There's a new commercial for one of those cellphone plans/companies/whatever in which the "cool" guy (the one with the coolest phone/plan/whatever) asks the "losers," "So what level Dungeon Masters are you guys?" and the cats reply, "Dungeon Masters don't have levels... dork!"
It's funny and somewhat true, but I wanted to go on and tackle this head-on because not everyone who games is a total nerd. I am, but I know a lot of truly "cool" people who like to game. There are basically two types of gamers: Gamers and people who game. The difference is that Gamers are total dorks - but that's what makes them "cool" in their own right. Granted, they get on peoples' nerves - especially mine - but it's the good kind of annoying, if there is such a thing. The way your girlfriend's insecurities annoy you, but you love her all the more for ("Do you think I'm pretty? Well, you didn't say anything when I asked the last ten times!").
People who game don't memorize the rulesbooks; half of them hardly ever even read any of the rulesbooks - at least until their character gets a little experience or they want to buy a gun. They don't argue over whether a percentile system or d6-based engine is more mathematically accurate. They may have their own dice, but they'll have a single set of dragon dice - not Crown Royal bags full of them. And, more than anything, they rarely talk about gaming. Sure, they'll discuss it when they're actually gaming or hanging around their gamer friends, but it doesn't constitute their entire social lives.
Still, gaming taught me so much about so many things that I literally would not know otherwise: math, history, literature, society and culture, even Geography. When I talk to people who don't game or never did, I'm often shocked at how little they know of these things. Not like numbers and statistics or how many hobbits it takes to fill a phonebooth (gamer concepts, both), but fairly "basic" things, like who the Huns were or why Alexander was called The Great or that the oldest written history belongs to the East. I mean, you might not know that the Conquistadors conquered the Aztecs, but if you've never heard of the Aztecs... you're not real bright. You may be able to flip a burger like nobody's business or drive a squad car, but outside of your little area(s) of expertise lay an entire world about which you know nothing!
Gaming also gave me a great sense of improvisation. The word itself may seem as though this is useless offstage, but far from it: it lead to good oratory skills, a quick wit, and an ability to communicate effectively in real-life situations. Granted, I tend to make my points better in the written form, but that's only because I have more time to play with it. When it comes to a scathing retort or sharp observation, gaming is what made me so good at it.
And then there's the simple matter of reading. One of the truest strengths of any and all gamers is that we read - voraciously. True Gamers rarely read anything outside of gaming books, but the brunt of us read pretty much anything we can get our hands on. You may not like to read JRR Tolkien or JK Rowlings or Stephen King, but there's no excuse for not knowing who these people are or what genres they work in!
And I know, I know, we're not supposed to judge people... but what do you think everyone else is doing when they assume that anyone who is dorky games and vice-versa? I'm sorry, but if you can't hold a conversation with me, I consider you dull (at the least), and probably dumb. And it's not like I think you should necessarily be put out of both our misery (though you probably should), it's just that I'm not likely to ask you how to spell "disestablishmentarianism" - and if that's a judgment call, then so be it, but I'm not discounting everyone who can't spell it as "stupid," the way mainstream American society discounts anyone who games as a "dork."
But hey, at least they finally figured out we're not all "devil-worshippers."
A rambling melange of pop-culture.
2 comments:
I just saw this commercial. After seeing so many jokes about gaming in the media that might otherwise be funny if they weren't so grossly inaccurate (I'm not saying these people should know much about the hobby, but you can't just pull random bits of gamer lingo out of a hat and have a good joke), I was briefly excited at hearing the words "dungeon masters don't have levels". Then I realized they were making fun of me.
Of course, then I googled the tagline to see if geeks were getting irate about it, and this blog was the first thing to pop up. Good write-up.
Hahaha! Thanks, Ocasta. Like I say, I actually find the joke funny - I mean, I can take a joke at my expense, so long as it's not too cruel or delivered with a "holier-than-thou" approach, which seemed to me (and apparently others) that this was its entire point, as anyone who doesn't have this phone or that service is obviously "out of The Loop" - and who better to make that point than a group of role-players?
And thanks for the comment! This blog is aimed directly at people like us, so I hope to hear more from you in the future!
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