Is this game a drug? Really.

[daheat43]

Hey all.

I've been a fan of Civ since Civ 1, and I recently beat Civ V on deity (about 1100 hours in that game). I tell you these things to tell you that I love Civ, and I can hang with the long hours in video games.

However, I feel TWITCHY after I play Civ 6 for a few hours. I haven't measured to see if my heart rate actually rises, but it feels like it does. Or like my chest is vibrating. I hate it. I take a break, do some chill-out non-screen time, and it eventually gets better. I've played Civ 5 in the last few days, too, for a couple hours, and had none of this new effect. I've probably got 10 or 12 hours in 6 now overall.

Have any of you guys experienced this? I have long expected/feared that the Civ franchise would fall victim to the trend of developers putting addicting aspects in their games to make us into lab rats that keep pushing the lever. Of course, this was never really necessary in Civ, which has been addicting from the start. But I recognize some features in Civ 6 that are a lot like the methods described in the Cracked article "5 Creepy Ways Video Games Are Trying to Get You Addicted." Google it if you have a sec.

I didn't have high expectations for 6 given some grousing I've heard on this forum, but I actually like it for the most part. The graphics are great, and there are a tons of cool interlocking dynamics, more than the other Civs had before their expansions. But I'm not digging this feeling. Maybe I'm just aging out of games at this point. That would be good and bad, right?

What do you guys think about this?

 

[Ogro]

I also feel a thing(physical bad like dizziness and/or heart related) when playing a lot of civ6 that I didn't in previous versions. In my case I believe it is related to the new graphics style, to the camera angle and map movement and zooming. But it is hard to tell for sure what's going on. Many variables in play here.

 

[daheat43]

Interesting. I'm curious what others will say. I wonder if we can turn some of that stuff off, or adjust it somehow. The company probably won't acknowledge it directly, though. Hmm. Thanks.

 

[Janskey]

Don't worry, the pellets are there, reliably. Unlike loot boxes and whatnot ( https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/22/belgium-moves-to-ban-star-wars-battlefront-2-style-loot-boxes/ ).

"If you want to make him press the lever as fast as possible, how would you do it? Not by giving him a pellet with every press--he'll soon relax, knowing the pellets are there when he needs them. No, the best way is to set up the machine so that it drops the pellets at random intervals of lever pressing. He'll soon start pumping that thing as fast as he can. Experiments prove it."

Of course, if this:

"Video game designer Erin Hoffman said it perfectly: "Addiction is not about what you DO, but what you DON'T DO because of the replacement of the addictive behavior." She was talking about how the attraction of a simple flash game like Bejeweled depends entirely on how badly you want to avoid doing the work you have open in the other window."

is a problem for you, it might be better to quit or set some limits.

 

[daheat43]

That's great news about Belgium. The other problem, the opportunity cost, is the age-old Civ problem I've made my peace with. I finally realized most hobbies are arbitrary (golf? watching sports?), none are especially "useful" (yet Civ is at least more thoughtful than many), and any hobby can interfere with other things in life if you let it.

 

[Victoria]

I do not suffer so.
Combat and moves have been turned off though as have leader animations.
I do suffer the addiction badly so perhaps I have gone through the wall

 

[Savoir10]

I turned the music off and the problems went with it.

 

[Ryika]

The other problem, the opportunity cost, is the age-old Civ problem I've made my peace with. I finally realized most hobbies are arbitrary (golf? watching sports?), none are especially "useful" (yet Civ is at least more thoughtful than many), and any hobby can interfere with other things in life if you let it.

There are many hobbies that are useful. Art builds many skills that are very handy in other areas of life, reading to increase ones knowledge about philosophy, the world, etc. Video games on the other hand... not so much.

Of course the main thing a hobby should do is to allow you to have an enjoyable time, but if you're a person who wants to achieve something in their spare time and tell yourself that most hobbies don't do that anyway... then no, it seems to me that that's an excuse, one that you'll likely regret that later in life.

 

[daheat43]

I liked the music, but it got repetitive, so that's off. I'll turn off the leader animations, too. They look great, but it's annoying how they pop up so often and a couple of times at each interaction sometimes.

As for the hobby, I get what you're saying Valessa. I guess I was wrong about that. Knitting, woodworking, other arts and crafts are obviously productive hobbies. Sometimes I'm looking to relax, other times for mental stimulation. Civ can do both, depending on what level I'm on. It works for now. And sports are kind of a different category for me, more health than hobby, but really I would probably be smart to combine the two. A mix seems to work for now.

And gardening and cooking. These would also be useful hobbies. I guess hunting and fishing are useful, too, if you eat what you bring home. Hmm.

 

[God of Kings]

There's a reason why Civ is the origin of the "just one more turn" phenomenon.

 

[empresskiova]

The only way I suffer is by losing track of the time lol.

No eye twitching or such for me, even after playing a round for X hours straight. That’s with combat animations and music on. Leader animations are off, but that’s mostly to help the game run smoothly.

If the game isn’t running smoothly, that could be a source of your troubles. I dunno though.

 

[Disgustipated]

No ill physical effects for me, or I should say no more than other games. Though my eyes can sometimes get tired after long sessions. I try to look away, but sometimes I get really engrossed in the game. It is really good advice. Experts say you should focus your eyes on a distant object every few minutes or so (I can't remember the exact timeframe). So look across the room, and look at something hanging on your wall or something. All in all it's not bad on me physically, not like World of Warcraft which will give me all kind of repetitive stress problems in my hands and wrists.

I would say this game may be hard on the eyes. So try what I described above.

Is it a drug? Possibly. Even though I feel Civ4 is a more perfect game in terms of AI challenge, I think there's a real chance I have more hours in this game than any other Civ game I have ever played. Civ2 and Civ4 I logged a bunch of hours, unfortunately I couldn't even guess how much. Civ6 I've logged in 888 hours. Yeah, that's a lot. Some is idle time like when I'm cooking, but there isn't that much idle time.

 

[Arent11]

However, I feel TWITCHY after I play Civ 6 for a few hours. I haven't measured to see if my heart rate actually rises, but it feels like it does. Or like my chest is vibrating. I hate it. I take a break, do some chill-out non-screen time, and it eventually gets better. I've played Civ 5 in the last few days, too, for a couple hours, and had none of this new effect. I've probably got 10 or 12 hours in 6 now overall.

That only happens to me when I can't stand certain game mechanics. For example, I do not like to play age of wonders 3 for that reason.

 

[Art Morte]

The problem I get is that my real-life behaviour starts mirroring the leader in my current game and it can be really quite annoying... If I'm playing Catherine, I start spying on my neighbours... If I'm playing Montezuma, I look enviously at other people's shopping baskets at the supermarket checkout and think "why didn't I buy that?"... And if I'm playing Pedro, I get envious about my mates pulling all the girls. I guess it's because I'm such a coward... or is that my current Gorgo game speaking? I don't even know anymore.

 

[Disgustipated]

The problem I get is that my real-life behaviour starts mirroring the leader in my current game and it can be really quite annoying... If I'm playing Catherine, I start spying on my neighbours... If I'm playing Montezuma, I look enviously at other people's shopping baskets at the supermarket checkout and think "why didn't I buy that?"... And if I'm playing Pedro, I get envious about my mates pulling all the girls. I guess it's because I'm such a coward... or is that my current Gorgo game speaking? I don't even know anymore.

So when you play Kongo, do you go to the nearby mosque and complain they haven't spread their religion to you?

 

[Art Morte]

So when you play Kongo, do you go to the nearby mosque and complain they haven't spread their religion to you?

Aah, of course! That explains that angry call I made to the post office the other week, complaining why I hadn't got any mail for a couple of days... I thought it was unlike me.

 

[JosephC]

Drug? Not sure. I havn't experienced any of the things ya'll mentioned while playing... but I do have withdrawals...

 

[God of Kings]

The problem I get is that my real-life behaviour starts mirroring the leader in my current game and it can be really quite annoying... If I'm playing Catherine, I start spying on my neighbours... If I'm playing Montezuma, I look enviously at other people's shopping baskets at the supermarket checkout and think "why didn't I buy that?"... And if I'm playing Pedro, I get envious about my mates pulling all the girls. I guess it's because I'm such a coward... or is that my current Gorgo game speaking? I don't even know anymore.

If you were playing as Alexander, then why don't you beat everyone up in order to succeed in life?

 

[Haig]

Sometimes when I sit on the bus or work out in the gym etc. I plan in my head bonuses for new civs or speculate about Rise&Fall features etc.. super hooked to Civ 6.

 

[sonicmyst]

No adverse physical effects for me (I am about to have 1300+ hrs in Civ6).

On a related topic, https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/1000-clues-you-played-too-much-civ-vi.599926/