Plan Voodoo II** was so popular. The game's combination of addictive gameplay, interesting story and great graphics attracted huge crowds of players worldwide. Even in the game's second year sales had risen 40 per cent on the first year. It was a hit both with men and women. Now that sounds more like it. ### What do people mean by _hardcore_? Most online gamers don't even notice what sort of games are in the genre they play. Not when they're playing **WoW** , **Counter-Strike** or **Quake** , for example. Of course, in their online profiles they can usually choose one of three labels that describe what kind of gamer they are: a _casual gamer_ , a _hardcore gamer_ or a _superhardcore gamer_. That's not always what they mean by those terms though. And the people who choose those words seem to have no idea what they mean to other gamers. A casual gamer is a person who plays casually, perhaps once a week, sometimes in the evenings, other times on the weekend. A hardcore gamer is often just an old-school gamer who plays the game until he or she is tired or until he or she has reached a goal. It's often the same with a superhardcore gamer, who loves a game so much that he or she will get together with a bunch of other gamers to set up **LAN parties** and devote all day and night to the game. Of course, that's not what a hardcore gamer is all about. " _Casual gamers are people who play casual games once a week, sometimes in the evenings, other times on the weekend_." **Gameplayers:** the casual gamer? An old school gamer? To find out what this terminology means to gamers: **1.** Ask several people what a " **gamer** " is for them and if they mean something different to them than "gaming addict" or "gaming fanatic" or "gaming nerd." **2.** Ask what, exactly, a casual gamer does and see if they have a clear idea of what "casual" means. **3.** Ask a hardcore gamer what he or she means by "casual." **GameOverz **and **Gamezebo** are sites that let you register as a gamer and then post the games you're playing, the online magazines you read and the podcasts you download. Other gamers can check you out, and they often post comments or ratings on your profile and your posts. There are also plenty of games and other things to download. You can access **GameOverz** and **Gamezebo** here: **www.gameoverz.com/gamezebo.htm**. _**Hint:** It's good to let other gamers see if you play, and if you find time, try to write a little about what games you play. You can make friends or find new gaming pals!**_ **What is "casual gaming?"** " **Casual gaming** " and " **casual gaming** addiction" both have negative connotations. So if you're writing about or making a documentary about **casual gaming** , it's important to have the audience understand exactly what you mean. It's important to let the reader know what casual gaming is—without getting caught up in overused and often ambiguous definitions. **Gaming addiction** is something else entirely. A gaming addiction is a mental illness (just like other forms of addiction) with signs and symptoms. When you've got a gaming addiction you might even have trouble functioning at work or school. Gamers often feel tired and want to play more than usual. That feeling of hunger for the game might be so strong that some people try to escape the problem by playing more games. However, you can have gaming disorder without being an addict, and while most people believe there is an addiction problem, there are probably also problems that are part of the human condition. What happens when you have a game you don't want to lose or when you finish a game and you can't get enough of playing the next one? When you think about starting another game or when you dream about playing another game. Does it just feel good? What are the physical signs that there's a gaming addiction? And what's going on in your mind, when you feel this urge? How are you dealing with it? To answer these questions you need to understand what's involved in the problem. But when most people think about gaming addiction, they have only three words in mind. Gaming addiction is often thought of as if the term is synonymous with **"video game addiction."** It's not, at least not for everyone. Gaming addiction and game playing addiction are two very different things. If you do have a problem, you might even have a different addiction, as well as a gaming problem. The same might be true for an alcohol addict, a sex addict or a shopping addict. _**A warning:** you should never make a documentary about your own addiction without the help of a therapist. They are trained to help people with addiction. Don't let yourself fall into the trap of thinking you can handle it on your own. You can't. Your loved ones can't. And you shouldn't_. **Gaming addiction** is most commonly associated with boys or men, and with boys who play online games. In the end, it might not be the game you're addicted to, but rather the social interaction in the game, where you spend long hours of the day. A gaming addiction has nothing to do with what kind of game you play. Not everyone who plays _Call of Duty_ is an addict, just as not everyone who plays _Diablo_ is an addict. This doesn't mean that you can't be addicted to a non-violent game. But the addiction is generally a physical addiction to a game, where your head might get to the point that it can no longer stop playing. Some will call it a psychological addiction. It's both physical and psychological. Your brain can't let you stop playing, and you play until you're exhausted, sometimes even when you're sleeping. Sometimes your body starts to feel bad because your internal organs can no longer cope with the amount of sleep or food you've been eating. And that's just as dangerous as using alcohol or drugs. Some players will stop playing, get some sleep, and then start playing again. They'll go for the same route or another; a place, an enemy, a monster or an item in the game. They'll do this over and over again until they have a panic attack, pass out or lose the game. People who stop playing might still have access to the game and might keep playing for some time, but they get no satisfaction out of it. That's because they aren't playing with a social group. The game is often a substitute for having a good social life, so that you can play together with your friends. That social interaction is what keeps you playing and can make you start playing again. You should also avoid saying that you're addicted to playing games, as if they're a drug. And don't put too much emphasis on whether you think your addicted to something else or not. An addiction doesn't always include using alcohol, drugs or even gambling. Some addictions are so subtle that you won't even know what's going on with yourself, because you don't pay attention to your body. Your addiction might change, over time, and when it does your friends and family might start to notice it. **What makes gaming addiction so difficult to understand? How does it compare to other addictions?** Most people can understand why **alcohol** and **heroin** addicts are sick and need help. That's because the body processes alcohol and heroin in a normal way, a way that everyone understands. The same is true for gambling, gambling or playing a **casino game** like **slot machines**. It's not so easy to understand why people are addicted to gambling or why they have an obsession with a slot machine. You're probably no expert in how a gambling addiction feels. You might think there's no comparison between drinking alcohol and gambling. The physical feeling might be similar, but that's because we use our physical senses to process the games. In real life we can't experience what alcohol feels like. A gamer will experience the feeling of addiction in his or her brain. _**Don't ask:** Is that really the same thing as an addiction?_ To put it simply, if it hurts you, it's an addiction. If you constantly feel a need to play games, to play a particular game, to play online games or to get your smartphone out of your pocket to play a game you just got an urge to play it. Do you feel sick when you're at the moment that you get up from a game? Then it's an addiction. _**Don't ask:** Don't everyone get urges? Is the urge to play a game different than the urge to do something else? That one might just be me?_ Do you find that you're addicted to playing with others in a **social game?** Do you have feelings of jealousy when other players are playing a game? Do you feel that you might have to join them or that you'll have to play a game in order to beat them? That's an addiction. And when you realize that you can't stop playing, it might be as serious as any other addiction.