Does Adulthood Change the RPG Experience Much?

[Ogrork the Mighty]

What I really miss is the pick up game of D&D that was so much easier to organize when I was a kid. Also the marathon gaming sessions that would go on for 10-12+ hours. Eventually we discovered we could get as much done in 6 hours of focused game play as we would in 12 hours, but the social experience made it all worthwhile.

Also, it was easier to recruit players back in the day. I remember having 8+ people at the game table. It was a blast managing the different factions.

With adulthood comes adult responsibilities and that puts a serious crimp in game time.

 

[Yaztromo]

Yes, you want something very different out of a game and the game time is much shorter, so you don't want complicate or time consuming rulesets anymore.
You also get over the "play to win" thingy that may be more appealing to youngsters and so often disrupts games.

 

[Blue]

Does adulthood as compared to what?

I'm planning a introductory game for a number of our kids which will be way different then how I normally play, but differs only lightly from how I would run a game for all new adult players.

What I'm looking for in a system and campaign, and how much time I have to put into it were pretty close from being a teen to being a (young) adult. But young adult in college to working with kids was a major change.

Game play has changed a lot since I was a kid - due to the hobby maturing, and mechanics also maturing and bringing in new options.

 

[SteveC]

It can be a very different experience. For me, I really find myself savoring the ability to roleplay even more, and with less tolerance for incidental distractions that keep me from gaming.

I'm running KotS at the moment, and a new player is playing a tiefling warlock, and had some great roleplaying moments with some of the townsfolk. We were starting to exercise the roleplaying muscles ... and then the group started to get bored with it, so back we went to the more strict gaming agenda. It's a shame, because I was enjoying getting back into it.

As far as the second goes, I find I have less patience for distractions that keep the game from going forward. I don't have a lot of time any more (two jobs, dating life, volunteer work ... ick! not much time left over) so as a result, I tend to have a strong dislike for things that get in the way of the gaming time I do have. It mostly comes down to people who don't want to be there (wives and girlfriends of some players who don't want they or their husband to be there) and too much talk about work or politics. Both of those things away from the table, thankyouverymuch!

That's just me, though, of course...

--Steve

My goodness, it's strange to see a thread that you commented on about 10 years ago on the front page. Wow.

So I'll answer this question again, this time being married and with a 20 month old daughter.

It's like my previous answer x10. I love playing RPGs but I seldom get to do so at the moment, so that time is precious. It really changes the kind of games I'm interested in: if it's a sandbox game I'm pretty much going to bow out, since there tends to be a lot of time spent looking for something to do. Something with a definite start/end point is also pretty much essential.

The thing is, I wouldn't change my life for anything, but it does teach me that time is precious.

 

[Psikerlord#]

Yes. It changes it for the better.