technoir | To game.

What is a gamer? I suppose the simple answer would be, one who participates in games. It is a clear definition, if somewhat incomplete. I am gamer. Gamers are a subculture in a way. A grouping of folks who enjoy spending their free time playing games, more specifically Role playing games. MOst of my friends are gamers. We are diverse in our other interest's. Would be filmakers play the same games as lawers and doctors. One thing I have a problem with, and I hope I am not alone, is the perception of gamers and gaming.

For years gaming took a bad rap in the circles of the religious right, but the ones that irritate me more are other wise decent folks who treat me like I am spending my energies on something unworthy. My own grandmother, bless her old fashioned heart, is very much a case of this. When ever the subject of how I spend my weekends comes up, smiles and says "oh you still do that?" with all the condesending one might give me if they found out I still wet my bed. I have seen people who otherwise fit neatly into the counter culture, treat gaming with the disdain a conservative would treat a pot smoking hippie. Why is gaming so much more contemptable. It is a hobby which requires the use of your brain. It is creative and people can and do have a talent for it as surely as people have a talent to sing. How is it that playing bridge is some how a better way to spend my time? Why is my hobby not as good as someone else's? I am so tired of having my past time, one which I like to think I have a talent for, berated and belittled by people who dont take the time to learn any thing about it.

I am done ranting.

for now....

TechNoir

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I've always thought you an excellent gamer and
roleplayer one of the better ones I know.
Especially when it came to hard roles to play or
when you ran a game for us here in chattavegas.
I know we can be some resourceful cut-throat
sumbitches here. I have never felt shame or
persecution for my interest in the hobby. But I
agree that it is grossly misunderstood. Much like
Twin Peaks or Proficient Foreplay it has to be
experienced before really any pertinent commentary
can be made about it.

Heh, I got to use the word Foreplay...

Uhm anyways. I've watched the tides of gamers pass
over the years and noticed the various trends both
good and bad come and go. We have always been
surprisingly on the money when it comes to our
thoughts about the trends of products and future for
the hobby in general. Maybe we should get jobs
being consultants for the "Gaming futures market"
that'd be sweet. Of course it's also utter nonsense.
but it sounded amusing.

I will always be happy to share this pastime with
you. There are few I'd rather entertain it with.
Damned few.

Next time Gadget?!!
SN

I have never felt shame for the hobby just frustration at the perception. You dont see sports fans ridiculed or berated for wasting their time on such nonsence. If I have a talent for painting I am not made to feel it is a waste of my time to persue it, but if my talent lies in playing difficult role play charicters I am told it is not as important as if I were persuing a real art.

grumble.

"Grown-up" people look at roleplaying as something not serious, because one can't make money out of this. Or maybe the idea of dressing into costumes and chasing each other in the woods with fake swords is repulsing to them.
In Russia, the situation's much the same. Some people also don't understand camping. When I tell the "grown-up" friends of mine that I love canoeing, they ask me, with eyes rounded, "Haven't you overgrown it yet??"

If you ever find yourself in the states come to tennessee. We have some great rivers and campgrounds. Camping on the Appalachian Trail is one of the high points of my life.

Thank you, TechNoir. :)

Here are some photos from a recent Russian roleplaying session. I hope it'll enlighten your spirits a bit. :)
http://vulkan-news.narod.ru/vim/vim.html
http://urania.ksu.ru/~askar/voinaimir/

Thanks for the pictures. they are great. It is nice to know that hobby is persue the world around. and good to hear from you again.

TechNoir

Tell them that gaming is your means of artistic expression. Explain how you are returning to a primitive form of cultural expression -- storytelling -- and updating it for a modern audience. Mention that this art form confronts serious themes of betrayal, grief, heroism, conflicting loyalties and the nature of good vs evil. Stare at them blankly when they say "But it's just a game," say "Would you call Shakespeare just a scribe?" and then walk away.

While some of this is partly tounge in cheek, it's also serious. I do actually think that gaming (both TT and LARP) is -- or at least can be -- a form of artistic expresion. This doesn't apply to all games, but smearing paint on canvas doesn't always count as art either.

What a cool description. I love it! It certainly makes me feel better about blowing off my creative writing assignment to write a kick ass elevation or two :)

If writing an elevation isn't a valid form of a creative writing assignment, I really don't know what is. Evaluating what goes into something like that -- or any plotline -- is a highly complex, creative, and intellectual exercise. When you consider all of the elements that go into just a simple elevation, it's at least as complex as, say, a one act play. You need to consider setting (where am I running this), set design (what props do I need), story (what's going to happen), dialog (what are my NPCs going to say), and story (how will this move my target audience: the PC). Now realize that when someone writes a one-act play, they have control over all aspects of their play. They know what the dialog will be each and every time. They know what actions will be taken to move the plot along and keep the audience entertained. As someone who is writing plot for a LARP (or running a TT game), you must anticipate and plan for contingencies that a playwrite never will have to encounter.

I am occasionally tempted to apply for an art-grant for a LARP just to see if I could get it through. I think they deserve one.

I too love your description. I have actually pushed some boundries while gaming. I used to call it Larp therapy. Mickey playing my estranged father was painful but cathartic as I found myself saying things I wish i had a chance to say to my own father while he lived. I once played in the cam a mortal dying of AIDs he had contracted from a vampire bite. As much as anything it was my attempt to deal with my own left over issues of watching a nieghbor slowly die of the disease. These are maybe not typical examples but it is indicative of how I see it. Like any art form you can show and do difficult things. Gaming is an art as surely as any other performance with just as much depth if you let it.

Actually, the U.S. military has many many many books in the depots of bases so that their people can do something that is fun, inspires confidence, teamwork, and quick-thinking. There's not much that is better for training you to think and act quickly.

Think about it. How many times have you watched a movie and gone "Why did you put that gun down? There's got to be extra bullets somewhere and besides, you can always thwack somebody on the head with it?" only to find out later that the character dies because of some stupidly similar mistake? If there were a war, your survivors would come from a strong portion of the gaming community. We have common sense, imagination, and hutzpah. People hate what they do not understand. They also hate to acknowledge the fact that imagination is a fundamental part of the ADULT human brain.

We're getting way too sterilized.

There was rumor for a while(one which i believe) that if you were a known gamer, the FBI would add a flag to your file about it. Gamers are dangerous.

PPL just don't want to understand us or else they'd NOT be able to feel so smug 'bout themselves.

no doubt.

To game.

Givin' o' the props...

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P.S.

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Gaming as an Art Form

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Re: Gaming as an Art Form

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Military Role

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Game On dude!

Re: Game On dude!