Highs and lows of gaming: A fine line between enjoyment and addiction

As the debate about video games continues, Irish Examiner columnist Ronan Jennings offers a personal take on the fine lines between enjoyment and addiction

THERE have been times in my life when gaming saved me. When all I wanted to do was lock myself away for a weekend and shut out the world. When I think about those times, I have no regrets.

I visited other realities, conquered challenges I never thought possible, discovered music and art that I still enjoy two decades on. Gaming was my personal travel agency, ready to whisk me away to alien planets, puzzle tournaments, racing events and extraordinary stories, whenever I needed an adventure holiday or a beautiful distraction. In my early 20s, especially, I sometimes preferred this travel agency to true agency of my own, choosing digital worlds over the ‘real’ world.

So when the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Gaming Disorder was an acknowledged addiction, I had to wonder — does gaming really belong alongside gambling, alcohol, drugs, eating disorders, legal highs, sex and pornography addiction?

Surprisingly, my answer is ‘yes’. Not because of how gaming has been in the past, but because of how gaming is changing and will continue to change going forward.

One of Ireland’s top addiction treatment centres, the Rutland Center in Dublin, has a comprehensive overview of what they define as gaming addiction. They define it as “a behavioural addiction, similar in nature to a gambling addiction, but relates to gaming activities such as online gaming”. They also state that gaming addiction relates heavily to “internet addiction and computer addiction”.

When defined in that context, it’s clear that a small but prevalent aspect of modern gaming fits the bill. Certain modern games, those on the so-called ‘free-to-play’ model for example, have been designed from the ground up to elicit feelings of traditional compulsion and gambling.

These experiences amount to a tiny percentage of what gaming represents as a whole, but their reach is getting more and more pervasive. These games aren’t the Marios and Zeldas or Tomb Raiders of this world, but something entirely different, created to be psychologically pervasive.

For an example of a more transparent free-to-play model, look no further than Fortnite, the shooter that has taken over the world and has been the subject of many parent-child negotiations in 2018.

Fortnite has become one of the most popular games of the past year.

Fortnite is a social game, designed around competition and teamwork, in a fun cartoon world. It’s also free to play, meaning you can download and start playing at no cost.

Where the developers make their money is through ‘cosmetics’, which players can choose to purchase. These cosmetics allow gamers to change their character’s appearance, celebrations, and so forth. It’s the equivalent of buying accessories for a doll, but in digital form.

When handled in this manner, free-to-play models can be more transparent and fair, with no direct relationship to how the game is actually played.

However, where free-to-play gets dangerous is when those extra purchases relate to ‘winning’ the game. This is anecdotally known as ‘play-to-win’ in the community. In these cases, the purchases on offer provide help to the player, making them better at the game or providing shortcuts.

Many people will be familiar with the ‘pay-to-win’ model from the likes of Farmville on Facebook, or the plethora of mobile games that get progressively more difficult until buying ‘help’ feels like the only option.

This kind of business model wasn’t possible 15 years ago, because gaming wasn’t ‘always connected’ back then. In truth, gaming has only truly become ‘dangerous’ since it converged with the internet.

The problem comes when the lines blur between what is compelling and what is unhealthy.

Young gamers can now consider a career in eSports and make millions. Is it unhealthy if someone wishes to spend all their time competing, even at the cost of friends and other activities?

In another example, is an online social game, where people from across cultures can become best friends, considered treatment-worthy if those players completely ignore other, more traditional forms of socialising?

On their website, Rutland list some of the ‘hooks’ that gaming can use to ‘encourage addictive behaviour’. These include achieving high scores, beating the game, immersion and role-playing, discovery and even relationships. Some of those are the very reasons I play games in the first place.

It is very difficult for me to imagine that a sense of discovery, for example, even in a game, should be perceived as potentially dangerous, but such is the nature of addiction. The trigger is not necessarily the cause.

Going forward, I believe many of the broader triggers listed for gaming will fade away, to be replaced by more clear-cut examples, such as online competitive gaming, gambling through gaming, or it will simply be absorbed into generalised treatment for online addictions.

And as gaming moves increasingly online, with games-as-services becoming more prevalent, the issue of how games are made will become crucial. Games developed for ‘immersion’, ‘discovery’ and ‘relationships’ will continue to deliver fantastic experiences, but games developed specifically to encourage gambling tendencies, for example, will need to be monitored and regulated.

In fact, earlier this year, both Belgium and the Netherlands ruled that so-called ‘loot boxes’ in a major Star Wars game were a form of gambling, forcing the developer EA to remove the design and re-think their approach.

When I think back on my life as a gamer, I am mainly filled with gratitude. Games were a safe place for me many times, empowering and uplifting, beautiful and satisfying.

Like all art, they connected me to their developers and to others who played.

As I grew older, my desire to travel, face new challenges and even my patience was affected by my gaming history.

As the industry continues to grow and evolve, we need to ensure this fantastic medium stays healthy — so we can too.