The Globe and Mail newspaper has published an article on the release of Call of Duty – Modern Warfare 2. I was asked to provide commentary on the game’s release. You can read the article and my comments by clicking here.
November has always been a rather dreary month here in southern Ontario. The fun of crisp, sunny autumn days gives way to steel gray that seems to hang over the region until April. But this year, we’ve been blessed with mild temperatures, sunshine and no significant snowfall… yet.
November is also a month of remembrance. I pause here to appreciate the sacrifice of countless men and women who protected my right to share my thoughts on this web site, and your right to respond favourably or with disdain, depending on your individual disposition.
November 5th passed without much fanfare, which I suppose was a good thing. It was the first anniversary of Brandon Crisp’s tragic homecoming; his body was discovered by hunters in the woods just a few miles from his Barrie, Ontario home.
The past twelve months have been a testament to what a remarkable young man Brandon must have been. In partnership with the Canadian Tire Jumpstart program, the Crisps created the Brandon Crisp Endowment shortly after burying their only son. They have raised a small fortune for kids who otherwise wouldn’t be able to participate in organized sports.
I received an email reply from Steve Crisp this morning, reporting the tremendous success of the Mount Kilimanjaro climb for the Brandon Crisp Endowment. The team raised a total of $250,000 and is expected to return home soon. Congratulations!
Gaming/Internet addiction. Separate addiction or symptom of another addiction or psychiatric disorder? This question was asked at the end of this piece.
Our local Internet gaming cafe closed its doors on September 28 after fourteen years in business. If you follow this blog you may assume I’m thrilled at the news. If you made this assumption, you’d be wrong.
I met Carol, the owner of the cafe, last November at the time I was doing a lot of national media on gaming addiction. Our local newspaper wanted pictures of me with a game running in the background, so Carol agreed to let us shoot photos in her establishment.
Not every gamer needs or wants to quit, and Carol’s Internet cafe provided a safe, clean social gathering point for hundreds of gamers who would otherwise just play at home, perhaps alone. And while her policy may not have been perfect, Carol did tell gamers to take a break now and then.
What I attempted to convey last year, and continue to believe, is that entrepreneurs like Carol are not the enemy. I wish Carol well in her future personal and business endeavours.
Felicia Day of The Guild web sitcom appeared recently on Jimmy Fallon’s late night talk show. She talked about her 8 hour per day World of Warcraft habit and the retail DVD release of The Guild seasons one and two. Check it out!
From last January, Felicia coaches Jimmy and helps him create a WoW character. Very funny.
Yes, there are WoW screen images here, so avoid this video if you’re having a hard time staying away from WoW or dealing with an addiction issue. These two videos are intended as gaming related humour only.
I’ve been meaning to do this for a while… this is a brief technical walkthrough on how I used to hide games on my PC. Embarassing, I know, but I hope someone benefits from this information.
As I state in the video, please take these two things to heart:
1. Please don’t tamper with your Windows installation if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing – the consequences can be EXTREMELY undesirable.
2. If your gamer – teen or adult – is lying about their gaming and hiding files from you, there’s a problem much bigger than the presence of data on your PC. Seek professional counselling to address the underlying issues re: his/her gaming in secret and your relationship.
As promised on You Tube, here are some screenshots:
Check your hard drive’s capacity. Is it filling up too fast?
Program names and sizes appear in the Programs and Features applet of the Windows Vista Control Panel, but…
A free file utility such as this one makes it all too easy to delete the UNINSTALL string of any almost any program from the computer’s registry, making it hard to find.
Please do not attempt this operation on your computer. It can have disastrous consequences!
Many files and folders in Windows can be easily “Hidden” by selecting their Properties and placing a check mark in the “Hidden” box.
Again, please take care when performing this operation. System files should remain untouched. When in doubt, do not tamper with files on your PC.
Do you wanna date my avatar?
Do you wanna date my avatar?
Hang with me in my MMO
So many places we can go
You’ll never see my actual face
Our love, our love will be in virtual space
I’m craving to emote with you
So many animations I can do
Be anything you want me to be
C’mon, c’mon, and share a potion with me
Do you wanna date my avatar?
She’s a star
And she’s hotter than reality by far
Wanna date my avatar?
You can type commands
I’ve got slots for what I hold in my hands
Don’t care what’s in your character bank
How ’bout, how ’bout a little tank and spank
Grab your mouse and stroke the keys
Here in cyberspace there’s no disease
Pick a time, send a tell to me
Just pay, just pay a small subscription fee
Do you wanna date my avatar?
She’s a star
And she’s hotter than reality by far
Wanna date my avatar
Single, White Human
Looking for group
My stats so high
You’ll be out of the loop
Got an uber leet staff
That you can equip
Close your mouth up
Ladies this is pure nerdnip
I’m a fiction based fantasy
A man so stoic
I hack and slash
Who the heck’s more heroic?
Check me out, cloth armor
Fits me like a glove
Just twitter a time
I’m ready for love
Hang with me in my MMO
So many places we can go
I’m better than a real world quest
You’ll touch my plus five to dexterity vest
What role do you wanna play?
I’m just a click away night or day
And if you think I’m not the one
Log off, log off and we’ll be done
Do you wanna date my avatar?
She’s a star
And she’s hotter than reality by far
Wanna date my avatar
Do you wanna date my avatar?
She’s a star
And she’s hotter than reality by far
Wanna date my avatar
Do you wanna date my avatar? (do you wanna date my avatar?)
Do you wanna date my avatar? (do you wanna date my avatar?)
Do you wanna date my avatar? (do you wanna date my avatar?)
Do you wanna date my avatar? (do you wanna date my avatar?)
Here’s my August wrap up of major news in gaming addiction, as I see it.
The ReStart Internet addiction program has opened its doors in Washington state, but not without controversy. Their first patient, identified as ‘Ben,’ and his father have gone public regarding his 16 hour per day habit, and his recovery. Most recently, Ben’s story was featured on the CBS morning news.
Naturally, we can’t let Ben and his family enjoy the success and peace of his recovery without attacking his father’s character and beginning a campaign of silly namecalling and patronizing dismissal of the notion of addiction to electronic media. And so the trolls came out to play, as they always do, with little if any knowledge of Ben’s situation or the dynamics of addiction.
I have been privileged to learn a bit more of the context in which this addiction grew and flourished, so I understand how hard this terrific dad has worked to get Ben this far. Also, I’ve spent some time with the head of an outpatient treatment program at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
I am increasingly convinced that it is the fundamental misunderstanding of the dynamics of addiction that drives much of the ignorance surrounding Internet addictions in particular.
So what is addiction? Some suggested that Ben’s gaming was merely a ‘bad habit’ that he needed to kick. Well, I chew my fingernails, sometimes compulsively, but it doesn’t wreck my life and make me unemployable. It is a bad habit.
Here is the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine’s definition of addiction:
Addiction is a primary, chronic disease, characterized by impaired control over the use of a psychoactive substance(s) and/or behaviour. Clinically, the manifestations occur along biological, psychological, sociological and spiritual dimensions. Common features are change in mood, relief from negative emotions, provision of pleasure, pre-occupation with the use of substance(s) or ritualistic behaviour(s); and continued use of the substance(s) and/or engagement in behaviour(s) despite adverse physical, psychological and/or social consequences. Like other chronic diseases, it can be progressive, relapsing and fatal.
Ask anyone involved in the On-Line Gamers Anonymous community and they will recognize the truth in this definition, where the behavioural compulsion is concerned. Consequences? Profound, up to and including suicide.
Thank goodness we’re starting to see the creation of programs to address Internet addictions. I have been through benzodiazepene (sedative) addiction, something that I have only recently been willing to admit to myself. For me, quitting the drugs was easier than getting off MMO’s.
————————————–
Second Skin was re-released to a limited theatrical audience and to DVD on August 25th. I watched it on-line a couple of weeks ago. My friend Elizabeth Woolley appeared in the film, and I was eager to see how the issue of addiction and family was treated in the film.
Dan B. from Philadelphia, PA had sought refuge in Elizabeth’s home after hitting his rock bottom and considering suicide. That relationship broke down and Dan has publicly rebuked the director for misrepresenting certain facts in the film. Also, he now holds a different view of his ‘addiction.’
I’m the so called addicted gamer in this movie doc but what I said then and how I feel now about addiction is completely different. I personally think people need to leave gamers alone and stop labeling them as troubled people, maybe they are where they need to be and that’s in the game…
I was absolutely NOT sick from playing, I became sick for trying to be what other people wanted me to be and not be myself. We’re multi-dimensional beings spatially placed in several realms of existence, the spiritual, mind and physical existences are all manifestations from latter reality; as well as the virtual existence. Gamers are pioneers pushin’ the frontiers of transcendental perception.
The above comments were posted to one of my YouTube videos. One of the gamers profiled in the film summarized Dan’s feelings neatly, essentially saying, ‘hey, we’re gamers, it’s what we do.’ Ultimately, the decision to quit or moderate a gaming habit is deeply personal and shouldn’t be made to please anyone but yourself and your God / Higher Power.
Apart from this controversy, the film was well done and captures the intensity and commitment of hardcore MMO players. I recognized a lot of myself in the relationships and internal conflict between real life and the game. How much is too much? Definitely worth watching. Pick it up at your local video store, or buy it here.
On the first anniversary of his son Brandon’s tragic death this October, Steve Crisp will gear up to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in east Africa. Proceeds will go to the Canadian Tire Jumpstart program, promoting youth involvement in amateur sport. As of July 30, he has reached sixteen percent of his $5000 goal.
Drug addiction can strike teens, adults and even the elderly with equal ferocity. Family drug rehab programs help rebuild relationships and trust among family members when one of them needs addiction treatment. Drug rehab is the most effective way to break the cycle of addiction and keep the family unit together.
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ExGamer.net was launched in July, 2008 by Brad D., a recovering online role playing game addict. The blog contains personal reflections on recovery from excessive video gaming & opinion on current events related to online role playing games and addiction issues. Thanks for visiting; please take time to register and comment - your opinion matters.
Over 23 million people suffer from alcoholism or drug addiction in the United States, yet only a small percentage of these individuals receive professional help from a drug rehab center. Life-saving drug treatment at these facilities helps individuals overcome addiction through detox, counseling and aftercare.
