hey Peon im here since like 3-4 years, and i also recently went to gym but i was already healthy lol, just saying, you and loltyler1 (league of legends streamer) inspired me for gym! keep it up with the Work of a streamer ! its always fun to watch you, i dont watch any other mmorpg content !
I remember when WoW came out around the time I started college. A fair number of students in my class dropped out because they were playing Wow so much.
I did the same. Luckily I lucked out with crypto, then ultimately investments ... but dropping out because of WoW didn't exactly please my parents at the time.
this almost happened to me I was staying up all night and skipping morning classes and whatnot to play WoW lmao, but when I saw my grades and realized like I couldn't bs my way through tests and do last minute work on projects I did force myself to play less and pay more attention and I got my grades back up. I really teetered on the line though it was scary XD
For me, WoW kept me from partying too hard and dropping out of college. My roommate dropped out after his first semester. Me? Graduated with honors lol.
I think the real issue here, is how unfulfilling life can be. I was a straight A student, captain of the soccer team, got a nearly a full-ride scholarship to college, and it all feels like it was a waste of time even more than a video game. Sometimes I wish I had just dropped out and played WoW. That's the real issue imao. Life doesn't really offer anything better.
Life be causes forces you to find your own fun minigame, which is necessarily what we want, or we might simply find most of them uninteresting, like a musical instrument would be cool, but a waste of my time, the one thing I tend to enjoy is overcoming things, but at a certain point you know your limits, you end up facing an absurd challenge, that is so unfair, that no normal person would beat it without like a year of practice.
Hey Peon just wanted to say thanks for this video. Since coming back from Thailand on vacation 3 weeks ago I lost motivation to go to the gym. I was using my vacation as my motivation for the past 6 months when I should have structured my priorities differently. I'm gonna go to the gym right now and focus on improving my strength and health rather than simply trying to look good for a short time.
If your goal is improving your general fitness level, aerobic activities, like running, biking, swimming, and so forth will provide you with more benefit than standard weight training, which is what people usually associate with "going to the gym." Strength training is more about improving your performance at a physical activity, rather than being a means towards better health. Although if you go at it in the form of circuit training, that is high reps, with low weight, and where you move from exercise, to exercise with no breaks in between, for at least ten minute periods at a time, then that will be better for general fitness than your standard form of strength training, as you're basically turning it into an aerobic activity.
You totally should have used Thailand as your start to your fitness journey! Thailand is the best place in the world to go for fitness. Something to consider next time!
Ha I spent 4 weeks in Thailand in February and did the same thing. Vacation was total workout motivation. Returned home and been pretty lazy since. Time to get back to the gym!!
Duuuude this is so key isn't it?! Fitness for health beats out fitness for peng bod EVERY time. You're lucky you had the self awareness and curiosity to work this one out early - unfortunately a lot of people run this cycle their whole lives. Good on you 🫶
Wait until you achieved all of your real life goals and realize that it doesnt matter whether you progress irl or not, come back to MMOs, become addicted again, rinse and repeat.
It’s funny. There’s this stereotype (it’s in this video too) that mostly younger, awkward people are gaming. All my friends on XBL in the day were over the age of 35. The amount of adults past 50 that pick up games again is immense! This video is propaganda in the sense that the uploader is younger and less wise than he lets on. People like me are aged beyond this late 20’s “newly-wed” phase.
@@magog6852 I mean what Peon is doing seems to be working for him and looks like he is feeling great. I dont want to downplay this one bit. The thing is that I feel like this video presents a simplistic view of "work out, have job = life is good" when in reality its not that simple. You can have all these things and still be miserable (I know that from experience). Life is deeper than that.
I'm so fucking proud of you man. I don't comment alot, but I am fairly certain I've watched near all the videos you've produced since I found you years ago. You single handedly rekindled my love of video games, especially the mmo genre, as well as the desire to one day make an mmo. This video proved to me that, even if some see it weird, treating life like a video game is a fun way to make improvements on it. Thank you.
I never touched a video game till I was in my late 30s Skyrim Morrowind. I’m 60 now and only a few years ago went to MMO’s. Eventually landing on WOW Classic. I work out 2 times a day and try to eat right focusing on increasing my vegetable intake. However since I’m retired I do spend a lot of time playing. Recently bought an Ebike.
This was a great video especially the ending. The way you put real life terms into game lingo was really cool. I have been watching you for a number of years now and you have been my #1 go to for MMO content and seeing your journey moving to Thailand was an eye opener for me. I set some goals out for myself this year and am steadily making headway. I would say the biggest thing to keep in mind for anyone setting goals is to take it literally 1 day at a time and set shorter simpler goals to reach that end your looking for. An example of this, for me, is that I set 3 goals for myself this year: learn guitar, get in shape, and get better with my firearms, all very broad goals. I have focused on 1 goal which was to practice more with my firearms and I make it a point to go at least twice a month, or more, to the range and have been sticking to that. As for getting in shape, this will be my next focus, and I will start off simple with going to the gym at least twice a week and focusing on weight training to gain muscle. As for learning guitar, I will be going to a local shop in about a month to purchase a guitar and other things(like tuning equipment) and then putting in at least 15hrs/week watching tutorials and just learning basics. I want to actually learn music theory and not just memorize tabs.
I am an mmorpg socially akward nerd, so as I wanted to take on promotions I thought of social skills as something you need to grind and get better at. I am currently a manager and I often think of process improvement and even daily operations as a competitive videogame. This is what people mean by workaholic. All the long grindy days, spreadsheets, organization, leadership, strategic thinking; You are right it is the same, its just a way to conceptualize your job.
1000% Agreed. Except the make friends thing, it's just not for me. I gave up on it about 2 years ago, and i feel myself more happy. So my advice is don't (over)chase things that is somehow not for you, accept your loss and embrace fulfillment in other things. And maybe when u don't even expect it those things u are missing and gave up chasing them for a long time will come to you on their own.
I'm sorry bro but the "positive impact" didn't come from mmos sadly. It came from the success of your channel and your own mentality shift, paradigm shift if you will. I mean mmos can teach you things yes, but you can learn things by doing anything irl or in any other genre of game. So i'd say It was mostly all you who made that positive change.
I really look up to you. Your look on life is awesome and you've changed your body drastically with it. Not everyone can overcome addiction, unless you look at it as a negative stat and actively try to remove it.
@@Nitagnelifs I don't have to imagine that, if you read my comment you'd know that's how I feel. Unless your talking to the metaphorical person who is gonna read that reply.
In moderation no... but you would have to be blind not to see that a large effort has gone into pacifying you, the pron, the pot, the games. They replace what you SHOULD be seeking. . . not hard to understand it. Not easy to come to grips with, however.
This hit directly to my heart. It's the first time ever I watch a video on RUclips where someone is talking about exactly the same things and feelings I have been through for the past 20 years. Thank you ever so much for this video. It's good to feel understood and to know other people have been through this and managed to win over this mental prison. I thought about looking at life like a MMO as a way to break out of my mental prison but always thought it was a silly idea. But as you put it it might actually work! You are proof of it after all, and I am so happy for you! But I want it to be my turn now 😊 Thanks a lot for this video it's very inspiring for me.
I've thought about this numerous times but I've never been able to nail down the aspects of what leveling up in real life means on a day to day basis. You've captured that. Bravo Peon.
Fantastic video. You hit all the nails on the head. A year ago I was very addicted to OSRS. Yes it was fun, but it halted my real life progression. These days I've been playing all kinds of games, ranging from WoW to simulators. At the same time I've been working hard on my academia and enjoying road cycling. Life is all about balance.
That "Treating real life like an MMO" bit is exactly what I started doing a little over a year and a half ago. I've done next to fucking nothing for 15 years. I mean the first 5 of that I was still in school so I was sorta forced to not play, but after? Doing the bare minimum to get by in life just so I can play wow. I started lifting, I started actually seeing family more, I began programming which later led to a professional career, but more importantly one of the first projects I built was a task list.... and I built it exactly like the quest tracker from warcraft. I even made it appear on the right top hand side of the screen. Every night before going to bed I would fill it up with dailies and every single day I'd get up and complete those dailies. I then made a second section for weeklies and did the same every sunday night filling it up. I then made a little xp bar and every daily would give me +10xp and every weekly +30. Literally this is all it took for me was treating real life like a videogame, I even stopped taking videos and screenshots of cool places in game and.. got into photography lmao. Now I'm more interested in finding real life waterfalls. The thing is though, after nearly a year I went back to WoW and now I enjoy it 1000% more taking it in moderation. The most important step there was the second I'm not having fun or start having thoughts like "I could be doing something productive right now" I just simply log off and do something else. I still play, sometimes 4 hours a day, sometimes 4 hours a week, but I take it in a much healthier mindset to where I actually like the game again and it's not even in my top 5 priorities. I used my MMO brain rot to defeat my MMO brain rot. Shoutout to Shadowlands for being so fucking terrible that I changed my entire life and stopped being a loser.
So wholesome! I think what you are doing is called ïntelectualising", where you look at your real life situation from a "third perspective". It's a method commonly used for depression and anxiety, so it should work for positive endeavors aswell. Great job!
As MMO Player and also a person who did several raves and festivals I can completely admit that here are potential addicitons. And as you mentioned both are quite similar. The brain (never) get the real kick from the first time of the dopamine rush. especially when the caches are empty. even when it is hard at the beginning you need to have breaks or other brain stimulations as sports, friendships etc. And after some time you can come back and get a real good times :D never forget to go home or: never forget to logout :D edit: and yes man! I changed also my life 5 years ago, lost 40+ kg of fat. Then I made two half marathons in under 110 min, make my IFRS accountant and changed my job. Yes its hard to handle, but I like my daily sports, intense work, gaming with good friends, get my 6h sleep. And even with nearly 40 I love to rave the hole weekend a few times per year, with some rest time the following days. its all about resource management as you said. But at the end: its worth it! Thanks for this awesome video. That can help a lot of people to dont give up!
I remember when there were ppl hating on your transition period after moving to Thailand. It was inspiring to me that you stuck through it and still continue to do so, it’s awesome :) Thanks for sharing your life hack with seeing life as an mmo too, that pov does ring a bell to me since I like exploring open world games, and thinking about checking out new places irl in the same way sounds actually kinda fun.
Damn man, I never knew you went through that much of a transformation props to you man! Much love and please never stop blessing us with content and unbiased reviews :)
My life blew up last year (parents died, jost 2 jobs (layoffs), and evicted (housing crisis) in less than 1 month) and i'm still picking up the pieces. I went to Thailand to clear my head for a few months and it helped a lot. I think this is a great video with powerful advice for gamers to find structure.
What a thoughtful approach to gaming. I'll sit down tonight and map out the topics you mention - my stats, zones, future deeds to aspire to, etc. Have you considered a side business to coach people through those topics? I imagine you'd have a good number of people sign up for life coaching that has a gaming twist.
EVE was the ultimate planning MMO. ArchAge had labor limits and used to joke in real life that I had used up my labor and time to do something else. Lots of funny analogies between MMOs and some real life activities. Lots of fun but doing anything too much is bad. Lots of these 'traps' in modern day societies.
MMOs are definitely harming me right now. I'm in my 20s with no job no car and virgin. I actually do view real life as an MMO and can grind it like madman but the hardest part is figuring out what job can I even grind, the available options seem very limited. :(
STORY TIME! Wow, this actually really helped me put something I was confused about into perspective. Tekken... I jumped onto the Tekken band waggon with Tekken 7 when it was released on PC (I'd played Tekken as a kid back on the PS1 but was just button mashing) It took me 3 years to "git gud" and I did. Very good, I became Raijin with Kazuya, argubly the hardest character to play well with in Tekken at a decent enough level. Remember, this is coming from no prior Tekken experience (of merit). I put so much time and effort into learning Tekken, it just... Clicked with me. I tried many characters but there was something about Kazuya I loved and I wanted to use him and main him, though everyone on the internet and friends who were into Tekken said don't pick Kazuya when you're new to Tekken. Fast forward to around 4 months ago. I had uninstalled the game probably 10 times. I began rage quitting a lot of matches, winning wasn't fun, losing obviously wasn't fun. Something was very different with my relationship with this game I used to have so much fun with, I recognized that I didn't like the game anymore, (it was mostly due to changes they made to the game and OP characters they started releasing which just felt so pay to win, this started my downward spiral I believe) yet I was unable to stop playing it. Everytime I would stop playing I was in a terrible mood, angry mostly. I wasn't enjoying myself AT ALL. And still, I couldn't stop. I had literal talks with myself about stopping playing it. I uninstalled it and said right that's it. No more Tekken 7, forever. 2 weeks later, the game is reinstalled and I'm back at it. Hating myself. I didn't actually know this was an option till 4 months ago but I removed the game from my steam account, I no longer own the game. (amazing that Valve give you the option to do this) I haven't played Tekken 7 since, I still boot up emulated Tekken 5 or 6 to get those fingers twitching (Oh boy is Kazuya so much fun when you know what you're doing) and though I technically lost money by giving up ownership of the game, it was the best decision I've made in gaming. I still didn't really know what it was, I've been addicted to TONS of games in my life, but I've NEVER been addicted to a game I hate. That's was so bizarre to me, till now. Glad I finally have some insight into what the actual heck happened lol Will I play Tekken 8? Yes. Will I become addicted? Probably. Will it get to the stage of hating the game yet still playing it? Maybe. But atleast I know what to do if that happens, just accept it and stop it. It is honestly the best decision.
This is one of the best videos, if not the best, you've ever done, Peon! The point you made about being addicting to an MMO because you're heavily invested in a game despite no longer having fun is spot on! :') By the way, I never knew you're living in Thailand! I live in Cambodia and I reject my sister's offer to visit Thailand 2 days ago because I wanted to focus on making content.
Years ago I had a co-worker who would often pass out in the middle of our shifts because he spent all of his off time playing World of Warcraft. He eventually got fired because of too many incidents of sleeping on the job. It seemed like it was the only place in his life where he was getting that sense of purpose and a feeling of importance from. A shame really; he was a nice guy - and it was taking away his ability to function in the real world almost as bad as another former co-worker who took a few too many hits of acid. I hope he has been able to turn his life around since then. Not everybody gets addicted to that level - but to a certain kind of person it can be a real danger.
Great video! I think MMOs are very much in the veins of „the dosage makes the poison“, they can teach you some great skills but they can also become so all encompassing it wrecks your life. I’ve overcome some of my crippling social anxiety by learning how to communicate in MMOs but I’ve also been down the rabbit hole and lost myself. I think it’s very important to question yourself sometimes and take breaks to reevaluate and restructure your life. Having people in your life that actively support you in making better choices for yourself is also a good thing. I have pulled friends and guild mates out of the rabbit hole but they have also pulled me from time to time. Real life might not always be great, in fact depending on where you start, it can be absolutely horrific, but a virtual world is not going to fix that, it’s just going to give a very fragile illusion of something better.
Awesome video, I wasn't expecting it to be so relatable with a personal story. Thanks for opening up and being so transparent, super inspiring. Thanks Peon and for the editor who spent an ungodly amount of time on it! Well done.
Sadly irl doesn't work like mmorpgs do. If In world of warcraft I spend I spend time leveling my character in 3 months I would be max lvl and would be constantly able to see my progress and I get stronger incrementally(Every level i get 100 health,1 str etc...). However in real life I tried spending 3 months working out, everyday, without skipping a day, and with a healthy diet. And yet what I realized is that when I started working out, I could only do 2 pullups. 1 month later it was 8 pulls ups. 2 months later 10 pullups. And 3 months later 9 pullups. Improvement literally stops at one point, while if you are leveling ,sure it takes more and more time to lvl , but you can see the difference, and its not such a big margin. But when it comes to real life, its fucking unfair. Like I can barely pull up myself 10 times. While some other guy can do it 30 times, with the same 3 months workout, just because he is built different. In wow, everybody gets the same experience. Another important aspect of MMorpgs is something called PvP. In MMorpgs I can just go 1v1's or 2v2s ,battlegrounds and kill people. In real life its illegal to kill people, and whats even worse,I can be killed also. Meanwhile mmorpg if I die, i just respawn. I am literally only doing in thing in mmoprgs and that is pvp. So how can I use this method IRL anyway?
would you be surprised if I tell you that playing mmos got me into the stock market. Never liked economy, reading graphs and stuff like that until when I hit college, all of the sudden I had less time to grind for gear in mmo, so I had to make up for the lack of time with buying and selling items. I remember even making a spread sheet and following the prices of certain items that way. After finishing college and taking a look at my first year of work paycheck and realizing it was not much, i took the jump into the stock market, treated it the same way as I did with the mmos I played, and after two more years I was able to get enough money to buy me a house, basically trippling the money i had. Bonus: thanks to mmo I was able to meet my SO, which pushed me to move to another place to be closer with my SO.
Great video! Refreshing, open and honest. I have achieved a lot in my life, and still going. But I definitely find myself letting the MMO experience take over sometimes (currently new world). Great reminder to learn to dial back - also I guess my way of sharing that the addiction can get anyone (even if they appear to have their shit together) so you are not failing (we have to call it what is is when it goes too far) alone and there IS something you can do about it. Also remember it is easier to achieve what you want with the help of others. Raid boss know as life is not feasible solo.
MMOs were definitely bad for me. I suffered from quite a nasty bout of depression while I was playing WoW, to the point where I was compelled to play it, but every moment I was playing it, I was miserable and unfulfilled. As soon as I quit the game and started narrowing down the scope of the games I play, I suddenly became far happier. I limit myself to games I can finish in around 8-30 hours, maybe 100 hours if it's something I really like, but the key element is that the game must have an 'end'. MMOs by definition don't have ends, they have endgame, and endgame is an endless treadmill of dissatisfaction, always pushing for the next thing. At least with singleplayer games, I can put it down and go "That was a good experience", and if I want to play it again later, I can. With MMOs, you're always behind.
one of your best videos mate. Ive been straying away from games because they have been disruptive to me irl, preventing me to chase my goals and dreams. Im still looking for the balance of irl and virtual for me. Cheers :)
Love this !!! Been watching you forever. I’ve been through the same journey where games have sucked me in but watching you encourages me so much. Keep it up dude!
Loved this. I definitely credit gaming as one of the many reasons I've become successful and always want to improve. Playing competitively I always wanted to be the best and having an MMO outlook on life makes me always imagine that I'm gaining experience in what I'm doing despite progress feeling extremely slow. Couple that with there being absolutely no new games to play, gave me a lot of time to turn my life around and increase my stats as much as possible before the next big release. :)
I too got lured into the wilderness as a kid. Later in college I was walking back from a friend’s dorm nearby and had to marta (atlanta subway which sucks) back to my place. The marta looked closed and this dude walked by and was like “yea man you just got to get in from the other side here follow me!” He started walking down this dark alley and I just noped the fuck out and walked back to my friend’s dorm trying my best to stay in well lit public areas the whole way. And that’s how runescape saved me from being mugged!
I remember in high school back in 2010 i played RuneScape when dungeoneering came out. I thought this was my one chance to be on the front page of the highscores for a skill. So i continuously grinded trying to achieve being one of the first players to reach level 120 in the skill. I was joining elite clans playing with some of the absolute best people in the game day after day. I ended up being one of the first 100 people to achieve it, but never made it to the front page of the high scores though. I missed out on so many events and moments with my friends and my school grades slipped as i was applying for colleges. I always wondered how things would have been if i took my real life more seriously and had those moments with my friends and kept my grades up.
I remember staying up for 2 and a half days waiting for the Time lost protodrake when wotlk launched. I felt a pop in my head and got scared so I just dropped on my bed and passed out for 14h straight. Good times 10/10
The problem is in real life you cannot HEAL. When health problems arise there are no potions here. And you cannot even restart or respec. Or create a new character and start over. Life sucks and there is where escapism comes into place. When you are in a never ending raid in your real life all alone.
I listed the Progression Step in case anyone needs it, MMO games called IRL Legends 1. What are my Stats 2. Where are my Questing 3. What type of Content do I want 4. When I reach end game 5. Write down the different types of Quests, Features, Content and Expansions that might Unlock Obstacles 1. I have a lot of resources to manage 2. Maintenance to regenerate my Willpower and Energy Resources 3. I can't max out every stat 4. I need to be quite Selective about how I spend my attribute points 5. IRL MMO it's pretty P2W, mostly only unlock with Gold and not via random drop 6. If I'm unlucky enough to start in one of the games hardcore full loot PVP zones with bad starting attributes then I'm going to have much longer grind to reach the end game
Impressive video from someone who make money from covering them, might even be your best video peon. very well done and i have to go look into a mirror for a bit.
Peon, you are a legitimate inspiration to my own life. I want to say I think I have been following you since this channel's inception and for what seems like a decade at minimum. Your transformation to me is like the embodiment of "having it all," and by that I mean that making an honest effort to improve your life, no matter what you choose to do, will be its own reward. "Life is an MMO," is something I tell my kids now, so I am really grateful for you sharing the journey through this format with the rest of us.
I was a very very active teen when wow came onto the scene. I have adhd and was able to have what seemed like boundless energy. I kept that energy until late 2012 into 2013 when I felt something was not quiet right with my health. 2013 I began getting seizures and weakness. Found out in the spring of 2014 I got a rare disease that was taking my eyesight and risked going blind. I practically slept through 2014 with intense head pain and many ER visits. 2015 I am getting a shunt put in whilst dealing with an abusive husband. I left him behind met the love of my life who got me into wow. I have no energy which depresses me. I play wow to keep my mind from going nuts. My body does not keep up with my adhd anymore. It has helped me cope in so many ways.
My proudest accomplishment that came from a video game is when I moved from Russia at age 10 to US and didn’t speak a lick of English for the first half a year which caused me to stay back a grade. Shortly after I discovered RuneScape and within half a year I was speaking pretty fluently because I would be playing all day after school and it was extremely easy to learn from seeing an image of the item and the text with it, plus the examining feature. Although when I started getting the hang of the language in terms of reading and knowing the meaning of words, pronouncing them was a different learning experience
Feeling old when hearing all the cool kids were playing CoD. We were talking about Amiga games, Doom and later about crash bandicoot / Gex3d when ps1 hit the market.
As a video game addict who got his shit together thats exactly how i treated life. When i reached a low point and couldnt find a way out I started treating life as a video game and I took small steps, one at a time. I went to the gym with the idea of increasing my strenght. I got into neuro psychology to increase my intelligence I started paying more attention to my diet so i could increase my stamina. I studied to get my drivers license thinking I was investing into a new mount. I started attending social events with the purpose of integrating into a guild. I learned archery and took street fighting lessons so i could protect myself from higher level opponents. And I looked for a stable job which I enjoy in order to provide myself an income, and income i can invest in further developing my character. I wasn't easy, and it was a long journey, a journey I still stroll trough to this day. But nothing in life is easy. Living a sad, cave dwelling lifestyle is just as hard as "just going out there and doing stuff". But it's a matter of which "Hard" we chose. And like that one meme said: Eventually it gets easier, but you have to do it every day for it to get easier
I have been thinking about it for a while and much like you i came to the conclusion that validation of results is a massive incentive and reason why games are so rewarding as young where you might essentially only have school to prove yourself at, and most dont care about that. I think the video covered THE important downside which is "addiction to ANYTHING to the ignorance of all relationships isnt healthy" hell there is that one video with a guy who got valedictorian and his speech essentially boils down to "to get this i had to ignore everyone important in my life and it wasnt worth it, so instead of striving to be like me enjoy your school life". The problem of these discussions often boils down to videogames being seen as a "lesser" hobby and people only want to admit to some small benefits like you mentioned, but why is it less valuable to become good at a game than become decent at playing guitar? why is it worth less to play through stories than to read books? its a nice idea that you have with "life is an mmorpg" but i also think personally that SOME ASPECTS of real life is glorified by far and isnt a good alternative, you even mentioned going clubbing and being social in clubs as opposed to being social online, which going out to drink and "waste money" would also be seen as wrong and bad for you. Life isnt a race against others, and i think this video almost oversimplifies and over glorifies certain aspects that you find value as "more valuable" than what can be achieved digitally, but im not sure it is, and it also conflates a hobby with what is work for alot of people, its a nice way of saying "why grind gold in an mmorpg when you can just work in real life for real money".
You inspired my to take up Muay Thai - something I've always been interested in as a half-Thai guy but I could just never find the motivation to commit to it, always made excuses, always felt like it'd take away from my gaming time which are a big part of who I am (specifically MMOs). Can say that in the last 3 weeks of training, I feel better than ever and the small moments I do find to play feel far more rewarding. I really felt like I was in a bit of an MMO slump but Muay Thai has managed to fill that time commitment gap. Hope I can keep up with it - your transformation has been awesome inspiration. Cheers 👍
About 3 years ago, I had a pretty balanced life with work, working out, army, and playing mmos. However, I got into an accident at work and hurt my hips and my back. Since then, I've had to get surgery after surgery to get back to where I was. I gained like 50 pounds bc I was bedbound or chair bound for nearly a year because my back and my hips made it to where I could barely move. If it weren't for games like mmos, idk if I woulda made it out of the stump i was in, and of course, my wife. However, now, after many surgeries and physical therapy, I'm getting my body back in shape and getting back towards being able to go to work in about half a year. These games help, but you have to know when to put it down like you said in the video. Thanks for all the great videos, Lazypeon!!
Nice sight, but i wish the real life that easy to, for ppl born poor hard to reach and lvl up in the real life while most of resource already got guard by powerful people
i just love how he makes the analogy with real life and games with quests, girlfriend expansion and new zones when u improve urself. Very good let young ppl know this reality. For a better outcome u must improve...
- Got interested in game graphics, coding, game music, animation and 3D modelling because of the Amiga 500 games when I was around 6-10. Later made my love for game related art into freelancer job and made living with it for a while. Learned also alot about music and made random tracks with FL studio which led to the point that some of my tracks ended up in the small indie games / visual novels. Made also alot art for visual novels and commissions as a hentai artist (met many awesome people that way also whom helped me to find who I am). - Learned English by playing Lineage 2 and WoW. - Found friend group because my roommate got invited in guild in WoW and told the guild leader that his gay roommate asked if he can join the guild. Guild leader /w me and asked if I am gay, my answer was "kinda" and he invited me in the guild. We still play WoW together sometimes. - Because of that friend I was able to finally come out to my parents and start my transition into transwoman. - Found boyfriend after started the estrogen treatment. - Bonded with my boyfriend because of the games (one of early dates we were shopping and he laughed at CoD poster about it being copy paste once again, had exactly same reaction same time when I saw the poster). - I got unknown condition and lost sight from right eye, half of the hearing from right ear and whole right side of my body is in constant enormous pain but games (specially WoW) has been very good way to get away from thinking the pain all the time. - Started learning LUA after got ADHD diagnose and medication for it and made my first AddOn for WoW thanks to the awesome people in the WoW AddOns discord and Weakauras Discord. - And now I am learning C and UE5 so that maybe I can one day make games by myself. Without that Amiga 500 my father traded for speakers, I'd be dead. Tried suicide few times but there was always something in my mind telling me to stop what I was doing and instead just boot up that Amiga, ps1, computer, log in WoW, draw tentacles for a customer and just chat with my guildies and laugh in raids like maniac because our guild name was "Oluen Voimalla" which translates to "With power of the beer" and whole raid was drunk except me and my roommate. So I'd say that MMOs and games overall have helped me to stay alive and find balance in my life which is good I quess. My condition is still causing alot problems and I can't find/keep job because of that + ADHD problems (I get very bored after there is no challenge in what I do and at that point I have to think if the pain is worth the thing I do since I do not get any excitement or joy from it anymore). That is also reason why I don't really play WoW anymore yet can't find another MMO to play because other MMOs do not have enough compared to the WoW and WoW does nothing differently in it's expansions, it has turned into the laughing stock of a game what I considered CoD to be back in the day with copy paste way of handling things and CoD has become the game I enjoy playing with my friends.
Seeing myself reach max level in Sw2 for the first time was the first time I'd reached max level in any mmo and it was a small sense of pride that motivated me in my every day life. Now 9 characters maxed out and doing Daily's every day I can as well as having my list of in game goals has contributed over the past 8 years to me having a list of things in my life to achieve as well as mentally structuring and planning out with the key component of setting time aside for some of these things and having an internal schedule to work at every day. There might have been other life factors that attributed to this but those things include getting my associates and bachelors degree, a few girlfriend updates leading up to my love who I've been with for almost two years now, different jobs, being president of an organization while I was in college as well as an executive member in a few others and overall I think Gw2 is one of the things that helped me become more organized and persistent in life. I might not be a Raider or a Fractal/PvP/WvW Commander but I'm still proud of being in the 300s Mastery Rank and being confident in my explorations or assisting other players.
My biggest problem is doing things that are uncertain or involve other people because people make things uncertain, exercise is like the one thing that comes super easy to me these days I remember watching you when you where fat and to see how youve cleaned up your body is really respectable I want to try writing it down with mmo gamer psychology 😁 maybe it helps me grind out tasks i endlessly postpone
Learning to doubt people online and avoid scams is probably the most useful tip, specially since you see people falling for the most stupid shit online and you constantly ask why, well probably because they never learned...
Awesome video. I love the suggestion about treating RL as an MMO and writing down your stats, leveling plan etc on paper / notepad. Visualizing your RL as an MMO with no UI is something I do not recall hearing from any other "Are MMOs bad for you?" videos. Picturing London as a full loot PVP starting zone that will take tons of time to level out of was nice, that would be NYC to you Americans.
This is so true! It's way more fun when you think of your workouts as exp grind, sign up for races to speedrun a level or spreadsheet those daily kcal points. Just got to remember that there's none of these instant-gratification systems irl, so you have to be prepared to commit months or even years to reach end-game.
I have a few thousand hours logged into RuneScape going back to 2007. There was a point around high school (10 years ago) when it was ruining my relationships, hygiene, etc. I had to quit for awhile. Now I shower every day, brush teeth, found a girlfriend who I moved in with, new job, etc. Now I just play in moderation, helps that they have mobile versions on iPhone/iPad.
MMOs isn't the only thing that can potentially be unhealthy MUDs can and could be unhealthy as well, however, it's all in the matter of moderation and it does depend on your mental state.
This is why I love Guild Wars 2. You can take breaks and know the vertical progression doesn't exist, unlike coming back to WoW and relearning your class changes every time.
18-year Runescape veteran here. I'm in a tough situation but I find ways to do what I can to achieve at least some progression IRL and it helps a ton seriously having leeway to give yourself flexibility to do whatever you think could work for the time being. It helps fight off depression just sitting in the sun or playing your favorite sport while listening to your favorite music. I pretty much knew what to expect in the video, but it was still a very kind reminder. Thank you editor, you did a fantastic job, I actually cried hard today but this video helped me pull through.
I started Brazilian Jiujitsu around 5 months ago. I also go to the gym the days I don't do BJJ. I've been in a relationship for like 5 years, already engaged with her. I'm a programmer. I'm still studying, and I still play games like a crack addict when I have FREE TIME, but I've learned to never push anything aside to make time to play. Is not important, it shouldn't be a priority, and I learned that the hard way. I'm 27 years old and I'm just organizing my life cause games took the most of it and I regret it. Now I play around 2-3 hours a day. Some other days I'm just tired and don't play at all, and that's fine. Most games won't go anywhere, I can play the next day, or day after tomorrow.
They are. They're toxic from their very nature as being made as vehicles for monetization first, just like mobile games, and designed to be as drawn out as possible(including raid lockouts, rep thresholds etc) and a constant grind so that the players(read consumers) keep coming back and keep spending more money. With normal games you usually complete them and then move on with your life. With online games you don't. All this has been true since the very start, too. The idea of having players pay a monthly, reoccurring fee is what made MMOs possible and so hot in publishers eyes, not because they wanted to push the medium forward. That's the cynical truth, sadly.
I basically let MMOs (well FFXIV really) control my life from 2012-2017, but I've been playing one MMO or another since I was 13 (I'm 30 now). At my "peak" I was committed 25 hrs/week just on raiding. That 25 hours wasn't counting all the time I spent on raid prep, crafting, leveling alt jobs, or any other activity I did for "fun" in the game. I was turning down invitations to hang out from the only friend I had left, ignoring family, neglecting my personal health and just thinking and obsessing over the game every waking moment. Shit even in my dreams I would be playing FFXIV. I was even planning my college course load so they didn't conflict with my static's raid times. Needless to say I dropped out at some point. My dad died from cancer in 2017 and that was the catalyst that really made me stop, reflect, and realize how generally dissatisfied I had been with my life for many years, which led me to substitute real life with an MMO. The first few years of FFXIV were amazing and I still think fondly on those times, but the later half were just a colossal waste of time. I wasn't enjoying the game, it wasn't fun for me anymore, and I was essentially playing an MMO like it was a single player game. Even after my dad passed, and even up to last year, I continued to play the game but was gradually reducing the hours spent. Playing less hardcore and more casually. For now I haven't touched an MMO for about 6 months. The problem is I have yet to find something that I feel motivated to spend time on or something that brings me joy. I really do feel like I have messed up mental circuitry and specifically how I view/feel reward and pleasure from all these years of uncontrolled MMO binging. The mental hold it has on me is immense. I fucking hate it. Honestly I could go on and on but I'll stop here. Are MMOs bad? I think they're bad if you haven't experienced enough of life to not give an MMO oversized importance in your life.
I have watched countless of your videos, this might be one of the best. At first I put this video on my second monitor to listen in the background while looking for a new MMO to play since I was bored, then it was getting my attention more and I moved it on my main, fully focusing on everything you say. This really just flipped the switch in me. Some time ago I started the journey of improving my life for the first time, but lost focus and got addicted to games again, and even got depression. After this video I realized, I am not bored because of not having a good game to play, I am bored of gaming. I should instead spend my time doing something productive, and then play games only after that. Taking life as an MMO is actually a pretty nice mindset, I'm gonna take your advice and do the same because it sounds really good and I think might work for me. Thank you so much, I will continue on the life improvement journey and I'm sure this time it's gonna be better because this is not momentary motivation like last time, this time you helped me realize how stupid I am.
In 2017 i was part of a volunteer study for the Manchester University. In that study they had me play WoW (knowing I was a WoW player) at the end of various stress tests they put me through for a few hours that day. At the end of it, they found that my blood pressure and heart rate were much healthier then previous wind-down tests, and significantly improved than the stress tests. All in all, my brain's behaviour during the WoW session emphasised greater stress relief and created a more relaxed environment for my body. Is that cause I'm addicted (at the time), maybe? But, you can't ignore the good it did on my brain.
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hey Peon im here since like 3-4 years, and i also recently went to gym but i was already healthy lol, just saying, you and loltyler1 (league of legends streamer) inspired me for gym! keep it up with the Work of a streamer ! its always fun to watch you, i dont watch any other mmorpg content !
Hey peon don't ai generate your thumbnails it's obvious !!
@@MrSqueamishJam Why not? It's a pretty good thumbnail.
@@MrSqueamishJam he didn't reply to you. its almost like you don't matter to him lol
this guy is so cringe
I remember when WoW came out around the time I started college. A fair number of students in my class dropped out because they were playing Wow so much.
I did the same. Luckily I lucked out with crypto, then ultimately investments ... but dropping out because of WoW didn't exactly please my parents at the time.
WoW ruined a ton of lives.
this almost happened to me I was staying up all night and skipping morning classes and whatnot to play WoW lmao, but when I saw my grades and realized like I couldn't bs my way through tests and do last minute work on projects I did force myself to play less and pay more attention and I got my grades back up. I really teetered on the line though it was scary XD
For me, WoW kept me from partying too hard and dropping out of college. My roommate dropped out after his first semester. Me? Graduated with honors lol.
@@jock4551 no people ruined there lives not wow
I think the real issue here, is how unfulfilling life can be. I was a straight A student, captain of the soccer team, got a nearly a full-ride scholarship to college, and it all feels like it was a waste of time even more than a video game. Sometimes I wish I had just dropped out and played WoW. That's the real issue imao. Life doesn't really offer anything better.
Life be causes forces you to find your own fun minigame, which is necessarily what we want, or we might simply find most of them uninteresting, like a musical instrument would be cool, but a waste of my time, the one thing I tend to enjoy is overcoming things, but at a certain point you know your limits, you end up facing an absurd challenge, that is so unfair, that no normal person would beat it without like a year of practice.
Imo the issue is MMO’s tend to have caps. Life doesn’t really have a clear cap.
Imagine dying from simply playing a game for 19 hours, when some people do backbreaking work for 12+ hours daily
damn bro that's a sad reality man :(
Hey Peon just wanted to say thanks for this video. Since coming back from Thailand on vacation 3 weeks ago I lost motivation to go to the gym. I was using my vacation as my motivation for the past 6 months when I should have structured my priorities differently. I'm gonna go to the gym right now and focus on improving my strength and health rather than simply trying to look good for a short time.
If your goal is improving your general fitness level, aerobic activities, like running, biking, swimming, and so forth will provide you with more benefit than standard weight training, which is what people usually associate with "going to the gym." Strength training is more about improving your performance at a physical activity, rather than being a means towards better health. Although if you go at it in the form of circuit training, that is high reps, with low weight, and where you move from exercise, to exercise with no breaks in between, for at least ten minute periods at a time, then that will be better for general fitness than your standard form of strength training, as you're basically turning it into an aerobic activity.
You totally should have used Thailand as your start to your fitness journey! Thailand is the best place in the world to go for fitness. Something to consider next time!
slow and steady wins the race =]
Ha I spent 4 weeks in Thailand in February and did the same thing. Vacation was total workout motivation. Returned home and been pretty lazy since. Time to get back to the gym!!
Duuuude this is so key isn't it?! Fitness for health beats out fitness for peng bod EVERY time. You're lucky you had the self awareness and curiosity to work this one out early - unfortunately a lot of people run this cycle their whole lives. Good on you 🫶
Wait until you achieved all of your real life goals and realize that it doesnt matter whether you progress irl or not, come back to MMOs, become addicted again, rinse and repeat.
It’s funny. There’s this stereotype (it’s in this video too) that mostly younger, awkward people are gaming. All my friends on XBL in the day were over the age of 35. The amount of adults past 50 that pick up games again is immense!
This video is propaganda in the sense that the uploader is younger and less wise than he lets on. People like me are aged beyond this late 20’s “newly-wed” phase.
@@magog6852 I mean what Peon is doing seems to be working for him and looks like he is feeling great. I dont want to downplay this one bit.
The thing is that I feel like this video presents a simplistic view of "work out, have job = life is good" when in reality its not that simple. You can have all these things and still be miserable (I know that from experience). Life is deeper than that.
I'm so fucking proud of you man. I don't comment alot, but I am fairly certain I've watched near all the videos you've produced since I found you years ago. You single handedly rekindled my love of video games, especially the mmo genre, as well as the desire to one day make an mmo. This video proved to me that, even if some see it weird, treating life like a video game is a fun way to make improvements on it.
Thank you.
I never touched a video game till I was in my late 30s Skyrim Morrowind. I’m 60 now and only a few years ago went to MMO’s. Eventually landing on WOW Classic. I work out 2 times a day and try to eat right focusing on increasing my vegetable intake. However since I’m retired I do spend a lot of time playing. Recently bought an Ebike.
This was a great video especially the ending. The way you put real life terms into game lingo was really cool. I have been watching you for a number of years now and you have been my #1 go to for MMO content and seeing your journey moving to Thailand was an eye opener for me.
I set some goals out for myself this year and am steadily making headway. I would say the biggest thing to keep in mind for anyone setting goals is to take it literally 1 day at a time and set shorter simpler goals to reach that end your looking for. An example of this, for me, is that I set 3 goals for myself this year: learn guitar, get in shape, and get better with my firearms, all very broad goals.
I have focused on 1 goal which was to practice more with my firearms and I make it a point to go at least twice a month, or more, to the range and have been sticking to that.
As for getting in shape, this will be my next focus, and I will start off simple with going to the gym at least twice a week and focusing on weight training to gain muscle.
As for learning guitar, I will be going to a local shop in about a month to purchase a guitar and other things(like tuning equipment) and then putting in at least 15hrs/week watching tutorials and just learning basics. I want to actually learn music theory and not just memorize tabs.
This is one of the best videos you've ever done. I rarely comment on social media anymore, I was compelled to tell you: Great Job on this one!
I never comment on anything but what you said is exactly what I was going to say, amazing video!
I am an mmorpg socially akward nerd, so as I wanted to take on promotions I thought of social skills as something you need to grind and get better at. I am currently a manager and I often think of process improvement and even daily operations as a competitive videogame. This is what people mean by workaholic. All the long grindy days, spreadsheets, organization, leadership, strategic thinking; You are right it is the same, its just a way to conceptualize your job.
1000% Agreed. Except the make friends thing, it's just not for me. I gave up on it about 2 years ago, and i feel myself more happy. So my advice is don't (over)chase things that is somehow not for you, accept your loss and embrace fulfillment in other things. And maybe when u don't even expect it those things u are missing and gave up chasing them for a long time will come to you on their own.
I'm sorry bro but the "positive impact" didn't come from mmos sadly. It came from the success of your channel and your own mentality shift, paradigm shift if you will. I mean mmos can teach you things yes, but you can learn things by doing anything irl or in any other genre of game. So i'd say It was mostly all you who made that positive change.
Mmo ruined my life
How ???
You mean the MMO called life ruined your life?
Yeah, i feel you.. I don't really have time to play mmo games.
Is it over? No, you can change! 🎉
They certainly ruined your English
I really look up to you. Your look on life is awesome and you've changed your body drastically with it. Not everyone can overcome addiction, unless you look at it as a negative stat and actively try to remove it.
Anyone can overcome addiction. Not everyone decides to.
Simp
Imagine looking up to a mmorpg youtuber
@@Nitagnelifs Imagine having nothing better to do than being that one annoying lurker in an MMORPG RUclipsr's comments...
@@Nitagnelifs I don't have to imagine that, if you read my comment you'd know that's how I feel. Unless your talking to the metaphorical person who is gonna read that reply.
In moderation no... but you would have to be blind not to see that a large effort has gone into pacifying you, the pron, the pot, the games. They replace what you SHOULD be seeking. . . not hard to understand it. Not easy to come to grips with, however.
This hit directly to my heart. It's the first time ever I watch a video on RUclips where someone is talking about exactly the same things and feelings I have been through for the past 20 years. Thank you ever so much for this video. It's good to feel understood and to know other people have been through this and managed to win over this mental prison. I thought about looking at life like a MMO as a way to break out of my mental prison but always thought it was a silly idea. But as you put it it might actually work! You are proof of it after all, and I am so happy for you! But I want it to be my turn now 😊 Thanks a lot for this video it's very inspiring for me.
I've thought about this numerous times but I've never been able to nail down the aspects of what leveling up in real life means on a day to day basis. You've captured that. Bravo Peon.
Fantastic video. You hit all the nails on the head. A year ago I was very addicted to OSRS. Yes it was fun, but it halted my real life progression. These days I've been playing all kinds of games, ranging from WoW to simulators. At the same time I've been working hard on my academia and enjoying road cycling. Life is all about balance.
That "Treating real life like an MMO" bit is exactly what I started doing a little over a year and a half ago. I've done next to fucking nothing for 15 years. I mean the first 5 of that I was still in school so I was sorta forced to not play, but after? Doing the bare minimum to get by in life just so I can play wow. I started lifting, I started actually seeing family more, I began programming which later led to a professional career, but more importantly one of the first projects I built was a task list.... and I built it exactly like the quest tracker from warcraft. I even made it appear on the right top hand side of the screen. Every night before going to bed I would fill it up with dailies and every single day I'd get up and complete those dailies. I then made a second section for weeklies and did the same every sunday night filling it up. I then made a little xp bar and every daily would give me +10xp and every weekly +30. Literally this is all it took for me was treating real life like a videogame, I even stopped taking videos and screenshots of cool places in game and.. got into photography lmao. Now I'm more interested in finding real life waterfalls.
The thing is though, after nearly a year I went back to WoW and now I enjoy it 1000% more taking it in moderation. The most important step there was the second I'm not having fun or start having thoughts like "I could be doing something productive right now" I just simply log off and do something else. I still play, sometimes 4 hours a day, sometimes 4 hours a week, but I take it in a much healthier mindset to where I actually like the game again and it's not even in my top 5 priorities.
I used my MMO brain rot to defeat my MMO brain rot.
Shoutout to Shadowlands for being so fucking terrible that I changed my entire life and stopped being a loser.
The idea of conceptualizing life as an mmo is great, finding a way to put it into practice has been tough though
Bro honeslty your editor is so fucking hilarious you should give him a raise
So wholesome! I think what you are doing is called ïntelectualising", where you look at your real life situation from a "third perspective". It's a method commonly used for depression and anxiety, so it should work for positive endeavors aswell. Great job!
As MMO Player and also a person who did several raves and festivals I can completely admit that here are potential addicitons. And as you mentioned both are quite similar.
The brain (never) get the real kick from the first time of the dopamine rush. especially when the caches are empty.
even when it is hard at the beginning you need to have breaks or other brain stimulations as sports, friendships etc. And after some time you can come back and get a real good times :D
never forget to go home
or: never forget to logout :D
edit: and yes man! I changed also my life 5 years ago, lost 40+ kg of fat. Then I made two half marathons in under 110 min, make my IFRS accountant and changed my job.
Yes its hard to handle, but I like my daily sports, intense work, gaming with good friends, get my 6h sleep. And even with nearly 40 I love to rave the hole weekend a few times per year, with some rest time the following days.
its all about resource management as you said. But at the end: its worth it!
Thanks for this awesome video. That can help a lot of people to dont give up!
I remember when there were ppl hating on your transition period after moving to Thailand. It was inspiring to me that you stuck through it and still continue to do so, it’s awesome :) Thanks for sharing your life hack with seeing life as an mmo too, that pov does ring a bell to me since I like exploring open world games, and thinking about checking out new places irl in the same way sounds actually kinda fun.
What if one finds the most enjoyment out of PvP in MMO's? How do I go about PvP IRL? Lol
@@gabemaurer4969 Sports. Or become a movie scripter/director
@@gabemaurer4969anything competitve in general
So many of us addicts are crabs in a bucket. Miserable people want to keep everyone as miserable as themselves instead of putting in effort.
@@gabemaurer4969 I think sports like Jacob said is a great answer. Pretty much anything directly competitive.
Damn man, I never knew you went through that much of a transformation props to you man! Much love and please never stop blessing us with content and unbiased reviews :)
MMOs helped me get sober and turn my life around.
My life blew up last year (parents died, jost 2 jobs (layoffs), and evicted (housing crisis) in less than 1 month) and i'm still picking up the pieces. I went to Thailand to clear my head for a few months and it helped a lot. I think this is a great video with powerful advice for gamers to find structure.
What a thoughtful approach to gaming. I'll sit down tonight and map out the topics you mention - my stats, zones, future deeds to aspire to, etc.
Have you considered a side business to coach people through those topics? I imagine you'd have a good number of people sign up for life coaching that has a gaming twist.
EVE was the ultimate planning MMO. ArchAge had labor limits and used to joke in real life that I had used up my labor and time to do something else. Lots of funny analogies between MMOs and some real life activities. Lots of fun but doing anything too much is bad. Lots of these 'traps' in modern day societies.
I really loved this video. More people should think like this and take much better of themselves.
Thanks Peon.
MMOs are definitely harming me right now. I'm in my 20s with no job no car and virgin.
I actually do view real life as an MMO and can grind it like madman but the hardest part is figuring out what job can I even grind, the available options seem very limited. :(
STORY TIME! Wow, this actually really helped me put something I was confused about into perspective. Tekken... I jumped onto the Tekken band waggon with Tekken 7 when it was released on PC (I'd played Tekken as a kid back on the PS1 but was just button mashing) It took me 3 years to "git gud" and I did. Very good, I became Raijin with Kazuya, argubly the hardest character to play well with in Tekken at a decent enough level.
Remember, this is coming from no prior Tekken experience (of merit). I put so much time and effort into learning Tekken, it just... Clicked with me. I tried many characters but there was something about Kazuya I loved and I wanted to use him and main him, though everyone on the internet and friends who were into Tekken said don't pick Kazuya when you're new to Tekken. Fast forward to around 4 months ago. I had uninstalled the game probably 10 times. I began rage quitting a lot of matches, winning wasn't fun, losing obviously wasn't fun. Something was very different with my relationship with this game I used to have so much fun with, I recognized that I didn't like the game anymore, (it was mostly due to changes they made to the game and OP characters they started releasing which just felt so pay to win, this started my downward spiral I believe) yet I was unable to stop playing it. Everytime I would stop playing I was in a terrible mood, angry mostly. I wasn't enjoying myself AT ALL. And still, I couldn't stop. I had literal talks with myself about stopping playing it. I uninstalled it and said right that's it. No more Tekken 7, forever. 2 weeks later, the game is reinstalled and I'm back at it. Hating myself.
I didn't actually know this was an option till 4 months ago but I removed the game from my steam account, I no longer own the game. (amazing that Valve give you the option to do this) I haven't played Tekken 7 since, I still boot up emulated Tekken 5 or 6 to get those fingers twitching (Oh boy is Kazuya so much fun when you know what you're doing) and though I technically lost money by giving up ownership of the game, it was the best decision I've made in gaming. I still didn't really know what it was, I've been addicted to TONS of games in my life, but I've NEVER been addicted to a game I hate. That's was so bizarre to me, till now. Glad I finally have some insight into what the actual heck happened lol
Will I play Tekken 8? Yes.
Will I become addicted? Probably.
Will it get to the stage of hating the game yet still playing it? Maybe. But atleast I know what to do if that happens, just accept it and stop it. It is honestly the best decision.
This is one of the best videos, if not the best, you've ever done, Peon! The point you made about being addicting to an MMO because you're heavily invested in a game despite no longer having fun is spot on! :') By the way, I never knew you're living in Thailand! I live in Cambodia and I reject my sister's offer to visit Thailand 2 days ago because I wanted to focus on making content.
Props to the editor!!!
Years ago I had a co-worker who would often pass out in the middle of our shifts because he spent all of his off time playing World of Warcraft. He eventually got fired because of too many incidents of sleeping on the job. It seemed like it was the only place in his life where he was getting that sense of purpose and a feeling of importance from. A shame really; he was a nice guy - and it was taking away his ability to function in the real world almost as bad as another former co-worker who took a few too many hits of acid. I hope he has been able to turn his life around since then.
Not everybody gets addicted to that level - but to a certain kind of person it can be a real danger.
Great video!
I think MMOs are very much in the veins of „the dosage makes the poison“, they can teach you some great skills but they can also become so all encompassing it wrecks your life.
I’ve overcome some of my crippling social anxiety by learning how to communicate in MMOs but I’ve also been down the rabbit hole and lost myself. I think it’s very important to question yourself sometimes and take breaks to reevaluate and restructure your life. Having people in your life that actively support you in making better choices for yourself is also a good thing. I have pulled friends and guild mates out of the rabbit hole but they have also pulled me from time to time.
Real life might not always be great, in fact depending on where you start, it can be absolutely horrific, but a virtual world is not going to fix that, it’s just going to give a very fragile illusion of something better.
Dude, good content!! this video motivated me to play MMORPGS in a healthy way, with a different view!! Thanks!!
Awesome video, I wasn't expecting it to be so relatable with a personal story. Thanks for opening up and being so transparent, super inspiring. Thanks Peon and for the editor who spent an ungodly amount of time on it! Well done.
Sadly irl doesn't work like mmorpgs do. If In world of warcraft I spend I spend time leveling my character in 3 months I would be max lvl and would be constantly able to see my progress and I get stronger incrementally(Every level i get 100 health,1 str etc...). However in real life I tried spending 3 months working out, everyday, without skipping a day, and with a healthy diet. And yet what I realized is that when I started working out, I could only do 2 pullups. 1 month later it was 8 pulls ups. 2 months later 10 pullups. And 3 months later 9 pullups. Improvement literally stops at one point, while if you are leveling ,sure it takes more and more time to lvl , but you can see the difference, and its not such a big margin. But when it comes to real life, its fucking unfair. Like I can barely pull up myself 10 times. While some other guy can do it 30 times, with the same 3 months workout, just because he is built different. In wow, everybody gets the same experience.
Another important aspect of MMorpgs is something called PvP. In MMorpgs I can just go 1v1's or 2v2s ,battlegrounds and kill people. In real life its illegal to kill people, and whats even worse,I can be killed also. Meanwhile mmorpg if I die, i just respawn. I am literally only doing in thing in mmoprgs and that is pvp. So how can I use this method IRL anyway?
would you be surprised if I tell you that playing mmos got me into the stock market. Never liked economy, reading graphs and stuff like that until when I hit college, all of the sudden I had less time to grind for gear in mmo, so I had to make up for the lack of time with buying and selling items. I remember even making a spread sheet and following the prices of certain items that way. After finishing college and taking a look at my first year of work paycheck and realizing it was not much, i took the jump into the stock market, treated it the same way as I did with the mmos I played, and after two more years I was able to get enough money to buy me a house, basically trippling the money i had.
Bonus: thanks to mmo I was able to meet my SO, which pushed me to move to another place to be closer with my SO.
Great video! Refreshing, open and honest. I have achieved a lot in my life, and still going. But I definitely find myself letting the MMO experience take over sometimes (currently new world). Great reminder to learn to dial back - also I guess my way of sharing that the addiction can get anyone (even if they appear to have their shit together) so you are not failing (we have to call it what is is when it goes too far) alone and there IS something you can do about it. Also remember it is easier to achieve what you want with the help of others. Raid boss know as life is not feasible solo.
One of the best Peon's videos ever! This should be watched by literally everyone
MMOs were definitely bad for me. I suffered from quite a nasty bout of depression while I was playing WoW, to the point where I was compelled to play it, but every moment I was playing it, I was miserable and unfulfilled. As soon as I quit the game and started narrowing down the scope of the games I play, I suddenly became far happier. I limit myself to games I can finish in around 8-30 hours, maybe 100 hours if it's something I really like, but the key element is that the game must have an 'end'. MMOs by definition don't have ends, they have endgame, and endgame is an endless treadmill of dissatisfaction, always pushing for the next thing. At least with singleplayer games, I can put it down and go "That was a good experience", and if I want to play it again later, I can. With MMOs, you're always behind.
When you listed the mmo positives of Thailand I straight up started dying laughing "less open world pvp" bruh 🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭
Great video.. Much respect dude 🙏🏾
.... "Pros.. Thailand has Less OpenWorld PVP" 😂😂 comedy gold
Great video! I appreciate your honest and fair evaluation of the genre and gaming in general.
Balance in all things. Obsessing or focusing on one activity for too long is a shot to the foot.
one of your best videos mate. Ive been straying away from games because they have been disruptive to me irl, preventing me to chase my goals and dreams. Im still looking for the balance of irl and virtual for me. Cheers :)
Love this !!! Been watching you forever. I’ve been through the same journey where games have sucked me in but watching you encourages me so much. Keep it up dude!
Loved this. I definitely credit gaming as one of the many reasons I've become successful and always want to improve. Playing competitively I always wanted to be the best and having an MMO outlook on life makes me always imagine that I'm gaining experience in what I'm doing despite progress feeling extremely slow. Couple that with there being absolutely no new games to play, gave me a lot of time to turn my life around and increase my stats as much as possible before the next big release. :)
I too got lured into the wilderness as a kid. Later in college I was walking back from a friend’s dorm nearby and had to marta (atlanta subway which sucks) back to my place. The marta looked closed and this dude walked by and was like “yea man you just got to get in from the other side here follow me!” He started walking down this dark alley and I just noped the fuck out and walked back to my friend’s dorm trying my best to stay in well lit public areas the whole way. And that’s how runescape saved me from being mugged!
I remember in high school back in 2010 i played RuneScape when dungeoneering came out. I thought this was my one chance to be on the front page of the highscores for a skill. So i continuously grinded trying to achieve being one of the first players to reach level 120 in the skill. I was joining elite clans playing with some of the absolute best people in the game day after day. I ended up being one of the first 100 people to achieve it, but never made it to the front page of the high scores though. I missed out on so many events and moments with my friends and my school grades slipped as i was applying for colleges. I always wondered how things would have been if i took my real life more seriously and had those moments with my friends and kept my grades up.
Amazing video- lot of love for your content and glad to see your life going from strength to strength
I remember staying up for 2 and a half days waiting for the Time lost protodrake when wotlk launched. I felt a pop in my head and got scared so I just dropped on my bed and passed out for 14h straight. Good times 10/10
Great video. Really thought-provoking and wholesome. Thank you for this.
Absolutely loved this video and I definitely see how viewing RL as an MMORPG would help people like us to make actual RL progress! Thanks for this 😊
The problem is in real life you cannot HEAL. When health problems arise there are no potions here. And you cannot even restart or respec. Or create a new character and start over. Life sucks and there is where escapism comes into place. When you are in a never ending raid in your real life all alone.
I listed the Progression Step in case anyone needs it,
MMO games called IRL Legends
1. What are my Stats
2. Where are my Questing
3. What type of Content do I want
4. When I reach end game
5. Write down the different types of Quests, Features, Content and Expansions that might Unlock
Obstacles
1. I have a lot of resources to manage
2. Maintenance to regenerate my Willpower and Energy Resources
3. I can't max out every stat
4. I need to be quite Selective about how I spend my attribute points
5. IRL MMO it's pretty P2W, mostly only unlock with Gold and not via random drop
6. If I'm unlucky enough to start in one of the games hardcore full loot PVP zones with bad starting attributes then I'm going to have much longer grind to reach the end game
Impressive video from someone who make money from covering them, might even be your best video peon.
very well done and i have to go look into a mirror for a bit.
Peon, you are a legitimate inspiration to my own life. I want to say I think I have been following you since this channel's inception and for what seems like a decade at minimum. Your transformation to me is like the embodiment of "having it all," and by that I mean that making an honest effort to improve your life, no matter what you choose to do, will be its own reward.
"Life is an MMO," is something I tell my kids now, so I am really grateful for you sharing the journey through this format with the rest of us.
I was a very very active teen when wow came onto the scene. I have adhd and was able to have what seemed like boundless energy. I kept that energy until late 2012 into 2013 when I felt something was not quiet right with my health. 2013 I began getting seizures and weakness. Found out in the spring of 2014 I got a rare disease that was taking my eyesight and risked going blind. I practically slept through 2014 with intense head pain and many ER visits. 2015 I am getting a shunt put in whilst dealing with an abusive husband. I left him behind met the love of my life who got me into wow. I have no energy which depresses me. I play wow to keep my mind from going nuts. My body does not keep up with my adhd anymore. It has helped me cope in so many ways.
My proudest accomplishment that came from a video game is when I moved from Russia at age 10 to US and didn’t speak a lick of English for the first half a year which caused me to stay back a grade. Shortly after I discovered RuneScape and within half a year I was speaking pretty fluently because I would be playing all day after school and it was extremely easy to learn from seeing an image of the item and the text with it, plus the examining feature. Although when I started getting the hang of the language in terms of reading and knowing the meaning of words, pronouncing them was a different learning experience
This was great. Proud of everyone who has been leveling up in the IRL MMO 💪🏻
Feeling old when hearing all the cool kids were playing CoD. We were talking about Amiga games, Doom and later about crash bandicoot / Gex3d when ps1 hit the market.
As a video game addict who got his shit together thats exactly how i treated life. When i reached a low point and couldnt find a way out I started treating life as a video game and I took small steps, one at a time.
I went to the gym with the idea of increasing my strenght.
I got into neuro psychology to increase my intelligence
I started paying more attention to my diet so i could increase my stamina.
I studied to get my drivers license thinking I was investing into a new mount.
I started attending social events with the purpose of integrating into a guild.
I learned archery and took street fighting lessons so i could protect myself from higher level opponents.
And I looked for a stable job which I enjoy in order to provide myself an income, and income i can invest in further developing my character.
I wasn't easy, and it was a long journey, a journey I still stroll trough to this day. But nothing in life is easy. Living a sad, cave dwelling lifestyle is just as hard as "just going out there and doing stuff". But it's a matter of which "Hard" we chose.
And like that one meme said: Eventually it gets easier, but you have to do it every day for it to get easier
I have been thinking about it for a while and much like you i came to the conclusion that validation of results is a massive incentive and reason why games are so rewarding as young where you might essentially only have school to prove yourself at, and most dont care about that.
I think the video covered THE important downside which is "addiction to ANYTHING to the ignorance of all relationships isnt healthy" hell there is that one video with a guy who got valedictorian and his speech essentially boils down to "to get this i had to ignore everyone important in my life and it wasnt worth it, so instead of striving to be like me enjoy your school life".
The problem of these discussions often boils down to videogames being seen as a "lesser" hobby and people only want to admit to some small benefits like you mentioned, but why is it less valuable to become good at a game than become decent at playing guitar? why is it worth less to play through stories than to read books? its a nice idea that you have with "life is an mmorpg" but i also think personally that SOME ASPECTS of real life is glorified by far and isnt a good alternative, you even mentioned going clubbing and being social in clubs as opposed to being social online, which going out to drink and "waste money" would also be seen as wrong and bad for you.
Life isnt a race against others, and i think this video almost oversimplifies and over glorifies certain aspects that you find value as "more valuable" than what can be achieved digitally, but im not sure it is, and it also conflates a hobby with what is work for alot of people, its a nice way of saying "why grind gold in an mmorpg when you can just work in real life for real money".
You can get mounts from a random drop if you play the Thief class in real life.
Or if you win a car via raffle.
You inspired my to take up Muay Thai - something I've always been interested in as a half-Thai guy but I could just never find the motivation to commit to it, always made excuses, always felt like it'd take away from my gaming time which are a big part of who I am (specifically MMOs). Can say that in the last 3 weeks of training, I feel better than ever and the small moments I do find to play feel far more rewarding. I really felt like I was in a bit of an MMO slump but Muay Thai has managed to fill that time commitment gap. Hope I can keep up with it - your transformation has been awesome inspiration. Cheers 👍
God those memories from that L2 music in the background ... No other game has gotten close to that first dive into L2 original launch
I had the same conversation with a friend today. We were laughing that we have the passive skill of drinking coffee for hours...
The Lineage 2 music in the background at the start of the video brought so many memories :(
OMG the picture from 1:06 I would not recognise You! What a journey man! Good job :)
About 3 years ago, I had a pretty balanced life with work, working out, army, and playing mmos. However, I got into an accident at work and hurt my hips and my back. Since then, I've had to get surgery after surgery to get back to where I was. I gained like 50 pounds bc I was bedbound or chair bound for nearly a year because my back and my hips made it to where I could barely move. If it weren't for games like mmos, idk if I woulda made it out of the stump i was in, and of course, my wife. However, now, after many surgeries and physical therapy, I'm getting my body back in shape and getting back towards being able to go to work in about half a year. These games help, but you have to know when to put it down like you said in the video. Thanks for all the great videos, Lazypeon!!
Nice sight, but i wish the real life that easy to, for ppl born poor hard to reach and lvl up in the real life while most of resource already got guard by powerful people
i just love how he makes the analogy with real life and games with quests, girlfriend expansion and new zones when u improve urself. Very good let young ppl know this reality. For a better outcome u must improve...
- Got interested in game graphics, coding, game music, animation and 3D modelling because of the Amiga 500 games when I was around 6-10. Later made my love for game related art into freelancer job and made living with it for a while. Learned also alot about music and made random tracks with FL studio which led to the point that some of my tracks ended up in the small indie games / visual novels. Made also alot art for visual novels and commissions as a hentai artist (met many awesome people that way also whom helped me to find who I am).
- Learned English by playing Lineage 2 and WoW.
- Found friend group because my roommate got invited in guild in WoW and told the guild leader that his gay roommate asked if he can join the guild. Guild leader /w me and asked if I am gay, my answer was "kinda" and he invited me in the guild. We still play WoW together sometimes.
- Because of that friend I was able to finally come out to my parents and start my transition into transwoman.
- Found boyfriend after started the estrogen treatment.
- Bonded with my boyfriend because of the games (one of early dates we were shopping and he laughed at CoD poster about it being copy paste once again, had exactly same reaction same time when I saw the poster).
- I got unknown condition and lost sight from right eye, half of the hearing from right ear and whole right side of my body is in constant enormous pain but games (specially WoW) has been very good way to get away from thinking the pain all the time.
- Started learning LUA after got ADHD diagnose and medication for it and made my first AddOn for WoW thanks to the awesome people in the WoW AddOns discord and Weakauras Discord.
- And now I am learning C and UE5 so that maybe I can one day make games by myself.
Without that Amiga 500 my father traded for speakers, I'd be dead. Tried suicide few times but there was always something in my mind telling me to stop what I was doing and instead just boot up that Amiga, ps1, computer, log in WoW, draw tentacles for a customer and just chat with my guildies and laugh in raids like maniac because our guild name was "Oluen Voimalla" which translates to "With power of the beer" and whole raid was drunk except me and my roommate.
So I'd say that MMOs and games overall have helped me to stay alive and find balance in my life which is good I quess. My condition is still causing alot problems and I can't find/keep job because of that + ADHD problems (I get very bored after there is no challenge in what I do and at that point I have to think if the pain is worth the thing I do since I do not get any excitement or joy from it anymore). That is also reason why I don't really play WoW anymore yet can't find another MMO to play because other MMOs do not have enough compared to the WoW and WoW does nothing differently in it's expansions, it has turned into the laughing stock of a game what I considered CoD to be back in the day with copy paste way of handling things and CoD has become the game I enjoy playing with my friends.
Seeing myself reach max level in Sw2 for the first time was the first time I'd reached max level in any mmo and it was a small sense of pride that motivated me in my every day life. Now 9 characters maxed out and doing Daily's every day I can as well as having my list of in game goals has contributed over the past 8 years to me having a list of things in my life to achieve as well as mentally structuring and planning out with the key component of setting time aside for some of these things and having an internal schedule to work at every day. There might have been other life factors that attributed to this but those things include getting my associates and bachelors degree, a few girlfriend updates leading up to my love who I've been with for almost two years now, different jobs, being president of an organization while I was in college as well as an executive member in a few others and overall I think Gw2 is one of the things that helped me become more organized and persistent in life. I might not be a Raider or a Fractal/PvP/WvW Commander but I'm still proud of being in the 300s Mastery Rank and being confident in my explorations or assisting other players.
Like for editor, respect for Peon. Holy shit, finally some real life guide
My biggest problem is doing things that are uncertain or involve other people because people make things uncertain, exercise is like the one thing that comes super easy to me these days
I remember watching you when you where fat and to see how youve cleaned up your body is really respectable
I want to try writing it down with mmo gamer psychology 😁 maybe it helps me grind out tasks i endlessly postpone
7:06 Depression: Look what they need to mimic a fraction of our power!
Learning to doubt people online and avoid scams is probably the most useful tip, specially since you see people falling for the most stupid shit online and you constantly ask why, well probably because they never learned...
Reaching endgame IRL has a whole different connotation,unless Tencent buy my carcass and farm it out somehow
Awesome video. I love the suggestion about treating RL as an MMO and writing down your stats, leveling plan etc on paper / notepad. Visualizing your RL as an MMO with no UI is something I do not recall hearing from any other "Are MMOs bad for you?" videos.
Picturing London as a full loot PVP starting zone that will take tons of time to level out of was nice, that would be NYC to you Americans.
Played wow growing up,but still managed to get a degree in Pharmacy,have a family and so on, so no, MMO's are not always bad,depends on the person!
This is so true! It's way more fun when you think of your workouts as exp grind, sign up for races to speedrun a level or spreadsheet those daily kcal points. Just got to remember that there's none of these instant-gratification systems irl, so you have to be prepared to commit months or even years to reach end-game.
Your air, water and food are being poisoned and is cutting your life span in half. I think games are the least of our worries right now.
13:33 i got you home boi
I have a few thousand hours logged into RuneScape going back to 2007. There was a point around high school (10 years ago) when it was ruining my relationships, hygiene, etc. I had to quit for awhile. Now I shower every day, brush teeth, found a girlfriend who I moved in with, new job, etc. Now I just play in moderation, helps that they have mobile versions on iPhone/iPad.
MMOs isn't the only thing that can potentially be unhealthy MUDs can and could be unhealthy as well, however, it's all in the matter of moderation and it does depend on your mental state.
You need to make a 2022 year review of your IRL MMO leveling
This is why I love Guild Wars 2. You can take breaks and know the vertical progression doesn't exist, unlike coming back to WoW and relearning your class changes every time.
Great job editor! Though I have to ask why are the feet blurred? Is that too comply with a weird RUclips guidelines? It was oddly noticable.
18-year Runescape veteran here. I'm in a tough situation but I find ways to do what I can to achieve at least some progression IRL and it helps a ton seriously having leeway to give yourself flexibility to do whatever you think could work for the time being. It helps fight off depression just sitting in the sun or playing your favorite sport while listening to your favorite music. I pretty much knew what to expect in the video, but it was still a very kind reminder. Thank you editor, you did a fantastic job, I actually cried hard today but this video helped me pull through.
I started Brazilian Jiujitsu around 5 months ago. I also go to the gym the days I don't do BJJ. I've been in a relationship for like 5 years, already engaged with her. I'm a programmer. I'm still studying, and I still play games like a crack addict when I have FREE TIME, but I've learned to never push anything aside to make time to play. Is not important, it shouldn't be a priority, and I learned that the hard way. I'm 27 years old and I'm just organizing my life cause games took the most of it and I regret it.
Now I play around 2-3 hours a day. Some other days I'm just tired and don't play at all, and that's fine. Most games won't go anywhere, I can play the next day, or day after tomorrow.
They are. They're toxic from their very nature as being made as vehicles for monetization first, just like mobile games, and designed to be as drawn out as possible(including raid lockouts, rep thresholds etc) and a constant grind so that the players(read consumers) keep coming back and keep spending more money. With normal games you usually complete them and then move on with your life. With online games you don't.
All this has been true since the very start, too. The idea of having players pay a monthly, reoccurring fee is what made MMOs possible and so hot in publishers eyes, not because they wanted to push the medium forward. That's the cynical truth, sadly.
I basically let MMOs (well FFXIV really) control my life from 2012-2017, but I've been playing one MMO or another since I was 13 (I'm 30 now). At my "peak" I was committed 25 hrs/week just on raiding. That 25 hours wasn't counting all the time I spent on raid prep, crafting, leveling alt jobs, or any other activity I did for "fun" in the game. I was turning down invitations to hang out from the only friend I had left, ignoring family, neglecting my personal health and just thinking and obsessing over the game every waking moment. Shit even in my dreams I would be playing FFXIV. I was even planning my college course load so they didn't conflict with my static's raid times. Needless to say I dropped out at some point.
My dad died from cancer in 2017 and that was the catalyst that really made me stop, reflect, and realize how generally dissatisfied I had been with my life for many years, which led me to substitute real life with an MMO. The first few years of FFXIV were amazing and I still think fondly on those times, but the later half were just a colossal waste of time. I wasn't enjoying the game, it wasn't fun for me anymore, and I was essentially playing an MMO like it was a single player game. Even after my dad passed, and even up to last year, I continued to play the game but was gradually reducing the hours spent. Playing less hardcore and more casually. For now I haven't touched an MMO for about 6 months. The problem is I have yet to find something that I feel motivated to spend time on or something that brings me joy. I really do feel like I have messed up mental circuitry and specifically how I view/feel reward and pleasure from all these years of uncontrolled MMO binging. The mental hold it has on me is immense. I fucking hate it. Honestly I could go on and on but I'll stop here.
Are MMOs bad? I think they're bad if you haven't experienced enough of life to not give an MMO oversized importance in your life.
I have watched countless of your videos, this might be one of the best.
At first I put this video on my second monitor to listen in the background while looking for a new MMO to play since I was bored, then it was getting my attention more and I moved it on my main, fully focusing on everything you say. This really just flipped the switch in me. Some time ago I started the journey of improving my life for the first time, but lost focus and got addicted to games again, and even got depression. After this video I realized, I am not bored because of not having a good game to play, I am bored of gaming. I should instead spend my time doing something productive, and then play games only after that. Taking life as an MMO is actually a pretty nice mindset, I'm gonna take your advice and do the same because it sounds really good and I think might work for me. Thank you so much, I will continue on the life improvement journey and I'm sure this time it's gonna be better because this is not momentary motivation like last time, this time you helped me realize how stupid I am.
In 2017 i was part of a volunteer study for the Manchester University. In that study they had me play WoW (knowing I was a WoW player) at the end of various stress tests they put me through for a few hours that day. At the end of it, they found that my blood pressure and heart rate were much healthier then previous wind-down tests, and significantly improved than the stress tests. All in all, my brain's behaviour during the WoW session emphasised greater stress relief and created a more relaxed environment for my body. Is that cause I'm addicted (at the time), maybe? But, you can't ignore the good it did on my brain.
been viewing life as a video game for the past year; practically saved me