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<blockquote data-quote="dead" data-source="post: 1761387" data-attributes="member: 18707">I have a theory that RPG gamers who love the game to death started at an early age. Early age I define as anywhere from 9 to 21.My theory also says that if you started gaming *after* this age, it is far less likely that you will treat gaming as an integral part of your life. In other words, folks who start gaming &quot;late&quot;, will be more likely to just &quot;dabble&quot; or drop out of the hobby all together!I have no evidence to prove my theory, so I'm conducting some research. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> You see, I think in the early years of our life we are innocent and open-minded and happy to take up the joys of a creative hobby. Some folks say they &quot;grow out of it&quot; (whatever that means!!!), while others are hooked for life. However, if we start later on in life -- ie. when we've reached adulthood -- the various negative attitudes in society about gaming as being &quot;anti-social&quot; and &quot;pathetic&quot; (&quot;Get a real life!&quot;, these people say) are too ingrained in the said individual and, thus, it is harder for them to &quot;fall in love&quot; with RPGs. This resistance causes folks late to gaming to distance themselves from embracing the hobby which, inevitably, causes them to drop out completely.Of course, folks, I'm sure there are exceptions! I'm sure there's some folks out there who started gaming at age 25 or 35 and now love the hobby with all their heart.I started gaming at age 10 with Basic D&amp;D and I've never looked back. Through high-school many of my friends dropped out of gaming. They said: &quot;I think I've grown out of it&quot; (which, of course, earned my undying emnity coz they are implying RPGs are for kids).Anyway, I'm 29 now, and I've tried to introduce folks of a similar age into the hobby but always strike resistance. When I do get them at the gaming table, it seems that they are there primarily for the &quot;social&quot; experience rather than the pleasure of the *game*. (Yes, gaming is a fantastic social activity, but if the only reason you're turning up to sessions is to &quot;catch up with friends&quot; then I think there is a problem). As a result, these players aren't very committed.Conversly, we've just introduced my friend's 10-year old daughter to the gaming table and, guess what, she loves it!!!! I think we have a convert. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> Anyways, I know the folk on EN World are like me: Life wouldn't be worth living without RPGs!!!!!!!!! So, I wanna see what age such passionate RPG enthusiasts started gaming -- I'm guessing at a young age.If you did start late, however, my hat is off to you! You've embraced RPGs because you loved them and didn't care what &quot;society&quot; or non-gaming peers thought.Thankyou.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="dead, post: 1761387, member: 18707"] I have a theory that RPG gamers who love the game to death started at an early age. Early age I define as anywhere from 9 to 21. My theory also says that if you started gaming *after* this age, it is far less likely that you will treat gaming as an integral part of your life. In other words, folks who start gaming "late", will be more likely to just "dabble" or drop out of the hobby all together! I have no evidence to prove my theory, so I'm conducting some research. :) You see, I think in the early years of our life we are innocent and open-minded and happy to take up the joys of a creative hobby. Some folks say they "grow out of it" (whatever that means!!!), while others are hooked for life. However, if we start later on in life -- ie. when we've reached adulthood -- the various negative attitudes in society about gaming as being "anti-social" and "pathetic" ("Get a real life!", these people say) are too ingrained in the said individual and, thus, it is harder for them to "fall in love" with RPGs. This resistance causes folks late to gaming to distance themselves from embracing the hobby which, inevitably, causes them to drop out completely. Of course, folks, I'm sure there are exceptions! I'm sure there's some folks out there who started gaming at age 25 or 35 and now love the hobby with all their heart. I started gaming at age 10 with Basic D&D and I've never looked back. Through high-school many of my friends dropped out of gaming. They said: "I think I've grown out of it" (which, of course, earned my undying emnity coz they are implying RPGs are for kids). Anyway, I'm 29 now, and I've tried to introduce folks of a similar age into the hobby but always strike resistance. When I do get them at the gaming table, it seems that they are there primarily for the "social" experience rather than the pleasure of the *game*. (Yes, gaming is a fantastic social activity, but if the only reason you're turning up to sessions is to "catch up with friends" then I think there is a problem). As a result, these players aren't very committed. Conversly, we've just introduced my friend's 10-year old daughter to the gaming table and, guess what, she loves it!!!! I think we have a convert. :) Anyways, I know the folk on EN World are like me: Life wouldn't be worth living without RPGs!!!!!!!!! So, I wanna see what age such passionate RPG enthusiasts started gaming -- I'm guessing at a young age. If you did start late, however, my hat is off to you! You've embraced RPGs because you loved them and didn't care what "society" or non-gaming peers thought. Thankyou. [/QUOTE]

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