Writing a paper on RPGs - looking for insights

[Dannyalcatraz]

If you were going to introduce someone to D&D (or the like) who had never really been involved with it before where would you start?

I'd tell them that it was a form of interactive storytelling and invite them to play a game.

What direction would you point them in?

I'd try for a simplified game- a one shot- with a definite start and endgoal. I'd either provide them with pre-gens or walk them through the cha-gen process.

How would you describe yourself, your community, your level of engagement?

I'm a single, black male and a 30 year veteran RPG & Wargamer, who has played on both sides of the screen- player and Game master. I'd point out that the gaming community is an all-ages group that, on average, have a higher level of education than the national average. My personal gaming groups (as an adult) have included multiple computer programmers, a bouncer/entrepeneur, philosophers, a mathematician or two, journalists, and doctors of various kinds (PHDs, MDs, PsiDs). I'm an Entertainment Attorney with an MBA on top (underpinned by degrees in Economics and Philosophy). The gamers at my FLGS include college-level English and Math teachers, and a Dallas Cowboy from their 90's era superbowl team (with the ring to prove it).

I don't play as much as I like, but I play enough to be happy.

What do you love/hate about it all and what keeps you engaged with it?

Negatives: It is a time consuming hobby, and generally requires a lot of focus to get the most of it. It is cooperative, so scheduling can be difficult.

Positives: It encourages reading and mathematical self-improvement, and if done right, can be as immersive an experience as a good novel or movie.

Religion.
Again Stormborn, you have a religious background and are currently engaged with a Christian community. Given your level of involvement in RPGs (significant by your description), how would you describe balancing the two worlds? Have you come up against intolerance and, if so, how did you navigate it? While my understanding is admittedly limited I do know that certain elements of the Christian community have reacted to RPGs negatively. Your activity in two seemingly opposing worlds interests me. I'd love to hear more about that if you feel inclined to share.

While I'm not Stormborn, I am a practicing Roman Catholic with a very religious family: both of my parents are practicing Roman Catholics, my fraternal Grandfather spent some time as a seminarian, my Grandfather on the other side was a Pentacostal whose mother was a Pentacostal Minister. I myself am the first black graduate of a particular Catholic private high-school in the D/FW area...where I founded a gaming club.

I've been called a Satanist by my Mom, my Godmother, and even my HS Art teacher after he was "born again" (because D&D + Heavy Metal = Satanist).

Personally, I think its a combination of a few things that combined uniquely in the USA. We have a fairly religious society (even though most are not practicing)- and a lot of it is on the conservative/activist side; there were a few highly publicized trials here in which defendents or their accusers tried to blame the game/hobby for their actions...all, of course, before similar attempts were made with TV and Video games, but after similar accusations changed the landscape of the world of Comic Books.

While I don't advertise my involvement in the hobby (especially around the Church or members of the Clergy), I don't hide it either.

Like I said, though, condemnation of the hobby isn't universal among the religious. When I founded my HS RPG club, it met on school grounds in a classroom. It died, not of persecution, but of lack of interest after I (and others) graduated. There simply weren't enough players at the school to keep the club viable.

I don't know everyone's religious orientation, but in my current gaming circle, I know besides me, we have atheists, agnostics, lapsed Episcopalians, practicing Evangelicals, and Wiccans.

BTW- anti-RPG sentiments are not unique to Christians. Because it is a form of interactive fiction, it plays fast and loose with all kinds of real world things, including religions. Sometimes, that informal scholarship can lead to offensive uses of religious terminology- I've known Wiccans to complain about the use of the term "Warlock" in D&D, for instance.

 

[Piratecat]

Gender and RPGs.
My general impression is that the majority of players are male but sense a female community is present if not as vocal. Stormborn, you indicate you met your wife in the community. Do you feel women are equally represented or is that something that is still evolving? Finally, if there are any women in the community here, I would love to hear from you. For whatever it's worth, I'm female.

I estimate that women make up approximately 20% of D&D players. I game with about 5 or 6 women (and as many men) on a regular basis, but that figure is higher than average. Like any hobby, like attracts like -- and if one woman is a gamer, she's more likely to invite her friends as well.

If I was going to introduce a new player to gaming (and we have, including an all-female group comprised of friends who had always wanted to try it but found the concept of gaming with strangers to be unappealing!), I wouldn't start with D&D; fantasy just isn't the most accessible genre in my opinion. There aren't enough cool role models for new players to know what to do. As a result, we start new players out with either Spycraft (a secret agent RPG) or Feng Shui (a Hong Kong action movie RPG.) Everyone's seen James Bond! That means that it's an easy transition; when in doubt, the new player can simply ask herself "What would a super spy do?" It's a neat way to introduce the concept with a minimum of fuss.

How would you describe yourself, your community, your level of engagement?

Until recently I was a management consultant specializing in fatigue and alertness (we were the folks you'd call when your nuclear control room worker fell asleep at 3am); I've switched industries, and now have a much more fun job doing video game design for THQ. The creativity in video game design is great, but it's not as immediate as RPGs like D&D.

I've been playing D&D for about 26 years. My current game is about to hit the 15th anniversary. I credit D&D with helping me build a spectacular community of friends across the country, hundreds of folks, people I've first met through this site or at gaming cons and have since become close friends with. At its heart D&D is a social game, and that shows. It's hard to emphasize how rewarding this is to me; it's not just people with whom I share a fun hobby, it's people who love most of the same things I do, and who are smarter and more fun than I am.

My wife plays D&D as well (and did before I met her). Our groups play bi-weekly. Part of the joy is in seeing my friends on a regular basis, and part of it is getting to stretch our creativity and imagination every week.

I'm spiritual but not particularly religious. I've known quite a few ministers who gamed, however. Reconciling D&D and faith didn't seem to be a problem for them, but obviously I can't speak for them myself.

 

[WayneLigon]

Gender and RPGs.

For most of my experience, the player base has been overwhelmingly male but I'd go with Piratecat's 20% observation. I'd also say that since online gaming venues such as WoW have a larger percentage of females that there are likely a lot of women out there that would like gaming, but have not given it a chance for various reasons.

In my current campaign, we have two females and six players. The wife of one of the players will occassionally join us as well.

Game Curiosity.
Most all of you indicate the best way to learn about RPGs is to play. I would agree. Are there venues to do this online free of charge and, if so, are there any you would recommend for someone completely green? Failing that, it sounds like I should seek out players in my community. How likely (purely an opinion question here) are people to open up their circles to someone like me?

I think that the only way to really understand gaming and D&D is to play face to face with a variety of people over a period of time. At least two or three sessions with two or three groups, if you can find them.

Finding the group may be a problem. Each community has a different mix of gamers. Look at the local gaming stores, if there are any, and see if they have open roleplaying days or if a group regularly meets there. This can be either good or bad; I've rarely had a good experience with an in-store gaming group, but others have had different experiences.

In general, I'd say most groups would not mind an observer and they would be more than happy to answer any questions about what was going on and how they play the game. The best way to observe, though, is to play as well.

D&D and roleplaying in general is an almost unique form of entertainment. Each and every group, working from the same basic set of rules, will wind up wildly different from each other because of the mix of personalities and play styles mainly due to the completely open nature of roleplaying games.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

How likely (purely an opinion question here) are people to open up their circles to someone like me?

That depends upon where you are and how you handle yourself, as well as the people you ask. Remember, you are asking about a game whose players have been repeatedly mocked villified in the media- sometimes deservedly, but usually not.

Personally, I don't think I'd have a problem with an observer. In my mind, an observer is one step away from being, if not a player or ally, a potential non-enemy.

Other Gaming Habits

I used to play a lot of computer games and video games, but I've sort of lost time for them. I still buy them, but I have a stack of about 20 unopened computer games sitting next to my machine. I haven't bought a console set since the Atari 2600.

OTOH, when my buddies set up a LAN for some rootin' tootin' shootin', I'm there.

On occasion, I play boardgames- both "gamer" games like Starship Troopers or Acquire, or family games like Monopoly, Checkers or Trivial Pursuit.

While I'm no chess master, I've beaten most computer matches I've played, and the only human I've played and never beaten is my Dad (who taught me the game and reads ALL of the books). In the interests of full disclosure, I used to be in my HS Chess club. Once, because I was not paying attention to my opponent (whom I knew to be a poor player)- I was reading a sci-fi novel at the time- I did lose a game to Fool's Mate. Most people in that club I got to tell them "Mate in 5 moves."

I've also joined in the occasional game of Poker or Bridge.

Game Curiosity.
Are there venues to do this online free of charge and, if so, are there any you would recommend for someone completely green?

Online is a difficult way to pick this up. Even a great MMORPG is but a pale imitation of the real thing.

These games evolved from a bunch of guys sitting around a table with rulebooks, paper, dice, pencils & snacks. You're better served by sitting around such a table for getting a real taste of the game.

For one thing, you'll see things about the game that you simply won't see online. "Table talk," for one thing, will include a bunch of references to that group's shared gaming or pop culture experiences- movies like MP's "Holy Grail," "Conan," or even "Clerks" may be extensively quoted.

If you're lucky enough to sit at a good table, you'll be able to see people really get into character (like a good method actor), and/or how they distinguish between the actions of their characters and themselves.

Look around- you should be able to find someone willing to open up their game or run an intro game in which people unfamiliar with the game are actually taught to play.

Gender and RPGs.

I'll go with that 20% number as well...and that is mostly on the strength of recent growth in the hobby due to certain genres of RPGs.

Its been my experience that you'll find more women playing RPGs that emphasize roleplay over action as a rules mechanic. Games like Vampire: The Masquerade and the rest of the World of Darkness games brought a lot of women into the hobby all at once. One reason for this is that those games were among the first to evolve into LARPS- Live Action Role Playing Games, in which people actually dress up as their characters and perform their actions (or actions that function as an analog to those actions- nobody actually swings a real sword at someone with intent to harm, for example). Essentially amateur theater with a strong improvisational streak, LARPS also drew a lot of women into the hobby. I wouldn't doubt that some started off by making costumes for their sewing-impaired sons, brothers or boyfriends.

 

[Stormborn]

Willowisp, I will do my best to answer your questions when I have a little more time. For now, however, I will direct the music leader at my church to this thread when I see her in a few hours. As a religious and female gamer (indeed the one that introduced me to RPGs) she may have some unique insights into your questions.

More later.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Hi Willowisp!

First of all, best of luck for your paper, and let me say that I think that you've come to the right place. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better roleplaying online-community!

Admittedly, I am an outsider and am only beginning my exploration. A little handholding wouldn't hurt. I'm basically looking for ambassadors. If you were going to introduce someone to D&D (or the like) who had never really been involved with it before where would you start?

As others have said: I'd let them sit in on a game session. All the talk about what D&D (or roleplaying in general) is all about is nice and well, but ultimately, you'll have to be there.

I'm sure you could find some decent folk here who will invide you to sit and watch - and play for a couple of sessions, too.

How would you describe yourself, your community, your level of engagement?

Well, for some, it's a hobby. For some, it's a pastime, for some, it's far more than that - just like with every hobby I'd wager.

Personally, I'm commited to the game, which means that I'll make time for it and do my level best to make it to the game every time. Not just because I like playing, but also because it's common courtesy towards the other people who play, and kept their saturday free of other things to come and play.

One important thing about roleplaying is that you don't do it alone. You (usually) don't do it online, either, like World or Warcraft or other MMORPGs. You meet at someone's home (or in a store), sit down at the table together, and play, looking the people you play with in the face.

What do you love/hate about it all and what keeps you engaged with it?

I love roleplaying for its own sake: Being someone else, getting to do all kinds of things without fear of reprisal, kicking some righteous butt, all that.

I also love it because it is a great excuse to sit down with a bunch of great guys and have a great time. It's not like we sit down, banish the real world, and start thinking like Kye the Swordmaster or Myrnold the Dark Knight or whatever we're playing. A lot of talk is about recent TV shows or movies, what we did on friday night, the telling of jokes, and all the other things you do when you're with friends. You sit down, play, eat, drink, and chatter with your friends. I personally consider every session where we didn't laugh until the tears came to be almost a failure.

I love it for the challenge as well, be it the challenge to figure out the villain's plot or just the challenge to create a character that is memorable and effective (or just one that can kick some serious butt in a fight).

There's nothing I hate about roleplaying itself, though of course most roleplaying games have parts that I don't like.

The only things connected to roleplaying I hate are those I'd hate in every other hobby, too: People who are in it just to win, not to make friends. People who seem to be at the table only to show everyone how much better they are. People who seem to be more interested to cause grief to others than enjoying the hobby for its own sake.

The thrust of my paper is around the history and evolution of the genre and the culture of those within it.

You know, if you want to know about early history, hunt down Gary Gygax and ask for an interview or something. He's one of the creators of D&D, which was the first roleplaying game ever. He posts on these very boards as Col_Pladoh.

Gender and RPGs.
My general impression is that the majority of players are male but sense a female community is present if not as vocal.

It usually seems as if women are a minority in roleplaying, and that they're less vocal than men to boot.

Personally, I know something like 20 or more people I played with over the years, and two of those were women, but I heard more than once from people posting here that they're the male minority in their groups, or that genders are balanced in their games.

Religion.
Again Stormborn, you have a religious background and are currently engaged with a Christian community. Given your level of involvement in RPGs (significant by your description), how would you describe balancing the two worlds? Have you come up against intolerance and, if so, how did you navigate it? While my understanding is admittedly limited I do know that certain elements of the Christian community have reacted to RPGs negatively. Your activity in two seemingly opposing worlds interests me. I'd love to hear more about that if you feel inclined to share.

I'm not Stormborn, but if you're interested in my two cents:

There was indeed some anti-D&D movement a couple of decades back, mostly in the U.S.A. (I'm from Germany, and nothing of that ever surfaced here to the best of my knowledge). It was mostly some badly informed and probably over-zealous Cristians, but I'd say that it was a minority, albeit a vocal one (as it so often is). I guess it's not so different from people saying that rock music is a thing of the devil and all that.


As long as everyone at the table realises that it's just a game, that the guy playing a cleric of Pelor (or any D&D god or goddess, and those are quite numerous) doesn't really think that he's a divine servant of some heathen sun god or something, it's okay.

You can be a faithful Christian (or Jew, or whatever religion you want) and still play D&D (or any other RPG). Just because the game contains a whole pantheon of other gods, and devils and demons and witches and all that doesn't mean that we believe those things really exist (though some of the RPG-opponents seem to think so)

Game Curiosity.
Most all of you indicate the best way to learn about RPGs is to play. I would agree. Are there venues to do this online free of charge and, if so, are there any you would recommend for someone completely green?

I don't know anything of that sort, not for the U.S. (we had something like that around here, and I found some of the best roleplayers - and best friends I have to this day - over those sites, but they seem to have disappeared), but, as I said, you could ask around here.

The ideal thing would be someone who first explains his game and group to you, talks about the people there and how they play; then let you sit in on a session; and then give you a cameo appearance in their games (which should not be too much of a problem).

Just open another thread asking for someone in your area to let you sit in.

If you can sit in on a real D&D session, I recommend it. While those online sessions might be nice, they could never live up to the real deal, sitting in the same room with people and not just playing, but socialising.

Other Gaming Habits.
Are you interested in other types of gaming? Video games, etc. If so, which ones? What platforms? And what percentage of time do you devote to gaming outside the RPG format?

I like computer and video games. Most types of action games, first person shooters, computer roleplaying games, strategy, adventure - As long as it's good, I'll try it. I have a PC and a Wii.

I'll also play board games, miniatures games/wargames, card games, and so on.

The time I spend playing those games can vary wildly. Sometimes I don't play anything for weeks, sometimes I devote hours each day to it. If I have a new game that is really good, I can spend hours playing it until I have beat it once or twice, and periodically, I dig out older games and then play them again. For some types of games - especially First Person Shooters - it depends largely on the multiplayer mode, since those games are best if played against other people.

 

[Dragon Snack]

While I assume you've done some background research, THIS LINK may be helpful for some background. It links to Wizards of the Coast, who publish D&D. In addition to the introduction, you may find some other good information there as well.

If you were going to introduce someone to D&D (or the like) who had never really been involved with it before where would you start?

- It really would vary by the person. In your case, since you are looking into writing a paper, I would most likely suggest just watching a group and their interactions.

How would you describe yourself, your community, your level of engagement?

- I’m a self employed, late 30’s, weirdo (in the good sense). The gaming community around me is relatively large (7 LGS within 30 minutes of me, 2-3 gaming conventions a year). I spend too much time on gaming, but I love it.

- As for the actual gaming groups, I DM (Dungeon Master, the one who runs the game) a D&D game every other Sunday and play in a Serenity RPG on the alternate Sundays and a Savage Worlds game on Fridays (both are other RPG systems). At one point I was in 4 D&D groups at once (see spending too much time on gaming above)…

What do you love/hate about it all and what keeps you engaged with it?

- I guess it comes down to the interaction. I mostly play with friends, even at conventions I usually stick with either painting or tabletop miniature games, not RPGs. I’ve attempted 2 online games, one of which fell apart and the other which I left when the other players treated my character like crap. The latter is what I don’t like about RPGs, some people are just jerks (but much of this can be mitigated by playing with friends, even if some friends don’t always get along with each other, and you have to deal with jerks with whatever you do).

Gender and RPGs.

- It is a hobby mostly dominated by men, but I think the more women are involved, the more women will be involved. I’m not being flippant with that comment, I’ve found that if a group has at least one woman in it, the better chance it will have more than one. My D&D group has no women in it and when a player has tried to recruit a woman to game with us (both girlfriends and interested coworkers), they have declined. My Savage Worlds group was half female (4 out of 8 players) at one point (and was a D&D group at the time). While we have been paring down players (larger groups tend to be harder to run) and were down to one female player at one point, another one has recently joined. I’m inclined to believe that it was easier to convince her to join because there was already a female player at the table. I also notice this at painting events at conventions, there seems to be more women at the painting tables than at the gaming tables.

- As was mentioned above, the study that WotC did in 2000 estimated 20% of gamers were female. I’m inclined to believe (from what I’ve observed at conventions and running events at LGS) that this percentage has remained somewhat constant, although there seems to be a higher percentage of women among younger players – so this may be changing as the hobby moves forward.

Religion

- I consider myself religious, although I may not appear as such to outside observers. I DO see some areas of concern for astute religious players, which I mitigate somewhat in my roleplaying (since having no ‘false gods’ is a major tenet of my religion, I avoid any actual discourse or entreaties to whatever deity my character worships - even when playing a Cleric, which is a class devoted to the worship of a deity)

- The religious stance against D&D seems to be overblown or a holdover from the 1980’s (and was probably overblown then as well). Unfortunately I’ve seen some non-Christian gamers play up the “religious persecution” of D&D to bolster (or justify) their own beliefs.

- Anecdotally, someone from the Catholic school came to one of the LGS one day to do a paper (much like yourself) on non-Christian gamers. The first 4 people she asked were Christian, so at least a few Christians haves reconciled their gaming and religious beliefs.

Game Curiosity

- As with anything involving people, it really depends on who you find. I’ll bet most people playing at a LGS will be more than happy to let you observe and even let you play if you wish (the game I mentioned above with 8 players was held at a LGS). If you are lucky enough to have a gaming convention in your location before your paper is due, I’ll bet you’ll have tons of people willing to help you out. The caveat, of course, is that you never know if you’ll run into that DM who has had a disruptive onlooker in one of their games or someone who will feel weird with someone watching over their shoulder (for the record, both apply to myself, but I would still try to be a good representative for the game).

- As I mentioned above, I haven’t had much luck with online gaming, so obviously I don’t have any suggestions about that aspect of gaming.

Other Gaming Habits

- Oddly, I’m not into many other games. When I played video games they tended to be sports themed (hockey and football specifically) or strategy based. I play cards sporadically (usually when I’m with “non-gamers”). As for Collectable Card Games (CCGs), I got into one once – only to have the ruleset changed to completely nullify the deck I spent so much time building (a Babylon 5 Human deck, which was essentially split into 4 separate factions in the revision, for anyone interested). That experience has kept me away from other CCGs. I am looking at getting back into a Tabletop Miniatures Game (TMG), since they just released a new ruleset that looks to be an improvement over their previous revision (Warlord from Reaper Miniatures, for those interested).

Hope that helps. Good luck with your paper!

 

[Rafael Ceurdepyr]

Willowisp, I will do my best to answer your questions when I have a little more time. For now, however, I will direct the music leader at my church to this thread when I see her in a few hours. As a religious and female gamer (indeed the one that introduced me to RPGs) she may have some unique insights into your questions.

More later.

Hi, Willowisp--

Stormborn did indeed mention your question to me at church and I'll see how well I can answer some questions.

I've played D&D from about 1977-1983 (high school/early college) and then from around 1999 to the present. I guess I missed the "D&D=Satanism" period in the 80s, but I've never considered there to be a problem with a Christian playing D&D. Mind you, I'm from a fairly conservative religious background in a very conservative state, but the people I hung out with never had a problem with it--the religion or the D&D. I tend to have fairly open minded friends anyway. I'm the music leader at the church where Stormborn pastors, but we don't tend to discuss gaming in front of members of the congregation. Mostly I think they'd be confused, as most of them are at least 20 years older.

I don't really like to think of myself as an ordinary person but I am a female gamer (despite my screen name). I generally like hobbies that guys find interesting, and the people in my early gaming group were mostly guys. I have a masters in library science, am a web administrator and designer at a private Christian university and I teach a web design class each year for the journalism department on campus. I'm also a freelance writer of RPGs. Our current group consists of Stormborn, his wife, and me. My husband used to play, but he was never as enthusiastic about it as the rest of us. Now he hangs out while we play and then goes to dinner with us.

I don't hang out on this forum too much, unless I'm deep in research. I think I'm easily intimidated by the level of knowledge out there and don't always contribute, but this is a great way to find out about the game. The BEST way, as many others have said before me, to play a roleplaying game, or at the very least watch one.

The dynamics of a group are really important to me. I think at this stage I'd have a difficult time walking into a group where I didn't know the people. Stormborn and I have talked about joining a game at a convention, but they were always full, so we didn't get the chance. I'd never have the nerve to do that if he weren't there--which has more to do with my personality than the game itself. The RP experience is rather personal to me, and I need to be in a group where I feel safe doing what is essentially acting, albeit on a very small stage, and knowing I won't be ridiculed. Laughed at, sometimes, sure. But all in good fun.

Hope this helps some. I'll be glad to answer any other questions I overlooked or that occur to you.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Since someone mentioned the good Col_Pladoh, here is a link to his currently active Q&A thread:


http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=3557922#post3557922

Read the whole thread, if you have time- you'll find that he is generally pretty open about the history of the hobby and behind the scenes stuff.

 

[Umbran]

Read the whole thread, if you have time- you'll find that he is generally pretty open about the history of the hobby and behind the scenes stuff.

Well, more particularly, that will get you a whole lot about the history of the publishing of the D&D game. The history of the RPG hobby is a somewhat more broad topic, for which you'd have to get into developments in other games and technology and things that happend after the good Col left the company.