Talkin' 'Bout My Generation

[athelind]

A writer and teacher gives tribute to D&D.

Our influence is now everywhere. My generation of gamers -- whose youths were spent holed up in paneled wood basements crafting identities, mythologies, and geographies with a few lead figurines -- are the filmmakers, computer programmers, writers, DJs, and musicians of today. I think, for the producers, the movie version of "The Lord of the Rings" was less about getting the trilogy off the page and onto the screen than it was a vicarious thrill, a gift to the millions of us who wished we could have dressed up as orcs and ventured into catacombs and castle keeps ourselves. Only a generation of imaginations roused by role playing could have made those movies possible.

Comments

[jirris-midvale.livejournal.com]

And I thank the pioneers that traveled the path before me.

Roleplaying was one of those things that got me, the antisocial kid who wore black, to stop being so antisocial. It taught me that sometimes you have to take chances, that sometimes you need to stand up even if you are just a third level fighter and your opponent is an army of orcs. It taught me that you need to rely and help those around you. It taught me that despite all the fancy treasure in the end, getting there was it's own reward.

Gaming was something that changed me a lot. I feel that it really was for the better.

What he said.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

Gaming was really the first social activity I really enjoyed (aside from attending SF conventions) -- and that's still true today. Sports? Clubbing? What do "normal" people do for fun, anyway?

Re: What he said.

[hitchkitty.livejournal.com]

With apologies to certain musicals:

They sit around and wonder what geekish folk would do...and that's what normal folk do.