Seriously considering dropping the hobby

[Imruphel]

(snip) I am 38, and I don't game, but only because there are no people around me that do so. (snip) (snip) One of these days, there'll be a game, or there won't. (snip)

I'm the same age and went years without playing as a result of moving to Singapore from Australia and being too busy to find Singaporeans to get into D&D with.

However, I used that time to prepare a couple of different campaigns which, when I returned to Oz, I was able to DM for a good couple of years.

I've since moved back to Singapore but I still only play when I'm back in Oz. Fortunately, my business allows me to travel back a little more regularly these days... three games in the next two weeks!

The only place I see this divisiveness is online. In real life, the gamers I've met have been, to a person, nice, reasonable, and willing to be flexible. Pay less attention to message board flame wars would be my advice. (snip)

I agree.

I think one of the most important things to do when you're feeling a bit drained by D&D is to stay away from messageboards or at least stay away from threads where the topic includes:

- rules debates;
- comparisons of editions;
- Forgotten Realms (my preferred world but, sadly, threads involving FR as a topic generally devolve into "everyone is a munchkin" etc...);
- anything to do with a WotC business decision; and
- pretty much anything posted on the WotC boards.

Learn how to use the ignore function; stay away from the trouble-makers and the nay-sayers. Read some good story hours/campaign journals to remind yourself of how much fun a good game can be.

 

[Steel_Wind]

There's nothing wrong with the game. There's nothing wrong with you, either. And despite some of your disenchantment over some recent books - i don't think there is much wrong with those books... other than the fact they are obviously starting to reach the bottom of the barrel for topical themes.

So - there's nothing wrong with the game. But it sure sounds like there's something wrong with your game.

Specifically, from the tone of your post, there's something wrong with your gaming group. There are generational likes and dislikes in gamer culture that transpire over the years. I'm too old to have any emotional connection to the Transformers at all. That was somebody else's childhood - it wasn't mine.

And Ninja Scroll aside, most anime is crap as far as I am concerned. It's not for me either.

So why are you and me alike? Cause we grew up with the same game and have the same expectations. Sounds like we're pretty much the same age my friend.

If I may be so bold - it sounds like you need some friends your own age to play with. Nothing more than that.

 

[Truth Seeker]

Whooaaa...We need to stick you, into a anime room, for a month.

And Ninja Scroll aside, most anime is crap as far as I am concerned. It's not for me wither. -Steel Wind.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Whooaaa...We need to stick you, into a anime room, for a month.

Naah. Brian Chung (an artist at BioWare) has tried to convert me for years. He takes it personally that I am not an anime fan. I've watched all these DVD collections he's given to me trying to make some connection with this stuff.

And some of the series have their moments. But it just doesn't grab me.

The problem with expressing dislikes for movies and for boardgames online is one identified by Roger Ebert back in the 70s: When you say you don't like a movie that somebody else really liked - you aren't challenging the movie so much as you are challenging the values and tastes of someone who likes it.

So people take it personally Board Game Geek's geek lists are all based on this theme.

I've been there done that and it ain't working. Anime is just not for me, and it's not ever going to be for me. And that's the way it is.

 

[DragonLancer]

So, I've hung up my DM hat for now and turned to World of Warcraft. It's got all the goodness of dungeon crawling and the world is largely designed to my satisfaction. Ya gots guns, techno-stuff, aliens, monsters as PC's, and k3wl p0w3rz... plus the social interaction and group work in the form of player guilds. This game feeds all my D&D needs for now...

... and there's no problem finding players. :x

And thats why IMO roleplaying and hobby gaming in general is in the state it is. Rather than get into a social game, people are being drawn to online MMORGs and computer games. You want to find new players, get them away from their computers and consoles and get them to a games table.

 

[Truth Seeker]

SW....I hear ya, maybe in the next incarnation of you, it will be differnt.

Naah. Brian Chung (an artist at BioWare) has tried to convert me for years. He takes it personally that I am not an anime fan. I've watched all these DVD collections he's given to me trying to make some connection with this stuff.

And some of the series have their moments. But it just doesn't grab me.

The problem with expressing dislikes for movies and for boardgames online is one identified by Roger Ebert back in the 70s: When you say you don't like a movie that somebody else really liked - you aren't challenging the movie so much as you are challenging the values and tastes of someone who likes it.

So people take it personally Board Game Geek's geek lists are all based on this theme.

I've been there done that and it ain't working. Anime is just not for me, and it's not ever going to be for me. And that's the way it is.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Which is to say, yes, it would seem there are roleplayers who don't base their games on anything of the sort. Whatsoever. Or, conversely, who do base them on REH, Greek myths, et al.

Bah. Why bother limiting the palette? There's a time for heavy-metal action and introspective PC's, and there's a time for the stoic badass and eternal bloodshed over some sweet piece of lady.

Heck, there's room for all that in a single campaign. Throw in a hobbit, a forlorn elf, and a thief masterminding the operation and TA-DAAAAA.

There's a lot more similarities between these ideas than I think a lot of grognards like this want to admit.

 

[Gundark]

To get my D&D fix, I'm starting to consider the boardgame Runebound. I suspect it may very well offer the best of both worlds.

I would recommend Descent over Runebound. Descent gives you that RPG feeling. Runebound is boring.

 

[TGryph]

First - take a deep breath. It isn't the end of the world.

Take a break for a while - enough time to start feeling the itch again. Then, find a new group of people to play with. Make sure they aren't "D&D Snobs" and are willing to try other games. After that, try a different game such as C&C, 1st edition, or OD&D. Or better yet, try a completely different game/genre. GURPS, Harn, HARP, Paranoia, Twilight:2000, TORG, whatever.

QFT. And use the downtime to meet more mature people who may or may not be gamers, then try to draw them into your game. No rush..make sure there is a good personality mesh before even thinking about gaming.

Good Luck!

TGryph

 

[Silver Moon]

I quit for five years. Best thing I ever did for my love of the game. It's a hobby, not a spouse.

Agreed. While my own weekly game has continued for nearly a quarter-century I was once a three-night-a-week gamer and stopped playing with the other two groups when it started to cross over into being an obsession.

Walk away and take up water polo or something.

I tried water polo but my horse drown.

A few decades down the road, who knows? Maybe you'll pick your dice back up in the retirement home!

I've had a running joke going with PirateCat for years about our running a retirement home for gamers.


Great tread and comments - I agree with most, but the dice and books away in a box but don't get rid of them just yet - you never know what the future might bring.