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Message: <blockquote data-quote="farscapesg1" data-source="post: 2739090" data-attributes="member: 15234">Some recent threads got me thinking about our little hobby and the types of people playing the games  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> Why do you play RPGs?  I'll start with my viewpoint  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f60e.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":cool:" title="Cool    :cool:"  data-smilie="6"data-shortname=":cool:" /> I game for the fun of the game itself.  I don't really consider the guys I game with as friends so much as acquaintances.  Friends are the people I invite over, or am invited over, to hang out and watch a movie, go to the pub, play cards, play board games, etc.  For example, my wife and I get together with friends for the evening and play "Battle of the Sexes", Scrabble, Skip Bo, etc., and sit around and talk about kids, work, politics, sports, etc.  The guys I game with I get together to play D&D and then head home.  Now, don't get me wrong, I get along with all of them on a personal level (well, most of them), but there just isn't a "friendship" there that makes me want to get together for drinks or to catch a movie.  One or two of them possibly, but it just hasn't happened and I don't see it happening.I used to game with friends when I was in high school/college and would never game with them again.  I'd rather spend my time sitting around and getting re-acquainted and shooting the bull.  Too many game sessions were "wasted" as we sat around "yapping" instead of gaming.  If we got together to game again, it would be the same way and I would rather not pretend it was something else.Now, if you prefer to game only with friends, more power to you  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />  I guess it also depends on how you look at the word "friend".  I personally look at it as a person that I would want to be around, regardless of circumstance or what we are doing.  We have a survey at work every year, and one of the questions is "Do you have a best friend at work?"  I used to always answer no until my wife and I became good friends with one of my co-workers.  Now we see them probably two to three times a month and go to their kid's birthday parties, have taken some vacations with them, and have been invited over to their family's Thanksgiving (since we don't have any family in the area).  That is what I consider a friend, and since I moved to Houston nobody I game with has come close to that.Another issue is that a lot of people view gaming as "let's just get together and have fun!".  I've always looked at it as a hobby similar to remote control air planes.  I'm there because of the hobby, not because of the people.  I'm also a fairly structured person and treat the game similar to other things in my life.  For example, I schedule myself to go to the gym every Tuesday and Thursday from 5-6:30 and Saturday from 10-Noon.  I'm going to the gym to work out, not shoot some hoops with friends (if I even played sports).  Gaming is the same way.  I schedule my gaming session for the purpose of gaming, not chatting about the week's events and what-not.  Time spent gaming is time I could spend with my wife, working around the house, hanging out with friends, etc.So, when I join a group, I expect to have a scheduled time to get together and play the game.  A short break here and there is okay, but most of the time should be spent focusing on the game itself.  If I have planned on gaming for 7 hours, and we only really spend 4 (1 hour out for ordering food and eating, another two hours out for rules arguments, talking about out-of-game stuff, smoking breaks, etc.) I don't feel that it was a productive use of my time.  I guess that shows that I look at things on a more "productive" level.  For example, I could never work for a video game company when I know that the majority of games that are being developed will never make it to final production.  That would be such a waste of my time (not having a finished product in the end) that I would probably go nuts.I guess I also look at gaming as "work" in some fashion.  At work, you have a job and get paid to do it.  In gaming, my "job" is to contribute to the fun of the rest of the group while playing.  My "paycheck" is having fun while gaming.  If I don't have enough fun (pay doesn't meet my expectations) I am free to leave.  If I don't do my job (make things difficult for the DM, cause conflicts with other players, etc.) then they have the right to "fire" me.Ok, I think I got a little off topic somewhere there  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /> Why do you play, and why do so many people think my way is wrong?</blockquote>

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