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[Gullydwarf]

Hey guys and girls,
I saw there was an old addiction thread going on but it did not really suit me to bump that one up as I wanted to talk about a specific addiction only.
Our addiction to Dwarf Fortress. I guess a lot of people who visit these forums regularly will have some form of habit.
I am trying to acknowledge and am worried about my own habbit for DF.

I like DF Fortress mode as it gives a continuous game with constantly changing challenges as the game progresses. I like a game that gives me kind of a sandbox feel and has a lot of different things to focus on and discover.

I am travelling right now and since a few weeks I have a little notebook too. After being away from DF for about 3 months I still felt a craving to play. Sometimes on random activities my thoughts would stray to DF because of some random event. Now I installed DF on my travelnotebook and have been playing almost every day since.. My travel partner is kind of annoyed with me for it.
I have loads of other interesting and rewarding stuff to do but I just feel the need to sit down and play DF.
It feels like I am looking for some rewarding end game or a 1000 dwarf sustainable fortress. But the game progresses kind of slow when my average framerate is 50. I actually feel like I would never stop playing DF.

Thoughts?

[King DZA]

Play more Dwarf Fortress.

[Criptfeind]

Uh... I am thinking no one is addicted to DF. It is just a game you known, if you like a game you play it. AAA titles come out promising hundreds of hours of game play but no one says people are addicted to them.

Basically, don't worry, you are not addicted to dwarf forts, or any other game most likely. It is only addiction when you can't live without it (which by not playing for three months you have proven you can) or that it starts to ruin your life.

[Girlinhat]

Addiction?  Debatable.  Interfering with your other things?  Quite possible.  A shot of tequila and an evening with a lady (or a fellow, if that's your preference).

[Knight of Fools]

Mm. The old 'video game addiction' thing.

Gaming isn't addictive. It's compulsive.

These people put it better than I do.

And here's part 2.

[Sensei]

If you don't have withdrawal symptoms, it isn't an addiction.

That said, you might try to find a more social hobby.

[Gullydwarf]

I think game addictions are quite real. It is not true that nobody is addicted to gaming. There are professional programs for game addict rehab.

I might not be addicted to some standards, but then I am certainly a compulsive player. I am interested to know more about compulsive disorders. Anybody know more about this?

Have just played DF again for 1.5 hours (it's now 1 am) while the sensible thing to have done was to go to bed. In two days I start at a new job and I need to be sharp. Thinking about DF all day just does not make me a fast worker.

[Montague]

There is a difference between addictions, complusions and obsession/ fascination.

DF is really too complex and cerebal to really be addictive. Addictive or complusive games are like, Bejeweled or slot machines or whatever. They put people into an addictive cycle of frustration and reward. They play into somebody's existing compulsive personality traits, OCD or hoarding or whatever.

Being preoccupied or fixated on something novel isn't really addictive. Eventiually you get burned out when it stops being new and interesting.

[Girlinhat]

Have to second that.  When something is interesting it interests you, and with DF's complexity and variety, it has a huge capacity to remain interesting.  It's like a drama show, you get hooked into what's next and what development may happen, what you can do and how it'll play out.  And, really, it's fun.  That's what happens.  When you've got a choice to sit there and listen to a college lecture on 10th grade grammar, or imagine all the ways you can exploit, break, and be broken by these little hair vagrants, well...

That said, it's still very possible to be unhealthily interested, when it starts interfering with your normal responsibilities.

[Miggy]

Mm. The old 'video game addiction' thing.

Gaming isn't addictive. It's compulsive.

These people put it better than I do.

And here's part 2.

Oh wow, thank you for those links. Part 2 really struck home, I can relate on so many levels. I am also over it.

As far as compulsion: When you're spending your time off the game thinking about what to do in the game, you're sucked in. From my experiences, too far in.

[Gullydwarf]

@Miggy
That's exactly how I feel. My mind always trails off in different directions and lately it has mostly been DF.

What are your experiences?

[Loud Whispers]

Play more Dwarf Fortress.

This. It becomes a problem if you live Dwarf Fortress and play life

[Shook]

I'd suggest playing it so hard that you burn out on it, though that might not be the right course of action. But, once you've burnt out on it, it will take a while before interest resurfaces.

Becoming highly fixated on something is not unusual, y'know. Society just wants us to think that getting fixated on a game is bad. Although it can definitely get in the way of things, such interference is not exclusive to gaming. Have you ever gotten hooked by a really good book? Maybe you could go for a nice round of poker? Or perhaps you really don't want to stop playing that game of football with your friends? Same thing. Writers and artists also tend to become rather devoted to their work (i should know, I do both!), but nobody is lamenting that.

In other words, it'll pass, but try staying focused when there's important stuff going on. Being a bit of a daydreamer myself, I know how hard it can be (calculus lectures, y u no hold interest?!), but at least try. Also, remember that you need life if you are to play DF!

[Loud Whispers]

I'll just leave this quote here.

I wouldn't. You know there's a problem when real life starts getting in between you and Dwarf Fortress.

[Gullydwarf]

Ok, so I might be less addicted than I felt when I started this thread :-)
I have not played for more than a week now. And I do not really feel the urge or think about it constantly as was the case back then. Maybe I was indeed just bored with other things around me and DF was a nice way to keep myself occupied.
I do find it interesting that not so many other people have had similar ideas about their DF playing.
I would imagine there to be more of the 'classic' WoW addiction things going on around DF. But then again... There is no social interaction ingame, at least not between irl humans :-p
Thanks for all the replies I did get though