Things we get out of roleplaying

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Kromm

The top thing I get, whether I'm a player or the GM, is an excuse to take a block of x hours away from work, household tasks, working out, formal social obligations, paying bills, visiting the doctor, shopping, etc. to sit in a room and be casually social with friends. Much like an afternoon at the pub or café, but with more emphasis on the chatter and less on the refreshments. That's by far #1 for me. If the other gamers are obsessed with rules or competition or make-believe worlds or whatever at the expense of being friendly, then I couldn't care less about the game.

I think this is a point where our approaches to gaming perhaps differ most. I'm with you on rules and competition, but for me the make-believe worlds are crucial. I want to envision the make-believe world, or to explore someone else's vision of one, and I want it to be interesting in its own right, and I want it to be the focus of everyone's attention. The value of interacting with that particular group of people comes from their sharing the desire to be involved in that particular make-believe. They may or may not be friends in a broader sense; they don't have to be—as long as we have that interest and that activity in common. In other words, it's kind of like belonging to a square dance club or a chess club or a writers' group: The play of the game is a thing for me, not simply a mode of socializing, and the social interaction is subordinate to the thing.

Now, with a number of my gaming groups, we've gone out for dinner after a game, and socialized then. Or subgroups of us have, in many cases. But the socializing takes place after the game and is kept somewhat separate from it.

Bill Stoddard