Game On.
I think most people know I’m a geek and a nerd. The differences of the two are deserving of their own post.
If by chance you don’t know that, you have never spent any time talking to me. Don’t worry though, I’ll clear that up right now.
The truth is, I like role-playing games. I like them a lot. I don’t mean WoW or Final Fantasy 9000. I mean games like Dungeons and Dragons. I never write about it, because I find it hard to take any pride in it.
I think, that I’ll write about it anyway though because it’s one more topic for me to blather about and, well, I really shouldn’t give a shit anyway.
My first exposure to a role-playing game was really on a MUD. MUD stands for Multi-User Dungeon. They are completely text based and played through terminal. You go from room to room, reading descriptions and writing your own.
I don’t know if it’s possible to make that sound any more lame, but let me try.
I played for years. I played long enough that I became a developer for it. I did fixes on the code, added to the world, and helped run the role-playing parts of the game too. I even wrote the book on how to role-play in the game.
Through people I met there, I got introduced to Dungeons and Dragons 3.5. Get this, I thought that was lamer than what I did. I actually assumed a hierarchy to this stuff, and that I was higher on the ladder.
I was hooked after my first session.
It was better than any game I had ever played. It was better for one simple reason: There are no limits in the game. It’s not like a video game where there are doors you just can’t go into, or you walk to the edge of the map and hit a wall of hard air, or you can’t be a total bastard to someone just because.
I spent all day gaming today. I had a really good time with it playing games I had never played before with people I had never met.
My only complaint is this: I wish gamers would stop trying so hard to be so god damn unlikeable.
If it weren’t for that I think the hobby would be a lot better received and accepted.
So, if you’ve ever wondered about it, find someone you like that plays and give it a shot. You might be surprised to find out you had a good time by the end of it.
July 16th, 2011 at 11:43 pm by rl