What's Your Relationship With Your Fellow Gamers?

[Pig Champion]

I'm heavily involved with the hardcore punk scene here so as a result my world view, opinions and thoughts can be extreme or skewed. I've found out the hard way that this doesn't mesh well with gamers I've met, most of whom are fairly conservative. So I keep game friends in game and avoid or bite my tongue on all subjects involving politics, religion or current events.

 

[nedjer]

I'm heavily involved with the hardcore punk scene here so as a result my world view, opinions and thoughts can be extreme or skewed. I've found out the hard way that this doesn't mesh well with gamers I've met, most of whom are fairly conservative. So I keep game friends in game and avoid or bite my tongue on all subjects involving politics, religion or current events.

That would be the other way round in Scotland. The conservative would keep quiet or be immediately associated with social injustice and self-interest. Your opinions would be considered well worth a hearing

 

[Vegepygmy]

Hussar's post brings to mind something I've come to take for granted as I grow older--namely, that I play with people whose company I enjoy. Friends, I daresay.

Not that it was always that way. As a punk kid, I'd play three times a week with people whom my relationship could best be described as "open contempt". Such gamers were nothing more than warm bodies that filled out a requisite number, and whose presence I begrudgingly paid for with a share of loot and XP.

Opposite for me. As a punk kid, my gaming group consisted almost entirely of very close friends. Nowadays, I barely interact with the members of my gaming group outside of our shared hobby.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Didn't vote as I have the 'it depends.'

I have friends I've known since high school that I occassionally game with as well as people I game with at mini-conventions or at other friend's games.

My base rule after a few sessions is, if these aren't people I'd want to hang out with outside of the game, I'm not going to game with them.

 

[amysrevenge]

The definition next to Sociable fits exactly. I was going to clarify, but "enjoy their company at the table, but they're not really a part of your life" is perfect.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

I game with friends.

I met every one of them through gaming (even my wife who was DMing a group I joined and we moved on from there)... but every one of these people are people I hang with outside gaming; help them move, go to a movie, be a best man at a wedding.

Gaming is a common interest we share, and how we met, but it is only one part of our friendship. There are weeks when everyone who DMs (and we rotate through 3 campaigns) all had a bad week, and didn't have time to prepare, and we just spend our allotted 4 or so hours chatting about politics, video games, movies, comics, music or whatever else.

 

[Fifth Element]

It's a mix of close and sociable. One group is me, my wife, my brother-in-law, one of my oldest friends (all close) and another relatively new addition (who started out as an acquaintance but would now fall under social).

The other group is me, my wife, two of my wife's cousins, another of my oldest friends, and two others who started out as strangers but are now at least sociable, if not close.

A large part of the gaming experience for me is hanging out with friends (and family), so I'm not keen on gaming with strangers.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I picked Sociable. Out of my current group I only know all of them through gaming. Having said that 1 player has played in my current group for 4 years now and I played with him in another gaming group a few years before that.

We are close enough that when my first daughter was born he bought her a present. I still don't see him outside of our gaming sessions though. He lives about 45 minutes away from me and gaming is really our only major cross-over of interests.

I have also played with another player in my group for about 3-4 years and we have become more than just gaming session friends. We went to see Avatar at the movies together as neither of our wives had much interest in seeing it. We also chat in between sessions about our 2 games and gaming stuff in general. He lives only 10 minutes away from me so getting together with him is a lot easier.

The other 3 players I have only know for about 2 years and pretty much only see them for gaming sessons. We're definitely more than just aquaintances but we're not close friends.

Unfortunately distance and free time are probably my 2 biggest limiting factors. I'm married with 2 children and I also play Lacrosse in the winter so, apart from the actual gaming sessions, I just don't have time to get together and "hang out" with the people I game with. If I did then I'd definitely hang out with my current gaming group.

I am in a similar situation with lacrosse. I play and train with my team-mates but I don't really hang out with them socially much as there isn't a lot of overlap in our interests outside lacrosse.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Jack99]

I voted close, but best friends would be more accurate. We have been playing for 21 years, and been friends for even longer. In short, it's perfect

 

[Wombat]

Over the years, my players have been my friends and colleagues, and if they don't start that way, they quickly become so. Sure, we game together, but we also share dinners, birthdays, births, deaths, and all the other highs and lows of life. I have always felt happy for these close relations. I feel very, very lucky.