Addiction Control Methods

[LumpenProle]

There should be a time limit that the game will run for each day, like 5 hours max. Or at least an optional control that the user or his or her parents can set. Too many times I've retired from Civ3 only to find out that it is 4 in the morning and I have logged over 8 hours in one day.

Maybe before you start your run, you can tell Civ4 that you only plan on playing for 2 hours until dinner or something. The game would have to accept multiple users too though, like what if I just play 5 hours and my sister wants to play...?

Anyone else have this problem and want some control?

 

[warpstorm]

Sleep is for the weak!

 

[Mewtarthio]

Just set a timer.

 

[RussiaWarMachin]

Limiting the playtime would ruin the game. I like to play civ on long boring weekend afternoons when I have nothing to do but sit at my computer and do nothing.

 

[LumpenProle]

When I set the timer I get stuck in the "Just one more turn" loop. I need to be locked out.

 

[RussiaWarMachin]

Then that's mor of a self control or willpower issue. It's not up to the manufacturers to fix this. Not that they could. Even if you limit the time you can play, what's stoping you from reseting the timer?

 

[The Last Conformist]

I don't have addictions for controling them.

 

[King Alexander]

Here is my advice: have someone to call the police, just to check if you're still playing: If so, tell them to take the computer as they're leaving(j/k).

 

[Dell19]

People would just have to reset their system clock to keep on playing...

 

[The Last Conformist]

@Dell19: Shh! That's like telling heroinist where to get free heroine!

 

[RussiaWarMachin]

LMAO X'D Ain't that the truth.

 

[Garbarsardar.jr]

Or at least an optional control that the user or his or her parents can set

That would lead to a dangerous precedent...What would be the extent of this control?Could it find its way into gameplay? could my (chinese)girlfriend stop me from nuking Mao? or my (green) mother from clearing forests?

I need to be locked out.

or in..
or simply...

 

[Dell19]

@Dell19: Shh! That's like telling heroinist where to get free heroine!

I didn't think heroin had an e on the end...

I suppose it could use an internet based clock that only updates when you go on the internet and cannot be set any other way.

 

[Garbarsardar.jr]

I didn't think heroin had an e on the end...

Strange but true. Heroin was coined as a term from a german Dreser working for Bayer.
Heroine in german means exactly the same as in english, but substance in german is always neutral so Dreser couldn'nt give a female name even if he wanted to...
obviously for THe Last Conformist addiction is always female...lol

 

[The Last Conformist]

The endings -in and -ine are both -in in Swedish, so I'm allowed to be confused as too which words have which in English.

 

[Mewtarthio]

I suppose it would still be a bad idea to put a heroically brave female into the clutches of a heroin addict...

 

[Milan's Warrior]

Actually, I like LumpenProle's idea. Of course there are ways around it, but that is not the problem, if the game saves and shuts itself off it could be enough of a reminder.

One night I got really hooked; it might have been 5a.m. and I just could not let go, but I did not remenber to plug in my laptop... is a full screen application, so I did not see the battery icon going lower and lower... I guess I did not hear the low-battery warning, so when it hit the critical level it just shut itself off completely (Windows and all).
Although I could have plug the electricity in and reboot, I did not.

Just my 2 cents...

btw, I am not hooked to the game anymore... but I seem to be developping an addiction to this section of the forum

 

[The Last Conformist]

CFC is like crack.

 

[collin_stp]

I see this civilization addiction as a real social problem facing this world. I think laws should be enacted to require all computers to only be able to play so many hours of games in a 24-hour period.

 

[Dell19]

There are plenty of other games that can be just as addictive its just that most of them are shorter than Civ so that if you spent a couple of days playing a FPS then you may complete it and then your addiction would suffer because they tend to have less replayability.