Is Grinding the Nicotine of World of Warcraft?

You've reached level 70. You've killed thousands of
monsters. You have a well-designed and balance
character that follows a well-regarded build and makes
a few personal tweaks. So now what do you do?

You 'grind'.

Level 70 may be the end of your character's
development, skill-wise, but the sense of satisfaction
you receive upon reaching that vaunted level quickly
vanishes as you realize that the vast majority of
people playing World of Warcraft are, in fact, level 70
(go to wowcensus.com, and you'll find that the number
of level 70 players on most servers is more than the
number of players at all other levels combined). In
truth, level 70 is when the game really begins, and you
gain access to the most engaging and challenging
content.

Level 70 is when grinding really begins, because gear
matters, bigtime - WoW is a materialists dream, because
in WoW you are only as good as the things you
own. Skill matters, sure, but the fact is that if a
level 70 in high-tier PvP gear meets a level 70 fresh
off the boat, the newer player will absolutely get
rolled. In addition, a level 70 fresh off the boat will
be far inferior to a well-geared player in a raid

You grind because the reward is a better and better
character capable of doing more things in the game
world. But grinding takes a long time. Many hours can
be spent just to have the chance for a rare drop, which
may not occur, forcing you to play all over again.
Normally, you'd quit, because it’s frustrating - but
this is WoW. This isn't like getting to the boss in
Gears of War, getting slaughtered ten times, and saying
'Oh, fuck it!' You've spent hundreds of hours playing
the game and sunk in not only the purchase price of the
game but also five months at 14.95 per. You also are
part of a guild and you probably are friends with
several members.

But more importantly, you grind because in life you're
probably a person between the ages of 14 and 34 who is
single or in an unhappy relationship and who works a
mundane nine-to-five job that seems to draw all sense
of passion from your soul. Or perhaps not, exactly -
but in any case, you grind because your character's
advancement seems more tangible and important than
advancement in other 'real life' hobbies. WoW makes you
a hero, which in turn makes you feel good.

There is no question that this can result in a sort of
addiction. If you played MMOs for long, you've probably
heard the term 'poopsocker' - a name for a weirdo who
plays a game so often that no one can figure out how
they have time to take a shit. As gross as it sounds,
those things happen. I've personally heard stories of
friends who roomed with MMO players in college who
never went to class and pissed in bottles. And every
now and then, one of these stories turn up on CNN
during a slow news day.

But could Blizzard be considered responsible for the
addiction of its players?

At its face, the idea seems completely fucking
ridiculous. No one FORCES these players to play. There
is no physical element to the addiction; Blizzard puts
nothing in the player's body, introduces no chemicals
into their system. It is a game, and resisting the
temptation to play it seems to involve nothing more
challenging then choosing to sit in front of a
television or in a bar rather than in a computer chair.

But maybe the idea is not so absurd. Certainly, obese
people don't have it any harder - all they have to do
to not be obese is stop eating so much. A body must
obey thermodynamics, and the number of people with a
genetic problem that actually makes it impossible for
them to lose weight is a tiny fraction of the number of
obese people currently in the United States (and other
countries with obesity epidemics). Yet the idea that
McDonalds is just as responsible as Big Bob for his
weight problem is one that is gaining traction.
Legislation has been passed in certain cities - such as
New York - that forces companies to comply with more
stringent (but still rather loose) health standards.
Parents are becoming increasingly incensed about the
way fast food is advertised to their kids. Schools are
starting to bar fast food and soda from their lunch
rooms.

The point being: people could just stop eating so much.
But that hasn't stopped our lawmakers from taking
action to stop our habits, and it also hasn't stopped
individuals from taking out their anger on the
companies they believed were enablers for their bad
habits.

Could the same thing happen to WoW?

Currently, I think the answer is a big 'No Fucking WAY,
man' because although MMOs are becoming more popular
daily, they are still a niche, and one with a
relatively geeky imagine that. It tells you something
when gamers, a group which is generally nerdy and
socially awkward.

But it also tells you something when you realize that
over 80% of Blizzard/Vinvedi's revenues came from World
of Warcraft, and that Blizzard is beginning to market
WoW more aggressively to non-gamers by using commercials
featuring all kinds of cultural icons, from Mr T. to
Mini-me. MMOs are not exactly a household item - yet -
but they could easily become one.

What happens if enough people become addicted to MMOs
that the government starts to consider it a national
health concern? After all, MMO addiction can lead to
all kinds of problems; divorce, obesity, malnutrition,
unsanitary living conditions, loss of job - it is, in
this sense, a problem that actually has an even larger
potential effect on national health, since it can lead
to so many other problems.

The world where the questions is not 'Do you play an
MMO?' but rather 'What MMO do you play?' is not an
impossibility. And in that world, I could certainly see
addicted MMO players attempting to sue MMO companies
under the allegation that MMOs are partly responsible for their addiction.

And are they? No one (at least in America) is keen on saying that
we may not be responsible for our actions. But isn't in the
best interest of Blizzard if its players become addicted? What is
the point of the grind? Is it to be fun, or to balance accomplishment
and timed play in such a way that players are likely to play without
regards to their other responsiblites? Fundamentally, is the purpose of
putting a constant grind in a MMO different from putting nicotine in cigarettes?

I'm not yet sure. But I wouldn't be surprised if we see someone try and
sue a large game company for their MMO addiction at some point in the near future.