benlehman

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.