UO is now labeled an addiction

[UO Crazed]

Playing this game for so many years....and quitting this game for so many months...leads me to believe this game is an addiction.

For three months now, I haven't even logged into UO. I made a conscience effort NOT to play this game. I watched movies. I played xbox. I took walks in the park. I drank and smoked to my heart's content.

And now I find myself on Stratics...again. My hands are shaking because I know I'm going to log into UO against my will and find out what the heck this event is all about.

I don't want to do it, but I can't seem to control my actions at this point. Say a prayer for me - I'm being sucked into UO again. Can this be a disease?

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

Unless you cannot physically or mentally operate without the presence of the substance in question, it's not an addiction.

A questionable use of time and a bad habit in terms of priorities maybe, but the word "addiction" has been so hideously downgraded that it's almost lost its real meaning.

 

[Beerman72]

AMEN!

Alcohol and cigarettes were much easier to beat than the UO addiction IMO.
Good luck to you!

BTW...thanks for reminding me how weak we truly are! Being addicted to pixels of all things!! For us 2-D user 20 year old pixels!!!!! *big girns*

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Ummm.

Yeah.

I hope you're kidding.

-Galen's player

 

[Beerman72]

...

Unless you cannot physically or mentally operate without the presence of the substance in question, it's not an addiction.

A questionable use of time and a bad habit in terms of priorities maybe, but the word "addiction" has been so hideously downgraded that it's almost lost its real meaning.

I dunno....

seems the physical manifestation of addiction like symptoms do occur in those prone to addictive forces. twice now I have left due to not being able to stay away. the second time I even regretted coming back because I knew what I was getting into.

classic addiction symptoms.

 

[love2winalot]

A few months after EverQuest came out it was nicnamed, "EverCrack". Go check out the free game Traviarn, and see all the people from Turkey that play it 24/7, sleep a few hours, and repeat.

Besides, it is just a game.

 

[Omnius]

rofl, warcraft 2 once came with an addiction label many years ago. Game of the year so many times, game of the decade... Not too hard to see it being a bad habit.

 

[J0KING]

Hello, my name is *insert name here* and I am a UO addict...

Actually the game can be quit addicting... I myself am a recovering Uo addict myself... There was a time that I spent days at a time without logging off. I would get booted off during server down time only to wait to log back in again. Granted, this was a time in life when I had a plethora of free time and nothing really to do. But regardless, if left unchecked the game can consume ALOT of time if you let it...

I think I realized I had a problem the one day when I was looking out the window of my house at the empty field across the street. I was staring at the field trying to figure out the size of house I could place

 

[Tamais]

I am not and never have been a UO addict. Wellll just because my biggest worry while in the hospital was that in game my plants and fish would die, causing me to call my daughter to beg her to go take care of them and then mentioning where I was, shouldn't label me an addict. Should it? After all I can now go two whole days not playing as long as I can read the forums. Nope not addicted at all.

 

[MalagAste]

Hello my name is..... Willa, Malag, Trilla, Cainon...... (list goes on forgetting RL name)....... and I'm a UO addict.....

I'm afraid my addiction is terminal...... I doubt there is anything besides UO actually ending that will get me to quit playing UO all together...... No matter how many friends try to lure me to other games I tell them they are barking up the wrong tree.... as my home is in Sossaria.... and more specificly Great Lakes... though I have moved from Yew to Newcastle it's still my home. Kinda seems a bit odd but I would rather be here playing the game than most anywhere.... When outside Sossaria at work or where it happens to be I'm thinking about my next plan in game or I'm on the web checking the boards...


Please click the egg/hatchling and help my dragons grow.

 

[Eslake]

For three months now, I haven't even logged into UO. I made a conscience effort NOT to play this game. I watched movies. I played xbox. I took walks in the park. I drank and smoked to my heart's content.

And now I find myself on Stratics...again. My hands are shaking because I know I'm going to log into UO against my will and find out what the heck this event is all about.

Nostalgia more than an addiction. I used to feel the same way, but then I stopped trying to QUIT playing UO, and to START playing other games.

At first, just for something ELSE to do for a while, but eventually - it led to canceled UO accounts. I kept returning as the other games got old tho, much the same as you seem to do.

I suggest trying some other games on if you really don't want to play UO right now. (but you eventually will want to check it out again I'm sure).

Travian / Renissance Kingdoms - Free web based games. Travian can eat your time up, RenKingdoms is a few minutes of each day. (nice for morning wakeup tho)

Of the other MMORPGs, I can only suggest WoW. As far as my experience goes, it has the fewest game-killing bugs, least exploitability (other than gold farmers), and a really wide range of play options/styles.

Or.. try a Single Player game for killing time, and just find web game or something for when you feel social.

Morrowind is my first suggestion. It has pretty minimal system requirements and hunreds of hours of playability (exponents of that if you use player-made MODifications).

Oblivion as well, but it takes a much more powerful PC.


Or --- Just head on back and play UO again for a while. You'll get bored/angry/etc the same as you did before, and leave again. But for a little while.....

 

[Azazel of LA]

I have left UO 3 or 4 times and have always come back.

 

[Setnaffa]

It's more like an obsession than an addiction.

 

[Gildar]

I was addicted to Everquest for a while. And to Diablo II, Travian, And to a few other games I'm sure.

UO is one of the games that I've played for a long time though that I honestly do not find myself addicted to. I enjoy playing very much, and love it when I have time to get in and play... but I don't feel like I need to play whenever I don't have the opportunity and don't have a problem taking time off to do other things.

 

[Emil IsTemp]

Yes it is an adiktshun.. I have been playing 10 years now, but thats not why Im saying its an addiction.. (i smoke pot, i drink, and i smoke cigs... whats one more to me anyways =/...)

MMO's in general are the drug. People isolate themselves (not everyone, but a few people do) from the world around them, some of my friends included. They dont go out and socialize, or chase girls . They sit in front of their labtop, and play WoW all day... (maybe the make-believe world is better than the persons real life world?) They slowly start to loose all pigment in their skin from lack of sunlight, the Mountain Dew is drank by the case, and fast food is always in stock. Injury is a matter of time from the muscles atrophying.. one friend who used to come out and play baseball every Sunday stopped because he hurt his knee by playing Halo for 12 hours a day...

Ive seen first hand, some of my friends will call into work just to play WoW all day.. 2 hours of sleep a night and play WoW all day. My old roommate would sleep under his desk so he didnt have to walk 15 feet when he woke up to log on.. And im sure everyone has read some stories of their own.. heres a few that made me scratch my head..

Some years ago I read about a 10 or 11 year old boy that used to play UO hardcore. His grades started slipping, and his parents (like they should have) tried to limit his UO access. So what does the kid do? he would hold his breath until he passed out, or until they gave him UO back.. and in the end, hes brain dead now.

...

And of course theres that Korean who power-gamed for 90 somthing hours, then had a heart attack...

...

My point is to go outside once and awhile. Sure I, and prolly most of you play UO a ton, just remember to take a break every now and then. Eat somthing.. smoke a bong.. (lol) call your friends.. watch TV, go outside.. finish that project around your RL HOUSE that you started 3 years ago..

Work first, Play later.

 

[Dexdash]

...

Unless you cannot physically or mentally operate without the presence of the substance in question, it's not an addiction.
QUOTE]


bs you sir are in denial. seek help, find a sponser some one you can call when you cant resist.

 

[Oriana]

Hello, My name Is Oriana, I am a UO addict, and plan on styaing so til they shut down the server. Well RL comes first, but after thats done, here I come UO!!

Ori

 

[TheGhostRaider]

Where can you find a place that if you are mad you can beat up a friend or a stranger. I have took a few break over the decade of UO, and I always come back when I bore, this game relax me and it a change from real life routine. Summer have arrive so as my break time.

 

[Kiminality]

Not formally classified as an addiction, but generally recognised as a psychological addiction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction

 

[kennykilleduo]

Didnt you ever listen to the liches( as well as other monsters) laughs slowly backwards: They say never quit UO..........

 

[dielock]

I know I am an addict. Wife wants me to go to UO Anonymous but I am in denial.

 

[Beerman72]

It's more like an obsession than an addiction.

heh...once you have your own copy of UO it ceases to be an obsession!

 

[Scratch]

i play for the people ive grown to know over ten years
its not the game that you are addicted to
its the conversation

 

[Ancient Sosarian]

Hail Sosarians, Britannians, oh yes and all you Humans,

Ultima Online is & may be, many different things to many different folks. For some it occupies an hour or three now and then. For some it occupies a few hours daily. For some several hours daily. For a small number it MAY have become their obsession or even their addiction.

Each of us possess some areas of "free-will." We make choices. My advice, rarely sought yet freely given, would be that each of us reconsider our choices every now and then.

For me, UO helped to fill my time with something enjoyable, and to distract me from pain to real to be endured. I could continue spending a great many hours each day online...in Britannia or other far more destructive places...or I may choose to reduce my UO time for more time spent in other productive ways.

We are each given 24 hours per day. Consider well how you will spend your daily hours.

In the end, I hope you will spend them well, meaning I hope you maximize your opportunities to improve and enhance the lives of others, as well as your own. And for those who have received the gift of faith, I hope you will improve daily your understanding of God, and His Will for your life.

I invite everyone to join me in Eternity in Heaven...the alternative is too horrible to ignore.

An SoS

 

[Nine Dark Moons]

I think I realized I had a problem the one day when I was looking out the window of my house at the empty field across the street. I was staring at the field trying to figure out the size of house I could place

ha ha haaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! stuff like that's been happening to me at an alarming rate lately... i could have sworn i saw sap of sosaria at stop and shop last week. and i almost passed out when i saw sigil hued cupcakes at the bake shop this weekend.

 

[Emil IsTemp]

I invite everyone to join me in Eternity in Heaven...the alternative is too horrible to ignore.

Thanks for the invite.. but i already made plans to push a boulder up the hill for eternity..

 

[onthefifty]

yes, i too am a uo addict.

been playing just a bit more than a year and it is an obsession for sure.

have a house way out in minoc fel that i love, right next to the water where i dock my boat.

play mostly at nite after the kids goto sleep and wife watches her design/cooking shows.

i just legendaried wrestling on my mage and i made an excel spreadsheet
so i could see all his resists and mods. even tied in the effects of reactive armor and that other circle spell (forgot the name)

yeah, safe to say im addicted.

 

[Nine Dark Moons]

Yeah, so I checked out wikipedia's page on video game addiction. apparently if you can say yes to 5 of these 7 things, you have a problem:
1. Persistent thoughts of the activity or performance of the activity: CHECK.
2. Need for increased time spent on the activity to achieve satisfaction or diminished reward for the same amount of time spent on the activity: NOT SO MUCH.
3. Inability to control, stop or diminish the behavior: CHECK.
4. Restlessness or irritability when prevented from partaking in the activity: CHECK
5. Lying to friends or family about extent of involvement with activity: CHECK (to a degree anyway... non-gamers just don't understand the allure of rubble or rare festivals, just to name a couple!)
6. Committing illegal acts to sustain activity: OH HELL NO. if it came to that i think i'd have to check myself in somewhere!
7. Relying on others to finance activity: HELL TO THE NO. i can support my own pixel-crack habit thank ya.

 

[Loqucious]

Best disease ever.