Here is a really interesting article, that looks at gaming addiction, but not so much from the idea people are actually addicted to the games, but rather that sense of achievement and purpose they can instill. To use a new reference, the articles talks about the French 'World of Warcraft' player who managed to reach the new level cap of 70 in only a short amount of time.

From the article:

"Video games ... have tremendous potential to impact people, particularly today's video games which are incredibly rich and complex," said Dr. Scott Rigby of Immersyve, speaking to Reuters Health. "This creates very fertile ground psychologically."

But a fertile ground for what? According to the results of the study published in the December 2006 edition of the journal Motivation and Emotion, videogames, beyond being addictive pastimes, allow those who play them to feel accomplished, talented and connected to others, feelings that those who game may not be used to having in real life.

"Video games in some ways are very good at satisfying these psychological needs," said Rigby. "Often times real life is not as clear ... real life often can make you feel ineffective."

That is to say those who play games do so, perhaps, less out of a desire to have "fun" and more for the feeling of empowerment and the exhilaration of being able to accomplish, in a game, what might otherwise be impossible. Anyone who's felt the thrill of raiding tombs or, as I like to say "saving the universe and blowing stuff up" after a particularly hard day at the office can surely relate to the release of escapism. But we can get that same enjoyment, same "escape" if you will from any form of entertainment. Watching the American Idol tryouts makes us forget, for a moment, how badly we suck at singing and dancing and thus feel better about ourselves. But games are something else entirely. Games make us feel like we can sing and dance. Or play guitar. Or save the world and blow stuff up.

Read the full article over at escapistmagazine.com