Hey guys, last week I started to write an article which I finished in the late hours of today. I wrote it because I found myself explaining to a lot of people why is that I play RPGs. Maybe you could send it to some family members, significant others or friends who actually don't get why we do what we do.
http://kazmx.hubpages.com/hub/Roleplaying-101-What-Why-How-and-Where
This is the article, if you fin yourself reading it, please let me know any feedback you want to give in the comment section below the article.
True indeed Hama, my aim with the article was to explain and invite people to try. I hope that was the message which was delivered.
This question has been asked since role playings been around.
I myself explain it's the same as playing a card or board game with a group of friends, then I invite them to sit in on a game and let them see for themselves.
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ive always sort of described it using movies. When someone asks like what its about i tend to answer..."you know in that horror movie when the hero goes down the dark hall and as you watching it you talk to the tv and tell him no no no dont go that way? Well in this game you are that hero and you dont have to go if yo dont want to. Then i explain how the dice are their to impartially judge on the actions taken and how they take on a part in the greater story/movie. I think it sets the table about actually roleplaying some and who hasnt thought of being an actor ever?
Hey guys, last week I started to write an article which I finished in the late hours of today. I wrote it because I found myself explaining to a lot of people why is that I play RPGs. Maybe you could send it to some family members, significant others or friends who actually don't get why we do what we do.
http://kazmx.hubpages.com/hub/Roleplaying-101-What-Why-How-and-Where
This is the article, if you fin yourself reading it, please let me know any feedback you want to give in the comment section below the article.
Easy enough to define and explain.
Interactive storytelling with dice. You choose and state what you do, the dice are there to see if you succeed.
I usually say, I like it, it's fun and I enjoy myself while gaming. If the person cannot comprehend that, they have no place in my life.
Lol, such an absolutist.
It is just a game pal, and not everyone is going to be all over it. More to life and all that.
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I usually say, I like it, it's fun and I enjoy myself while gaming. If the person cannot comprehend that, they have no place in my life.Lol, such an absolutist.
It is just a game pal, and not everyone is going to be all over it. More to life and all that.
As I've said to everyone who says that stupid line, no, it's not. Flappy bird is just a game. This is a hobby.
I dedicate numerous hours to this game, away from and at the table, I pour my free time, willpower, love and nerves into this game, I spend quality time with friends. Hell yes I am going to take it seriously. And if some person cannot understand that that is my place of solace and a way of expressing myself, I see no need to keep them as an acquaintance. I have too many of those anyway.
I usually say, I like it, it's fun and I enjoy myself while gaming. If the person cannot comprehend that, they have no place in my life.Lol, such an absolutist.
It is just a game pal, and not everyone is going to be all over it. More to life and all that.
As I've said to everyone who says that stupid line, no, it's not. Flappy bird is just a game. This is a hobby.
I dedicate numerous hours to this game, away from and at the table, I pour my free time, willpower, love and nerves into this game, I spend quality time with friends. Hell yes I am going to take it seriously. And if some person cannot understand that that is my place of solace and a way of expressing myself, I see no need to keep them as an acquaintance. I have too many of those anyway.
Why take it seriously?
You are trying to have fun yeah?
If it is a hobby, that is nice. There are many other hobbies out there. You can get radical about your hobby if you like, but then you risk becoming just another radical hobbyist.
Hint: they suffer from an image problem.
Two parts.
1) Explaining how you play. I tell people it's like acting in drama class. Except that once the stage is set, you don't have a script and you create your own character, with his/her own personality, to interact with others as you choose.
2) Why you play. Most of us don't have our dream lives. We all agree to various social contracts as to how we interact with others. But in an RPG, we can do those things (or at least seriously attempt to) that we can't do in real life. We can have justice, for those who have wronged us; we can have wealth, where we do not; we can rule the world, where others would thwart us. All with no repercussions on ourselves other than the teasing from our friends (who join us) if we fail spectacularly :) We can all dream and achieve our goals, from the comforts of our own homes, in the company of good friends. Why don't you play may be the better question!
Yeah, absolutely on point 2 Lathiira.
I usually say, I like it, it's fun and I enjoy myself while gaming. If the person cannot comprehend that, they have no place in my life.Lol, such an absolutist.
It is just a game pal, and not everyone is going to be all over it. More to life and all that.
As I've said to everyone who says that stupid line, no, it's not. Flappy bird is just a game. This is a hobby.
I dedicate numerous hours to this game, away from and at the table, I pour my free time, willpower, love and nerves into this game, I spend quality time with friends. Hell yes I am going to take it seriously. And if some person cannot understand that that is my place of solace and a way of expressing myself, I see no need to keep them as an acquaintance. I have too many of those anyway.
I would tend to say that objectively it's just a game, but subjectively, it's very important to me. I understand that not everyone is interested in it. I try to take how I feel about other things like...football (why would you spend hundreds or thousands of hours throwing leather around and getting concussions? Not everyone who does it gets paid millions or even is really trying to) and realize that the same type of analysis could be applied to RPGs. So if anyone says it's just a game, that's true in a sense, but it's not the whole truth for me. That way, I can be serious about my passion, but also be able to step back and laugh at how silly it seems in the grand scheme of things.
But yeah, if someone legitimately thought that I was dumb/wrong/bad for playing RPGs? They probably aren't too self-aware and that's something I don't care for. So I get where you're coming from.
Why aren't you fun about your seriousness?
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Being serious about your fun is great and all, but if you aren't careful, the seriousness can quickly overshadow the fun, and it becomes something entirely different(if it hasn't already).
My groups used to take our games super-serious, but tensions were brewing, and real-life relationships were getting damaged over dice rolls, rules calls, etc. So, everyone took a step back, took a deep breath, and just play for fun. If something gets super-serious, we just drop it and come back to it later. Move the game forward, and get back to the fun.
On topic, when I have to explain RPG's to someone, I've found that simpler is better. If I know the person has any experience with at least video game RPG's, I'll make comparisons to those, and add that we get worlds of customization options, and the social factor adds a lot to the fun. If it's someone with no gaming experience at all(elderly aunt, grandparent, etc), I just say "it's like a board game, with a bunch more rules and more things we can do." And I usually leave it at that.
I put emphasis on the "game" portion, just in case they still have some of those doubts and fears bore from the 80's anti-D&D hysteria.
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I've been playing RPGs for long enough that I still don't think "video game" when someone refers to an "RPG"...
I usually explain that playing an RPG is somewhere between improv acting and the dramatic play of young children. All but one of the players each assume the role of one character in the story. These "player characters" are like the main cast of a movie. The remaining player is the "Game Master," who sets the outline of the plot, acts as a referee to settle disputes, and plays all of the other minor characters (including any villains in the story).
If their eyes haven't glazed over, and they still seem interested, I'll go on to say that most RPGs have formal rules that guide and inform the story being told. The rules usually define what characters can and cannot do. They also provide a means to resolve conflict between characters-- like who wins a fight, or whether a character gets lost in the woods. Most RPGs use dice of some sort to help determine outcomes of conflict.
But ultimately, it's a game, and the point is to have fun... not unlike a game of bridge, checkers, or Trivial Pursuit.
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Hey guys, last week I started to write an article which I finished in the late hours of today. I wrote it because I found myself explaining to a lot of people why is that I play RPGs. Maybe you could send it to some family members, significant others or friends who actually don't get why we do what we do.
Link to the article! Click me!
This is the article, if you fin yourself reading it, please let me know any feedback you want to give in the comment section below the article.
I finally finished the article. Sorry it took so long to generate feedback. Also, my apologies for putting the feedback here instead of there, but I am more comfortable in this venue. So...
It's a nice article. Passionate, honest, and over-all genuine. It's neat.
It does suffer somewhat from awkward phrasing or oddly-placed word choices - while your vocabulary is often quite strong, your grammar, placement, structure, and flow are not as thoroughly developed. These things will take practice, and - I'm a shining example - no matter how practiced at writing stuff you get, you'll often make strange word choices or be unsure how to structure things. That's okay, it's just something that I noticed - something that made it more difficult to read through than I would have liked.
You have some good points and decent examples as well, making it easier to understand - a very good thing.
If you want this to be utilized by a broader audience as a method of explaining their hobby, however, you may wish to work on your introduction. In some ways, the introduction feels a bit rushed, without you explaining your purpose before hand. That said, a desire to see such a thing could just be a personal quirk or preference of mine; I'm not an English teacher, but it would be how I structure it, were it me.
While your "why give it a try" is a good starting point, I wanted to see more reasons than just those listed, and I wanted to see you delve into all the potential benefits more instead of just the idea of self-training to acquire a virtue or trait (which, while a good point, can also be acquired elsewhere). Additionally, I wanted you to touch more on the idea that, while it can train you to be virtuous, playing a flawed character isn't a bad thing and doesn't actually harm your morality as well - something you touch on with "It is important to remember to leave behind every flaw that you don't want in your life in the game and keep the values you wish to have in your everyday." - a line of reasoning and frank discussion that I wanted to see more developed.
In the end, I think you did a decent job, and I'm glad you wrote the article. It's a bit inspiring, and I want you to continue to grow and improve... and keep spreading the word of the virtues of the hobby!
Thank you for writing the piece and thank you for sharing!
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you risk becoming just another radical hobbyist.
Hint: they suffer from an image problem.
Unless they're train enthusiasts.
Hey guys, last week I started to write an article which I finished in the late hours of today. I wrote it because I found myself explaining to a lot of people why is that I play RPGs. Maybe you could send it to some family members, significant others or friends who actually don't get why we do what we do.
Link to the article! Click me!
This is the article, if you fin yourself reading it, please let me know any feedback you want to give in the comment section below the article.
I finally finished the article. Sorry it took so long to generate feedback. Also, my apologies for putting the feedback here instead of there, but I am more comfortable in this venue. So...
It's a nice article. Passionate, honest, and over-all genuine. It's neat.
It does suffer somewhat from awkward phrasing or oddly-placed word choices - while your vocabulary is often quite strong, your grammar, placement, structure, and flow are not as thoroughly developed. These things will take practice, and - I'm a shining example - no matter how practiced at writing stuff you get, you'll often make strange word choices or be unsure how to structure things. That's okay, it's just something that I noticed - something that made it more difficult to read through than I would have liked.
You have some good points and decent examples as well, making it easier to understand - a very good thing.
If you want this to be utilized by a broader audience as a method of explaining their hobby, however, you may wish to work on your introduction. In some ways, the introduction feels a bit rushed, without you explaining your purpose before hand. That said, a desire to see such a thing could just be a personal quirk or preference of mine; I'm not an English teacher, but it would be how I structure it, were it me.
While your "why give it a try" is a good starting point, I wanted to see more reasons than just those listed, and I wanted to see...
Thanks I will take your feedback into account. I think I will write further on the subject, so this piece of advice is invaluable.
Glad to!
