Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
The Elfish Gene - Another attack on gamers
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="pawsplay" data-source="post: 5044757" data-attributes="member: 15538"><p>Just read it. Quirky, but hilarious, and also sweet. Affectionate, loving, morally aware. I was really struck by how much of it resonated with me, the obsession with fantasy, the alienation as a young adult, the dread of boredom, the toleration of abuse within early gaming relationships, etc. At the same time, I was struck by how different my experience was. Gaming was, is, a source of self-steem, a special way of looking at the world, a font of creativity, a milieu for developing social skills, exercising the mind, and being productive. The thing that pains me about the book is the frequent use of the word "addiction," which I never felt gaming was for me. Briefly, in the late 90s, I thought I was about grown out of it; in retrospect, it was probably the darkest time in my life, and I lost interesting in gaming primarily because I lost interest in life. It is kind of sad that the author, in talking about his self-loathing and his reflexive use of sarcasm, cannot resist those impulses in his memoir. Particularly, I felt his description of the older gaming group at the end to be uncharitable; not everyone over twenty who games is an addict. My penchant for odd trivia and pop philosophy probably strikes some people as strange, but to me it is a gift to go through life with curiosity, knowledge, and openness to the nontraditional.</p><p></p><p>In reflection, there are probably a number of reasons why my view is more positive, probably not the least that I was a geek polymath, someone who's interest in D&D didn't simply concentrate in fantasy posters and heavy metal, but also in endlessly rewatching Star Wars, reading Civil Wars history, and studying physics. Maybe that makes a difference, dividing your sources of self-esteem so that no one avenue dominates you. Perhaps also it is generational, with myself living in America and starting almost four years later... changes in the masculine culture may have been kinder to my situation. He describes fleeing from LARPs in embarrassment, whereas I dove in with gusto. He speaks of the rarity of the female wargamer; I certainly met them in college, and studied extensively the question of what, exactly, would make someone attractive to such a person. I married a fellow nerd, and we are surely raising little nerdlings of our own. I feel like RPGs have brought virtually nothing but goodness into my life, and I consider the occasional weirdo, antisocial type, the momentary public embarassment, to be a small price to play. Anyway, I won't go in the vein at the risk of sounding self-indulgent.</p><p></p><p>Summary: Good book. Pleasant and warm. Also not a bad experience for gaining self-reflection. Highly recommended. If you are still in the stages of shedding your awkward self-loathing, take the contained wisdom with a grain of salt.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pawsplay, post: 5044757, member: 15538"] Just read it. Quirky, but hilarious, and also sweet. Affectionate, loving, morally aware. I was really struck by how much of it resonated with me, the obsession with fantasy, the alienation as a young adult, the dread of boredom, the toleration of abuse within early gaming relationships, etc. At the same time, I was struck by how different my experience was. Gaming was, is, a source of self-steem, a special way of looking at the world, a font of creativity, a milieu for developing social skills, exercising the mind, and being productive. The thing that pains me about the book is the frequent use of the word "addiction," which I never felt gaming was for me. Briefly, in the late 90s, I thought I was about grown out of it; in retrospect, it was probably the darkest time in my life, and I lost interesting in gaming primarily because I lost interest in life. It is kind of sad that the author, in talking about his self-loathing and his reflexive use of sarcasm, cannot resist those impulses in his memoir. Particularly, I felt his description of the older gaming group at the end to be uncharitable; not everyone over twenty who games is an addict. My penchant for odd trivia and pop philosophy probably strikes some people as strange, but to me it is a gift to go through life with curiosity, knowledge, and openness to the nontraditional. In reflection, there are probably a number of reasons why my view is more positive, probably not the least that I was a geek polymath, someone who's interest in D&D didn't simply concentrate in fantasy posters and heavy metal, but also in endlessly rewatching Star Wars, reading Civil Wars history, and studying physics. Maybe that makes a difference, dividing your sources of self-esteem so that no one avenue dominates you. Perhaps also it is generational, with myself living in America and starting almost four years later... changes in the masculine culture may have been kinder to my situation. He describes fleeing from LARPs in embarrassment, whereas I dove in with gusto. He speaks of the rarity of the female wargamer; I certainly met them in college, and studied extensively the question of what, exactly, would make someone attractive to such a person. I married a fellow nerd, and we are surely raising little nerdlings of our own. I feel like RPGs have brought virtually nothing but goodness into my life, and I consider the occasional weirdo, antisocial type, the momentary public embarassment, to be a small price to play. Anyway, I won't go in the vein at the risk of sounding self-indulgent. Summary: Good book. Pleasant and warm. Also not a bad experience for gaining self-reflection. Highly recommended. If you are still in the stages of shedding your awkward self-loathing, take the contained wisdom with a grain of salt. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
The Elfish Gene - Another attack on gamers
Top