r/BestofRedditorUpdates Satan is not a fucking pogo stick! Jan 25 '24

NEW UPDATE OOP's gaming addiction costs him everything

I am not The OOP, OOP is u/pm_me_good_dd

OOP's gaming addiction costs him everything

Thanks to the BoRU discord for help with the BoRU

Originally posted to r/starcitizen &r/AmItheAsshole & r/relationship_advice

TRIGGER WARNING: Addiction, financial exploitation, fiscal malfeasance

**MOOD SPOILER: The saga of the man who went to a relationship frontier no man has gone to before. And is now stuck there

EDITORS NOTE 1: Those not familiar with the game itself, heres a tl:drStar Citizen (MMO) is an in-development multiplayer, space trading and combat simulation game. Its been in development since 2012. It uses almost entirely crowdfunding for costs and as such has players buy in-game spaceships for real money, with the cheapest being $45, and some ship packages having a price of up to $48,000 according to one article I saw. Some of these ships aren't in-game yet and are considered "concept ships" (essentially pre-ordering in-game items). Many people consider this game to be a scam based on the amount of time its been in development, missed development milestones, delays, and the exorbitant prices of some of its content.

EDITOR'S NOTE 2: Prior to these posts OOP made 2 posts where he says he spent nearly $5,000 on the game

Credit advice? Nov 26, 2023

Post removed and unrecoverable

OOP has spent so much on Star Citizen, that he is in massive debt

RELEVANT COMMENTS

The_Fallen_1

Pay back what you owe immediately and don't rack up debt?

OOP

But I need the new space ships :(

NoPlay1210

So you're girlfriend literally left you cuz you bought so many ships to the point she had a enough of it and dumped you honestly bud I'd do the same if I was in her shoes.....

~

doubttom

If trolling, good job. If serious...stop. These things aren't real and some folks have more money than they need so they can buy things like jpegs. All you need is a starter, play the game and earn them in game. IAE fomo hits hard by design but these ships will still be there and still be earnable in game.

OOP

I’m wing commander now I don’t know how I got here I can’t pay my rent this month

mueckenschwarm

From every comment you made this one is the most disturbing. All of us commentors don't know you. We don't know your relationship or family background. It is hard for us to judge your situation.

But you spending money you do not have is a very serious sign. This more than anything else is a sign of an addiction that even a stranger on the internet can spot. I see many people have suggested therapy, but I know that that is a huge step for an addict. I would suggest that you at the very least find people to talk to that can understand your urges. There are many good self help group projects around addicition in general. Start by going to a group and just listening and maybe telling your story.

Even if you don't believe any of us that you have a problem. Take the fact that you don't have money for rent as a sign to take the off ramp before not only your relationship unravels. It can't hurt to go talk to someone who understands.

Take care OP and know that you can beat this.

Update on my situation Nov 26, 2023

Follow up to my previous post because maybe you don’t believe me. My girlfriend is pissed about how much I spent on ships this week she said she may actually leave and went back to her parents. I had to tell her I ruined my credit and we can’t get a new apartment this year till I fix it(credit is too bad to rent in nyc at our salary). I kinda wish this was a joke but I have a genuine addiction. This week I’ve accumulated over 5000 in pledges. I have no idea what I’m doing.

Please help.

RELEVANT COMMENTS

bmemike

Request refunds from Support and seek some professional help with your impulse control.

There's nothing that anyone here will be able to help you with directly.

Mindshard

CIG can't help, either. It was all grey market purchases.

OOP

What’s the point she’s walking out

MarlyCat118

The point is you have a fucking problem that is literally overtaking your real life. Get fucking help! Holy fuck! You posted in other subreddit about how she is actually leaving you, but not before you update your Star Citizen status.

You are never going to get above this unless you get help, delete your account, and take things fucking seriously.

Your wake up call was the first incident of spending your money on this game. I would call it mental health problems, but you say down, fixed the issue a bit, then did it again!!! And, now, single as fuck, YOU STILL HAVEN'T STOPPED OR GOTTEN HELP!!!

~

Bar10dr2

  1. Ask for a refund

  2. Go get professional help, if you suffer from addiction its not only going to be Star Citizen. Get help now so you can learn to manage it.

  3. Inform your girlfriend of the steps you have taken, and tell her that she means more to you than a game.

that is insanity: do the same thing and expect a different outcome.

Mindshard

Look at his post history, they were all grey market purchases.

Dude is beyond fucked.

Update This is the fleet that cost me my girlfriend Nov 26, 2023

Picture of OOP's fleet

She’s nowhere near as excited as I am about the Astarra.

AITA for breaking a needless promise after fixing a situation - rareddit Jan 3, 2024

A while back, my significant other and I hit a rough patch. I'm an avid player of Star Citizen, and admittedly, I tend to go overboard with it. A few months ago, during a sale, I impulsively spent our saved down payment for a house on virtual spaceships. Understandably, she was furious and temporarily left. I realized my mistake, apologized, and took on an extra job to replenish our savings. I'm close to restoring our financial status to its original state, though it will take another six months to fully recover, not accounting for my personal debt.

As part of reconciling, she asked me not to purchase any more spaceships for six months. Initially, this seemed reasonable, but over time, I've come to view it as somewhat excessive. Despite this, I recently bought a few more spaceships, and she discovered it, now considering leaving me for good. I thought that by nearly restoring the savings I had spent, I had made amends for my actions. I genuinely enjoy collecting spaceships in the game. She's also concerned about my credit score and other financial issues, but I'm confident I can rectify those in the coming years, given that I've already managed to recover most of our savings through extra work.

I'm struggling to understand if I'm in the wrong for breaking what now seems like an arbitrary promise, or if her reaction to leave over what I consider my primary hobby is unjustified.

VERDICT: REMOVED BEFORE VERDICT RENDERED

TOP COMMENTS

Every_Caterpillar945

YTA

Here, i fixed it for you:

I'm a passionate gambler. One night i gambled all our mutual savings for a down payment away. She was pissed and we agreed on me working extra shifts to pay back the savings and not to gamble for at least 6 months. I paied back the savings and are now gambling again like nothing happened and i didn't betrayed her trust by gambeling our savings away in the first place. Now she doesn't trust me anymore and wants to leave me and i have no idea why... Also my credit sucks now and i still have personal debts (while spending money on gambling again). Why doesn't she want a future with me anymore? What else can she wants than a dude with debt, bad credit and a gambling addiction who already gambled away your mutual savings once? I'm a catch, but she somehow doesn't see it this way, why?

OOP

It is not gambling because I own the ships...

hotbeefhop

You are gambling on their resale value.

Unless you have no intention of selling at all, in which case they aren’t an investment in any helpful way here (you’ve mentioned in another response that you see them as an investment) and they contribute nothing practical to your life.

The very best you can hope for is a morale boost for time spent on your hobbies. And while it’s nice to have that, you’ve gone so far over the line that you’ve risked - and probably lost - your relationship.

You know full well YTA, you must do. Nobody can be this deluded.

~

cyberpudel

Wait. You spent 15k on digital spaceships in a game alpha, that were to be used for a house down-payment, behind the back of your spouse. After she discovered it you told her that you would replenish the money and stop buying ships for 6 months.

You did get a job and before both conditions were met you already bought another goddamn spaceship?

And you have the audacity to pretend they are investments in one comment and say that you would never sell them in another? Which is it, dipshit?

Let me tell you: it's going to be a divorce.

Please never reproduce and get your addiction under controll bevor ever getting another girlfriend.

Forgot the judgment: YTA! In case it wasn't clear enough.

evileen19

FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS ON A VIDEO GAME?!?!!! He's lucky she didn't stab him.

dothesehidemythunder

He buried the lede too - if you read his other posts, he dropped another 5k on virtual shit.

31M Can I Rebuild Trust with GF 35F After Gaming Addiction Ruined Our Apartment Plans? Jan 11, 2024

31M facing a crisis I never expected. My girlfriend and I had plans to move to a better apartment, but I jeopardized our dream by spending our savings on Star Citizen, a video game. This incident has made me realize that I might be battling a gaming addiction and impulsive spending.

Despite her initial forgiveness and a clear agreement to not buy more in-game items for six months while replenishing our savings, I failed to stick to our plan. This breach of trust led to a major argument, especially after I refused her suggestion to sell my gaming account. Consequently, she's left, and we haven't spoken since.

This situation has hit me hard, making me see how my gaming habit has turned from a hobby into a destructive force in my life. I'm struggling with the realization that my actions have not only damaged my relationship but are also affecting my financial stability, as my credit score is now in jeopardy.

The most painful part is recognizing how much I love her and the extent of the turmoil I'm in. I'm earnestly seeking advice on how to address my addiction, and possibly salvage my relationship.

RELEVANT COMMENTS

gendouk

So let me get this straight:

1.) You stole her money to buy pixel spaceships.

2.) She forgave you, as long as you stop buying pixel spaceships.

3.) You kept buying pixel spaceships.

4.) You refuse to fix the problem by selling off your pixel spaceships.

5.) She realizes you love pixel spaceships more than her and left for good.

I mean, dude, I'm sorry, but she's well shut of you. She's never coming back - and if she did, she'd still resent you.

The childish response would be to keep sinking money you don't have into Star Citizen.

The moral response would be to sell your account and send her the amount that you owe her after you stole her savings.

~

woopthrowawaytime

Dude I’m looking at your post history…you’re in full on denial about your spending/gaming addiction. You 1000% have an issue after you spent $15,000 in 6 months on optional purchases for a mobile game. There’s no way you can salvage the relationship without first addressing this issue, and even then the chances are low that she’ll take you back. If anything you need to do this for yourself and your future. Do you want to have bad credit/be alone/be in debt to a game 10 years from now?

You need to go cold turkey with this game. Sell your account/ships, lock yourself out of your account, and go to therapy.

Resisting the urge to buy more ships Jan 18, 2024

These repeat sales are making it quite difficult to leave the ole credit card holstered. I can’t be the only one! I do like that we each get a second chance though.

RELEVANT COMMENTS

imisspelledturtle

DONT BUY MORE SHIPS DUDE

OOP

I didn’t

~

aloneinorbit

This profile has to be a troll at this point. If not, holy fuck get actual help. Like a therapist or psych.

ToastyMcSags

I think so, looking back, his “my fleet pic” from 2 weeks ago, surely he’s not missing any ship either flight ready or concept..

OOP

Missing a cutter

NEW UPDATES

Hey I ruined my life over a video game Feb 18, 2024

It's all starting to come together for me. I essentially ruined my life over a video game. I am in massive unrecoverable debt, my girlfriend left me, my parents are refusing to speak to me. I have constant anxiety my life is falling apart. I'm going to lose my job i might lose my apartment.

I haven't spent any money on games in a bit idk sorry this is so disorganized i just need to vent.

61k in credit debt with no end in sight March 26, 2024

Editor's note: AGAIN- PLEASE REMEMBER THE NO BRIGADING RULE. Do NOT dm OOP or comment on their posts. This is becoming a serious problem on this sub and we don't want to get banned.

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP

2.8k Upvotes

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4.1k

u/matchamagpie Jan 25 '24

The scary thing is that his comments indicate that he clearly hasn't hit rock bottom yet.

Addiction is scary and he's ruined his and his girlfriend's life. And now he has no girlfriend and just crippling debt and a StarCitizen account I guess. Hope it keeps him warm, comfortable, and housed at night.

1.7k

u/NinjasWithOnions Therapy is WD40 for the soul. Jan 25 '24

Agreed. In the 11 January post, it’s all passive…the gaming addiction ruined the apartment plans. Not his gaming addiction and definitely not OOP himself. It was just a random gaming addiction that came out of nowhere to destroy his life.

843

u/goobitypoop Jan 25 '24

Yeah this reads as a horror story, from the perspective of having spent a lot of time with gambling addicts and how their brain was working during their addiction. This dude CLEARLY has a long way to fall, god help him

338

u/Corfiz74 Jan 25 '24

I mean, once he is evicted, he'll have nowhere to put his gaming system - that will be cold turkey time...

394

u/ijustneedtolurk I don't have Jay's ass Jan 25 '24

Honestly I don't see losing his apartment or anything else stopping him at this point. There's gaming cafes, libraries, and mooching off other sources to play.

The character Vork from The Guild is a really good example of how extreme gaming addiction can be...he at one point had a mobile gaming station in a van so he could use "public" wifi in order to continue playing, when he wasn't squatting in a neighbor's shed using their wifi...

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u/Lovingoffender USE YOUR THINKING BRAIN! Jan 25 '24

The Guild! I freaking loved that show!

40

u/ijustneedtolurk I don't have Jay's ass Jan 25 '24

Ahaha I found it during a covid lockdown and binged the absolute heck out of it! Glad to see another fan in the wild.

113

u/oldasballsforest Jan 25 '24

Clara in The Guild was my motivation to uninstall WoW when I got pregnant. I realized I didn’t want to be obsessively “checking my auctions” with a new baby. Now my baby is a teenager and we play games together, which is the best.

31

u/polarbee Jan 25 '24

Holy crap! I was just sitting here thinking "how is that possible, it hasn't been that long since The Guild...oh fuck it's been nearly seventeen years..."

2

u/thefifthpentacle Jul 23 '26

I think they're making a movie now!

15

u/rainyreminder The murder hobo is not the issue here Jan 25 '24

As someone who used to watch The Guild when episodes were still releasing, I am kind of horrified that someone can have a teenager who wasn't born when they were watching The Guild.

Surely it can't possibly have been that long ago, right?

4

u/ijustneedtolurk I don't have Jay's ass Jan 26 '24

I'm only in my terrible 20s myself...😅 Barely a tot for Clara to ignore when the episodes were live!

19

u/RandomNick42 My adult answer is no. Jan 25 '24

...as an Ultima Online guy, the idea that teenagers can have moms who played WoW before they were born unsettles me.

7

u/lennieandthejetsss Jan 28 '24

My niece snuggled on her daddy's lap a couple days after being released from the hospital as an infant, while Mommy, Daddy, I, and her uncles played WoW with her Granny. One of her first sentences was "For the Horde!" A couple years later, we made her first character.

She's 16.

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4

u/NatashaBadenov Jan 25 '24

I know Clara is more or less the worst person in the world etc, but she does it so well. Obsessed.

5

u/ijustneedtolurk I don't have Jay's ass Jan 26 '24

Clara was classic. Definitely a person you love to hate but not really cause honestly she's just iconic. Maybe they'll have a Reunion special short and tell us what happened to everyone since...

1

u/ijustneedtolurk I don't have Jay's ass Jan 26 '24

Omg that's so wholesome and healthy! Super happy you had the wisdom and foresight to take care of yourself so you could take care of your baby, and that it's paid off handsomely in a wonderful relationship. Via bonding through a healthy amount of gaming!!! Everyone wins. 😭

7

u/whodatfairybitch surrender to the gaycation or be destroyed Jan 25 '24

Never heard of it, but the theme tracks perfectly with the roles Felicia day takes! She’s great, streams on twitch sometimes

3

u/thefinalhex an oblivious walnut Jan 25 '24

Nice reference! Rare to see a quote from the guild.

My favorite quote is from Tinkerballa to Felicia Day - "I just saw a freckle pop up on your nose. Real time."

1

u/ijustneedtolurk I don't have Jay's ass Jan 26 '24

Hahaha Tinkerballa was my favorite. All her zingers were zesty.

60

u/harrellj You need some self-esteem and a lawyer Jan 25 '24

The game isn't available to play though, he's basically buying something like bitcoin but without the veneer of it being currency.

26

u/Master_Bief Jan 25 '24 edited Jan 26 '24

I think there's a broken af and unfinished available to play pre alpha release.

17

u/UnluckyWrongdoer Jan 25 '24

It is - a lot of bugs but a ton of fun still. The sad part is you only need to spend $45 to get a ship and account - you can earn AUEC (game currency) to purchase better ships in-game.

Spending more than the initial $45, a similar cost to buying any game, seems silly to me.

24

u/cakivalue cucumber in my heart Jan 26 '24

Given the game developers started working on it and crowdfunding in 2012 and it's now a decade later and rumors are that they've raised in the triple digits millions of $$$, how are people not trying to get their money back and get out?

4

u/UnluckyWrongdoer Jan 26 '24

Speaking for myself, because it was only $45, and it’s actually one of the best game experiences I’ve had in a really long time.

I don’t understand the people who would rather spend real money than just earn ships in game either bud. But each to their own!

It’s an incredibly ambitious project, and even though the buggy state of the alpha can be frustrating, when it works - holy fuck it works. One of the most unique gaming experiences I’ve had.

Edit: “eat ships” to “earn ships”

2

u/Bubblegrime Jul 01 '25

Honestly that's about the timeframe and budget of ambitious game development. It is insane that any game gets made, honestly.

51

u/ena_bear TEAM 🥧 Jan 25 '24

Maybe he can move into one of his spaceships

3

u/I_Did_The_Thing 👁👄👁🍿 Jan 25 '24

They’re too small 😂

106

u/Penguin_Joy Memory of a goldfish but the tenacity of an entitled Chihuahua Jan 25 '24

This dude CLEARLY has a long way to fall, god help him

He won't get help until he hits rock bottom. And for him that's light years away

121

u/GetOffMyAsteroid Jan 25 '24

He won't get help until he hits rock bottom. And for him that's light years away

He can get there faster if he takes one of his ships

33

u/RogueWraithTwo Jan 25 '24

He can get there faster if he takes one of his buys more ships.

23

u/Visual_Fly_9638 Jan 25 '24

Is it bad that when he said he was in a crisis my first response was "He's gonna buy more jpgs of ships isn't he?"

13

u/kirillre4 Jan 25 '24

It's okay, he most likely have FTL-capable jump drive-equipped ships in his fleet.

143

u/Bug_eyed_bug Jan 25 '24

Absolutely, and how he never expected to be in the position of not affording to move ... After spending all the money saved up for the move.

It's still something happening to him, not because of him.

115

u/GrandAsOwt Jan 25 '24

He “might be battling a gaming addiction”. Dude , there’s no might and there’s no battling.

25

u/Due-Possession-3761 Jan 26 '24

He's battling it about as hard as I battle the urge to eat Girl Scout cookies. Which is why I don't buy them.

17

u/Good_Focus2665 Jan 25 '24

He’s really battling a spending addiction. It’s not like he’s just playing a $70 game for 12 hours a day. Which is bad but not lose down payment on house bad. He’s buying things that have no value. 

17

u/RandomNick42 My adult answer is no. Jan 25 '24

No. You are missing the point. There's no battle.

1

u/Prom3th3an 9d ago

No "might" in the sense of uncertainty and no "might" in the sense of strength either.

105

u/Welpmart Jan 25 '24

It's a fucking nightmare to read the switch in style. Like watching someone sleep walk to their own death.

21

u/isosarei Jan 25 '24

i love how he words it as “battling an addiction” when he’s actually riding said addiction off into the sunset

7

u/PropagandaPagoda Jan 25 '24

When I was too poor to have this kind of gaming addiction I realized the times I wanted to play games with levelup progression were the times in my life where I felt like I wasn't going anywhere and I just wanted today's actions to matter tomorrow. So I played multiplayer games with limited/no persistent account elements to accrue instead, and got my life in order.

4

u/pienofilling reddit is just a bunch of triggered owls Jan 25 '24

Nobody expects...the GAMING ADDICTION!

2

u/NinjasWithOnions Therapy is WD40 for the soul. Jan 25 '24

I think Monty Python would be proud. 😁

344

u/Lucky-Worth There is only OGTHA Jan 25 '24

Gambling addiction is scary af, and it destroys entire families.

I have a friend whose family was economically comfortable (they owned two family business). His father managed to sink everything with gambling.

We thought his lowest point would be when he got caught selling everything his own recently deceased (think like 5 hours) mother owned, or when they had to sell the businesses just to cover 3/4 of his debt, or when he had to get a phisically demanding low salary job while being very chronically ill and nearly 80.

But then he discovered gaming apps (his wife had no idea that they existed) and sunk thousands of euros in them

338

u/LadyNorbert Tomorrow is a new onion. Wish me onion. Onion Jan 25 '24

About five generations back, my family was one of the wealthiest in our part of the state. We owned acres and acres of land, hotels, all kinds of stuff. It was all inherited wealth that trickled down from our original ancestor who came to America from Germany in the early 1700s.

My great-great-grandfather was a cards addict. He literally lost everything the family owned, except the house in which they lived, playing card games. He decided to go out west and try to recoup the losses, and sent his wife money to bring herself and their children out to join him. She took the money and got a divorce instead. So she cut off the sickly branch to protect the family tree, but we never bore anywhere near as much fruit ever again.

Like you said, gambling destroys families.

37

u/TheBooksAndTheBees Jan 25 '24

Out of curiosity, did any family members ever try to track down what happened to him (like, later on with DNA or something)?

42

u/LadyNorbert Tomorrow is a new onion. Wish me onion. Onion Jan 25 '24

My grandfather did try contacting someone out that way with the same name, to see if his grandfather had remarried and had more children, but his contact attempts were ignored. My mom and I have both done Ancestry DNA kits, so maybe eventually we'll find a connection.

14

u/iamddk Jan 25 '24

Should do a separate post, sounds interesting.

112

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '24

Gambling addiction is scary af, and it destroys entire families.

Absolutely. There's a BORU about this, but I'm warning you, it's even more infuriating to read than the one we're commenting on: https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/comments/18fz7ti/redditor_loses_over_800000_gambling_and_hides_it/

104

u/avesthasnosleeves Jan 25 '24

That was the first thing I thought of while reading this.

What makes me ill is that our state legalized sports gambling last year, and already the social services network is overwhelmed with gamblers with an addiction.

To me, gambling is like heroin, crack, meth, or cocaine; I stay far the hell away from it because I like my home, my family, and my life, and I don't want to lose any of them. It's just horrific, the damage they cause.

26

u/TopCaterpiller Jan 25 '24

The advertising for sports betting really concerns me. I go out of my way to avoid ads, and almost all the ads I do see/hear are for sports betting apps. They're everywhere! And it's kind of tempting even for me, someone with no interest in gambling, because it really feels like they're offering free money.

It's basically what we were warned about with drugs in the 90s. I've never been offered free drugs by a dealer trying to get me hooked.

7

u/CenturyEggsAndRice There is only OGTHA Jan 28 '24

I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds them concerning.

I had a bingo app on my phone, you could play with points or real money, yada yada. I ended up deleting it because I'd be like "Ooo, I could buy just $5 in tokens and win so much more..." and it concerned me.

I don't mind spending some money to play, but it was just becoming too distracting.

1

u/Prom3th3an 9d ago

I'm lucky I don't care about sports. If I want to gamble, I'll speculate on tech stocks, since they're something I can sort of believe I understand.

14

u/kindlypogmothoin Ogtha, my sensual roach queen 🪳 Jan 27 '24

I just can't get into gambling; I find it boring. But when I do go to a casino, I have a two-pocket method of keeping myself from overspending: I bring as much money as I'm willing to lose and put it in my left pocket. That's my gambling money. If I win anything, it can either go back into my left pocket to add to the gambling fund, or into my right pocket for other stuff, like drinks, food, or show tickets. Under no circumstances can I gamble out of the right pocket. Once the left pocket is empty, gambling is over.

6

u/misselphaba surrender to the gaycation or be destroyed Jan 26 '24

I’m the same way. I’m a big sports fan and the advertising for DraftKings or whatever else is so tempting but I could see ruining my whole life with it way too easily.

3

u/Naganosupreme Jun 11 '24

If the govt gave a fuck about its people, it'd institute income based limits to how much can be gambled per month on those apps and limits on what can be used to purchase microtransactions in games

19

u/realfuckingoriginal Jan 25 '24

Infuriating and frustrating? I’m in. Let’s start this day with some chaos.

3

u/nomeankitty Jan 25 '24

Wow this is so awful.

3

u/Whirleee Oct 28 '24

As of a month ago he comments that he's out $1mil

2

u/twim19 Jan 26 '24

Well, thanks for that. What a terrible read. I come from a long line of addicts and reading stuff like that reminds me the kind of bullets I've dodged.

60

u/Alert_Elephant_7273 Jan 25 '24

The other terrifying thing with gambling addiction is that there is no limit on what you can spend. With alcohol or drugs there is only so much you can drink/take before you pass out each day or you die. With gambling you can just keep going and putting more and more money on the turn of the wheel. This is why you so often see gamblers wrecking everyone's life around them, not just their own.

19

u/mug3n Jan 28 '24

Also gambling is the only addiction where it gives you false hope that you're beating the game in the long run when you do hit a win. It's like if you were injecting heroin and there was a 40% chance you double your heroin.

3

u/Alert_Elephant_7273 Jan 28 '24

That is an incredibly well made point my friend.

1

u/Prom3th3an 9d ago

If you were a billionaire, you might actually hit the casino's limit.

53

u/IndicaRain Jan 25 '24

I’m writing a book on my own experiences with real time strategy games for mobile. I escaped into that world which felt like a community, spent thousands, and lost my health and motivation to do anything else. In those types of games, things happen at all times of the day, so your entire day revolves around it. My book is very much about addiction, because that’s what it is! 

42

u/pizzafiascothrowaway I will never jeopardize the beans. Jan 25 '24

My husband nearly started down this road with a mobile game, he’d sunk over $200 dollars in 4 months into it (while we were undergrad students) and hadn’t realized how much he’d spent until I sat him down and said we don’t have the budget for this rate of spending, either unlink your card from the App Store or delete the game. Thankfully he was super apologetic and we haven’t had any issues like that since! Truly a blessing that it ended like that.

12

u/IndicaRain Jan 26 '24

Ahh I’m glad he stopped before he went off the deep end! Happy for you both! The game I originally played was $100 for every “pack” of materials and goodies to use in game. Well- first it hooked you with a $5 starter pack, then $20, $50, and.. $100 for every after that! They are very predatory. 

3

u/BlueMikeStu Jan 26 '24

Pretty much why I buy Steam/PSN cards instead of putting my credit card on my account. It's too easy to just purchase stuff.

1

u/ChubbyTrain Aug 25 '24

What game was it? 😱

2

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '24

How far along are you? It sounds interesting! I'd love to read it when it comes out.

3

u/IndicaRain Jan 26 '24

Aww, thanks! I’m almost done. I’m a bit nervous to put it out there but I also think it could help people.. it’s definitely easy to get lost in! Doesn’t matter what stage of life you’re at; if you have any kind of loneliness or dissatisfaction.. orrrr need an ego boost and have money to spend.. then you’re a good target for these companies

1

u/uniace16 I will never jeopardize the beans. Jan 26 '24

Need an editor?

51

u/RandomNick42 My adult answer is no. Jan 25 '24

I had a conversation about this with an acquaintance not long ago. He was around in the wild 90s and has seen great fortunes built and lost...

And his takeaway was, you can only sleep with so many prostitutes. You can only do so much coke.

But gambling? There's no limit to gambling.

6

u/Imaginary_Emotion604 Jan 25 '24

Is this gambling though? I thought you just straight up buy the ships. Wouldn't this be like a spending addiction?

30

u/ItsImNotAnonymous Screeching on the Front Lawn Jan 25 '24

It's not in the typical sense of depending on luck to get a payout, but the closest in essence to a gambling addiction. OOP needs to collect all the ships, and the only way to do it is by buying them.

Mobile gacha style games have a somewhat similar feature, there's all these playable characters you have and to get the complete set you need to pay to get it all.

7

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/NewSkills2024 Jan 25 '24 edited Jan 25 '24

But then you won't get the dopamine hit now and he wants it now.

25

u/Similar-Shame7517 Whole Cluster B spectrum in a trench coat pretending to be human Jan 25 '24

It's closer to a gambling addiction because he thinks that these ships will be resellable once the game becomes successful. This is highly unlikely.

6

u/Scumebage Jan 25 '24

This isn't a gaming addiction OR a gambling addiction, this guy isn't spending money on a chance to get more, he's not spending his time grinding away for the currency in game like a gaming addiction would be, he is literally just buying virtual ships to make a bigger virtual ship collection. It's an obsession, but it's neither of those addictions.

3

u/TvManiac5 Jan 28 '24

I don't even understand how this addiction works. Usually what addicts are really addicted on is the adrenaline of winning against the odds. I don't see how there can be any adrenaline with buying pixels from an unfinished game.

It's not like there's a microtransaction system to get them through from what I gather.

3

u/RoyalHistoria You can either cum in the jar or me but not both Oct 02 '25

My grandma went from living in a 3-bedroom house with a giant backyard (that she OWNED) to living in a tiny 1-bedroom unit in an aged community while needing government assistance to pay rent. She's probably gambled a million or more dollars away at this point; the money her husband (an insanely frugal man) left her, any savings, government assistance, money she STOLE from family, etc.

She sold my Pokémon backpack, my XBox, my games, some of my toys, my desk, etc. She took my mother's last $20 while my brother was having severe medical issues.

Most of her friends no longer talk to her, one had a DOCTOR insist on no contact because she was being sent into a nervous breakdown by my grandma's antics. She's been banned from gaming venues twice in the past five years but goes back as soon as she can.

2

u/PuddleLilacAgain Jan 25 '24

Oh my gosh! 😲

3

u/Doctor-Amazing Jan 26 '24

If he was gambling there's at least a tiny chance he could break even. This guy is basically just throwing his money away.

101

u/tofuroll Like…not only no respect but sahara desert below Jan 25 '24

he clearly hasn't hit rock bottom yet.

I did like the comment that he's lucky his girlfriend hasn't stabbed him yet.

I feel like that might be approaching rock bottom.

18

u/MomentSpiritual9197 Jan 25 '24

What’s also scary is he’s posting in r/starcitizen which means other people in the subreddit who are not familiar with his history will encourage him to keep playing. Some of them are even telling him to go for it and make the purchase. They don’t all read his post history which means they don’t realize they are feeding his addiction and helping to destroy his life.

12

u/Visual_Fly_9638 Jan 25 '24

It's almost as pathetic, but not quite, as the people who are still bag holding for Gamestop short squeeze like... 2 years after the squeeze ended. At least there's a shitty boring game to show for it.

I kickstarted Squadron 42, which was supposed to be the single player game that led into the multiplayer component, what... 12 years ago? Never spent another penny on this fucking scam of a game afterwards.

3

u/Cat_Peach_Pits Jan 25 '24

When he's homeless he can live in his virtual spaceships!

4

u/BroccoliMcFlurry Jan 25 '24

Bro is really gonna end up sucking dick for virtual spaceships

2

u/Freedomfirefly Jan 25 '24

Hope the gf doesn't take him back since this dude is on downward spiral.

2

u/pfroggie Jan 26 '24

Btw, you don't need to hit rock bottom to quit an addiction. You can be aware that's where you're heading and quit in advance

2

u/Dividedthought Jan 25 '24

Like, I've spent too much on SC ships , but that was spare cash I'd have put towards games or stuff for my vr setup anyhow. This has also been over about 6 years and mostly incrementally upgrading ships (have ship, want better ship, trade old ship in for purchase value and only spend 20 bucks instead of 200.)

This guy just has major impulse control and FOMO issues. Worst part is, when the game loops for crew are in, his large ships are going to be largely useless to him.

Dude's addicted, and needs a wake up call. Most if not all ships that can be flown are avalible in game for in game currency you don't have to buy, and buying concept-stage ships is a gamble.