Experiences growing up a fan of Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Roleplaying games, etc.

[bloodtide]

By the mid 1980's I was a kid and a fan of sci-fi and fantasy. I had a couple friends that also liked them, but knew few others. The vast majority of other kids did not care too much, even the "fans" of Star Wars. Though sure you would find some other sci fi /fantasy fans, but not too many. And I knew just about no adult that liked sci fi or fantasy.

Except one. Dick was an older man who lived nearby, and we would encounter each other at the library. One day he saw me with a Star Trek novel, and revealed to me he was a sci fi fantasy fan. He introduced me to Tarzan, John Carter, and such old sci fi/fantasy. Luckily they were easy to find a flea markets for ten cents.

Even going into the 90's and becoming an adult sci fi and fantasy fans were few and far between. More so, the average person was beyond clueless of sci-fi fantasy words, concepts, tropes or anything else. I can well remember the days of having to go over peoples houses to explain things in Star Trek like shields, force fields, and phasers, plus things like black holes or dark matter. And, of course, doing this for the X-files. Again, nearly everyone loved that show and watched it...but were clueless about things on the show. Again, I'd have to explain to people that sure the alien stuff is based on a real story that "really" happened...but might not be 100% true.

By 2000, the flood gates sure opened. Where once it was a bit of a challenge to find D&D players(or any rpg), now they were everywhere. The Golden Age, I could go to The Keep or Moondogs, at the Mall(s) and find hundred of gamers. Now it many people are sci fi and fantasy fans, and everyone knows words, tropes and such.

Get past 2020...and wow are things different. A great example is last summer at the pool. I heard two little girls (I'd guess 9-10) talking about their Avatars for whatever game they were playing on their phones..........

 

[JAMUMU]

What is it about 70s-early 80s British television that made it so full of nightmare fuel?

70s and 80s Britain was nightmare fuel. I expect British sci-fi of the late 2020s/early 2030s will be similarly brilliant for the same reasons. Assuming we still have TV, of course.

Early-mid 80s starter here. Fantasy and sci-fi was a magnet. It drew my attention like nothing else did. Same with my mates. There was no bullying from outside the family for a good few years. From inside there was a fair bit because reading books, writing things down and talking in a circle with your mates wasn't football, so was "gay".

By the time high school rolled around I'd married my nerd interests with boxing, martial arts and weekend hooliganism, as had a few other guys from my group. I suppose this was in answer to the pushback we got from a) bullies and b) evangelicals in positions of power at school. Fortunately, we had a real cool teacher who let us use his name and room for an after-school RPG club, and devil take the hindmost. Outside of that we were shamed but we allowed a modicum of mockery from outsiders, although anything overly silly got kaiboshed.

Post high-school was the 90s, when being a nerd was becoming cool and everyone's non-nerd friend/girlfriend/wife was queuing up to play in a game. Still, the scrapping came in useful when arguing for the merits of the 2e unarmed combat table. Which rules, by the way.

 

[Zardnaar]

I'll see your Poltergeist, and raise you Sapphire and Steel, same age. I still have nightmares. Upstairs and downstairs, upstairs and downstairs ...

I'll raise you Aliens age 8. Horrors didn't really do it for me as a kid they didn't scare me much.

Aliens did.

 

[R_J_K75]

I was born in 1975. I was introduced to D&D in 1982 through my father's friend. This is the same age I started reading sci-fi & fantasy and watching those kinds of movies. In grade school and all through high school I played D&D. was never ashamed of it or hid it. Alot of people in my neighborhood played, and a lot of the people I hung out with played too and we were all partiers so people thought twice about trying to ridicule and bully us because chances are they'd regret it. Once I was in college it was no longer frowned upon and even if it was I didn't care. I can't ever recall having anyone directly put me down or trying to make me feel lesser of a person for playing RPGs. In my opinion if someone needs to put someone else down for what they enjoy then they need to do some serious soul searching.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

What is it about 70s-early 80s British television that made it so full of nightmare fuel? I can think of a number of traumatizing Doctor Who episodes I watched, and I couldn't even get past the opening credits of Children of the Stones (stateside as The Third Eye).

The Ark in Space came out before Alien.

And I'm still terrified of maggots, thanks to The Green Death.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

When you look at the history of the time, yeah, there's a lot of bleak and terrifying stuff that was going on then. These are also the conditions that helped birth punk rock.

70s and 80s Britain was nightmare fuel. I expect British sci-fi of the late 2020s/early 2030s will be similarly brilliant for the same reasons. Assuming we still have TV, of course.

Still creepy:

Even the music from Doctor Who had an unnerving quality.

The Ark in Space came out before Alien.

And I'm still terrified of maggots, thanks to The Green Death.