For me, it was Quake One. I skipped meals to play for 12-16 hours a day. I was really damn good too, unfortunately it was in the days before there were any real tourneys (1997-1998) or I would have made some money for sure.
I played expert mod (alliance mod in the subsequent quake iterations) with the offhand grappling hook and unlimited weapons and ammo. It was so badass.
Quake changed my life for the best overall. It made me think of real life as being like a game. It made me realize that I could redirect all that energy into better everyday living. It got me into web development and eventually programming. It showed me that I could be the best at something if I threw myself into it.
Quake was never exactly an escape for me, it was a fascination. I wasn't depressed when I played, or afterwards. I was just enthralled and competitive.
But I haven't been able to get into another game since. They all seem really boring compared to playing the game of life.
I currently have a good friend who is hopelessly addicted to WOW, 12 hours a day and all that. I don't worry about him anymore. I did for a while, but heck, I was doing the same thing 10 years ago. He'll get over it when he's ready.
I think it comes down to the reason why he is playing. If it is an escape, even if the game wasn't available he would find another way to escape. And that would be his decision. For me, I played to conquer the game: I started my own clan, ran my own server eventually, took video captures of matches, etc. Then, when I quit playing, I moved onto trying to "beat" other things. Mostly, I've been trying to beat the game of "career" which turns out to be much, much more challenging.
If your roomate wants to escape from life, he'll escape with or without the game. If he wants to be a winner, he'll move onto winning at life at some point. WOW is just the medium, not the message. His intention, his reason for playing is more important.
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