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Monday, July 27, 1998

Video games lure doom, addiction

ADDICTION: Playing to relax can be unhealthy, time-consuming habit

I'd still be playing a video game if I didn't have to write this article and do my homework. Instead of sleeping, I'd be sucking in the radiation from my computer, enjoying a game of StarCraft. The explosive warfare volleying back and forth on my screen between two warring factions has been my warmth and comfort during the wee hours of many cold, city nights.

Looking back into my past, I can see many years of wasted life just being stranded in front of the tube. Pac Man held me up for about one year of dot-chomping addiction. Years flew by in ignorant arcade bliss, and then Nintendo landed. Suddenly, I was overcome, and Mario became my best friend. I became obese! I played till my eyes watered. I needed glasses by the end of the sixth grade. Has this happened to you? If so, you know the power of video game addiction. If not, be glad that you aren't glued to a glowing screen.

Over the years, I did kick my habit. I played volleyball for over six years, basketball for three years, football for one and roller hockey for one. Since starting sports, I lost weight and didn't find it too compelling to play video games. Volleyball for the first three years couldn't save me completely though. My girlfriend broke up with me, and instantly the warmth of the computer screen became my security blanket. I played Doom. If you don't know what Doom is, it's a first-person perspective game where you shoot aliens. Morning, noon and night I found myself playing to get away. With a headset and blanket over my head and monitor, I had a virtual reality game going. I could challenge friends over my spiffy $300 14.4 modem. The addiction had come back stronger, and I was taking it in like binge drinking. Soon I knew the game like my own house. Thank God it was summer.

High school brought me back to sport-playing sanity. Ever since I stopped playing Doom, the addiction hasn't been as strong. You could say I've become a casual drinker of gaming (except I don't drink). In fact, I've been playing FIFA 98, a soccer game that encouraged me to try it out in real life. I also bought Final Fantasy VII, a role-playing adventure game with a great end-of-the-world storyline that brought me to tears two weeks ago. I'm really not addicted!

Even though you'd probably attribute it only to computer geeks, an addiction such as mine isn't really that unusual. Truthfully, the video game industry is geared toward all males in my age bracket.

You know the players are mainly male because of the beautiful packaging they sell these games in. Have you seen Tomb Raider? How about the ads in some magazines? Marketing for video games often includes large-breasted women wearing tight blouses. Lara Croft is so popular that she made it onto Time magazine! On the other hand, they're definitely not catering to the female audience unless you count all the Barbie games that I find inferior to your average, male-oriented video game. Fortunately, that is beginning to change.

Battling all over the country are people playing multi-player video games. These are games one plays by hooking up to the Internet and challenging other people. Similar to the chat room phenomenon, the Internet gaming fad is "Godzilla" big. On a weekday, Battle.net (a multi-player gaming establishment owned by Blizzard Entertainment), has nearly 15,075 users, 4,435 matches and 3,549 chat rooms going on simultaneously.

People from New York are pounding on Texans. A Californian is pulverizing somebody from Sweden! These numbers are indicative of the business they have 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Even in the middle of the night the numbers are still over half of what I quoted. My friend Ilya goes to Powell Library and plays StarCraft addictively instead of getting his degree. Ilya, please stop blowing up other people's tanks and eat something!

If one asks a gamer why he or she plays, their answer shouldn't surprise you. When times are rough, some people eat, or in this case, they play video games. Stress can be relieved by doing something a person enjoys - such as playing a video game.

A lot of people play games such as Quake or Doom because shooting at things helps release their anger and aggression. My friend used to punch walls and trees till he bled, but Doom really keeps him sedated. Some people play games because there isn't anything else to do. One can't always play basketball in the rain or at the office. Maybe even the sexual content of games has something to do with it. There are some guys (and gals) out there who check out Lara Croft in Tomb Raider with their fancy 3D-accelerated computer systems (I'm jealous) and just stare at her (evil grin).

For many, the introduction of playing on the Internet has brought about tournaments that often have cash prizes for being the best. People compete with each other, eliminating the weak and mindless until the strong and cunning battle it out for the pinnacle of video game greatness.

Video games were solely for personal glory and fame until American Micro Devices, a microprocessor company, changed everything by creating the Professional Gamer's League (PGL).

Because of the PGL, players are now making money. The PGL's inaugural contest this year was given enormous media coverage. Big names like IBM and Microsoft were sponsors, and the winners suddenly became advertising icons with one guy named "Deep Blue," similar to IBM's chess playing phenom that beat Gary Kasparov.

USC dorms used to have a $1,000 prize for the best player in Command and Conquer, a game of modern military warfare. Battle.net recently awarded the top StarCraft ladder players thousands of dollars for being the best in space warfare. The addiction is even more attractive with money involved.

Never think for a minute that video gaming doesn't have bad consequences. One may notice weight gain on the participants if they're heavily addicted. This is from sitting a little too long. I developed a slight case of carpal tunnel syndrome from using the keyboard too much. One could easily find pain in my fingers and wrists from one too many keystrokes. Sitting too close to the screen might hurt your eyes and earn you prescription glasses in the near future. Unfortunately, some can't even play video games because of epilepsy and the seizures which result from seeing flashing images.

Not only physical, but psychological effects are even exhibited. Previously in the Daily Bruin Classifieds, a psychological study searched for people who would play video games for hundreds of dollars in compensation. My favorite syndrome of video game playing is what I call Directionally Unexpected Movement Bending, or DUMB for short. It occurs when people are playing a jet simulator and they're leaning the way they're pressing the buttons to make their plane go. It's hilarious (grin).

Video games are great in moderation. Now that I'm done with this article, I can play soccer on my computer. USA vs. Iran - I know I can win and advance to the World Cup - really!Yan isn't addicted to video games, but to his mathematics of computation major. Friends describe him as "That boy is whacked" and "There's no help for this lad." Know where these lines come from? E-mail him at meyan@ucla.edu.

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