Game over

On his worst days, Matt K. would roll out of bed and head directly for his computer.

Within seconds, he would be logged on to “World of Warcraft,” an online game that has more than 8 million players worldwide. Though he was supposed to be out looking for a job, the recent college graduate from Mercer County, N.J., would spend his day navigating the game’s vast 3-D fantasy world of gnomes, elves, dragons, epic quests and bloody battles.

Sustained by a water jug by his side and brief runs to the kitchen for food, he would sit in front of the computer for the next 14 to 16 hours, until it was time for bed. As he closed his eyes, he would remain in Azeroth, the game’s fictional world.

“My dreams at night would be all about ‘World of Warcraft.’ I was just consumed with it at all times,” he said.

Depressed and disgusted, Matt K. gradually quit the game last fall with the help of friends and On-Line Gamers Anonymous, a Web site that offers a 12-step program for self-confessed video game addicts. (Matt K., 22, declined to allow his last name or hometown to be used, citing the program’s 11th “tradition,” which discourages recovering addicts from publicly revealing their identities.)

As video games become more widespread and sophisticated, psychiatrists and gamers say the number of people showing signs of serious addiction is growing. Twelve-step programs and treatment centers have gradually begun to emerge to treat the mostly young, male gamers who say “World of Warcraft,” “EverQuest,” “Final Fantasy” and other games are taking over their lives.

“It does seem to be a growing problem,” said Kimberly Young, director of the Pennsylvania-based Center for Internet Addiction Recovery.

“We generally see severe cases – mostly children and some adults whose lives seem overcome by the need to game. Loved ones are the first to notice the problem, but, I think, like any other form of addictive or compulsive behavior, there is a great sense of denial.”

Last year, an inpatient video game addiction clinic opened in Amsterdam to treat compulsive gamers in Europe. Clinics also have begun to open in China, Taiwan, South Korea and elsewhere in Asia, where online gaming is most popular and some government agencies have begun to track reports of addiction.

The U.S. psychiatric community has been slower to recognize obsessive gaming as a true illness, Young said. There is still a debate over whether excessive video game use qualifies as an addiction or a symptom of another problem, such as compulsive gambling or depression.

“Internet addiction is still relatively new in our culture, and the subtype of online gaming addiction is even newer,” Young said. “Over time we will learn more from research, especially as much is being published from countries like China and Korea to help guide us in how to develop similar treatment programs.”

Part of the learning process is recognizing how video games have evolved since the days of Pac-Man. Many of today’s games, including those for the Sony’s new PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s new Wii, have sophisticated graphics and complex story lines.

Gamers say the most addictive, by far, are the new breed of massive multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPGs, played on a personal computer. The games, digital descendants of the old Dungeons and Dragons dice games, are played in real time by thousands of players simultaneously logged in to an online world.

In games like “World of Warcraft,” “EverQuest” and “Star Wars Galaxies,” players create their own characters, go on complex quests, explore detailed lands and participate in battles. With each task, they can gain abilities and weapons that make their characters increasingly powerful. Players can also communicate with one another and form alliances within the game.

The games have no winner or conclusion. Instead, users pay a monthly fee, usually less than $20, to play. The game manufacturers periodically release new software – as “World of Warcraft” did this month with its long-awaited expansion package, “The Burning Crusade” ($39.99) – that expands the game by adding new lands for users to explore and new levels for top players to achieve.

Players say the appeal of multiplayer online games is the social nature of the experience and the ability to assume a new persona in a fantasy world. Many gamers and game developers dismiss tales of widespread video game addiction as an invention of the media or the result of people who blame online games for deeper emotional problems.

Blizzard Entertainment, the developer of “World of Warcraft,” and Sony Online Entertainment, the manufacturer of “EverQuest,” say there are millions of users who use their products responsibly.

” ‘EverQuest’ is a game,” said Courtney Simmons, a spokeswoman for Sony Online Entertainment. “As with any form of entertainment, it is the responsibility of each individual player to monitor his or her own playing habits and prioritize his or her time as necessary. It is not our place to monitor or limit how individuals spend their free time.”

Liz Woolley of Harrisburg, Pa., said she was not concerned when her 20-year-old son Shawn began playing “EverQuest” on their home computer in 2000. But over time she noticed her son’s personality starting to change as he began to spend all his time in front of the online sword and sorcery game.

Getting him a therapist did not help. “The therapist looked at me and said, ‘You should be happy he’s not addicted to drugs and alcohol,’ ” Woolley recalled. “That gave him a green light.”

Eventually, Shawn got a job at a pizza restaurant and his own apartment in Wisconsin, where the family then lived. But his obsession grew worse. On Thanksgiving 2001, Woolley went to his apartment and found her son dead at his computer. “EverQuest” was on the screen.

Shawn, who killed himself with a rifle, did not leave a suicide note. With the help of other gamers, Woolley went into his computer and tracked his final days on “EverQuest.” His computer files showed Shawn had fallen in love with another character within the game but was rejected when he declared his feelings through his online alter-ego.

“He was blending reality with the game,” his mother said.

In 2002, Woolley founded On-Line Gamers Anonymous (www.olganonboard.org), a Web site with more than 3,000 members. The site’s message boards are filled with similar stories of job loss and relationship problems from “World of Warcraft” and “EverQuest” users (who refer to the games as WoW, EverCrack or NeverRest) who say they can’t stop playing.

“I hate who I’ve become,” wrote a married father of two using the screen name OnTheEdge. “I look back at the time I spent on games and not my family with anguish. I honestly can’t remember certain parts of my youngest child’s growing up.”

Many gamers admit they are reluctant to stop playing after devoting so much time and money to creating their online characters, which inevitably have more power and social status than they do in real life.

Woolley occasionally counsels some of the worst cases over the phone or in person. She blames the game manufacturers for deliberately designing the games to require users to spend more and more time online in order to progress.

“It’s like going into a cult,” Woolley said. “Somebody better start helping these people because there are enough of them out there.”

Matt K. said he is doing well after about three months away from “World of Warcraft.” He recently went back to school and is now majoring in plant science at Rutgers University.

He and a friend are trying to start a weekly meeting for fellow recovering gamers to meet in person and help each other stay on track. In an age when video game use continues to grow, Matt K. said the urge to play remains.

“There is always going to be temptation,” he said.