De-geeking role-playing games

[benlehman]

This comes up, maybe, every month or so in the online conversations I follow. "role-playing games need to be less geeky!"

I just wanted to record here that I think that the entire idea is ridiculous for the following reasons:

1) Perceptions of role-playing games by our culture at large are generally positive: that they are fun, but very time-consuming and potentially obsession forming. Which is about accurate.

2) Since, oh, 1996, geeky things have been hella cool. Hello gamers? I know that you live under a rock, unexposed to the culture at large. But srsly.

I'm posting here because I don't want to have to write this same post, like, 80 times only to have it fall (again) on totally deaf ears.

Comments

[matt-rah.livejournal.com]

Does it get easier if the fictional content changes to stuff more familiar / acceptable to non-geeks? Try this: "Oh, this past weekend I pretended to be a scientist working on the cure for cancer. He found it eventually, but not before his Mom died of brain cancer—it was really sad! Even worse, he and his entire research team received credit and attention for their work, but never saw a single cent from it, due to an evil pharmaceutical company, and lived out their lives in poverty." (Actual play from this past weekend!)

Still genre fiction, but way more accessible to the general public than your example, I think.

I think the notion of the content of the fiction is as important to this discussion as the systematic stuff Adam eluded to above. It doesn't matter* if you have a really accessible, easy-to-use system for... killing shapeshifting magi.

Matt

*Actually, it matters deeply, and I'm in favor of it, but not in terms of lowering the barriers to entry for people who aren't into genre fic.

[russiandude.livejournal.com]

Look at it this way - I have talked to my coworkers about video games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band and Super Mario. The sysadmin plays Medal of Honor and other FPS's. I am pretty sure I could mention that I play WoW and that would still be socially acceptable for most.

However, I think I would get a much better reception if I stated that I was an actor in a play where my role was a scientist who... then if I said I was playing pretend with my friends. The first is socially accepted, the second is weird. I could say that I go camping, or play paintball, or fence competively. But if I say that I swing swords around (padded or otherwise) in an attempt to imitate Tolkien - that's weird.

I think if the fictional content is more familiar, that can be helpful, but not all that much. If I said it was a boardgame of some sort, that would also make it more socially acceptable and familiar.