In the past ten years, dozens of papers have been published in psychological journals, describing the usefulness of live role play for teaching in areas as diverse as counselor training, aircrew training, community decision making, substance abuse control, and improving the school attendance of disabled youths. In 1995 Holcombe, Wolery, and Katzenmeyer published an article in The Journal of Child and Family Studies which described the use of roleplaying teaching children to avoid sexual molestation or abduction. Despite scientific reports from around the world that roleplaying is an excellent method of teaching, educators in the United States, are reluctant to attempt to introduce this excellent teaching tool. The games produced by White Wolf, while primarily recreational and not an educational tool, are unusual in presenting an entertainment containing elements of history, classical and modern literature, and modern music that appeals to many teenagers. Some adults disapprove of art or entertainment that allows youths to explore moral choices, and ethics.
Role play is a social phenomenon, and requires some thought and insight.
Imagination-oriented activities that get young people out of the house, away from Nintendo and TV, and that require reading, math, and socializing should be considered a positive pursuit. If the theme of White Wolf's games are occasionally violent and bloody, they do no worse than television and movies. A reading of the White Wolf materials shows they encourage the participant to question his or her actions, and the results, rather than simply accepting mindless violence, which is the primary quality of passive entertainment like television. To suggest that the half-million individuals who play White Wolf games are likely to exhibit criminal or sociopathic behavior is ridiculous. The Vampire myth is powerful because it contains an analogy of cultural alienation.