Comments on: 10 Reasons Why Roleplaying Games Are a Positive Force for Kids and Adults Alike

By: claudeb's status on Monday, 25-May-09 04:39:25 UTC - Identi.ca

claudeb's status on Monday, 25-May-09 04:39:25 UTC - Identi.ca — Mon, 25 May 2009 04:39:29 +0000

[...] !roleplaying advocacy http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/10-reasons-why-roleplaying-games-are-a-positive-force-for-kids... [...]

By: Sewicked

Sewicked — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:07:06 +0000

This is exactly one of the articles I need to send my Dad. He's fine with me playing rpg's. He just doesn't understand them. I'm sending him the link for this article & the ones provided by Trimeta & Telas.Thank you, all three of you.

By: Bercilac

Bercilac — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:12:30 +0000

Hmm. Not sure these would all be great reasons to show to a non-gamer, though I perhaps see where you're coming from.

By: Hobby Games Aren’t Just Fun, They’re Good For You by Purple Pawn

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 00:00:41 +0000

[...] Stew (an RPG advice and theory site for game masters) posted an article a few days ago positing 10 Reasons Why Roleplaying Games Are a Positive Force for Kids and Adults Alike. The premise caught our attention and inspired us to expand their argument a bit. The article [...]

By: Martin Ralya

Martin Ralya — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:24:32 +0000

@powerlust – *shrugs* They’re entitled to their opinion, too. There are certainly gamers who fit that stereotype, but in my experience they’re vastly outnumbered by the rest of us.

By: powerlust

powerlust — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:54:08 +0000

Some info from very reliable sources indicates that some of your feelings about gamers are wrong.

“Army frowns on Dungeons and Dragons”

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3052074,00.html

Another country’s army came out with a statement that they agreed with the IDF, but I can’t find the story.

By: Xtiangames

Xtiangames — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:29:58 +0000

I think one of the other benefits of gaming, at least for younger audiences, is that games typically require more reading than most other hobbies. When I was in school, I was definitely a reader for other reasons, but I had no problem sitting down with a monster manual or adventure description and just reading about all of the cool stuff. Some of my friends did the same thing, even though they weren't into reading in other capacities. This is tangentially related to both the Teaches You Skills and the Gamers Are Smart points, but if Harry Potter can be praised for increasing reading comprehension, then the Iron Golem and Mind Flayer entries are probably the next step.

By: Kurt "Telas" Schneider

Kurt "Telas" Schneider — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:41:42 +0000

Great article, mainly because of the positive viewpoint. I'm no bible-thumper, but at the risk of being labeled the "house apologist", I submit: The Christian Gamer's Guild - The FAQ is extensive and appears to be well-documented. Gary Gygax was a Christian. Fight ignorance with truth, not anger.

By: trimeta

trimeta — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:42:40 +0000

Here’s an interesting, possibly-related article: a born-again Christian arguing why more Christians should play D&D. It’s not a belief system to which I ascribe, but if you’re running up against accusations of Satanism, it’s a valuable resource.

http://www.mjyoung.net/dungeon/confess.html

By: » Notebook Campaign: How I got my Son into Tabletop RPGs

» Notebook Campaign: How I got my Son into Tabletop RPGs — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:23:16 +0000

[...] This post is my personal musings about introducing my son to tabletop roleplaying as a progression from the Storytime games we’ve been playing since I came back from Gen Con last year. Instead of telling you why I want to do this, I’ll refer you to Martin Ralya’s excellent RPG advocacy article he just posted here. [...]

By: Scott Martin

Scott Martin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:42:16 +0000

Good article. I like the way you bring up the positive, ground it in your experience, and don't oversell. I've been looking for a good "what is roleplaying" link again for a while... this will do the trick nicely.

By: escapistthx

escapistthx — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:46:26 +0000

@MartinI've sent you a message via Facebook. Let me know if you don't get it and then I'll email you. Cheers.

By: Rafe

Rafe — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:59:26 +0000

@Nicholas - re: "Part of the misconception of gamers is that the ones most open about their hobby are often the most annoying." This can certainly be true, but it is true for all hobbies. The people you hear about hockey from are often annoying, loud-mouthed hockey fans. You may hear about XBox games from (or be most exposed to XBox gaming due to) obnoxious, inconsiderate teens. You may learn about a new author via a die-hard "fanboi" who won't stop talking about how awesome the book is. The list goes on. Why is gaming different? My personal take is that the reality has not caught up to the expectation or perception. As Martin said and most of us know, gamers carry a lot of negative, if unfair, baggage from the '80s. Even with gaming becoming fairly mainstream, old prejudices die hard.

By: Martin Ralya

Martin Ralya — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:48:53 +0000

@escapistthx - Please drop me an email so we can discuss this. @Rafe - I think WotC's the only major RPG company that has stats evenly vaguely along those lines, though I could be wrong. I'd love to see them as well.

By: Nicholas

Nicholas — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:21:46 +0000

Part of the misconception of gamers is that the ones most open about their hobby are often the most annoying. Typical "normal" gamers just keep it to themselves, so what non-gamers see are the loud stereotypes with no social skills. I guess the point is that we should not be afraid to talk about gaming to non-gamers (in moderation).