Happy New Year and all the best to everyone for 2006!

I received this email around the holidays but didn't get around to posting it. It's a thoughtful post though, so perhaps it's good that it's not getting buried under all the holiday stuff... I don't know which article is being referred to (and never received an response on my email response), so if you happen to know (or guess), please let me know...

"I read an article you posted about Everquest and how it effected the families associated with the players. Many of them were really sad stories, and it made me reflect on my own family. I have been addicted to Everquest for some time playing in some cases over 40 hours straight and getting up only a couple times to use the bathroom. During this time my wife says she understands and such that it is a form of stress relief and she tries to come in and talk with me and stuff to only notice that I may be annoyed. I still do all of the things within my daily routine, and at the same time thinking about when she falls asleep how can I sneak away. I work out and during the time I am jogging I usually daydream about the game. Since I was MT [MT = main tank, j.] I was obligated to be at all of the raids and such. This article changed my outlook on the game and I left my guild. This gave me more free time with the family that I have been neglecting. I can see how happy my wife is. I sit back and realize how you escape into a fantasy world and just let yourself go. I don't know if this is any consolidation to any of the individuals within this blog, but I don't think their significant others meant anything bad. It was an addiction to the game that caused them to spend all of the hours. Sony set the standand and designed this game to be made in such a way that it takes hours and days to accomplish stuff that in other games span only minutes. This is not to take lightly what the Everquest players have done by any means, because in every instance their actions were horrible. How can I say this best. Their addiction is almost like a drug. I have never taken drugs, but I can almost relate to their addiction and cravings. Every waking moment is dedicated to the fix. Many people that don't play video games can only reflect and say how can an individual be addicted to a game. I'm not a psychiatrist and couldn't answer that question correctly, but as a game addict I can try to explain. While playing the game you get family oriented in which people depend upon you for tasks that because of your committment you are able to help them out. The sense of accomplishment when you attain something that has taken you months of solid playing around the clock to attain. To get flagged for certain areas actually takes no less than a year or two of playing 15-20 hours a day and some people accomplish this so you think you can also it could be equivalent to earning your college degree. Then you get to the new area only to find that you haven't scratched the surface. This article is years old so I don't know if you will receive it, but I am sending the email anyway."