BlackSalad
Member
tell him to level up his life
WoW is ruining lives
- Thread starter GDJustin
- Start date
Get him addicted to crack. That way he wont have the money to spend on WoW, and will have a lot more free-time to spend with his wife
In all seriousness, the vacation is the best idea. I was somewhat addicted to FFXI for awhile(like 4 hours a day) but i went away for a few days and realized i didnt miss it at all.
Force him to go on a camping trip, cruise, or Vegas etc. If he doesnt want to, then you just have to force him too. Id say take him to Vegas, and get him addicted to lap dances, hookers, and gambling. If he doesnt get addicted at least he will see that real life is a lot more fun than WoW :lol
In all seriousness, the vacation is the best idea. I was somewhat addicted to FFXI for awhile(like 4 hours a day) but i went away for a few days and realized i didnt miss it at all.
Force him to go on a camping trip, cruise, or Vegas etc. If he doesnt want to, then you just have to force him too. Id say take him to Vegas, and get him addicted to lap dances, hookers, and gambling. If he doesnt get addicted at least he will see that real life is a lot more fun than WoW :lol
beto said:
:lol :lol :lol
Something tells me that she is the one missing the sex.......with him anyway
:lol
Just tell your friend that pretty soon his fiance is going to have another dick inside her if he keeps it up. If that doesn't straighten him up then he just doesn't care, period.
.hacked
Member
I had to give it up, it was sucking up too much time. Just bought KotOR 2 to wean me off of it and now I am back to my old self. My brother still plays like it is his job but I don't blame him, nothing else to do for the next few weeks.
So I suggest you buy your friend an offline game, force him to play it and by the time he is done all his online buddies will be so far ahead of him he won't want to play anymore.
So I suggest you buy your friend an offline game, force him to play it and by the time he is done all his online buddies will be so far ahead of him he won't want to play anymore.
I still cannot fathom why and how people play these games. They must all be perfectionists or something that need to have everything and collect everything and complete all their games 100%. Because MMORPGs aren't actually fun, they are just eternal treadmills. You do the same shit every day.
Outdoor Miner
Member
SKluck said:
What you can't seem to "fathom" is the idea that other people may find fun what you don't.
Oversimplifying things sure is fun.
FPS= Killing a nazi everysingleday. WOOOO
Sports Game= Same game, same rules, different teams (textures?)
The reason people get addicted to these types of games is the sense of character progression that no other type of game can really offer over such a period of time.
In WoW, at Level 37 i'm just starting to get a taste of how far my mage has really come. Some of these high level zones are just unbelievable in design and atmosphere. It's satisfying knowing that such zones that have impressed me from a distance, i'm now able to enter in. That's just the explorer side of an MMO, there's many other things like items, trades, mounts to look forward to.
There's so much to do in an MMO, it's the most non-linear type of gameplay available at the moment.
Personally I can't get the appeal of MMORPGs. I tried to get addicted, I really did. Played Everquest, deleted it after a few hours. Same with Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online. Then FFXII came and I SWORE TO GOD AND SATAN that I would become an MMORPG whore. Several days of playing and even after the hours and hours of updates, I deleted it and resigned my PS2 HDD to eternal HDLoader servitude (not a bad thing mind you). So my understanding of MMORPG addiction will forever be a giant question mark.
With that said, you need to help your friend. Call up his parents and say something like "Hey, it's me. I know we don't get along that well, but could I come over to your house? I really need to talk to you about (name of friend; don't say 'your son'). It's really important and (name of fiance), his fiance, thinks so too."
This way has you having a better chance of getting to his house, since you aren't in any way putting any sort of blame on his parents, real or implied. If you get in, talk to the parents, talk to your friend, have his fiance along if she wants to come, whatever. Tell him what's going on. While his parents may not be willing to agree with you, having his fiance there will put the ball in your court. Also, it's important to talk to him in his house, because if you try to talk to him elsewhere and he gets offended, he'd probably try to get away from you to his house where you aren't invited. But if you're already there, then there's no place he can hide from the truth and the inevitable, that he needs to control his gaming.
An extreme probable solution, but if you run out of options you might as well go for it. I have no psychology experience whatsoever mind you, it just seems like it'd work.
Get him off it.
With that said, you need to help your friend. Call up his parents and say something like "Hey, it's me. I know we don't get along that well, but could I come over to your house? I really need to talk to you about (name of friend; don't say 'your son'). It's really important and (name of fiance), his fiance, thinks so too."
This way has you having a better chance of getting to his house, since you aren't in any way putting any sort of blame on his parents, real or implied. If you get in, talk to the parents, talk to your friend, have his fiance along if she wants to come, whatever. Tell him what's going on. While his parents may not be willing to agree with you, having his fiance there will put the ball in your court. Also, it's important to talk to him in his house, because if you try to talk to him elsewhere and he gets offended, he'd probably try to get away from you to his house where you aren't invited. But if you're already there, then there's no place he can hide from the truth and the inevitable, that he needs to control his gaming.
An extreme probable solution, but if you run out of options you might as well go for it. I have no psychology experience whatsoever mind you, it just seems like it'd work.
Get him off it.
Exactly. The genre can actually reproduce the feel of pen & paper roleplaying on the computer, as you can craft a character exactly as you would in an offline RPG.
For example, in SWG my character is a Smuggler/Entertainer. I plop myself in the Mos Eisley cantina with one of my Smuggler titles displayed and people come to me to buy drugs (spice) or have my slice their weapons or armor (which makes them better than before). It's a fun character play where it appears to just be an entertainer, while he is able to deal in everything the Empire doesn't like. Thankfully, the Stormtroopers have never caught me when I was running around the city with an inventory full of spice (a couple very close calls though).
Also, since it's not a heavy combat class; the character doesn't require thousands of hours of playtime to enjoy. If I want to do combat, I can join a hunting party, or I can jump in my ship and hunt down pirates or raid transports if I want to. I don't have to grind any treadmill.
Ferrio said:
I usually do that a lot. Otherwise I'd get burnt out on each game. I'm taking a break from WoW for a while right now.
Teknopathetic
Member
MMOs in design *shouldn't* be eternal treadmills, and if you think that's what all MMORPGs are, then you've really no experience (and consequently, should keep your mouth shut) with them.
I'm enjoying WoW quite much, which is saying a lot considering I'm probably one of the most critical MMORPG fans (I've never really been happy enough to pay for one until now).
I'm enjoying WoW quite much, which is saying a lot considering I'm probably one of the most critical MMORPG fans (I've never really been happy enough to pay for one until now).
I knew these two people who met through EQOA of all things and the guy moved to Canada to live with the girl. They met in-game, got to know each other over AIM and the phone and then hooked up in real life.
Thing was, when they moved in together, they really did nothing but play the game. I think the head of my guild actually had a thing for the girl as well and not only kicked the dude out of the guild, spread rumors about the guy and said we were not to associate with him. He even bought accounts from people to give to her
It got to the point where the guy quit the game... he went out and picked up a job to support them... but she still kept playing and she's still playing today when I last checked the forum of my quild. I don't know what happened to thier relationship, I actually quit the game myself simply because I felt I was helping feed her addiction, but to no avail, she's still playing. I'm fairly sure he left her.
I dont' quite comprehend the compulsive nature some people have with these games. I got booted out of FFXI yesterday because I voided my check card, but I don't really feel this intense need to play it right now, I'm content to go without until I get my new card. I still go out and see people, I'd go insane if I didn't. I do have a great LS in FFXI, no doubt, but its no match for chilling with your real life pals.
I don't think the chick leaving him outright is going to fix the problem, in fact, he'll probably push himself deeper into the game to cope. I think she should do what most wives do who do play such games... threaten him with no sex. My Black Mage buddy in FFXI was willing to go into hell itself to help his wife get Red Mage artifact armor when she threated to not give him any. I think that tactic would be effective for a non-gamer chick, too.
Maliciously cutting the internet connection/phone line/power or downloading a virus into his computer might also get him out for a while. Maybe throwing the WoW DVD into the microwave, too.
Thing was, when they moved in together, they really did nothing but play the game. I think the head of my guild actually had a thing for the girl as well and not only kicked the dude out of the guild, spread rumors about the guy and said we were not to associate with him. He even bought accounts from people to give to her
It got to the point where the guy quit the game... he went out and picked up a job to support them... but she still kept playing and she's still playing today when I last checked the forum of my quild. I don't know what happened to thier relationship, I actually quit the game myself simply because I felt I was helping feed her addiction, but to no avail, she's still playing. I'm fairly sure he left her.
I dont' quite comprehend the compulsive nature some people have with these games. I got booted out of FFXI yesterday because I voided my check card, but I don't really feel this intense need to play it right now, I'm content to go without until I get my new card. I still go out and see people, I'd go insane if I didn't. I do have a great LS in FFXI, no doubt, but its no match for chilling with your real life pals.
I don't think the chick leaving him outright is going to fix the problem, in fact, he'll probably push himself deeper into the game to cope. I think she should do what most wives do who do play such games... threaten him with no sex. My Black Mage buddy in FFXI was willing to go into hell itself to help his wife get Red Mage artifact armor when she threated to not give him any. I think that tactic would be effective for a non-gamer chick, too.
Maliciously cutting the internet connection/phone line/power or downloading a virus into his computer might also get him out for a while. Maybe throwing the WoW DVD into the microwave, too.
Flakster99
Member
Nice post foobar. A lot of you are missing out perhaps why he is addicted and forsaking a possible future with this woman among other things.
Anxiety, depression, confidence issues, family or work woes, it's not an easy thing to simply call this guy stupid and say he should "just" quit. From the sounds of it, WoW is providing him something he is missing in his RL and only "he" knows fore sure what that is, why he is donating all of his time to this game. Maybe he has met someone online and is spending his time with this other person. Perhaps he is in need of some counseling and needs someone to listen and be there for him.
It could be a variety of reasons why and unless you've been in that type of position, you just won't understand his point of view and that makes it all the tougher to understand the why's and offer help. What little advice i can offer if for his fiancee to MAKE him understand how his choices are affecting the relationship, his life with his friends, family. Don't make it easy on him, tough love/friendship is what's needed. The longer he continues to dismiss his life, the longer he hurts himself in the long run.
Anxiety, depression, confidence issues, family or work woes, it's not an easy thing to simply call this guy stupid and say he should "just" quit. From the sounds of it, WoW is providing him something he is missing in his RL and only "he" knows fore sure what that is, why he is donating all of his time to this game. Maybe he has met someone online and is spending his time with this other person. Perhaps he is in need of some counseling and needs someone to listen and be there for him.
It could be a variety of reasons why and unless you've been in that type of position, you just won't understand his point of view and that makes it all the tougher to understand the why's and offer help. What little advice i can offer if for his fiancee to MAKE him understand how his choices are affecting the relationship, his life with his friends, family. Don't make it easy on him, tough love/friendship is what's needed. The longer he continues to dismiss his life, the longer he hurts himself in the long run.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
I will never understand how it goes "too far"; and this from someone who plays MMO's. I mean, with WoW it's 6 nights a week, 2 or 3 hours; maybe an all-afternooner on my day off to knock off some quests that had been piling up, (oh, and PK Alliance in Ashenvale 
).
I'd imagine Foobar's right, it'd be the only interaction the guy'd have if she left; the ding his comforting shoulder, the loot his sex.
). I'd imagine Foobar's right, it'd be the only interaction the guy'd have if she left; the ding his comforting shoulder, the loot his sex.
VictimOfGrief
Banned
That's impossible. :lolmint said:
DarkScorpion
Member
I usually quit playing such games when lvling starting becoming too much of a chore.
It's always the same story: In the beginning everything is new and there is always something to discover.
Levels are gained easily and techniques are obtained even easier.
Then the time between each level gain streches and streches and you find yourself spending hours just for one single measly level. Thats about the time I stop with MMORPGS and such online games.
It's always the same story: In the beginning everything is new and there is always something to discover.
Levels are gained easily and techniques are obtained even easier.
Then the time between each level gain streches and streches and you find yourself spending hours just for one single measly level. Thats about the time I stop with MMORPGS and such online games.
The most gaming I can take in a straight session these days is about 4 hours. Back when I was in grade school home for the summer, I did pull an 8 hour session of Blaster Master like every other day out of the summer. I still never managed to beat the game.
Anyway, they should make MMORPGs so that when your character dies, they're dead for good. I think that would stop addiction. If some joker tried to play for 20 hours, he'll doze off and something will kill him. He'll feel really bad and won't play for two weeks, then he'll say "Ok, I'm going to start a new character.".
Anyway, they should make MMORPGs so that when your character dies, they're dead for good. I think that would stop addiction. If some joker tried to play for 20 hours, he'll doze off and something will kill him. He'll feel really bad and won't play for two weeks, then he'll say "Ok, I'm going to start a new character.".
MomoPufflet
Member
SatelliteOfLove said:I will never understand how it goes "too far"; and this from someone who plays MMO's. I mean, with WoW it's 6 nights a week, 2 or 3 hours; maybe an all-afternooner on my day off to knock off some quests that had been piling up, (oh, and PK Alliance in Ashenvale
Addictive personality + personal issues + MMORPGs = major problems
The reason you've never experienced it is because you're either mentally grounded enough to know when to stop, or you just don't have an addictive personality. Certain types of people were not built to handle the balance between real life and MMORPGs-- not an insult, just the truth.
And I can tell you right now that his girlfriend leaving, or threatening to leave will make things worse, not better. He'll just want to escape more and more by playing WoW the worse things get. You need to pull him off of it another way, like by talking to him man to man and being honest and understanding. It's not going to be easy if you aren't even welcome in his house-- you need to be face to face.
Son of Godzilla
Banned
He can have a life every tuesday, from 6 till noon.
Cerebral Palsy
Banned
Life is ruining WoW 
I should be level 60 now, but noooooooo. Life keeps getting in the way. Oh well, 57 now. I need 60 before classes start next week.
I should be level 60 now, but noooooooo. Life keeps getting in the way. Oh well, 57 now. I need 60 before classes start next week.hooded pitohui
Member
This is exactly how I got away from FFXI when I had to. When you go for long enough without a fix, you start to dread having to get back into the rut (especially if the level grind is particularly unbearable, like FFXI's).Ferrio said:
Spilling Code Red on your PS2 keyboard helps too, but I don't think that applies here.
ManDudeChild
Member
hooded pitohui said:
Getting back into the rut applies to all types of role-playing games I think. When I bought Dragon Quarter, I didn't realise that if you used your powers too much you would have to start over. I was about 5 hours into the game when it happened. After that, I stopped playing ... and to this day (its been three months) still haven't gone back.
Fixed2BeBroken
Member
SKluck said:
can i get a rolleyes?
especially on the "must collect everything thing" being that in WOW your limited to what you can hold...unlike in something like PSO where it seemed ur bank was limitless....and to extend your bank in WOW ends up costing u lots of money (bag slots + bags) so you end up selling alot of shit either way.
edit>
also, I dont see how MMORPGS could be that addictive unless you had friends you know that are leveling and playing as well....not just random people you met on the net but friends u know in real life. thats just how it is for me. If I didnt have friends playing this game, I dont think I would be playing it as much. with that said, you gotta know when enough is enough. the game is fun, but life comes first...cause without life...there is no game.
peace
psycho_snake
I went to WAGs boutique and all I got was a sniff
Its not WoW thats ruining peop-les wives, its just that some of the people that play it are total dicks who can't control themselves. its pathetic. ive actually never played a MMO, but Im sure that if I ever did, I could stop straight away. I actually hate reading things like this because people who dont play games reguarly consider that all us "gamers" are like this guy.
What i dont get is how his fiance hasnt left him already. If I was in her position, I would have left ages ago.
What i dont get is how his fiance hasnt left him already. If I was in her position, I would have left ages ago.
ok, here is my two cents...
let her leave.. seriously.. I have seen nothing in this thread that shows me she is in any position other than an attention seeker... she enrolled in couples therapy.. grats.. has she tried telling him just "we are going out tonight"? has she slinked over next to him in lingere?
I mean really all I am reading here is that she sees the game as competition and doesn't feel like competing... whereas the game is just entertainment and she isn't getting her attention....
my woman hates wow... I spend a ton of time on it and it drives her nuts... but she also has enough common sense to know that a) I still spend the same amount of time with her as I did before wow, b) if I wasn't playing wow I would just be doing something else.. watching tV, going out, playing another game and c) that WoW isn't competition and is no more important in my life than any of those things...
now you may be quick to say "but my friend is different, he is really obssessed with this" and my answer is no, he isn't... he has found something extremely entertaining.. akin to pressing a button and getting a dollar for free.. I'm not trying to say WoW has any sort of tangible reward, but in the grand scheme of things it does reward you for doing stuff and does so at a pretty rapid pace... so how do you get him to stop playing WoW? You don't... you let him play it and when she wants to do something she stands right next to him, tells him to turn off the computer and they are going out.. she doesn't say she'll go without him, doesn't slink into the corner and patiently wait.. she tells him to get to a spot where he can log and get the fuck off the game. on that same token, she doesn't do this every day or every other day.. however she doesn't do this as a method of control but just wants to go out a few times a week....
just the fact that she wanted couples therapy shows she doesn't understand the nature of this.... it isn't a relationship problem and isn't a sign of worse problems... it is a guy being entertained and her not putting forth enough effort to interest him in something else...
now maybe she has tried as much as she wants.. maybe she can't take it anymore and has to leave.. well, then good for her.. leave.. she will get what she wants, she will hurt him.. and he will certainly regret his time on WoW... though frankly that is a pretty wrong thing to do....
now maybe I am 100% off on all of this.. maybe he is over the edge on addiction and she has tried absolutely everything to tear him away.. but the information wasn't presented here to state that with certainty and I am merely doing the same thing all of you are... speculating.. only you guys are instantly jumping on saying he is an addict and needs to get things under control and I am providing perspective on maybe it is just a guy having fun and frankly his other options aren't anywhere near as appealing as the game... he doesn't answer the phone anymore.. maybe he didn't have a whole lot of fun hanging out and WoW is more fun? He doesn't do anything with her anymore.. maybe he really isn't in love with her or maybe all they did was sit around and watch tv and he would rather be doing this....
like I said.. perspective.. everyone is quick to jump down his throat on this but nobody thinks for a second that really, WoW is the most interesting thing he has to do??? we don't know...
let her leave.. seriously.. I have seen nothing in this thread that shows me she is in any position other than an attention seeker... she enrolled in couples therapy.. grats.. has she tried telling him just "we are going out tonight"? has she slinked over next to him in lingere?
I mean really all I am reading here is that she sees the game as competition and doesn't feel like competing... whereas the game is just entertainment and she isn't getting her attention....
my woman hates wow... I spend a ton of time on it and it drives her nuts... but she also has enough common sense to know that a) I still spend the same amount of time with her as I did before wow, b) if I wasn't playing wow I would just be doing something else.. watching tV, going out, playing another game and c) that WoW isn't competition and is no more important in my life than any of those things...
now you may be quick to say "but my friend is different, he is really obssessed with this" and my answer is no, he isn't... he has found something extremely entertaining.. akin to pressing a button and getting a dollar for free.. I'm not trying to say WoW has any sort of tangible reward, but in the grand scheme of things it does reward you for doing stuff and does so at a pretty rapid pace... so how do you get him to stop playing WoW? You don't... you let him play it and when she wants to do something she stands right next to him, tells him to turn off the computer and they are going out.. she doesn't say she'll go without him, doesn't slink into the corner and patiently wait.. she tells him to get to a spot where he can log and get the fuck off the game. on that same token, she doesn't do this every day or every other day.. however she doesn't do this as a method of control but just wants to go out a few times a week....
just the fact that she wanted couples therapy shows she doesn't understand the nature of this.... it isn't a relationship problem and isn't a sign of worse problems... it is a guy being entertained and her not putting forth enough effort to interest him in something else...
now maybe she has tried as much as she wants.. maybe she can't take it anymore and has to leave.. well, then good for her.. leave.. she will get what she wants, she will hurt him.. and he will certainly regret his time on WoW... though frankly that is a pretty wrong thing to do....
now maybe I am 100% off on all of this.. maybe he is over the edge on addiction and she has tried absolutely everything to tear him away.. but the information wasn't presented here to state that with certainty and I am merely doing the same thing all of you are... speculating.. only you guys are instantly jumping on saying he is an addict and needs to get things under control and I am providing perspective on maybe it is just a guy having fun and frankly his other options aren't anywhere near as appealing as the game... he doesn't answer the phone anymore.. maybe he didn't have a whole lot of fun hanging out and WoW is more fun? He doesn't do anything with her anymore.. maybe he really isn't in love with her or maybe all they did was sit around and watch tv and he would rather be doing this....
like I said.. perspective.. everyone is quick to jump down his throat on this but nobody thinks for a second that really, WoW is the most interesting thing he has to do??? we don't know...
MrAngryFace
Banned
People who dont understand MMORPGs as a game are seriously deficient. Not understand how people play something so obviously popular means youre just too blinded by dumb to bother looking into it.
Not understanding active roleplaying on MMORPGs I totally understand, however.
Not understanding active roleplaying on MMORPGs I totally understand, however.
Fragamemnon
Member
Yeah, Hito's right. I speak from experience. 
Again, your friend is losing his grip on reality, it seems. The only way to deal with it is to immerse himself with the actual reality of his situation, and not to let him continue to define his own reality using the constructs of his virtual world.
He'll balk and resist, but good sense will win out. After disassociating him with his personal, private reality, he can then rejoin the one that you and his fiance live in.
People can get in over their heads in these kinds of games, even when the rest of their lives are fine. They just need a little face-to-face cajoling and some FUN times with their loved ones and friends in settings away from their private, created realities in order to snap out of it enough to get to the point where you can get some real dialogue going.
Again, your friend is losing his grip on reality, it seems. The only way to deal with it is to immerse himself with the actual reality of his situation, and not to let him continue to define his own reality using the constructs of his virtual world.
He'll balk and resist, but good sense will win out. After disassociating him with his personal, private reality, he can then rejoin the one that you and his fiance live in.
People can get in over their heads in these kinds of games, even when the rest of their lives are fine. They just need a little face-to-face cajoling and some FUN times with their loved ones and friends in settings away from their private, created realities in order to snap out of it enough to get to the point where you can get some real dialogue going.
Great Wasabi Man
Member
I tried to get one of my friends into WoW...sigh I got the huge lecture on how the game is like digital crack and once you try it you'll give up your life, family, job, and it destories lives. I told him it's just a game chill. He went ont o warn me that I shouldn't play it cause I was starting a new job and I'll end up taking days off to play WoW. He also says words like LoLz and Noobz in real life conversations....
Cerebral Palsy
Banned
This guy needs to get his wife a pc and copy of WoW. She'll become hooked too. My friend pulled this off with his girlfriend. I'm jealous.
Drinky Crow
Banned
I have a baby daughter, which tends to keep me from playing too much, and a wife who isn't afraid to dump her into my lap and say to my face "get off your ass and play with your kid."
I also set hours for WoW/DAoC: weekend mornings from 7-11AM are cool, and from 10PM to whenever. I also set aside 1-3 days during the week where I don't play any games and we just hang out or visit friends/family. As long as I watch a couple eps of Buffy/Angel/X-Files with my wife from when baby goes to bed until 10, it's all cool.
My wife wants to play WoW, though, so I gotta cancel XBL and get her a subscription. How well would a P3-550 with a GeForce FX 5200 PCI run it? If not, I'll let her use the ol' laptop, which runs it passably.
I also set hours for WoW/DAoC: weekend mornings from 7-11AM are cool, and from 10PM to whenever. I also set aside 1-3 days during the week where I don't play any games and we just hang out or visit friends/family. As long as I watch a couple eps of Buffy/Angel/X-Files with my wife from when baby goes to bed until 10, it's all cool.
My wife wants to play WoW, though, so I gotta cancel XBL and get her a subscription. How well would a P3-550 with a GeForce FX 5200 PCI run it? If not, I'll let her use the ol' laptop, which runs it passably.
Fragamemnon
Member
Give it a go on the P3-550 with some of the options turned down. It's a very lightweight game, the only problem will be in the troublespot areas, such as Ironforge/Orgrimmar AH areas, which are laggy for everyone.
This happened to me when I was back in college. I bought ultima online way back in november 97 or was it 98. I started playing right after finals were done, I was hooked the spring semester and didn;t even attend classes most of the time. I eventually had to withdraw from all my classes I used a bullshit excuse and told my proffessors my father had a serious heart attack and I had to go back home, for awhie which is why I missed all those classes. MMOROG's ruins lives thinking back it was so god damn stupid I would play for like 20 hours in a row just to level up my magic skill. I stopped by breaking the ultima online disc, and quitting. I had so many urges to play again, but didnt. MMORPG addiction is no joke.
Kabuki Waq
Member
Flying Llama said:
This man speaks the truth. I know 2 brothers one plays FFXI the other WOW both spend 12 hours each online pretty much. Just alternating between sleep. The older brother has managed to control his FFXI addiction and comes goes out with his friends again but the other brother is a lost cause he will make plans and then to go out but at last minute he will say "JUST ONE MORE QUEST" and basically be done for the whole night. The guy wakes up at around 8pm goes online till noon and then eats and goes back to sleep.
I do not think that is healthy no matter how you guys try to spin it. MMORPGS are a fucking addiction. Tehy require minimal Reflexes and the strategy is not really hard to grasp, after the initial learning curve is over you just end up doing the same shit over and over again just with bigger monsters.