Cthulhudrew said:
Who the hell is Matt Snyder? :\
I'm going to do my best to keep my emotions in check and not say here what I really think of the guy, but if you really want to know, or you want to respond to him personally, the OP's link goes to the guy's homepage.
His personal feelings aside, what bothers me is his logic. I knew a girl that went to high school with my younger sister who had been raped, and was considering killing herself. While she was contemplating whether or not to do it, she started watching the movie "Heathers". For whatever reason (she never really explained it to me), she credits that movie as the thing that made her change her mind and saved her life. Did a silly movie actually save her life? I don't know, but she thinks it did and she's still alive. Isn't that the important part? I can't follow the logic of someone who claims that something must be regarded as important by the entire world to be deemed worthy of importance by an individual. People attach different levels of importance and meaning to everything in their lives. How many people in the world were inspired by a movie, or a book, or a game, or a car, or a job, or something else considered relatively trivial by someone else? People get inspiration from just about anything. If those people feel that their lives are enriched as a result of being inspired from whatever, what motive does any other person really have for attacking them for it?
Roleplaying directly contributed to my ability to deal with physical and sexual abuse, the bitter divorce of my parents and the death of my grandfather, all within the span of a couple years. I wasn't an outcast. I was one of the most popular kids in my school. I was a top student and played 3 different sports. I wasn't an outcast. I never "worshipped" Gary Gygax. But I always respected him for creating a hobby. I was grateful to find this "game", and happy to have had the opportunity to shake his hand, and I was glad to have roleplaying as a coping mechanism to handle a very rough childhood. Sure, it
could have been anything else that
could have gotten me through that time in my life if D&D didn't exist. But this Matt Snyder misses the entire point. For me, it
was D&D that helped me through that time in my life. Role-playing is a part of my lifestyle. But so is being a professional entertainer and playing drums in a metal band. Does any single thing in my life define me? No, of course not. Again, Mr. Snyder's logic is lost on me. The thought that he has the market cornered on what should be defined as a worthy lifestyle just reeks of a bigoted and ignorant attitude.
Maybe the fact that Mr. Snyder is apparently connected to the gaming design world (I'm no gaming expert, but I haven't heard of a single thing he's credited for). Maybe it's the fact that many people reading this have no idea who he is and he's having to read page after page about someone in the game design industry that people actually care about and respect. Even if he isn't envious and suffering from severe inadequacies in regard to Gary Gygax, his article makes him sound like he is. I don't get the impression that this single article is an isolated incident. I skimmed through other articles and got the impression that he is very confident of his own opinions and does try to make some kind of distinction that he "isn't one of them". I found the whole webpage kind of sad really. To have such abrasive opinions towards those in your field much more successful, much more well known and much more respected is just plain awful.
I guess I'm one of those weirdo's he seems to be alluding to, and his article didn't affect me at all, other than to feel like he owes me an hour of my life back. I'm very secure with my life and my lifestyle. I don't have the need to belittle others in my field in order to feel better about myself. I don't disrespect people who have contributed to something that is important to me and my life. I am glad I'm not Matt Snyder. :\
