Runescape and obsessive compulsive disorder

[Engorgedpit]

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QUALIFIER AND DISCLAIMER: This is to be an academic and anonymous discussion of obsessive compulsive disorder as manifested in the behaviour of Runescape players. The ground rules for this discussion are: 1) Do not name any players other than yourself. 2) Do not denigrate or harass any players directly or even by inference. 3) Your comments in this discussion may not interfere with any other players peace and enjoyment of the game. I will assume no responsibility for anyone who breaches these guidelines and will be mighty upset if this discussion cannot continue because of it.

 

 

 

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For those who are unfamiliar with obsessive-compulsive disorder (ocd) check the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive- ... e_Disorder (bear in mind that Wikipedia is by no means a definitive reference but it will give you the general idea).

 

 

 

OK, are we all clear on that? Now that we have that out of the way, lets discuss observed obsessive compulsive behaviour in runescape. (Hopefully undisturbed and FREELY.)

 

 

 

It has been observed that some players have leveled all their stats to round numbers except the one they are working on. (i.e. Str 1000000xp, Atk 1500000xp, etc.) This is certainly an exhibition of a somewhat obsessive compulsive behaviour. I find it most interesting that many players have done exactly this with all their skills, very odd.

 

 

 

Myself, I have not done so with experience points but with the actual levels, where I'll level my attack to 40, strength to 50 and defense to 40, and then proceed with leveling them by five or ten. I'll even get upset with myself if I select the wrong combat mode and gain experience on the wrong stat for even a few minutes. Certainly somewhat obsessive compulsive.

 

 

 

Another behaviour I exhibit myself is organising my bank so everything is tidy and grouped, which is another good example. Another is collecting bones, I just cannot pass them by and leave them on the ground.

 

 

 

Runescape is definitely fertile ground for the manifestation of behaviours diagnostic of obsessive compulsive behaviour, and one could even argue that any player who sticks with the game for any length of time is at least somewhat obsessive compulsive.

 

 

 

What obsessive compulsive behaviours have you observed in runesacpe in yourself and in other players?

 

 

 

I look forward to the intellectual, academic and civil discussion of this subject.

[acenator]

Who doesn't have obsessive compulsive tendencies? I've even gone so far as to steal a chair at school every now and then :lol: I can't explain why, just that I wanted the different chair. This doesn't happen very often, btw.

 

 

 

As for it being on Runescape, I'd say that it definitely is. I like to have even amounts of money (and other items that I have large numbers of) in my bank and have it in a (somewhat) organized state.

 

 

 

As far as I can tell, it's natural to want to have things set up in a certain, at least somewhat logical, way that *seems* logical to the person in question (it is extremely different from person to person).

 

 

 

EDIT: first post!

[MasterSamus]

Well I have an obsession about owning things and knowing where they're located so that also replies IRL and RuneScape.

[newb4lyfe7]

i have to have my food in a certain order b4 i pk

 

 

 

also i take out the money that is left extra from the nearest 5k (so i take off 3421 from 1003421)

[Thunderhawkk]

i have to have my food in a certain order b4 i pk

 

 

 

also i take out the money that is left extra from the nearest 5k (so i take off 3421 from 1003421)

 

 

 

Same here.

 

 

 

I often find myself ordering things in my inventory and bank. An example being mining. When I'm mining mith and coal at the same time I separate the mith to the top of my inventory and coal to the bottom as I mine it.

[SwreeTak]

I have myself leveled all my skills to level 50, and that's a bit of what you talks about. I also tries to have my bank clean (But it isn't always organised) and when I mining I always put the gems in one corner of the inventory (The upper right).

[tripsis]

Sheesh! I wrote out a nice long pretty post and accidently deleted it. I'll try to recap:

 

 

 

1. I always keep my bank and inventory organized. In my inventory, I hate having random empty spaces (like item, item, empty space, item, item, etc.), it drives me nuts!

 

 

 

2. I hate having skill levels that end in either 1 or 9 (such as 51, 59, 61, 69, etc.). _1 just looks ugly and drives me nuts since it's so close to _0 and same with _9.

 

 

 

3. When runecrafting, I always look forward to finishing a load that will result in me having x,x00 nats - I love those two zeros at the end! It doesn't happen very often, but I am constantly looking forward to it. It's secretly the thing that keeps me going :-$

 

 

 

I'm sure there are a few more, but I'm still upset over accidently deleting my uber long post and can't think straight :P

[dragoonson]

Sheesh! I wrote out a nice long pretty post and accidently deleted it. I'll try to recap:

 

 

 

1. I always keep my bank and inventory organized. In my inventory, I hate having random empty spaces (like item, item, empty space, item, item, etc.), it drives me nuts!

 

 

 

2. I hate having skill levels that end in either 1 or 9 (such as 51, 59, 61, 69, etc.). _1 just looks ugly and drives me nuts since it's so close to _0 and same with _9.

 

 

 

3. When runecrafting, I always look forward to finishing a load that will result in me having x,x00 nats - I love those two zeros at the end! It doesn't happen very often, but I am constantly looking forward to it. It's secretly the thing that keeps me going :-$

 

 

 

I'm sure there are a few more, but I'm still upset over accidently deleting my uber long post and can't think straight :P

 

 

 

Which is why I do loads of 25 :oops:

[Rollyboy]

I would not consider organisation such as organising your bank or inventory as ocd. I would not say that would be defined as ocd because generally everyone does it. People are even encouraged to be organised in real life (school, work and such). I guess people just input what they learn and observe into RuneScape.

 

 

 

For exact levels, exact exp and others...im not sure about those. I guess people like things in different ways.

 

 

 

The way RuneScape is laid out could be a cause ('cause' seems like a blameworthy word here, couldnt think of a 'softer' tone). Just think about it. When woodcutting, fishing, mining and so on, you are required to continue the same actions - that is Runescape is majorly repetitive. I find it when repeating several actions, i tend to follow a 'pattern'. Would such a 'pattern' be considered as ocd?

[mememe513]

Sometimes I do such stuff, (check my range level).

 

Also, I have this thing against the number 9 :XD:

[NJE03]

Like others were saying, I like to keep numbers even. When mining or woodcutting I always have 25 free spaces to keep the number of the item i'm gathering even. I also like to keep my skills ending in a 5 or 0 (Well, besides 99 I suppose). in my bank i keep the coins rounded to the nearest 5k and carry the rest with me, when I get 5k+ I add the 5k to the bank.

[highlanders]

A lot of people like to have even skill numbers, or a neat bank, doesn't mean they have obsessive-compulsive disorder.

 

 

 

http://psychcentral.com/ocdquiz.htm

 

 

 

I scored a 1 :mrgreen: because I'm affraid for my mother because she has diabetes :(

[Miss Bad Wolf]

I have been diagnosed with ADD and OCD.   It is such a combination in real life and in RuneScape.  Since this is a Runescape forum I will talk about how it affects my game.  I tend to get distracted easily and have difficulty focusing on one thing.  Right now I am watching Football which is in over time.  I am typing this post up.  I am also thinking of working on my website but playing two different RuneScape games at the same time, one P2P and one F2P.  I am also browsing a 3D art web forum.  The P2P is right now opening all the geodes collected.  The F2P is working on mining with an occasional break to do smithing.  I am trying to see how high I can get the mining in on one day.

The Rams just won while I was typing up this post.  o.0

I do get hyper focused on one skill and ignore the rest.  I also tend to collect a lot of almost everything and have difficulty getting rid of stuff.  In my main (the P2P) I have a lot of stuff in the nine tabs.

My main has random amount of xp in each skills.  It depends on what I am focusing on at the time.  I hate Runesphere because I want to use up all the rune essence but get bored of it before it happens.