Millions of people have had a chuckle at the short YouTube video about the guy outraged on the internet that other people like the thing he doesn't like. Probably all gamers will identify with this in one way or another, either because they have felt those feelings or they've been targeted by the rage of those who feel those feelings.
"Your games are bad! My games are good!"
This is not a new phenomenon, of course.
Along these lines, already in 1983 Gary Alan Fine had an interesting observation in his book Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing Games as Social Worlds of 1983, on the sociology of RPG players. The passage deserves attention on its own (p. 154):
"Your games are bad! My games are good!"
This is not a new phenomenon, of course.
Along these lines, already in 1983 Gary Alan Fine had an interesting observation in his book Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing Games as Social Worlds of 1983, on the sociology of RPG players. The passage deserves attention on its own (p. 154):
Even though this is a relatively small social scene, considerable fragmentation exists. Although the number of hard-core fantasy role-play gamers probably does not exceed 5,000 persons, schisms are common. … The gaming world is not made up of individuals who love and respect each other. Gamers have their own styles of playing and their own moral standards; those who cross these boundaries may be attacked in the gaming press. I do not intend, however, to analyze the national politics of committed gamers, other than to suggest that what is found locally is duplicated nationally.
This is from 1983, now more than forty years ago, less than ten years after D&D was published. It's still true. The only thing that has changed in this statement is the number of hard-core fantasy role-play gamers.
the establishment needs to sow division among us because if we were unified we'd be the most powerful single political group in human history. we could take what we're owed without blinking. aren't you tired of living your life squirming under the
ReplyDeleteheel of the non-gamer's boot? don't you think it's time we set aside our differences in the face of our common enemy?
gamers rise up. we live in a society.
Readers, look! A demonstration of the relevance of this blog entry showed up. This internet troll, stung by analysis he doesn’t understand, looks for an avenue to lash back against the sting. Misinterpreting my blog post as liberal handwringing, he can’t resist taking the bait he laid for himself, uses a sock puppet identity to attempt a parody of a point that wasn’t there to begin with, and is not even slightly funny, but unintentionally illustrates the blog post and strengthens its argument. He’s like a man who hates vegetarians, so he paints a jagged stone to look like meat and then swallows the stone to spite them, only to be mocked by the doctor. A perfect illustration of the blog entry title.
Delete