From: jek@duke.cs.duke.edu (James E. Kittock)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board,rec.games.frp.advocacy
Subject: Re: Hostility in Gamers toward Certain Games
Date: 10 Sep 92 17:59:05 GMT
Followup-To: rec.games.board
Organization: Duke University Computer Science Dept.; Durham, N.C.

In article <3yqn91p.obrien@netcom.com> obrien@netcom.com (Robert O'Brien) writes:

>I don't enjoy playing *any* game with a gamer whose casual conversation often
>centers on "what fools those ____ players are"  True, there *are* personality
>traits involved, and I think RPG's often reinforce certain behavior patterns
>to the point that they become observable in 'real' life, but I think those
>players find those behaviors enjoyable, and *choose* to adopt them into their
>'real' selves.  I refuse, however, to believe these categories are immutable,
>and there are "RPG type" people distinct from "Miniatures Wargame type"
>distinct from "Monopoly type", "Go type" ... &c. What there are includes
>both tolerant and intolerant people who like all sorts of combinations.

I'd be interested to hear what "certain behavior
patterns" you think RPG's reinforce.  I may be
misunderstanding you, but this sounds something like a
"stereotyping" akin to "all chess players are dweebs"
or "all miniatures players are powermad cuckoos" or...

I mean, perhaps there are a large number of RPG players
who are, say, daydreamer-types not firmly rooted in
reality.  Or perhaps many who are anti-social.  Or
perhaps many who are "nerds".  Or whatever.  But to say
that playing RPGs "reinforces certain behavior
patterns"... sounds like something religious
fundamentalists would say!

In my experience, there are ALL kinds of RPG players.
About the only type of RPG player I have yet to meet is
one who exists only in the mainstream social culture (I
am thinking about college here) of keg parties and
greek mixers.  But... well, here is a sampling of some
of the people I have played with in college...

physics dork / juggler
very introverted electrical engineer
history major / serious karate student / hopeful FBI agent
prose writer / computer programmer
history major / sorority member / singer
urban planning student (now) / manager of tutoring organization
german & english major / renaissance buff
pre-med / active in a very social student organization
pre-med / total study hack
pre-med / active in a fraternity
writer / bartender at a gay bar
biomedical engineer / member of service fraternity / basketball stud
etc. etc. etc.

Some of these people had "normal" social lives, some
didn't, some didn't care.  

So where is the common thread?  Is there a common
thread?  Maybe this: most all were imaginative enough
to enjoy RPGs.  But some played for compainionship,
some because they think of RPGs as a way to escape life
for a while, some because they liked the "power" of RPG
characters, some for reasons I never did understand,
etc. etc. etc.

Looking back on all the people I gamed with any amount
during college, I would say the only "behavior" that
was "reinforced" was probably being friends.  

Whew.  This was a bit longer than I had meant it to be.
But I think it is important that we not judge someone
just by their hobbies.  How silly.

On the game-preferences thread: I like Monopoly OK, but
am always trying to figure out a way to take some of
the luck out of it (maybe auction off all properties as
they are landed on?); I love Diplomacy, but sometimes
wish the mechanics had more depth (Supremacy is OK); I
like "simple" wargames like Risk, or Axis and Allies; I
dislike super-complex wargames because I fall asleep
just thinking about them; I like RPGs a lot, but prefer
"High Fantasy" to other genres (except possibly Call of
Cthulhu); I like cards OK, but only games with some
degree of thought or "politics" (Bridge, Hearts,
poker); I like Scrabble, but only with timed turns; I
love playing blackjack in Casinos when I get the
chance... hmm, what else?  oh, computer games don't do
much for me (ex: I *hated* Sim City), although I liked
Wizardry and Bard's Tale back in high school... most
board games I think of as "bored" games (e.g. chess,
"kid's" games like Sorry) because they either seem
pointless (require too much specialized study and/or
thought or seem to require about as much thought as
watching TV).

So, anyone up for a game of something? :-)
-- 
James Kittock -- Duke '92 -- Computer Science/Mathematics -- jek@cs.duke.edu
	  "What the world needs now is another folk singer,
	     like I need a hole in my head."  -- Cracker
Newsgroups: rec.games.board