In the air,
somewhere over the country of Mexico…
There are
several problems with writing a 30+ page essay and posting it as a series of
installments on a blog. As I wait for my second drinkie (damn, I hate this
Beefeater gin), allow me to enumerate them:
1) If you’re not a trained writer (for
example, myself) you run the risk of completely derailing yourself. I don’t
do outlines, I’m not terribly disciplined, I forget what the hell I was talking
about…and by the time you reach the end of the damn thing you may have wandered
into territory you never wanted to explore in the first place. THAT is just
part of the pitfalls of being a hack…though
I’m pretty sure most of my regular readers are familiar with this part of my
“writing style” and allow for it to a certain degree.
2) Any subject you can write 30 pages about is
probably a subject that you could write 300 pages about. The fact of the
matter is, if I was doing real doctoral research on the history and evolution
of gaming (and wanted to be a real credit to the subject) I’d need to do a
shit-ton more research: polling people, reading articles and past interviews,
doing careful in-depth analysis of entire scopes of work, including secondary
sources like adventure modules and supplementary books. I wasn’t setting out to
do a thesis paper on the subject, and my “research methods” are nefarious, if
not downright suspect: I limited myself only to the main text of the rulebooks
(with the question of “what would a new player, just picking up the books,
find?”), which provides an extremely limited context for a subject worthy of
deeper exploration.
3) I’m a blogger, not a writer. There may
be some blogs that are done by real journalists or technical experts, or that
have a battery of “staff” writers, but this isn’t one of those types of blogs.
It’s just one dude, venting his spleen more often than not. I definitely fall
closer to the “pseudo-intellectual” than the “anti-intellectual” but it’s hard
to call what I do true “academic discourse.”
4) Blog readers have short attention spans. You can’t post a 30 page essay. I mean, you can, but the internet is not the
greatest medium for reading anything, let alone huge-ass, meandering diatribes.
You’ve got to break it up into digestible pieces, even when the whole thing was
written (and meant to be read) as a whole…otherwise, folks tend to move on to
the next blog (and much as I say I’m
writing this thing for myself, I’m not so dishonest to say I don’t appreciate
an audience for my rambling ego). However, this leads to the next problem:
5) I can’t just fisticuff with every single
commentator, because (usually) they are only responding to a portion of the
entire picture.
Now, that
doesn’t mean the “entire picture” as a whole is sound…see points #1
through #3 above. However, it just
leads to a number of separate sidebar conversations in which I end up saying
things that seem to (or actually do) contradict the things that show up in the
blog as the installments post in their scheduled order. Which is confusing to
some people and frustrating to myself.
So I took
some time off from the blog. That is to say, once I got to Mexico I continued
to follow what people were saying (about me and the essay) but I just stopped
responding to the comments. I was pretty busy anyway (family, fun, vacation,
etc.) and my internet connection was spotty most of the time as it was, but
honestly I wasn’t ready (mentally or emotionally) to get involved in arguments
over something that I’d finished writing (and kind of put out of my mind) about
a week before.
But right
now I’m in the air and a trick of Fate has put me in a 1st class
seat while my wife and child are napping behind me and, okay, let’s get down to
it.
Folks, you don’t have to agree with me.
That’s the only hard and fast rule.
Yes, it’s
true that I have a lot of negative things to say about the latter editions of
D&D (about 1983 onward). I am a seething cauldron of emotions when it comes
to these editions and it bubbles over at times. It causes me to say all sorts
of ugly, mean, spiteful things. To be downright disrespectful. Damn it, I’m entitled to my opinion, people…just
like you!
One thing
about me, I have strong opinions. And I have an opinion about what role-playing
– the ACT of role-playing – is. It’s
about putting yourself in the shoes of your character…imagining you are that character for the span of a
game session.
That means
having an emotional investment, not
detachment (viewing your character as a pawn or playing piece). YES, you can view your character with
detachment…as a chess piece to move about a board, or as an actor to be
directed in this imaginary film/story you’re putting together. But that’s not
what I call role-playing.
Maybe YOU
call it role-playing. Hell, maybe you don’t care if it’s role-playing or not
(or if you’re doing it or not) because you just like to play the game and it’s
totally fun and intellectually stimulating and a hoot to have a couple beers
and tea-bag the party thief when he’s unconscious because he was being an ass
anyway.
That’s cool
folks…who am I to say you’re not “doing it right?” It’s a game. You play it.
You enjoy playing. Bully for you…keep up the support of the hobby.
But let’s
not be short-sighted. Let’s, just for the moment, consider whether or not there
is a value to keeping this hobby,
this thing (whatever it is), alive
and well. I know, I know…that’s a whole ‘nother 20 post series on “what is the
value of role-playing games” that I really don’t have time to write. But let’s
just BRIEFLY ask ourselves…is it worth keeping alive? Because it seems to me
that the hobby is on life-support. You can have a ton of new people buy books
and play a couple games because they’re interested in this “Dungeons & Dragons
thang” they’ve heard so much about, but if they get bored and don’t stick
around, you’re not growing the hobby…hell, you’re not even sustaining the hobby.
Now, some
hard-minded folks really, truly don’t
give a fuck. I understand that. Some of them are folks who realize, “hey,
we’re not curing cancer here” and place little value on the hobby as anything
besides passing (if intellectually stimulating) entertainment. On the other
hand, some of these hard0minded folks DO give value to the hobby, but only for
themselves…the “let those with ears hear and those with eyes see” folks content
to let the chips fall where they may. So long as THEY can play who cares what
happens after their lifetime?
Me, I don’t
fall into either of those camps. For me, I do
find value in the game and not just “value for myself” but value for others…I
think it’s valuable that it exists at all. Just another opinion, people, you
don’t have to agree. And being of value I look to see what is special about the
game…what does it have that will promote itself and keep it alive that will
allow it to compete with other forms of interactive entertainment vying for the
attention of people in this world and generations to come.
Grok me? For me, the first and foremost
answer I come up with is “the facility of the act of role-playing” (see
above). I’ve said this before in
other posts. That’s the deal. And so I get a little worked up when I see the
designers of “the world’s favorite fantasy role-playing game” leave out
instructions on what role-playing is, or how one does it.
Because…okay,
look. I know and understand that there are people who really, really enjoy a
tabletop RPG with more “crunch.” There are plenty of people who prefer 3rd
(or later) editions specifically because they have extra rules, extra character
customization, extra tactical stimulation. Just like in the “old days” when I
was a kid, you’d master the “basic rules” and then look to expand on them: and
we incorporated all those old supplements and Dragon magazine articles into our
games at one time or another, as much for the novelty as for “rounding out” the
system and fantasy world. Why not simply start with a game that has those
“extras” already built-in?
I understand that there are some players
(identified at times – by themselves and others – as “hardcore”) for whom the
older games, especially B/X, are too simple for their tastes. There are lots of
players who started with “beginner versions” of D&D (keep in mind that this
whole conversation is solely regarding D&D being the most well-known
gateway drug to RPGs)…who started
with “beginner versions” but moved onto more complex systems precisely because
they wanted complexity. People who found flavor and inspiration and FUN in
things like kits and non-weapon proficiencies, in skills and feats, in “daily
use powers” and “healing surges.” And who, because of their grounding in the
basics of the game (or because of the mentoring of more experienced gamers)
have no problems incorporating the act of role-playing into their play.
Likewise, there are some people who DON’T understand or care to involve themselves
in the kind of “investment” or “role-playing” that I’m talking about, and yet
they still enjoy themselves and are committed to keeping the hobby alive
through their support.
I understand
that. I get that. And if you’re
having fun, that’s all Cool and the Gang.
But what about enticing new players? What about KEEPING players whose only
exposure has been to 4th edition and who find that it’s just easier
to start an on-line MMORPG account with a couple buddies then bother to read
and master hundreds of pages of rules? What about expanding the hobby outside ourselves (the older, dying breed), and
our immediate children (who probably want to distance themselves somewhat from
their parents), and the handful of weird, brainy throwback types who can pick up
a copy of Pathfinder, with no other background or training in gaming, and
digest the whole thing and develop a
passion for the game?
Yes, there
are other more pressing issues in the world. I had the chance to watch Burt
Wonderstone (the most recent Steve Carrell/Jim Carey flick) on the
plane, and there’s a part in it where a magician character has chosen to “help
the poor” in developing countries by giving
the starving children magic kits. “I’m bringing them magic,” he says,
completely obtuse. “Don’t you think they’d prefer food and clean water?” asks a
reporter. “But I’m a magician!” is the reply. Sometimes when I’m blogging about
role-playing (or ranting/raving), I bear more than a passing resemblance to
this particular character. Who the hell cares if I’m bringing the “good news of
role-playing” to the masses (if I’m even doing that), when there are more
important problems I could be putting my mind to solving?
Again, it
comes back to whether or not you think this kind of gaming has any value aside
from entertainment. I do. I think it has more value than, say, your average first person shooter video game. But
again, that’s just my opinion…I’m not trying to write a logical proof or
argument here. And some might call me biased or accuse me of promoting the game
simply because I’ve engaged myself (in a small fashion) in the business of
publishing RPG books. To which I’d
reply: if I thought other games were more valuable (to people), I’d be
engaging in those instead. Or bothering to learn more about them. Or at least
playing them. That doesn’t mean the value of an RPG is more important than,
say, bringing medicine or food or peace to people in need…but then I already
have a day job that has a strong “human interest” element so I don’t feel too
guilty about what I do with this blog and my writing and my entertainment
dollar.
And for me,
that “act of role-playing” thang is a valuable thing to preach about…and
something of which to be critical when examining these games. And something to
be thoughtful about (as in “to think about”) when considering the different ways
people approach the hobby.
Now, this
doesn’t address the concerns of
Alexis
who rightly points out that some people use the excuse of “playing in
character” to be
inexcusable assholes.
That’s because
that wasn’t one of the
points or concerns of the essay. To me, I suppose I can say there is an
“acceptable level of assholism” that can be incorporated in the game (I’ve
discussed this before in other posts), but the threshold of what is acceptable
varies from table to table and is part of the social contract that needs to be
worked out in every gaming group. Where there are problems, it is because the
group was not explicit enough in delineating the “lines that shall not be
crossed” (or when one player stubbornly refuses to respect those lines and then
deservedly needs to be kicked to the curb). But as with the act of role-playing
itself, I feel that this is another form of instruction that would do well to
be IN THE MANUAL ITSELF. Because it is not, people are left to work this shit
out for themselves, often leading to abuse and hurt feelings in the
“trial-and-error” process. You can put the responsibility on the players to be
mature enough to deal with this…but if we’re talking kids (ages 10 and up, remember?)
or hormonal teenagers, that can be a tall order.
And the
alternative (which I think Alexis supports) of divorcing the act of
role-playing from game play (or, at least, the act of imagining yourself
someone other than yourself, or playing a different personality, or having the
opportunity to do so) is, I think, a poor substitute. But then, he and I seem
to disagree on the subject in general…at least the part where I think the act
of role-playing should be a priority
of instruction and design. Not because role-playing has some measurable quality
(Lord knows, there is terrible and banal role-playing, even after leaving the
assholes out of it), but because the potential of the act IS the value of the game itself. The true value to which all other
values are secondary.
Of course
there ARE other values to a game like D&D; I’m not disputing that. It
stretches the mind and the imagination (two different things in my opinion). It
encourages camaraderie and teamwork (depending on the challenges presented).
It’s fun to play and an amusing diversion.
I just don’t
think those are the main values of the game; I think those are things you can
get elsewhere. The “fantasy role-playing” thing? That’s different. It’s neither
constrained by the limits of reality (such as in LARPing) or the limits of the
context (such as in the bedroom).
Anyway, I
think that’s about all I want to say on the subject at this time. As I stated
in the beginning of this whole long-winded deal-i-o: you’re welcome to
disagree.
[posted after a safe landing in SeaTac and a good night’s rest…thanks
for reading, folks!]
