Hello from a Game Quitter (COD MW2)

[Omar Little]

Hi

This website fascinates me no end. Partly because I've felt the pull of being addicted to a game or two.

I've played computer games on and off since being a kid, I guess. I don't think I've ever had a huge problem, partly because I've had other great interests (e.g. music) and I've had the sense to knock things on the head eventually if I felt myself playing too much.

Recently I was playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 every spare chance I got. I've moved in with my fiance (wifey very soon) and she really doesn't get games or gaming, so I would basically play it when she wasn't around.

It's a very addictive game. They've brought in a points system - kind of like WOW in a way - in which you have an account and you level up your character/account by completing all kinds of challenges and basically racking up huge hours playing it.

I found myself racing home from work, doing essential chores and then leaping onto the computer to play MW2 online. At night, my partner would go to bed and then I would jump on and spend a few hours fragging away.

I didn't neglect my partner for the game or spend unreasonable amounts of time playing it, but the fact that I had the urge to all the time... that I was jonesing for a fix... that kind of scared me. I read a bit online about computer game addiction and also found this which had a huge effect on me (can't remember where I got this from but it was online):

Here are the 10 reasons why Modern Warfare 2 is RUINING YOUR LIFE.
1: The game is designed to take many days of continuous game-play due to prestige ranking system and thus manipulates ALL your spare time.
2: Spare time is good for making friends, helping friends, making new friends, helping girlfriends, getting married, making babies, praying, cooking, reading thus educating oneself, shopping sensibly, caring for oneself, speaking with family, walking in nature, sleeping well, traing, exercising, learning to play the guitar, and so on and so on…
3: Less spare time = RUSHING those personal chores that need more time, thus decreasing healthy mind, body and spirit.
4: The game is actually not REAL. Its played on a computer server. It is abstract, not concrete. You can NOT visit FAVELA and buy a local a coffee, and look around to pick up an empty gun-shell. It is in the imagination. It is made up of SOMEONE Else’s IMAGINATION> It isn’t even YOUR IMAGINATION.
5: You need electricity to play this game.
6: The game experience is entirely SELFISH and self serving. You cannot share the subjectiveness of gaming unless the person who you are trying to express the game to IS a gamer. Some people record game-play footage as seen on youtube but this does not explain the sensation of actually playing the game.
7: Your country needs you to spend more time watching the bullshitting politicians.
8: Intelligent active people are laughing at you for wasting your fucking life playing ‘videogames’.
9: There is a gorgeous girl out there in the world, waiting around for you to get the fuck up off your ass, and to FIGHT for her, to WIN her, to TAKE her to her highest place, and make love. She wants to spend her life with you, man. Take her!
10: My favourite. The game does NOT fill the GOD shaped hole in your soul. You know what I am talking about. Its not a real hole. It is that yearning pulling feeling that you have to do something, you have to accomplish something, you have got to get to SOMEWHERE, because you know you can be the BEST or be part of the BEST fucking thing in existence… and so you WILL feel whole and satisfied and excited for yourself and everyone else on earth. Celebrate God and creation. The line between this and destruction is so fucking fine.

So anyway I just went cold turkey and deleted the game from my hard drive. I actually felt immediately a lot better in mood and everything. I'm practising guitar heaps and keep writing music, it's like I've got my imagination back. Plus I'd rather go sleep next to my beloved than to wait for her to fall asleep so I can scratch my "rocking some COD MW2" itch.

I'm not saying I'll never play games again, but I'm done for now. I'm hopng to become a father soon, I'm getting married, I play in a great band... I don't have time for things that don't mean much IRL like online gaming at the moment.


Cheers

[EVEWIDOW2]

WOW. I wish my husband would get this. Instead I go round living my life like a manic depressive - waiting for him to spend time with me, then going to bed alone and crying. I have now taken to removing my wedding rings everytime he spends hours on the computer and neglects me. It makes me feel better...

I don't want to leave him, I just want to fill this gaping whole in my life that he leaves everytime he rushes off to play on the computer.

The other day I asked him to help cook dinner. We hadn't even finished and he disappeared. Back on the computer. "Oh", he said, "I thought we'd finished".

Then I feel like I am bad for wanting to take him away from his beloved game. I feel like he'd rather be with the game than me and that I get in the way.

The other day he said that "I know where the door is."

Great. It's equally my house and he doesn't do any housework (and said he never will).

Aghhhhhhhhh

He said he will never give up gaming. Why did I fall in love with a gamer??? WHY?

Well anyway I am not in love with him anymore but I do love him.

[PS3_Girlfriend]

Omar, that's amazing! I'm going to make my bf read your post!
He plays the same game - COD MW2.
It's so good that you had the willpower to just stop.
i agree with all of those points about why the game is so addictive. like when there is a double xp weekend or something, my bf goes crazy counting down the days.. even trying to spend a little more time with me before hand, like maybe watching a tv show together or something, just because he knows he will be playing non-stop for the next few days.
you have given us hope! it shows that it has to be the gamer who makes the decision to stop..
Eve - the "I thought we were done" thing.. it drives me insane. i had made supper and asked my bf to come help me, get the cutlery, napkins, drinks etc while i plated the food.. and he replied "really...???" - like he didn't want to. and not two seconds later he had gone onto YouTube to watch gameplay videos, so all i could hear was gunfire coming from the other room. i totally lost it. i just started yelling at him - "are you SERIOUSLY watching videos right now when i asked you to help?". his response was that he thought that i was kidding.. are we 5 years old?! sometimes i feel like his mom and not his gf..
to give him credit, eventually he did come to help - although he didn't want to.

[saltychip]

Hey everyone,

If your significant other is addicted to COD MW2. Check out this video on youtube. It's kind of funny and might make you feel better. Or worse.. lol.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3lvxTo4Oq8

[PS3_Girlfriend]

lol saltychip. it was funny, but in a sad way... my bf is totally like that with his MW2 game..
yelling into his stupid headset and cussing at people. and "just one more game"... ugh. and telling me that i'm in the way. and his inability to hear anything when the damned headset is on. it makes me crazy

[Omar Little]

Hey PS3 Girlfriend.

Yeah, the new game is coming out soon, Call of Duty Black Ops, and I'm gonna give it a miss. It'll be interesting to see if it has the same effect on people as COD MW2 has.

I just think that this particular game is like anything addictive. If you do it too much and it's having a really negative impact on your life, you should cut it out.

Again, I don't think I was hurting anyone else by playing it, and I don't believe I was negatively affecting my family/friends, but I still was disturbed at how much I always had the urge to play it.

[PS3_Girlfriend]

It's crazy how addictive it is. I certainly heard about Black Ops - my bf is waiting for it to come out.
I mean, I don't mind him playing video games.. everyone needs something to do other than work and sleep. I mean, I enjoy reading - but I don't have a book in my hands every 2 seconds.
Last week, I decided that I wanted to learn how to crochet So my bf was very encouraging, and even went with me to buy the yarn. And when we were walking home, he said "this is great, now I can play my game, and you can crochet". oh dear!
I mean, yes, it does sound reasonable.. But it's very hard to concentrate and keep track of how many stitches you are dealing when when someone is yelling about the bomb getting diffused or the flag getting dropped.. And being in a tiny apartment, it's not like I can go hide in a different room or basement or something where I can get some quiet.
But you're right when you say that it negatively impacts you. I hate how he turns into "a**hole-gamer-guy" when he's playing.