# Will we ever develop a video game as addictive as cocaine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 15, 2008, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815 "2008-11-15T04:52:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/1 "2008-11-15T04:52:32Z")
This thread on [World of Warcraft addiction](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=492886) lead me to thinking about how video games have become increasingly more addictive as the technology and know how about game design increases and where is the logical conclusion to this. Now WoW is addictive but I don’t think it’s anywhere near as addictive as cocaine. However, if we keep on making ever increasingly addictive games, will we eventually reach the point where they need to be regulated like hard drugs? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/2 "2008-11-15T05:13:27Z")
When I saw this title, the first thing I thought was “WoW”. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/3 "2008-11-15T05:28:42Z")
Don’t know if you can call it a game, but Dennis Miller said > [@](#): > > If some unemployed punk in New Jersey, can get a cassette to make love to Elle McPherson for $19.95, this virtual reality stuff is going to make crack look like Sanka. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Paladud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Paladud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paladud)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/4 "2008-11-15T05:44:56Z")
If you had the patience to get through the initial grind, Everquest was considerably more addictive than WoW - I’ve seen marriages and engagements wrecked and college education abandoned during senior year. I’m sure something still worse already exists. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/5 "2008-11-15T06:46:39Z")
“Will”? WoW is a freakin’ mindtrap for the susceptible. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/6 "2008-11-15T15:53:23Z")
Video game addiction, such as it is, has nothing to do with modern technology. People were every bit as addicted to the original Civilization and Ultima games (not to mention the early consoles like Atari and NES games). And those games were freaking brutal, too, with no automaps and drastically limited saves and no Gamefaqs when you got stuck. You pretty much had to be an addict if you expected to finish them. Also, fwiw, WoW is way behind the curve technologically speaking. I love the look of the game but it’s not pushing any envelopes. Whatever addiction WoW causes it’s not because of technology. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/7 "2008-11-15T16:30:37Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Also, fwiw, WoW is way behind the curve technologically speaking. I love the look of the game but it’s not pushing any envelopes. That’s part of why it’s successful. Hardware wise, you don’t need an insanely overclocked setup you stole from NASA for optimum results. Design wise, it looked at what earlier games like EQ did and simply did it better than try to reinvent the wheel. Now, as for addiction. No, I doubt it. Drugs mess up your nuerochemistry and metabolism to the extent that your body can no longer function without it (or some other medical intervention). In the case of alcohol addiction, you can die (PSA: if you’re an alcoholic looking to detox, do so under medical supervision.). Games can have an intense psychological pull on some people, but so can drugs, and games don’t alter your biochemistry. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/8 "2008-11-15T17:43:23Z")
Computer games are only as addictive as the person playing them allows them to be. I’ve played WoW, it was fun for a while but I couldn’t understand how anyone could want to sink vast portions of their life into it. I quit playing once it became apparent that to enjoy the endgame aspects I was going to have to commit far more time and energy than I was willing to, so it didn’t seem worth playing. When I was a teenager I played Civ, Master of Orion and Alpha Centauri a lot, but it was never at the stage where I couldn’t stop or it consumed my every waking thought or anything (and I’ve never pissed in a cup rather than take a break for the toilet!). Will we ever make games in the future that will be as or more addictive than drugs? Possibly. One of the things that is so addictive about games like WoW is that they reward consistent devotion of time and the rewards are tangible; if you suck at life you might find something so short termist appealing. If we could create a game that was fully immersive and let you do all the things you’d dreamed of but could never do in life (like a holodeck), well, I know I’d find the pull of something like that extremely tempting. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/9 "2008-11-15T18:42:39Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > Computer games are only as addictive as the person playing them allows them to be. I’ve played WoW, it was fun for a while but I couldn’t understand how anyone could want to sink vast portions of their life into it. Then you clearly know little about the psychology of addiction. Just because you don’t have an addictive personality doesn’t mean it is not a serious problem for those who do. > [@](#): > > “I don’t understand people who have one drink. I don’t understand people who leave half a glass of wine on the table. I don’t understand people who say they have had enough. How can you have enough of feeling like this? How can you not want to feel like this longer? My brain works differently.” ~~Leo McGarry (West Wing) ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/10 "2008-11-15T18:53:59Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Then you clearly know little about the psychology of addiction. Just because you don’t have an addictive personality doesn’t mean it is not a serious problem for those who do. Okay, well let me rephrase then - computer games are only addictive as the person playing finds them. Better? ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/11 "2008-11-15T19:03:37Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > Okay, well let me rephrase then - computer games are only addictive as the person playing finds them. > > Better? But it’s the same with drugs. My brother finds alcohol extremely pleasurable and hates that he now has to live without it. He also loves opiates. But my wife absolutely hates alcohol and painkillers; she gets no pleasure from either of them, just a sick, dizzy feeling. ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/12 "2008-11-15T19:10:51Z")
While computer games can cause psychological dependency, it can’t cause physical dependency- there’s no chemical that computer games give you that will stop your body from functioning normally if denied it. Cocaine has both types of dependency, so it must almost always win out in the addictiveness battle. Exceptions I can see for people whose psychological dependence on a game is higher than their psych + physical addiction to cocaine would be. For the vast majority of us, I don’t think this is the case. People will kill for money for their next cocaine fix; I don’t see many homicides about getting money for next month’s WoW payment. Of course, the game changes completely if there’s a virtual reality hook-up to your brain, or something similar that does directly affect your nervous system. I can definitely see that taking the prize. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/13 "2008-11-15T19:25:00Z")
> [@](#): > > That’s part of why it’s successful. Hardware wise, you don’t need an insanely overclocked setup you stole from NASA for optimum results. Design wise, it looked at what earlier games like EQ did and simply did it better than try to reinvent the wheel. Sure, and the more successful, the greater the pool of possible addicts I guess. But the OP was, will advanced technology make more addictive games, and my point was, games are addictive independent of their technological presentation. WoW’s addictiveness (such as it is) is because it’s a good game (and by good, I mostly mean, brilliantly structured in it’s carrots & sticks). If anything, people get addicted to WoW despite it’s unrealistic appearance. **IlluminatiPrimus** yeah, different people respond differently to addictive situations. Some addictions are physical and some aren’t. Not all addicts enjoy their addiction. Not all addictions are fun or pleasant. Not all addictive situations create addictions in all people. I think sometimes people are overly quick to toss the term ‘addict’ around but it does exist. The people who die because they’re so caught up in their games have a real problem even though they’re few in number. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/14 "2008-11-15T20:04:56Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > When I saw this title, the first thing I thought was “WoW”. [Spaceward Ho!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceward_Ho!) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/15 "2008-11-15T21:21:59Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > Computer games are only as addictive as the person playing them allows them to be. Quoted for truth. By definition (the DSM IV definition that is), you cannot be “addicted to video games”. You can have an addictive personality that latches on to video games as the thing that makes you feel good, but you cannot be “addicted to video games”. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/16 "2008-11-16T00:23:15Z")
I can’t imagine it would addict ME, at least. I last played video games back when I was in college, almost two decades ago, and I wasn’t all that interested in them even then. It was just something to do when I was bored. Oh, and I’m also one of those for whom alcohol produces not much more than a “sick, dizzy feeling”. Ed ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/17 "2008-11-17T20:27:33Z")
> [@Windwalker](#): > > While computer games can cause psychological dependency, it can’t cause physical dependency- there’s no chemical that computer games give you that will stop your body from functioning normally if denied it. Cocaine has both types of dependency, so it must almost always win out in the addictiveness battle. Exceptions I can see for people whose psychological dependence on a game is higher than their psych + physical addiction to cocaine would be. For the vast majority of us, I don’t think this is the case. People will kill for money for their next cocaine fix; I don’t see many homicides about getting money for next month’s WoW payment. > > Of course, the game changes completely if there’s a virtual reality hook-up to your brain, or something similar that does directly affect your nervous system. I can definitely see that taking the prize. Just wait until doing a quest gets you not just a new epic sword, but a shot of morphine injected directly into your brain via neural shunt… Actually, that’s genius, I’ll be in my lab. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/18 "2008-11-17T20:40:16Z")
I’ve not had anything ruin a year’s productivity like [the telnet-based MUD I played in college 15 years ago](http://midnight-sun.ludd.luth.se:3328/)\*. I’ve done cocaine, and it isn’t nearly as addictive to me as that. - It’s apparently still running, but I’m definitely not going to try it now. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/19 "2008-11-17T20:44:34Z")
\*Spiderman: Friend Or Foe \*has my 3 year old refusing to eat dinner in an attempt to play longer. He’s hooked. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815/20 "2008-11-17T20:52:40Z")
I’ve been playing Final Fantasy XI for about 5 years now, and at times I was completely and unrepentantly addicted to it, but now I play it pretty much when I’m just bored. I only just realized this past year that much of the addiction comes with keeping up with those who’ve been in the game as long as you. There’s no actual deadline for you to get Kirin’s Osode or Excalibur… it’s all in your mind. That said, I started enjoying the game much more when I realized that I didn’t have to keep up with the end-game gear grind. Now my fun comes from leveling new jobs and working on my Maat’s Cap. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-develop-a-video-game-as-addictive-as-cocaine/472815.md?page=2)