Thraxus wrote:
The kid suffered from depression and drug addiction. He also never played D&D. But D&D was in the news a lot at the time, it was a easy scapegoat. The whole story served as a basis for Mazes and Monsters.
There are a couple of other incidents, but none that I know a lot details about.
Hey guys, this is Bill from The Escapist; I came here when I noticed the many hits my site has been getting from this thread. (Thanks, by the way!)
Thraxus, I'd like to make some corrections to your statement above. Egbert really did play D&D, in fact, it was a copy of Dragon magazine in his dorm room that caused PI William Dear to theorize that he was off somewhere, playing a game. He wasn't a very avid player however, and at the time he killed himself, he hadn't played a game of D&D in over a year (a fact that many conveniently leave out when using him as an example of the dangers of gaming).
D&D wasn't in the news a lot at the time; Egbert's case was the first to bring attention to it. And if Dear had simply spoken out that his theory was wrong, rather than letting it stand in order to protect the reputation and social standing of his paying clients, we wouldn't have seen as much hysteria as we did. (On the other hand, the game may not have seen the popularity it did either...)
You can find out more on Egbert and other anti-gaming claims on my site: Basic Gaming FAQ
As for my own start with D&D and roleplaying: I first heard of D&D from my sixth grade history teacher at the Catholic school that I went to. She was discussing current events with us, and took the opportunity to warn us from dangerous activities, such as playing with Tarot cards, Ouija boards, and Dungeons & Dragons. I'd heard of the latter two and knew that they were harmless pieces of cardboard and plastic, but I didn't know what this Dungeons & Dragons thing was, and became very intrigued. I started asking around to see if anyone knew about it.
Shortly after, the very same teacher began a lesson about the Civil War, and brought in a huge plastic map and scores of little plastic men. She laid the map out and set the men up, then taught us a very dry lesson about battles and such. I didn't take in a lot from it, mostly because I was daydreaming about how cool it would be to make a game out of this, where you could make your own decisions and change the outcome of the battles. How little did I know that this was really going on, and how it was historically connected to the same hobby she was warning me against.
Two summers later, I finally found someone who knew how to play, and nagged them until they taught me.
I've never encountered a lot of opposition to my gaming, other than having a teacher warning me against it without having any facts to back up why I shouldn't do it. My parents were concerned, based on the things they were hearing, and sent me to a counselor to teach him how to play. He reported back to tell them that it was beneficial rather than harmful, and that was the end of that. I managed to start a D&D club in my school, which was shot down the following year when we switched principals and the new one provided some lame excuse for not renewing the club. And once, while at a Kinko's getting some character sheets for Call of Cthulhu photocopied, I got some rude treatment from a manager for the "strange book" I had brought in.
Other than that, nothing. I've been pretty lucky. No exorcisms, interventions, book burnings, or blessed crucifixes pressed against my forehead.
- Bill
www.theescapist.com
