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Craig Beers
Downloads/Media Editor

The Eternal Quest to Get Better Stuff

As one of the last people in the office still playing Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, even I can't explain its addiction. Right now I look at the game and tell myself that I don't find any lasting value in it. What memories do I have of playing the other day? I think I got a half level of experience. And the day before? My druid hit level 59 and I killed Baal for the 40th time. All this doesn't matter when I boot up the game at the end of the day. It's a habit that I automatically start the game. So what got me addicted in the first place? It's something that a lot of games do well--not just in games like Diablo II, but even in games like The Sims. That is, the eternal quest to get better stuff.

If I look back at earlier games that I was addicted to, I see a trend. I suppose I've ended up in a cycle because the first game I was seriously addicted to was Diablo. I remember playing that game all night during my freshman year in college. The only reason I could have played it so much was because of the items. I didn't know anyone else who played the game, so I was always joining random games. The only reason I quit playing was because I got player-killed by someone and ended up losing all my equipment. I felt lost without my equipment--at first I asked around to see if anyone would be gracious enough to give me something to replace it. This was around the time that item duping became mainstream, so I did get some good stuff back--but then I asked myself, what's the point? Now everyone will have the same exact stuff and you'll never find anything better. I secretly was grateful to that player killer because he got me to kick the habit. I didn't get so attached to another game for about two years, until something similar emerged to ensnare me.

screenshot
It's not about the hack-and-slash action--it's about the stuff!
 
Craig's
Now Playing
Max Payne, Anarchy Online, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction

Recent Favorites
Serious Sam, Fallout Tactics

All-Time Favorites
Team Fortress, Ultima VII

 
Rage of Mages came and went quickly for me. But during the week I played it, the game abused me. I have never had such a marathon of gaming. I skipped that entire week of classes to play the game over and over. I had partners in crime this time...I played with the same group of people every day. We'd find all the good items and swap them between us. You'd think the embarrassment of handing in late problem sets to a professor was enough to put a stop to this, but in reality, it was the game itself. Once again the items were the beginning and the end. There was simply nothing else to get. Fortunately I was smart enough to stay away from that game's unholy progeny--Rage of Mages 2, and the somewhat related Evil Islands.

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Not as well-known as Diablo, but just as addictive.
By now you can imagine what I'm going to say about Diablo II. In Diablo II, I managed to get a sorceress up to level 35 before quitting. I couldn't find anything good to keep her alive in nightmare difficulty. So when the expansion came out I expected to play it for a little while then toss it in the corner after I got angry about never having anything good. Well, much to my surprise, I started finding some nice stuff. I found an exceptional unique sword after defeating Diablo that I still use. Then I got a rare helm that gives me plenty of extra skills for my druid. Slowly I started adding other great equipment, and that was enough to keep me playing. That continuance on playing the Diablo II expansion is what got me thinking about all this. I never thought about why I stopped playing some games, and I never realized it would be the same reason I played them so much.
 
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