MemeMachineGo!

Break the cycle of Civ addiction. Your recovery is only 12 steps away.

If you are like most Civilization addicts, your story began innocently enough way back in 1991 with the discovery of Sid Meier’s Civilization by Firaxis Games. The original “Civ,” as it’s called on the streets, and its two subsequent sequels, II and III, allowed you to create or conquer vast civilizations-from the dawn of man to the space age and beyond. The unique turn-based strategy game quickly became the game of choice for gamers around the world. For some, however, it became more than that…it became an addiction.

Now, with Civilization IV about to hit the shelves, it is important that you take control of your life and wrest the upper hand from your addiction once and for all. CivAnon (Civilization Anonymous) is a support community in the mold of traditional 12-step programs that can help you find your higher power in order to break the chains of your addiction-for good.

Civ IV is scheduled for November, in time for Xmas buying. Part of their hype is the above spoof addiction site.

But with compulsive computer game playing actually having destructive effects in this world, I consider it in bad taste.

What I find especially dangerous is that this Civ can be extensively modified through Python scripting, even the user interface… irrestible bait for my worst compulsive customizer tendencies. I’ve always been disappointed with the UI of previous Civs… now I could have a whole ‘nother level to obsess over — tweaking the interface.

I think I’d better not got it.