So you got hooked by my picture of Warcraft. You thought this would be all about how I love to play these games--how I play these games for hours and hours. You would be right about me just a few years ago, but not today.I started playing the orginal warcraft several years ago. Chop down those trees and construct the those buildings. Build defenses and then go after the bad guys and cut them down. Splatter their blood everywhere. Destroy them to the last man. Victory, victory, and more victory. Learn the trick to defeat the enemies, and do it over and over again. Then I go on to Starcraft.
Starcraft has more detailed characters and excellent war vehicles. The destruction is more spectacular and the deaths more gory. I am the general, and my power is keen unless I lose a round. But then I keep playing sometimes until four in the morning when I figure out the strategy that makes me invincible.
Warcraft and Starcraft games by Blizzard are so mesmerizing and addictive, a person can become totally lost. Hours and hours can go by without realizing the time. This can become a problem, but I don't think I was having a real problem controlling the amount of time I played the games. My wife will tell you something different, but that is another story.
What finally made it apparent that I needed to stop these games was a special program I watched on Iraq war veterans. The piece on television made it so very clear how difficult it was for many of these vets to integrate back into society. They had played real Warcraft with real people dying. The program on these vets made me realize that I needed to get my head out of simulated warfare and focus my time on more constructive and positive endeavors. I haven't played any shoot em up or war strategy games in probably over a year. I don't really miss the games that much either.
I have spent a lot more of time lately learning how to develop websites and produce video segments. I am glad I did. What scares me about this whole gaming world is what it is doing to the minds of humans today. These games only promise to be more realistic and addictive as the technology improves. I truly believe that gaming is as addictive as gambling or even drugs. We will see the need for Gameaholics Anonymous in the future.
I know this is an unpopular topic because so many people love to play games on the computer. I just felt it was my responsiblity to tell my story. Perhaps this will make some folks think.
