When one player objected to the term "play," Trav replied:
"Don't feel guilty or bad calling it 'play'. If you need further incentive... stoot put me on to this book.
The Grashopper: Games, Life and Utopia by Bernard Suits."
This has got me thinking. The brainkick we get from MMORPGs is undeniable, and being able to access that endorphin rush via a nonviolent, beautiful world like Glitch has been both a blessing and a curse in my world.
I'm of two minds about my Glitch addiction... I'm hoping that the scarcity is feeding the mad desire I have to play, and that when it goes 24/7, I'll dive in for a while and then be able to find balance with my RL activities. But I'm also worried about that intense desire, and wrestling with guilt over the lack of other things I don't get done on game days.
Is it possible to be as immersed in a world as a game like Glitch impels us to be, and still have a life of creativity, service, and balance? Did people worry about this kind of thing when the printing press made books cheap and available? Is there a chance that running around getting little endorphin jolts is actually good for our brains (like the theory that working crosswords helps ward off dementia), or is it the mental equivalent of candy? Am I just looking for a justification to wallow in a lazy source of joyjuice instead of doing the real-life work that needs to be done, or can fulfillment be found online?
On my deathbed, will I wish I'd logged off more and spent this time with my kids, making my own art, exploring my own world?
How do you folks deal with these questions? Am I just agonizing over nothing?