What is a role-playing game, you ask, and why do people become so engrossed in them? A role-playing game is one where you are essentially “in” the game, hence the “role” aspect of the game. Games of these nature include Fire Emblem, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Pokémon and Clash of Clans. Now, why do people become so addicted to role-playing games so quickly? Most see RPG players as people that “have no lives” and waste their time playing games. However, in these games, you’re in charge, you’re the boss, and you call the shots. Aside from that, the worlds these games place you in have a somewhat realistic feel, as if you were actually inside the game. You probably have a friend that plays World of Warcraft or League of Legends a lot, maybe two to four hours at a time. But the gamers that most people focus on are the extremists, the people who play so much that they make it into the news.

The people who you hear in the news playing video games are not your average gamers. Those who are playing RPGs 24/7 are known as the “extremists.” Most of these gamers play RPGs that are first-person shooter games with an online multiplayer feature. It’s usually these people who give the gaming community a bad name; and it’s these people who take these games to an entirely new level. The games most notorious for making people addicted include World of Warcraft, Clash of Clans and League of Legends. All of these games allow the player to purchase in-game items to aid them or to help them progress through the game faster. The items are priced moderately for the most part, such as a dollar, two dollars, but can be priced at 100 dollars, an amount that extremists are willing to spend. The people who are addicted to these games sometimes spend over a thousand dollars on the game itself in month. Because of this, Role-playing games are being taken too far.

Wherever you look, you will find extremists. Religious groups, political groups, and the gaming community all have members who express or perform extremely. It’s usually because they have a strong belief or love for something, and express that in a way that, to most of us, might seem irrational or just plain idiotic. In essence, people have gone overboard with games before; it’s not a new thing. We read it in the news and we think ‘what an idiot,’ ‘what a waste of money.’ But if one person’s love for a game doesn’t affect you personally, let them do what they want, as it’s their life and their money. If people want to play games 24/7, let them, just like most would let extremists of other groups express their views and ideas as long as it doesn’t affect the well-being of others.