The Addiction

Sometimes you come across a game that is so perfect, so amazing, so brilliant that you just can’t stop playing. I know that if you’ve been playing video games for more than a few months, you’ve experienced this phenomenon as well.

You find yourself not doing homework, not cleaning your apartment, and sometimes not doing laundry. Girlfriends and boyfriends, husbands and wives all suffer from a serious lack of attention. Often when you get home from work or school, The Game is all that you can think about. You’ve searched all the fan sites, read all the strategy guides. It becomes an all-consuming obsession.

There really isn’t one type of game that will draw you in. It can be a sports game, a role playing game, or maybe it’s an action game. Whatever the case is, there are a few fundamentals that all these captivating games follow.

One of the most important factors is that it must capture your imagination. I don’t care if it’s a sports game or an RPG. It has to get you excited. You have to be able to envision it when you aren’t playing. For me, RPGs are more likely to do this. A great story really captures my imagination and holds my attention. However, I’ve been excited about sports games too. Back in the day, I used to obsess over Tecmo Bowl for the NES. Now the game seems so simple and basic with just 4 plays to call, but it was revolutionary at the time. Its play control was also flawless for the time. I couldn’t wait to play. And for a long time I played nothing but that game.

The second feature, is that it must be Re-playable. If the game is only interesting once, you might like the game, but you won’t come back to it over and over again. Games like Knights of the Old Republic allow you to play the game multiple times. By choosing either the light or the dark paths of the force you alter the whole game. Not only the story line but the way characters interact with one another. However, those aren’t the only style of games that are re-playable. Sometimes simple gameplay leads to re-playability. Pac-Man was an example of this. Even though it was a simple concept it was one of the first truly addictive video games. Another great example is Civilization. These games allowed you to control an empire. Each game you played was different and presented new challenges. I’ve been playing Civilization since 1995 and I still love it.

Just one more…turn. When you play an addictive game you just want one more hit. It’s always one more turn, one more life, one more level or one more click. There is something about the way the game is set up that makes you want to keep going.

Finally, the last component of an addictive game is longevity. A truly addictive game isn’t necessarily a ‘classic’ in the sense of the best games ever made. Instead, it is a game that appeals to you for a long time. In movie terms it’s the difference between a classic like It’s a Wonderful Life and a simply enjoyable movie like Commando. Sure sometimes a game is a classic and long lasting. However, it doesn’t always have to be that way. Ultimately, as long as the game makes you want to play it for a long time that is the important thing.

So there you have it, the four major components to an addictive game. I’ve had a lot of games that I’ve loved to play over the years. Starting with Asteroids for the Atari 2600, Dragon Warrior for the NES, Chrono Trigger for the SNES, along with numerous PC titles.

So what game captures my imagination right now? That’s simple, Diablo 2. I love this game. I can’t stop playing. I put in probably a dozen hours a week into a game that is approaching the 6-year mark. The game is so well balanced that it’s amazing.

I’ve played all of the different character classes from Barbarians to Sorceresses. From Druids to Necromancers. Each class is totally unique, and no two classes play exactly the same way. But not only that, there are almost a countless number of variations of each class. I’ve played Paladin breeds of Hammerdins (Blessed Hammer attack), Clerics (focusing on killing the undead and healing your party members), Tesladins (lightning attacks), and several other minor variations. And that’s just one character type. Currently the character I use most is a Necromancer focusing on summoning an unstoppable army of warriors.

Diablo 2 has proven to be a game of infinite variety and re-playability. It allows you to work on character design and leveling up. Or as I prefer, finding unique and magical items. Whichever way you play, or if you choose to play both ways, Diablo 2 always offers a good time.

Yes, my name is Eric Barrett and I’m an addict.

Note: In no way do I actually believe that you can be ‘addicted’ to video games. It’s simply meant as a joke. If you think you are addicted to a video game get a life. Games are great, and I play more than my share, but seriously, addicted?!

Patches:

*Just one note this time…We are still looking for a name for this column, so if you have a suggestion make sure to let us know!

“Gaming Column” will appear the first week of every month, unless there is such an out-pouring in the forums demanding for more. At which point I will demand Craig pay me more money, and no more of these half-eaten Pop-Tarts he likes to send.

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