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RPG Evolution: The People Who Don't Game
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<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 9019176" data-attributes="member: 3285"><p>Believe it or not, there's people who don't like games. At all.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]284708[/ATTACH]</p> <p style="text-align: center"><a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/skyrim-fallout4-witcher-4465496/" target="_blank">Picture courtesy of Pixabay.</a></p><p></p><p>We've all encountered it: we mention our gaming interests or someone notices our games and the response is, "I don't like games." There are a lot of reasons for why this is and their reasoning tells a lot about that person.</p><h3>"They're a Waste of Time"</h3><p>Perhaps the most frequent response to gaming is that it's a frivolous past time, and therefore should not be pursued. This broad characterization has roots in the idea that free time should be spent productively, even if the benefits are ancillary. Practicing a sport is a means of exercise, tending a garden grows plants, etc. It's perhaps not a surprise that busy people are more inclined to take this stance because they're under intense pressure to maximize their free time when they have it. As Gloria Liu <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2023/04/board-games-bonding-game-night/673670/" target="_blank">explains at the Atlantic</a>:</p><p></p><p>But unless it's a contest with a reward at the end, games provide enjoyment simply by playing them. In a previous article for the Atlantic, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/07/set-goals-meaningless-trivial/670476/" target="_blank">Liu admitted as much</a>:</p><p></p><p>In short, it's only a waste of time if you don't value the enjoyment that comes from gaming.</p><h3>"It Tells Too Much About You"</h3><p>When I was playing <strong>Dungeons & Dragons </strong>in high school, one of my friends told me his father disapproved of the game -- not for the usual reasons (back in the 80s, the Satanic Panic was in full swing), but because he felt it shared too much about the participants involved. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2023/04/board-games-bonding-game-night/673670/" target="_blank">He was right</a>:</p><p></p><p>I'm often fond of saying that if a gaming group plays together long enough, they'll either be best friends or will drop out of the game. Tabletop role-playing in particular can be an intensely personal experience that accelerates relationships, including breaking them faster.</p><h3>"I Don't Like That Game"</h3><p>Games are frequently painted in broad strokes by their most popular brands: board games bring to mind <strong><em>Monopoly</em></strong>, card games <strong><em>Poker</em></strong>, role-playing games <strong><em>Dungeons & Dragons</em></strong>. As many gamers are fond of pointing out, there's life beyond just killing dragons. But getting there requires being open to the concept in general, and often dislike of one game ends up a dismissal of all of them.</p><p></p><p>There are many different kinds of games for many different types of gamers. <a href="https://apps.quanticfoundry.com/surveys/start/gamerprofile/" target="_blank">Quantic Foundry's survey offers a detailed breakdown of gamer interests</a>, so it should come as no surprise that there's a game for everybody -- they just might not all be interested in the same game.</p><p></p><p><strong>Your Turn: How do you respond to the people in your life who don't like games?</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="talien, post: 9019176, member: 3285"] Believe it or not, there's people who don't like games. At all. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="skyrim-4465496_960_720.jpg"]284708[/ATTACH] [URL='https://pixabay.com/photos/skyrim-fallout4-witcher-4465496/']Picture courtesy of Pixabay.[/URL][/CENTER] We've all encountered it: we mention our gaming interests or someone notices our games and the response is, "I don't like games." There are a lot of reasons for why this is and their reasoning tells a lot about that person. [HEADING=2]"They're a Waste of Time"[/HEADING] Perhaps the most frequent response to gaming is that it's a frivolous past time, and therefore should not be pursued. This broad characterization has roots in the idea that free time should be spent productively, even if the benefits are ancillary. Practicing a sport is a means of exercise, tending a garden grows plants, etc. It's perhaps not a surprise that busy people are more inclined to take this stance because they're under intense pressure to maximize their free time when they have it. As Gloria Liu [URL='https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2023/04/board-games-bonding-game-night/673670/']explains at the Atlantic[/URL]: But unless it's a contest with a reward at the end, games provide enjoyment simply by playing them. In a previous article for the Atlantic, [URL='https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/07/set-goals-meaningless-trivial/670476/']Liu admitted as much[/URL]: In short, it's only a waste of time if you don't value the enjoyment that comes from gaming. [HEADING=2]"It Tells Too Much About You"[/HEADING] When I was playing [B]Dungeons & Dragons [/B]in high school, one of my friends told me his father disapproved of the game -- not for the usual reasons (back in the 80s, the Satanic Panic was in full swing), but because he felt it shared too much about the participants involved. [URL='https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2023/04/board-games-bonding-game-night/673670/']He was right[/URL]: I'm often fond of saying that if a gaming group plays together long enough, they'll either be best friends or will drop out of the game. Tabletop role-playing in particular can be an intensely personal experience that accelerates relationships, including breaking them faster. [HEADING=2]"I Don't Like That Game"[/HEADING] Games are frequently painted in broad strokes by their most popular brands: board games bring to mind [B][I]Monopoly[/I][/B], card games [B][I]Poker[/I][/B], role-playing games [B][I]Dungeons & Dragons[/I][/B]. As many gamers are fond of pointing out, there's life beyond just killing dragons. But getting there requires being open to the concept in general, and often dislike of one game ends up a dismissal of all of them. There are many different kinds of games for many different types of gamers. [URL='https://apps.quanticfoundry.com/surveys/start/gamerprofile/']Quantic Foundry's survey offers a detailed breakdown of gamer interests[/URL], so it should come as no surprise that there's a game for everybody -- they just might not all be interested in the same game. [B]Your Turn: How do you respond to the people in your life who don't like games?[/B] [/QUOTE]
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