Saturday, November 17, 2007

Why Make-X options?

Make-X options is one of those updates which I praise a lot. Why? Not because they speed up skilling - in fact, they are NOT in many cases. Make-X options slow down skilling, as "good old" click away methods worked faster. So people are whining about Jagex destroying fast ways to raise Herblore, Fletching, Crafting etc.
What they do not realize that Make-X options are there to deal with physical health risks Runescape would poise otherwise. I am dead serious. Have you ever had your arm hurting because of a long skilling session? Was it fun? Anyway, I had... when I was working toward 99 Thieving. I bought a better mouse after that and I drastically reduced playing time and especially skilling exercises. I seriously doubt I will ever get another 99 because of it, but Make-X options may make it possible after all.
Jagex was blamed a lot for 'neglecting' skillers needs etc., while, in fact, they are actually doing what is the best for these very people.

A few additional items:

My feedback to Sal's 'whining' article about Make-X. No responses back though...

A quote from TruthScape about the issue:
Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI) / Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

As the name implies, a repetitive stress injury (RSI) is one that occurs from repeating the same motion too often over a prolonged period of time. This is probably the most serious risk for most RuneScape players: many activities require repeated mouse movements and clicks, which can lead to injuries of the wrist, hand and fingers. One common type of RSI is carpal tunnel syndrome, in which the nerves in the carpal tunnel of the wrist become compressed, leading to pain, numbness, tingling and or weakness in the arm and hand.

These injuries are not something to be taken lightly, because in some cases the damage can be long-lasting.

2 comments:

Turbo said...

Thanks for coming over to my blog. Please leave a link next time, I don't have any problem with a bit of self promotion, especially since the two posts were related.

I agree to a certain extent about what you are saying, but the flip side is that anyone playing ANY game long enough to get Nintendo Thumb, RSI, or carpal tunnel has other issues they need to work on first.

In the next few years, I predict an increase of game and MMO cessation programs and game addiction related studies. People with problems will play right through a sore wrist. Getting a new mouse or keyboard to temporarily solve the problem without going to the root.

Many names have already come up: evercrack, wowdetox.com and here is a quote:

"Residential care may be required when the effects of the game have become severe. Often gamers refuse treatment until they become deeply depressed, are kicked out of school, are terminated from a job, are threatened with divorce and separation, or are thinking about suicide.
Once problems have become this severe, it is important to seek professional help for evaluation.
Residential treatment programs often last for 4 to 6 weeks of intensive treatment. Some gamers
may require more or less time, so recommendations will be made following an initial assessment."

So I think there are bigger fish to fry.

Vaskor said...

I disagree that people who get carpal tunnel and other staff like that necessarily have big issues. For instance, I play no more than 5-6 hours a week, but I still had problems with repetitive clicking. And I am not in any way addicted to Runescape or any other games. Mind that it doesn't take much to get carpal tunnel for older people. It takes more hours for children. Anyway, Jagex is making the game safer in this regard, believe me, Make-X made a big difference. I can only praise such move.

 
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