This happened 12 years ago when I was in the Finnish military.
I told to my fellow service buddies I was a gamer. A roleplayer. I also did some LARP:ing at the time and had this discussion with this one guy (who was really into tuning motorcycles, cars etc):
The Guy: So you LARPers like wear elf ears, roll over in the woods and yell: "I'm a pretty princess! I'm a pretty princess!"
Me: Well, actually not, you see..
The Guy: (interrupts) Oh, so you like whack each other with wooden swords because you're so daft you can't do it with real ones?
Me: Well, no, you see, it's like a regular hobby, like tuning your moped...
The Guy: (interrupts and yells at the top of his voice) WELL IT'S F#%@ING NOT NORMAL!!!! DON'T TRY TO TELL ME IT'S NORMAL BECAUSE IT IS NOT!!!
..I then took a habit to really consider before I told to people how I spend my pastime..
(Fun unrelated fact: in Finland you can elect not to go to the army (which is mandatory to all adult males), you can instead go to jail)
Basically people think I run around in the woods in costume.
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Say "gamer" and people assume it's video games, and I don't play those. Say "role-playing" and people assume it's some kind of sex thing, so I never say that. Say "D&D" and they think Mazes and Monsters and figure you're a Satanist or something. Say "tactical wargames" and people assume you mean Risk and Axis & Allies, which aren't strictly accurate, but at least are more socially acceptable.
I don't think I've ever told anyone who isn't a gamer or didn't become one shortly after I told them.
Without fail, every person who finds out I'm a gamer will follow that up with thi question: "do you watch big bang theory?"
That show really has helped "the cause."
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Must be my luck, but I'm not shy about my hobby and rarely have had any negative responses to it. I actually find alot of people who used to game at one point or another. I'd actually rather tell people I game than that I don't drink. For some reason, if you don't drink, it's apparently abberant behavior.
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For some reason, if you don't drink, it's apparently abberant behavior.
From my point of view, one should remove the words "for some reason" and "apparently" from your statement!
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I'd actually rather tell people I game than that I don't drink. For some reason, if you don't drink, it's apparently abberant behavior.
Heh, I'm the exact opposite. I'm pretty quiet about my hobbies, but rather up front about my no drinking/no smoking/no non-medicinal drugs policy.
RE: Big Bang Theory - Saw an episode at my mom's insistence, didn't care for it. Community > BBT.
Add me to the list of people who don't care for BBT at all.
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BBT, from what little I've seen of it, relies on a lot of stereotypes about nerds, one of which is all tied up in RPGs. Eureka has portrayed gaming as an emotional transaction between the people gaming, but that ended up making us look even creepier. (We really, really don't play D&D in bed with our girlfriends; What girlfriends?! /rimshot.) Community was, speaking only from personal experience, the most honest portrayal of playing D&D and all the connected baggage that I've seen yet.
Personally, I don't really advertise that I'm a gamer, but I have had a few I-am-Sparticus moments when I've fixed someone with a steely glare and said "I play D&D, leave that nerd alone." (Well, metaphorically, but y'know...)
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For some reason, if you don't drink, it's apparently abberant behavior.
I fear I am a doomed soul.
I have received far to many negative reactions over the years after telling people I play AD&D or Warhammer. I now refuse to discuss it outside of game stores and internet forums. People still manage to figure it out.
I am also a non-drinker and have zero interest in sports. It leaves me with very little common ground with which to have a discussion with most people.
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Pretty much no reaction. I look like a gamer. I have had people move into an apartment next to me and say "hey you look like someone that plays dungeons and dragons"
I am also a non-drinker and have zero interest in sports. It leaves me with very little common ground with which to have a discussion with most people.
+1.
And my family wonders why I don't socialize with the rest of the people in my age group at church... when 99% of their conversations are about whatever sport happens to be in season (usually football, baseball, or nascar).
I'd tell people but they just don't understand what a gamer is. Down in Mexico tabletop games are not too popular and evene the concept of D&D is widely unknow.
I just tell them I like tabletop games like monopoly and uno :P
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Pretty much no reaction. I look like a gamer. I have had people move into an apartment next to me and say "hey you look like someone that plays dungeons and dragons"
Now BNW, were they sharpening their pitchforks, or unpacking their sci-fi anthologies when they said that? :P
Usual response, "I've heard about it. I think."
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The sports thing is great. I played baseball in elementary school, but got kicked out of the league when an unfortunate event happened with another player and a baseball bat (story spoilered below).
I've since learned enough to make fun of my lack of knowledge of the sports, though I always end up playing in office pools. People often get annoyed when I pull out dice to make my selections (seriously!) and often do better than some hardcore sports fans.
Not as interesting as I made it out. I was the catcher and stood a little too close to the batter. He swung, I woke up a few minutes later with an ambulance nearby, head covered in blood. No stitches though! Apparently that got me kicked out too.
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I am also a non-drinker and have zero interest in sports. It leaves me with very little common ground with which to have a discussion with most people.+1.
And my family wonders why I don't socialize with the rest of the people in my age group at church... when 99% of their conversations are about whatever sport happens to be in season (usually football, baseball, or nascar).
Man, tell me about it.
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“Huh, well I was going to have sex with you tonight, but now I’m not so sure…”
“Oh, did I say gamer? I meant…gambler, yes I have a gambling problem!”
“Oh ok, I can deal with that, that’s normal!”
When I first told my mom about gaming, she thought I was going to turn into this guy. My cushion was my cousin, an old Warhammer guy. I remember being a little kid (about 4 or 5) when he was in high school and would watch him paint miniatures.
Most people I have told after that have been either weird-ed out or fascinated. Lately, I've been getting comparisons to both Big Bang Theory and Role Models. It's been easier since becoming a SCAdian, though. I can actually get on YouTube and show people what I do. That looks a lot cooler than sitting around a table rolling dice to a Muggle.
Okay, but the SCA leaves bruises! :P
(I used to dress up back when I was younger and more energetic.)
Edit: nice vid BTW, brings back memories.
I tend to not get much of a reaction, depending on the setting. I don't socialize much outside of work, so if it's Job A, I'm around middle-high schoolers and suddenly awesome because I'm relatable. If it's Job B, it's not really a big deal, and I may have gotten one of my coworkers interested in picking it up at some point and did discover one of my supervisors games.
Most of the people I tend to talk to seem to be the same sorts who either play lots of RPGs on computers, attend Renaissance festivals, or enjoy cosplay. I also have a LOT of friends who are about a generation younger than I am (i.e. they're about college-aged), so they just see it as a natural extension of their own hobbies.
Amongst those who aren't table-top gamers, most everyone seems to at least know of computer-based RPGs like WoW, DragonAge, etc. So when I explain, 'it's kinda like that, but around the cocktail table with friends instead of staring at a computer screen', it usually garners a bit of interest. I've also explained it as the difference between sitting at home and watching a football game vs. having a SuperBowl party. Apparently emphasizing the social aspect of it helps.
The biggest disappointments I've faced have mostly been from family. I have maybe one uncle who played D&D back in college and now plays WoW. Otherwise a lot of the talk is about sports... something that's actually put me to sleep in mid-conversation before. >.>
Pretty much no reaction. I look like a gamer. I have had people move into an apartment next to me and say "hey you look like someone that plays dungeons and dragons"Now BNW, were they sharpening their pitchforks, or unpacking their sci-fi anthologies when they said that? :P
unpacking their sci-fi anthologies....
that time.
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When one of the guys I train with at my Muay Thai/BJJ school asked me on facebook when I was on about when I ranted about some dumbass I played with at one session, I had to explain what PnP RPGs were about. I always go with "Interactive Storytelling", but when he asked for more detail, he gave an "Oh... okay."
I guess that's one of the more accepting responses. Others were like "You serious? A guy like you into that?". But it kinda goes both ways, as half the time, I feel alienated from hobby groups I like to participate in. I attended a Brony meetup once and everyone there seemed to distance themselves from me (and I reckon I was the only one who showered too).
I kinda accepted that for one part of me or another, some people won't accept me no matter what good the other aspects of me have.
I feel so out of place now.
I love going to pro baseball games, with an avowed goal of seeing a game at every major league park in North America. I love hockey. And I used to really enjoy watching the NBA playoffs on TV, beafore they stopped playing and started posing as thug wanna-bes. Granted, I can't actually play any of the above-referenced sports worth a damned (I was a track and taekwondo guy myself), but still, the appreciation is there. It's just American football that makes me want to shoot myself so that I can avoid watching it.
But I had no idea what "cosplay" and "Bronies" were -- I had to google them.
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I attended a Brony meetup once and everyone there seemed to distance themselves from me (and I reckon I was the only one who showered too).
This surprises me, given all the pony-based games I've heard of springing up here and there.
I feel so out of place now.
I love going to pro baseball games, with an avowed goal of seeing a game at every major league park in North America. I love hockey. And I used to really enjoy watching the NBA playoffs on TV, beafore they stopped playing and started posing as thug wanna-bes. Granted, I can't actually play any of the above-referenced sports worth a damned (I was a track and taekwondo guy myself), but still, the appreciation is there. It's just American football that makes me want to shoot myself so that I can avoid watching it.
But I had no idea what "cosplay" and "Bronies" were -- I had to google them.
It’s all good Kirth, I’m a sports fan as well, so you are not completely alone. If you are not into Australian football yet I highly recommend watching it if you get a chance. Damn is it a man’s sport, I was born in the wrong country=(
I don't really like AMerican football that much like baseball hockey and auto racing but not on oval tracks.
I think this boils down to stereotypes. I like both RPG's and sports, in this order. But here's a fun fact: I do like everything in RPG's: playing, talking about it etc. But I don't enjoy about sports talk at all. All that "Icehockey blah-blah-blah, basketball blah-blah" just annoys me. I just like to excercise. Period. And to some people that "sporty gamer type" - because they just have to make me into a type - doesn't fit their train of thought.
I don't say I write material for roleplaying game pdfs.
I say I write fantasy fiction for online publications.
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The best story I have is my grandparents, who for at least 5 years thought it was something like the old arcade Pac-Man.
Say "gamer" and people assume it's video games, and I don't play those. Say "role-playing" and people assume it's some kind of sex thing, so I never say that. Say "D&D" and they think Mazes and Monsters and figure you're a Satanist or something. Say "tactical wargames" and people assume you mean Risk and Axis & Allies, which aren't strictly accurate, but at least are more socially acceptable.
This is the same quandary I face. Especially in job interviews when they ask if you have any hobbies or interests that might be relevant to the position. Even saying Tabletop RPG still may sound weird.
Add me to the list of people who don't care for BBT at all.
Count me in. It's one of those shows that people are like "oh, you've got to watch this it's about stuff you like!" Then two minutes in you realize that the jokes are all at us nerds' expense and are either written by people who have never seen an episode of Star Trek, or have sold out and dumbed things down so much as to be unrecognizable.
Futurama - now there's a show written by nerds, for nerds.
I feel so out of place now.
I love going to pro baseball games, with an avowed goal of seeing a game at every major league park in North America. I love hockey. And I used to really enjoy watching the NBA playoffs on TV, beafore they stopped playing and started posing as thug wanna-bes. Granted, I can't actually play any of the above-referenced sports worth a damned (I was a track and taekwondo guy myself), but still, the appreciation is there. It's just American football that makes me want to shoot myself so that I can avoid watching it.
But I had no idea what "cosplay" and "Bronies" were -- I had to google them.
Once again we agree completely.
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I'd actually rather tell people I game than that I don't drink. For some reason, if you don't drink, it's apparently abberant behavior.Heh, I'm the exact opposite. I'm pretty quiet about my hobbies, but rather up front about my no drinking/no smoking/no non-medicinal drugs policy.
RE: Big Bang Theory - Saw an episode at my mom's insistence, didn't care for it. Community > BBT.
The Gamers>The guild>everything else
Man, tell me about it.I am also a non-drinker and have zero interest in sports. It leaves me with very little common ground with which to have a discussion with most people.+1.
And my family wonders why I don't socialize with the rest of the people in my age group at church... when 99% of their conversations are about whatever sport happens to be in season (usually football, baseball, or nascar).
My experience is some what the opposite. I actually used to spend my free time at sixth form in the chaplains office because it was the one place you could escape the constant sport talk, and maybe listen to music. There was also a whole bunch of cute girls who spent their breaks, lunch and their other free time there.
The Gamers>The guild>everything elseI'd actually rather tell people I game than that I don't drink. For some reason, if you don't drink, it's apparently abberant behavior.Heh, I'm the exact opposite. I'm pretty quiet about my hobbies, but rather up front about my no drinking/no smoking/no non-medicinal drugs policy.
RE: Big Bang Theory - Saw an episode at my mom's insistence, didn't care for it. Community > BBT.
Don't believe I'm familiar with either.
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I have been gaming long enough to recognise what I call "the polite glassy eyed look." It's the look people get when you mention that you are a gamer. They smile and nod but it's clear that they don't understand what you do. I have come to realise that this look means "I really want to talk about anything else but I'm too polite to change the subject." As a result I rarely discuss gaming with non gamers.
Unfortunately Mrs Camelot sees that look as a challenge...
Don't believe I'm familiar with either.The Gamers>The guild>everything elseI'd actually rather tell people I game than that I don't drink. For some reason, if you don't drink, it's apparently abberant behavior.Heh, I'm the exact opposite. I'm pretty quiet about my hobbies, but rather up front about my no drinking/no smoking/no non-medicinal drugs policy.
RE: Big Bang Theory - Saw an episode at my mom's insistence, didn't care for it. Community > BBT.
I have no kosher link to the gamers, but I am sure you can find it, or tyhe gamers 2 on you tube if your so inclined.
As for the guild HERE
I have been gaming long enough to recognise what I call "the polite glassy eyed look." It's the look people get when you mention that you are a gamer. They smile and nod but it's clear that they don't understand what you do. I have come to realise that this look means "I really want to talk about anything else but I'm too polite to change the subject." As a result I rarely discuss gaming with non gamers.
Unfortunately Mrs Camelot sees that look as a challenge...
Yeah, know that look.
If you are not into Australian football yet I highly recommend watching it if you get a chance. Damn is it a man’s sport, I was born in the wrong country=(
I like rugby, and Australian rules football is way cooler than American football. In fact, watching paint dry is way cooler than American football. EDIT: For those in other countries who have never had the misfortune of watching, it goes something like this:
1. Lots and lots of people in combination tights/Imperial Stormtrooper attire line up on a rectangular field, facing each other, and adopt gorilla poses.
2. They all run into each other and fall down.
3. They get up and mill around while announcers talk for 20 minutes.
4. They all line up again and repeat steps 1-4.
I have no kosher link to the gamers, but I am sure you can find it, or tyhe gamers 2 on you tube if your so inclined.
I strongly encourage ya'll to buy the DVDs if you can find them, but I believe both were released under a "feel free to share this" Creative Commons license that would make the YouTube vids legit.
I have no kosher link to the gamers, but I am sure you can find it, or tyhe gamers 2 on you tube if your so inclined.
I strongly encourage ya'll to buy the DVDs if you can find them, but I believe both were released under a "feel free to share this" Creative Commons license that would make the YouTube vids legit.
That doesn't suprise me, but I wasn't sure and I didn't really want to link if I didn't know.
That said, I also strongly encourage people to go out an buy both gamers films.
I had a friend who thought it was weird that I'd get together with a bunch of guys to play a fantasy game for 6-8 hours on the weekend.
I asked her if she thought it would be weird if we were playing poker, or watching sports for that amount of time. She said "No."
Different strokes...