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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 do love Dead Gentlemen and all, and The Guild has its moments, but Community destroys all of it. I actually do enjoy BBT becaude I once lived with a roommate almost exactly like Sheldon, but it is not even in the same dimension as Community.
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.
Another sports fan/gamer reporting (used to play soccer and badminton, and enjoy playing pretty much everything that has a ball in it, for watching purposes I'll also add track & field, swimming, and cross country skiing).
And in other news, one of Sweden's most read sports columnists dropped an RPG reference in his blog today, and several replies picked up on it, so I guess we're not that alone. (Then again, as far as I've experienced, Sweden tends not to have quite the jocks/geeks divide I get the impression there is in the US [although most of that impression stems from watching various teen-oriented TV-shows, so that's one of those things I won't be surprised if someone tells me is completely wrong]).
I have watched some BBT, but I've never seen any D&D references.
I think I saw, like, the first 15 minutes of that Community episode.
I can't believe nobody's mentioned the bestest ever tv episode about D&D. Imho.
I tell pretty much everyone I know, mostly because I'm trying to check if they are roleplayers themselves! And I've found some very interesting surprises, such as one of my statistics teachers back in university being a Paranoia DM and also having a 19th Level Dwarf Wizard, or my Corporate Ethics teacher -a 73 year-old man- being a regular D&D player in his nephew's group -mind you, this teacher is also a former priest, congresman, coursed through Exorcism classes in the Vatican, lawyer, regular TV guest in paranormal shows, prominent figure of the Balearic Community in Chile, and features an awesome Dumbledore-like beard-.
Truth is, I've never had a problem with it, so perhaps I'm more possitive towards talking about it. Then again, back in school I fell in the strange position of being both a big-time nerd and head of the heavy athletics team (ie, hammer throw, javelin, that sort of stuff), so I never really had to endure any form of bullying, and in fact nerd-stuff like D&D and MTG had a pretty good acceptance in general not only among classmates, but among guys from other promotions, so talking about it was normal.
As for the kinds of reactions I get, most of the times people ask a few questions about roleplaying and then we move onto another topic naturally, or at most make a couple of jokes about Lord of the Rings or bedroom kinks, and that's it. One in twenty end up either knowing what a roleplaying game is, having played a roleplaying game, or straight out being a roleplayer. I've made some long-lasting friends through that simple process of "Hey, do you play thing like D&D?".
The best one so far has been my own father. He bought me my first roleplaying books as a surprise back when I was 9, so he's always known I play. But for many years, he couldn't really understand what they were about or how a game where no one ever wins in the formal sense could be so entertaining as to gather us almost every weekend. So one day he came out and flat-out asked me to explain it in detail, and while he did manage to understand it much better, still found it boring.
Until a friend came along and DMed a game of Dune.
You see, my dad is sort of a Frank Herbert Wikipedia; he has read every single thing with the word "Dune" on the cover at least 5 times. So when he came by to greet my friends while in the middle of a Dune game, his interest grew tenfold. The next day, during our regular sunday bbq, he started shooting all sorts of Dune-related questions, and by explaining him the story so far he really started to understand why roleplaying games were fun. So that summer, when we went out for vacations at our lake house, I ran a short module for my family (dad, mom, and two siblings, though my brother had already played in school), and it was one of the best roleplaying experiences in my life (nothing beats your mom, a Human Sorcerer, telling your dad, an Orc Fighter, that they need to get the dungeon cleared before dinner and to stop wearing everything he finds on corpses).
Since then, although we have not played again, my dad got hooked on fantasy literature, and we regularly exchange books. He's read my entire Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, and Tolkien collection, as well as a host of other fantasy books he's found around (and since he discovered the iPad, he buys more books than he can read, and this is a man who ate through all three LotR tomes in less than two weeks). I still can't get him to enjoy Terry Pratchett, though.
This scene is pretty cool, too, but it's got nothing to do with D&D. And Nick stopped smoking pot, which is totally lame.
The vast majority of people fein interest and then get a glassy eyed look.
Every once in a while you get someone who is/was a gamer or would have an interest in it if they had the time.
But Kirth has an accurate breakdown of diffent reactions to how people think about what you do based off what you tell them.
The worste experience I have ever had was definetely when on a job interview. I was asked if I had any hobbies. Even though they were polite, you never want an interviewer's eyes to glaze over. And I was able to see the transition in what felt like slow motion and couldn't do anything about it.
As far as BBT, personally I hate the show but it has made geekery more acceptable in the public eye. I hate its depiction of stereotypes. A few times I could tell people were disappointed that I wasn't that disfunctional even though they knew I was a geek before meeting them.
By and large, I've made more friends by talking about DnD than not. I generally don't say it upfront or wear it like a badge, but eventually it comes out in a conversation. I like to say that it is like being in a movie or a book. I get the quickly disintegrating interest look if I go into it unless they are already a player or were genuinely curious about playing.
My wife likes to throw it into the conversation a lot. She doesn't play, doesn't quite understand it, but I've gotten her into some fantasy things and hopefully she'll come play sometime! My 4 year old daughter on the other hand LOVES our sessions.
Basically people think I run around in the woods in costume.
Pretty much this. The usual comment is "aren't you too old to run around in a forest with a foam sword?"
Sometimes, I try to explain. So far, the only explanation I've found that works though, is this: "It's like poker night, hanging out with the guys. Except we play a different game." I find this is pretty accurate, and people seems to get it, afterwards.
Without fail, every person who finds out I'm a gamer will follow that up with thi question: "do you watch big bang theory?"
You know, after this happened a couple times, I went out of my way to watch the show, and there really wasn't much of a correlation. I guess the guys played the game in at least one episode?
Usually? They ask me if I play WoW (aka "that warcraft thing on the computer") and look blankly at me if I try to explain the difference.
I've given up, and just nod and say "yup" and move on.
-S
I never really have anyone comment on me being a gamer, but I'm really starting to question if that is what's preventing me from getting a job. I have work experience, I even applied at Mcdonalds, and there are people with no experience getting a job there anyways...
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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!
Kirth, I didn't know you are Pole! ;)
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It doesn't matter what the "normal" people think. Hand them a copy of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.
We know we are the enlightened ones.
I'm a proud geek.
I rarely run into people who don't know what it is, and if such a person thinks it is weird or wrong that is a strong indicator that they are not worth my time.
I've had at least three jobs where my boss turned out to be a gamer. That's good news when you're a ronin GM looking for a group, I tell ya.
For those of you who responded that you "keep it to yourself," snap out of it! I've had friends who tried to live "double lives" with circles that would disapprove of their hobby, and without fail those other people were miserable, vapid excuses for humanity. They always ultimately prove unworthy of your time.
I know there are some regions with a higher density of closed-minded people, where it may be unwise to come out of the "game room", and the advice is rather similar to my recommendations to gay folks — move somewhere cool, it is so much better.
People who do not value intellect and creativity are a large part of what is wrong with this world.
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Job interviews are a great place to discuss the hobby in positive terms about what it brings to the company, I think. I once got a job because I explained that in my free time I played (3.0 D&D), and explained further that what we did was sit around trying to creatively brainstorm ideas for overcoming any challenge that might face us, using only the supplies we had on hand or could acquire. The hiring manager was impressed.
And at another job interview I was hired because I gamed, and so did my soon-to-be immediate supervisor. Sometimes talking about it helps--especially if you're looking for jobs in IT.
People who do not value intellect and creativity are a large part of what is wrong with this world.
Agreed.
Agreed.
People who do not value intellect and creativity are a large part of what is wrong with this world.
And yet, Romney has a good chance of becoming president.
That said, TCG, how do your not-so-straight friends react to your gaming, as opposed to the more straight people you deal with? Is there any difference?
Apologies for not following the thread. Perhaps you answered that, already. In that case, just tell me to scroll back.
Agreed.
People who do not value intellect and creativity are a large part of what is wrong with this world.And yet, Romney has a good chance of becoming president.
That said, TCG, how do your not-so-straight friends react to your gaming, as opposed to the more straight people you deal with? Is there any difference?
Apologies for not following the thread. Perhaps you answered that, already. In that case, just tell me to scroll back.
My current gaming group are all straight guys, however my college gaming group was mostly gay men with a couple of straight women.
Presently my gay friends try to pick on me about it, but they're so bad at it I couldn't get upset if I tried. Most of the straight people I know are co-workers and what not. We're not close enough for me to talk in detail about what I'm doing any particular weekend.
Earlier I posted that I don't really advertise that I'm a gamer, but on reflection that isn't exactly true. I find it's actually pretty easy to spot gamers, not because we're horrible nerd stereotypes, but because we tend to say "psionic" instead of "psychic" and whatnot.
I certainly don't feel a need to hide my RPGs behind "real" books. Every single interaction I've had with another person who spotted my gamer gear has been positive. Backing up EL, you'll be amazed who and how many play once you start asking.
That said, I really don't want RPGs to be the only thing I talk to other people about; that's a stereotype too. I doubt I need to say it here, but there's no reason you can't enjoy RPGs, Opera, and Nascar.
Edit: The above wasn't a response to TCG, but I get the feeling there's a health gay gamer population. Then again, I've only lived on the liberal, wine-sipping, brie-eating coasts, so who knows.
That said, I really don't want RPGs to be the only thing I talk to other people about; that's a stereotype too. I doubt I need to say it here, but there's no reason you can't enjoy RPGs, Opera, and Nascar.
Agreed. I have many interests outside of gaming, and I frequently connect with people who share them.
Motorcycles, Spanish, and politics to name a few. There are others.
Kirth, I didn't know you are Pole! ;)
Mostly German, for what it's worth, although I live in the U.S.
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).
Do we go to the same church? LOL
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I just don't ever bring it up. Not for any fear of being ridiculed or preached to (although I do live in a small town that has a church every 7 yards or so...at least it seems that way) and some of them really would freak out. Imagine my surprise when the youth pastor at my church asked me to run a game for the teen group. 0__o
But really, I just don't bring it up. One of my pet peeves is when I'm in a store browsing gaming books and random people just walk up to me and ask if I'm a gamer. If I say yes, I will have to listen to them regale me with stories of their characters and adventures and blah blah blah. I'm sort of a misanthrope, anyway, so I would never just approach someone and start in. The last time this happened two guys walked up to me and my son and wanted to know if we had any spots in our game for them because they couldn't find one. I believed them, because one smelled like rotten meat and the other had lice visibly crawling in his beard.
Do we go to the same church? LOLI 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).
No, but we're pretty close, I'm in TN =)
Do we go to the same church? LOLNo, but we're pretty close, I'm in TN =)
I noticed.. lol.
We really, really don't play D&D in bed with our girlfriends;Pity you don't know what you are missing. :D
I'm all for that kind of roleplaying, I just don't think it requires dice, or encounter tables. Also, the last time my SO called me a rules lawyer in flagrante delicto I was not psyched.
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I'm all for that kind of roleplaying, I just don't think it requires dice, or encounter tables. Also, the last time my SO called me a rules lawyer in flagrante delicto I was not psyched.We really, really don't play D&D in bed with our girlfriends;Pity you don't know what you are missing. :D
That's when you guys play out her PC, flirting with that cute stable boy at the inn the group is staying at between adventures. :)
Hey Jerry, still got contact details? :p
/brofist.
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But really, I just don't bring it up. One of my pet peeves is when I'm in a store browsing gaming books and random people just walk up to me and ask if I'm a gamer. If I say yes, I will have to listen to them regale me with stories of their characters and adventures and blah blah blah.
Many people just completely miss the fact that RPGs create a lot of "you had to be there" moments.
I think we really need social conventions printed in the rulebook or something. A good rule of thumb for me is to keep any gameplay summary down to a single sentence, and only elaborate if asked.
Now, if for some reason or another, people are genuinely interested, that's cool. But you should always assume they are not.
I'd way rather start a new game that I can be in on the joke with someone, rather than waste my time or theirs rehashing what fun was had before.
The last time this happened two guys walked up to me and my son and wanted to know if we had any spots in our game for them because they couldn't find one. I believed them, because one smelled like rotten meat and the other had lice visibly crawling in his beard.
Another unfortunate reality for our hobby — the people who congregate under the RPG banner in public necessarily include everyone who can't find a group for whatever (valid) reason.
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I'm all for that kind of roleplaying, I just don't think it requires dice, or encounter tables. Also, the last time my SO called me a rules lawyer in flagrante delicto I was not psyched.We really, really don't play D&D in bed with our girlfriends;Pity you don't know what you are missing. :D
I saw this one burlesque show at Gencon last year...
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Whenever we LARPed, it felt like a replay of that old commercial where the kids are playing street hockey: CAR!!!!
Only with us, we were yelling "MUNDANES!!!!" when drunk college students would walk by.
The funniest one, though was during opening feeding tests for the OWoD Sabbat game. For those who don't know, that game runs off Rock-Paper-Scissors instead of dice. One night, the HST was standing up on this stone porch off one of the campus buildings so everyone could see him. He throws Rock, the rest of the LARPers (about 25 in all) threw Paper, with the exception of maybe 2 people throwing Scissors, but they blended in so it didn't matter much to the eye. Our players, for some reason, always threw their tests so that their hand ended up at about forehead-level or higher (rather than belly high for normal Rock-Paper Scissors challenges). A few people also had a tendency to throw Paper with a stiff arm. Do you have the image yet?
It's at this moment a group of visiting parents/future freshmen walk by on an late evening tour. What they see can only be described as a Gothic-Punk reenactment of a Hitler Speech.
It was after that we house ruled that all tests were to be given at no higher than chest-high.
EDIT: Realized this post wasn't exactly on topic, but you can imagine how playing a Sabbat LARP in semi-public would cause people to react. But, the parents of the High Schoolers (with the exception of 1 father) were cool with it. It kept their geeky unpopular kids from doing other illicit behaviors on Saturday Night.
It kept their geeky unpopular kids from doing other illicit behaviors on Saturday Night.
That right there is the truth of RPGs in my experience; if this is worshipping Satan, the Christians have nothing to worry about. :)
I've been asked if i watch 'Level Up' ? No, I replied.
I've told a few peope at work I also play Everquest and collect dice. Only 3000 dice so far. I'm not the guy in the Guiness book.
Mostly I get glazed looks.
A few people have told me they are gamers, the rest want to talk about getting drunk at football games.
I just tell them after killing two dragons and saving a village from orcs, football seems so... ordinary.
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That's when you guys play out her PC, flirting with that cute stable boy at the inn the group is staying at between adventures. :)
Um, yes, or that whole "relationship" factor in Jade Regent? Yeah, playing that out, er, *between sessions*, ahem, can be...uhhhh...let's just go with "hell yeah!!!"
Hmm. I guess those are some illicit style behaviours to try on a Saturday night? ;) I'm not about to judge any number of consenting adults for what they do in the privacy of their own campaigns.
EDIT: Realized this post wasn't exactly on topic, but you can imagine how playing a Sabbat LARP in semi-public would cause people to react. But, the parents of the High Schoolers (with the exception of 1 father) were cool with it. It kept their geeky unpopular kids from doing other illicit behaviors on Saturday Night.
One of my friends once took part in a Sabbat LARP that was in a pretty quiet rural area, around where one of the GMs lived. Some of the players were noisy, however, and some guy who lived around the place where the LARP was being held called the police, telling them a group of about twenty scary-looking punks that he had never seen before were hanging around in the area, making noise, possibly committing crimes. Eventually, a bunch of cops burst in the house where the LARP was being held. Some of the players had made the mistake of bringing fake guns with them, and the police yelled at them, ordering everyone to drop their weapons and to put their hands in the air. And then, the police realized they had just arrested a bunch of LARP nerds pretending to be vampires when it seemed like they had stumbled upon a meeting of armed satanists.
I don't really talk about gaming much, but I found myself talking about it very often when I was in college. About 25% of the students at my former college played or had played D&D, and several other literature students that were in my classes were pretty open about it, even analyzing tabletop RPG books when they were ask to write an assignment on a chosen written work. When your friends make an oral presentation on the birth of Slaanesh in Warhammer 40K to a class full of literature students and pass with great grades, you don't really have any reasons to hide your gaming hobbies. I was just part of a large, well-known crowd in college, and most of the people I befriended could relate gaming to acting or writing, which greatly helped me when I needed to explain what was so great about it.
I usualy keep it to myself that I am gamer. But when I do reveal it....I usualy get either a lack of interest...or find out the person used to play. I only got D&D is the devil once from a priest. It was not a hostile encounter. It was a rather interesting conversation.