Civ3, Addiction, Disclaimer, and Informed Consent

[Explorer579]

One aspect of the addictive nature is that players keep playing without taking a break. This is badly needed for vision and back problems. When I play until 5 am, the next day my vision is blurred and my lower back hurts.

Firaxis should implement a timer where a player is reminded to rest for 4 minutes every hour. This can be used to stand up and stretch and to relax the vision.

The player cannot cancel this forced break. If Firaxis wants to go the full way to manage the risk of liability , the player could download a bypass provided they sign an informed consent that is automatically emailed to Firaxis!

[Explorer579]

What is in it for Fyraxis? If Fyraxis provides control to manage addiction, not only it reduces the risk of liability, but also they will sell more. I stopped recommending the game to friends and relatives because I am not sure I would be making them a favor! It may ruin their lives. Does Fyraxis want to sell more? They need to address this issue.

[Explorer579]

One problem with civ3 is that it takes 30 hours to finish a game. I stopped playing past the middle ages in a standard map. One solution would be a new type of winning. We have to see what PTW offers in this regards.

Many times I would have stopped playing knowing that I dominated but I keep playing until the computer announces I have a domination victory. Immagine before starting to play you indicate that you want to play for x turns or x hours or x years at the end of which the computer announces the winner! This is a great idea, because then I feel there is closure and I stop plahying. The addictiveness now is in the "one more turn to win" thing. Immagine keeping playing chess after the King dies! Similarlry, if options on the game gives you way to have a 2 to 6 hour games that would be great.

Ideas related to this concept are accelerated production and setting a start and end year. Most importantly, setting amount of time played, number of turns played, or number of years played.

[Lucarse]

Originally posted by Tiberius

My girlfriend is the "buzzing noise in the background" asking me to make room for her near the computer! She likes civ3, too.

Beware when playing against me in MP:
MY WORDS ARE BACKED WITH THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE STRATEGY OF A WOMAN'S MIND!

Ha ha ha its dangerous to get firends or girlfirends involved

My Girlfriend wanted to know what this civ thing was all about....
DANGER her civ playing will eat into my CIV TIME!!
luckily she gets her ass kicked alot so gets dissapointed and gives up but this can still take about an hour or two.

every now and then from the spare bedroom i can hear my lovely peace loving GF shout 'F**KING RUSSIANS, I'M GONNA KICK THERE ASS!!!'

[jbsloan]

First of all, I could really use some help. Support groups might be nice.

One thing FIraxis could do is join what the television networks have done to dilute thier addictiveness for years. Through in a set of commercials every fifteen minutes. I would hate them for it, and probably stop playing all together, but it would work.

[Mattaba]

Originally posted by jbsloan
First of all, I could really use some help. Support groups might be nice.

One thing FIraxis could do is join what the television networks have done to dilute thier addictiveness for years. Through in a set of commercials every fifteen minutes. I would hate them for it, and probably stop playing all together, but it would work.

ACA: Anonymous CIV Addicts.

[Explorer579]

Self-control timer

Here is a simple solution. Before you start a game, you have the option of telling the computer how long you want to play and how long you want to rest afterwards. You put the date and time. After you reach said date and time, the computer will not let you play before the amount of rest time has lapsed! This should work for me. It will piss me when time is reached, but I will pissed at myself and not at Fyraxis!

Example:
Set date and time: 11/272002 11 pm
Set rest duration: 8 hours

As I start playing at 8 pm and set it to stop at 11 pm, at 11 pm there is no way i can play more turns before 8 hours lapse (that is 7 am)! The game will stop after the end of the current turn or even suddenly in the middle of a battle!

That would be an agreement with the self. Fyraxis has nothing to do with it.. but providing the tool..

Creating security mechanism so I would not be able to break the addiction sefl-control will be challenging for Fyraxis. Rebooting should not reset it... Not even reloading, reinstalling, or restoring backup!

[Jaybe]

Self Control Timer

My self-control timer is that at 9 PM, I quit for the evening.*
On occasion I continue until 10, but rarely.
On Friday night the timer is turned off and I sometimes play until 2-4 AM. Or maybe I'll quit and read a mystery until late.

*This software is mental-ware, from doing the 2-4 AM thing too often in the past.

[Dr. A. Cula]

Here's another solution: try moving to another city and leave your computer behind. This is my 5th week without Civ and it's really boring.

If I didn't know that I'm gonna head back home this week-end I don't know what I would do.

[vmxa1]

Doc, get a lap top and ease the stress.

[Dr. A. Cula]

And then how I am going to prove to myself that I'm not addicted?
I thought this was the point of this discussion.

[Tiberius]

Hey Doc, where are you from? (I mean the city name, please!)

Btw, greetings from Timisoara!

[vmxa1]

Sorry , I did not realize this thread had a point.

[Explorer579]

Benefits as well as Risks

An Informed Consent is not only about risks. It should also lists benefits. As a praise to civ3, I like to say "civ3 relaxes me!" It makes me forget all the real world around me for a while.

And that is good and relaxing if "forgetting the real world" can be controlled.

I am doing a better job at controling addiction. I am basically quitting the game after 2 to 3 hours and I decide based on the histogram if I am winning (my civilization is improving relative to others) or losing. I don't wait for the dummy and slow AI to tell me if I have a victory or not.

[Willem]

Originally posted by Tiberius
I don't have kids, but if I had, I woudln't be happy to see them playing Civ 12 hours a day.

12 hours! Amateur!