Online role-playing games hurt marital satisfaction, says BYU study

[Hawke]

http://news.byu.edu/archive12-feb-mmorpgs.aspx

Online role playing games negatively affect real-life marital satisfaction,
according to a new Brigham Young University study published Feb. 15 in the
Journal of Leisure Research.

The study reports that 75 percent of spouses of sword-carrying, avatar-loving
gamers wish they would put less effort into their guilds and more effort into
their marriage. The researchers, led by graduate student Michelle Ahlstrom,
and recreation management professor Neil Lundberg, studied 349 couples to
learn how online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft, affect marital
satisfaction for both gamers and their spouses. And in some cases, gaming even
increased satisfaction.

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-Hawke Robinson


The RPG Research Project
http://www.rpgr.org

[smat...@nc.rr.com]

A couple of observations...

1) I think that like any hobby, if it is done to excess, MMOs (or even
Paper RPGs) can distract from the rest of your life and work and family
suffer as a result. This would apply equally to someone who was completely
obsessed with Model Trains for example or hangs out at the pool hall every
night and never stays home with the family.

2) As noted in the article, where MMOs are shared by a couple, it can have
a positive impact. Like any activity that the couple does together,
interacting with each other for large periods of time can bring you closer
to your partner and deepen your friendship. Once again, this could be true
for any activity and is not particular or unique to MMOs or RPGs.

3) A lot of MMOs focus on various long term methods of "grinding" to
achieve goals which requires hours and hours of play time. The intent of
the game companies is that it keeps long term interest by forcing the player
to have goals which are achieved gradually over time and not allowing them
to reach the "End" without many many months of effort. The downside of this
is that it adds to the addictiveness and time impact of the MMO so that it
is more likely that other aspects of the player's life are affected. A
player must make a significant time commitment in order to keep up with
online friends.

This negative is not generally present in campaign type RPGs where there is
no pressure to keep up with teammates because you are all constrained to the
same schedule. Although, organized play as done by WotC and Paizo is
beginning to incorporate some of the "grinding" characteristics of MMOs. I
have seen a handful of players who cycle through events at several different
gaming venues each week in order to accelerate leveling their characters.

I think it behooves MMO designers to look for ways to interest players that
don't encourage excessive time commitments in order to encourage a balance
between game time and real life. The problem is that from a business
viewpoint, they have little incentive to diverge from a proven model.

Rick

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[Paul Cardwell]

Rick has some good points, but I think the difference between any type of video game - cassette to MMORPG - and tabletop RPG is that the video has only one person (present) and the machine, while TTRPG has more players in one place.  The machine will almost always outlast the player, while tabletop ends (or at least recesses) when one or more of the players gets tired.

I may be more cynical that Rick, but I fear "proven model" is not the only reason the MMO designers don't limit excessive time.  Like any "pusher" of addictive material, there are monetary rewards for not limiting involvement.  Indeed, if it weren't for the built-in limitation with tabletop, I would expect some publishers to do likewise.

Having a grandson addicted to these games (all-night sessions after a half-load college curriculum), I have a particular interest in activities which may not be not healthful.

Paul Cardwell

[smat...@nc.rr.com]

Paul,

 

In theory, the most profitable model for MMOs would be something that players would find exciting enough to keep their subscriptions (at about $15 per month) but encourage them to only play about 6 to 8 hours a week.  This way, they would be able to support more players on each game server.  The problem is that it is difficult for the game companies to find  a combination that keeps players interested over a long term, but doesn’t cause them to want to play excessively on any given week.

 

Rick

 

From: Paul Cardwell

Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2012 11:38 AM

To: car...@googlegroups.com

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[Mike "Talien" Tresca]

I wrote a follow-up to this article: http://www.examiner.com/article/can-online-role-playing-games-save-your-marriage

And sited my own experiences.

I have a decidedly different viewpoint since I met my wife of 13 years (on November 13) on a MUD.