Wild Space: TORMag, MER, and SW:TOR Addiction

It’s a big galaxy our there, and Wild Space can be a dangerous place. Worry not, explorer – each week we’ll navigate you safely through the lost hyperspace routes of the Deep Core and track down the great articles and entertainment from around the SW:TOR fan community, all in less than 12 parsecs, of course!

I’m sorry that I missed this one last week, but I had to get my previous issue of Wild Space done a little early and I missed the release of the new issue of TorMag, my favorite SW:TOR online magazine! This month’s articles include interviews with two prominent community members, Dimbo and Ysme, TORMag’s usual Class and Guild highlights, a feature on the recent Eurogamer Expo and release date announcement, and an editorial about why SW:TOR should be more Star Wars than MMO. The magazine format continues to be very appealing and the production value is off the charts. Also, it’s really nice to see the amount (and creativity) of guild advertisements increasing from issue to issue. If you haven’t been downloading this gem every month then you have been sorely missing out on some great content. Check it out here.

Next up, Mos Eisley Radio has their latest installment of Tatooine Press, this time about the lore of the Hutts. I really like this article because of the styling of it. It is formatted like a conversation between the two editors, Evan and Leo, which is something I have not personally seen before. I found it to be a very fun and engaging way to read through the article. As for the content of the article, they talk about the origins of the Hutt race and how they ended up on their current home world of Hutta (since they aren’t indigenous to the planet). They also talk some about how George Lucas created the Hutt race, where the influences behind them came from, and some additional lore tidbits about the Hutt race. Be sure to check out the article here.

Last up this week is a very interesting, philosophical post on SWTOR-Life about MMORPG obsession/addiction. (Before beginning, it should be noted that the American Psychiatric Association does not list “video game addiction” among its list of recognized mental disorders, although they will revisit the topic again in 2012.) New SWTOR-Life editor Daelda expresses his opinion on the subject which results in quite a good read. He starts by talking about the technical differences between obsession and addiction and theorizes that society tends to label people with gaming obsession as an actual addiction because of the misunderstanding of obsession and addiction. This is wrong, he says, because addiction has a much more negative connotation than obsession which is much easier to control. Plus, people tend to obsess over more “normal” activities, like sports for example.

What is BioWare’s (or any video game maker’s) responsibility in safeguarding against video game addiction or obsession? Daelda’s answer is “not much, really”. We are all adults and should either know our limits, seek help, or stop playing the game to combat our addiction/obsession, he says. If children are involved, then video game companies have an obligation to include parental controls into their games so that parents can make the best decision for their children about when the game can be played and for how long.

I would encourage all of you to check out this thoughtful article and let us know what you think.