted it. But now online games are built and designed around giving you a never ending supply of ´carrots´. MMORPGs are the worse though, because they are so open-ended. Games like CoD or CS or MOBAs have a relatively short gameplay, about 30-45 minutes.. so there is kinda a reminder that you can leave now. MMORPGs, other than like doing dungeons or a pvp match, don´t really have that automatic break in the gameplay where you might think about stopping for the day.
For better or worse, MMO's are designed to be too time consuming. They want people to play on a daily basis, and a weekly basis. They are by nature addicting, time consuming games because that's the type of game that is going to get the most type of money out from consumers.
I spend more time in them then other games, but I wouldn't say I spend to much. My game time for World of Warcraft is scheduled so I can raid and such.
WOW used to be a lot worse as far as the amount of time it took to be competitive n raiding. They did things like put a limit on potions you could use mainly because players would have to spend hours and hours just making potiions because you were expected to be chugging them non-stop during Vanilla.
I think they definitely are time consuming especially once you get really deep into it as a hobby because there's just too much to dig up and learn and practice, etc. I usually spend a lot of time reading up and watching videos and watching streams and that's not even counting the time I spend playing.
They are totally time consuming. It's very easy to let yourself get swallowed up and spend hours upon hours playing, and potentially wasting your entire day. But MMO's are a nice escape though; I've also made several friends through MMO's too. I now only play my main mmo with my friends, and only to do some events or dailies. (Mostly because I'm max level and there's no new content out yet.) It doesn't consume my life, because I don't let it. Yeah, I might spend like 3 or 4 hours playing, but I'm also hanging out with my friends and talking over a voip at the same time. It's all about balance. So yes, they are time consuming, but only if you let it be.
@ Kitty, Yeah, of course voice chat is a must when you play in groups in a MMORPG. Back in the old days when instant messenger just came out, a lot of people were spending hours on it every day chatting to friends or even strangers. MMORPG is like a video game and chatroom at the same time. You can play and chat. With voice communication from third party software like teamspeaker or vent, you can even communicate more freely.
I think every game is time consuming, not just MMORPG's, but I don't see it as wasted time. Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted, that's how I make myself feel better after a 8 hour gaming marathon.
I agree. If you're having fun then that's just investment in keeping yourself centered. Without it people might just end up feeling more stressed and frustrated and they might just end up lashing out on others because of that unspent energy.
Yes they're ways to spend your time so by definition they're time consuming. But if you enjoy the time you're spending with said MMOs then it isn't time "wasted", at least.
I think MMORPG's can be time consuming every now and again but think it is worth it sometimes. Especially if it brings a bit of enjoyment.
Yeah i have me peak gaming years and i used to consume 4-6 hours gaming time. But of course there's always consequences and mine was on my health. Fortunately everything settles down and my gaming time nowadays are more controlled and managed.
yeah they are because they are more focused towards strategy and the other reason is that they are based on role playing so it consume a lot of time!
In my own experience, yes they are very time-consuming. You won't even notice the time that you spent until you check the time. I usually play early in the morning and before I knew it, it's already afternoon and I didn't even have my lunch yet. It's very important that when you play games, you are aware of the time and don't spend so much just by playing.