Episode 18 Supplemental Info
Here's the newclip and article talked about in Episode 18. You decide for yourself. :D
World of Warcraft Addict Media Clip
Landover Baptist Article (I had to check it three times to make sure it wasn't a spoof article)
http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news0105/wow.html
update: 10/16/06 16:14, got this email to help clarify the absurdity of the landover baptist article
Hey Alachia,
Shaman on Hyjal here again. Just listened to your
last show, and im glad to see you are updating
regularly again. About the Landover baptist website
tho. Its a satire site, much like The Onion, however,
they specialise in ridiculing Christians. Just wanted
to give you the heads up.
-Santo
I thought as much, but when I navigated through the site, I thought it was rediculous but sometimes some religious fanatics are that extreme so I wasn't sure. Thanks for the clarification, Santo! Still psychotic nonetheless!
12 comments:
Holy crap.
Mind Blowing, for one I didn't know of the 13 year old kid who committed suicide and secondly... I knew that it was addictive and it could have that effects and ive read about it all so much but seeing the people involved and how some people are changed and how it effects the family and his life and wow.... mind blowing.
Um PS:
Just after i posted my reply i thought back to about one year ago when i finally got WoW at home.
I got extremely involved in the game and a good friend (at the time my older brother's girlfriend) asked why i spend so much time in a childish game.
To this i replied something like:
"I just want to stay in the game, with my friends and for everyone else to stop bothering me about it. What's so wrong with just wanting to play a game! That's all I want to do right now"
And yes i meant generally, at the time i was doing my A-level exams (the ones to get you into university) and i just wanted to stay at home and play my game. I couldn't fathom why people had such an issue. Its not like they did anything which was more important. They watch TV as much as i game...
Thats what I used to think.
And don't worry i pulled myself back into reality but it makes me realise and comprehend why the 13 year old was so involved that he wanted it all to end if he couldn't accomplish all that he wanted to in the game. And if I had kept that idea in my head, i probably would have stayed at home (i recently moved out).
Also at that time one time when i finally did go out to see a friend and we were in his kitchen talking about general things. THen his mother came in (dentist) and his sister (nurse) and they started talking about my gaming as it was why i hadnt been over for a chat etc. in such a long time. (Very nice family) and they were insisting that i was addicted to a video game. And at that time I thought the idea of being addicted to a game was ridiculous.
Anyway i think i flew off at a tangent and i gotta run..
Ramble session ending |:S
I apologise for the relatively lengthy post in advance. It's what I wrote on my guild forums when this aired here in Australia a couple weeks back. I was quiet offended by the portrayal of WoW and gamers, and how one-sided it was.
Quote:
If you are feel you are addicted to technology, ACA would like to hear your story. Please send an email to aca@nine.com.au
What is this - the fkn 1930s?! Lets see you get your fkn broadcasts up and running everyday without technology.
They had it oh so close, I mean, they had the dimly lit room with the kid in a black shirt that either had 'I DO WHAT THE VOICES TELL ME' or a stylised grenade in a hand (Green Day cover, right?), and him huddled at his computer right in the corner of his poorly maintained room. Where were the skulls? The knives? The bodily waste on the floor in bottles?
They mentioned how a chinese teenager killed himself after playing 36-hours straight of WoW, leaving a suicide note saying how he wanted to 'worship World of Warcraft' of some sort. The problem lies with the person's mental stability, not the game. But hey - try explaining that to my family who were watching it with me when they saw the kid use a mic to communicate to his guild (omg, just like ME), or how some nights he would stay up late playing WoW (Zoh my god - JUST like ME). Therefore I MUST be in the same position as the kid and addicted to this game that's gonna make mother cry on national TV.
It was entertaining for me to watch because I got a few kicks out of it, but having to defend myself to my family was insane after they just showed all that "professional" opinions.
The son started to WoW during his school. The mother kept paying the subscription fee. The son left school to play WoW full-time. The mother kept paying the subscription fee.
Where do you think the fucking problem lies?
If I were a Dragonball character my hair would have turned a firey red and chunks of smashed rock would be rising from the ground around me.
Fuck you, ACA.
I love how the mother just let him keep playing and probably pays for his account/internet. Yet media focuses on the game and not the parent not caring about him dropping out of school. The mother is dumb for taking no action and the kid is worse for not actually "seeing" what is going on.
I personally love that the 'psychologist' from the ACA show is from psychsrus.com.au.
Sounds super professional eh? ;)
You can also read all the information you need on 'Internet Gameing' (sic)
:D
This pretty much sums it up. Great show Alachia! :)
http://matt.rush68.net/images/wow.jpg
Hi!
First I want to say, great podcast. I really enjoy you guys a lot.
OK, so I wanted to share a little feedback from Episode 18. I am with you on most everything you say, save one thing. You asserted that WoW is not a violent video game, and I disagree with you. While it's not gory, and because it's placement in a fantasy land make light of the violent nature (I mean, who doesn't want to kill gnomes?), I think WoW is actually quite violent. The act of grinding out a level alone is quite violent to me, killing one mob after another, over and over again. While I won't make any assertions as to what kind of psychological effect this may have on a person, me and my girl friend have stopped playing WoW as much for this very reason. In fact, we even started having dreams where burglars would break in and we'd kill them much in the same way we kill things in WoW (gaining experience and all).
Anyway, while I can see your point, and I can definitely be open to the fact that not everyone is like my g/f and I, I still think WoW is a rather violent game. Not gory or explicit, but violent.
-daniel
compartively speaking, i guess i don't view world of warcraft as a violent video game. 90% of the popular games out there involve killing. and world of warcraft is one of the least graphic out of all of them. but everyone has their own barometer for violence. it's good to have your own and make your own judgement.
The Landover baptist church is not a real church, it's designed as a parady of right wing christian fundamentalism
Glad to see your updating again... =-D good job on the podcast ITs good your talking about these things unlike most of the other podcasts..AND you know how to describe better then most of us... why this game is so addicting and stuff like that... You rock alachia Keep updating!
Midnightsage
Great podcast btw...I know I'm a little late on responding. Just discovered your podcast a couple days ago.
I read the article...and I found it kinda wierd. They claim they play horde, but refrence Stormwind and Ironforge. How'd horde get in there?
Also, the kid is clearly violating EULA by selling his "occult" item gold on e-bay! Breaking the rules!
Personaly if someone was pestering me for 8 hours while I was playing Wow...they would have been reported for harrassment at about 34 minutes into. Keep up the great work!
WoW is hardly as violent as, say, Gears of War.
I play that occasionally with my friends and the chainsaw bayonet is waaay more violent than anything in WoW, even the Scourge's weird torture stuff and the Abominations. (It is funny to sneak up on your friend and chop him in half, with blood and gore covering the screen, though)
Yes, WoW revolves around killing. But it is only marginally more violent than Final Fantasy games or most RPGs for that matter.
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