The Role-Playing Gamer stereotype

College Confidential Community
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<p>Hi everyone, </p>

<p>after surfing on this and many english/american websites and forums worldwide I somehow bothered about understanding this "RPG nerd" phenomenon.</p>

<p>I'm from Italy, so I'm a bit curious...
is it true that people playing RPGs, Dungeons & Dragons, videogames, Live action roleplaying games etc. in the U.S. (and elsewhere) have psychological problems, especially to relate with society, and are often affiliated with violent and satanic sects?</p>

<p>Or is it just a public image projection, as it is common to do with minorities? :D</p>

<p>I mean, I read so many strange and unbelieveable things about such people (and jokes about them) on websites, youtube, even newspapers, that I wanted to investigate further.</p>

<p>As for Italy, people involved with roleplaying games, etc. generally have no special/strange reputation. I myself belong to the group of organizers and public relators for these activities.
But I don't have any satanic affiliation :D and by the way, even our community priests [catholic, as most are in Italy] sometimes play Dungeons and Dragons, and they consider it highly entertaining and artistic.</p>

<p>I have also quite often read that "RPG nerds are often intellectually and socially poor", a rumour that is incompatible with what I have personally experienced [so far]. Most RPG-players I know personally (also in other countries, France, Germany, Switzerland) have extraordinary backgrounds and are among the type of "smart" people which Americans would probably call "all-rounders" - they are the best at sports, music, community and social activities... to be honest: they are the "active" strata of our youth.</p>

<p>I'm just curious about how these affairs are in other places :)
(plus: I don't want to end up in a satanic organization :P)</p>

<p>I'm looking forward to read your opinions on this matter :)</p>

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<p>My uncle is participating in RPG and he's one of the most socially active people I have known :)</p>

3

<p>My school is full of those people...they never come out of their room and whenever they feel like going to class they play in there too. Not to mention serious lack of social skills</p>

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<p>RPG Nerd here. I can't say much about my social life being a CCer, but 2380 SAT should say something about intellect.</p>

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<p>RPG nerds, from my experience, are just that...nerds. they don't have lives and lack social skills. that's a bit of an exageration, but whatever.</p>

<p>i knew/know many of them, all guys of course, and they're nice people. but good lord i can't take it when they start ranting about games and friggin D&D and lord of the rings deleted scense and shiit. </p>

<p>def not attracting the girls that way.</p>

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<p>When you're saying that they lack of social skills, do you mean that they aren't capable of managing a voluntary reconstruction programme, running a business, participating at community debates etc.?</p>

<p>Or do you mean that they are always alone and unsocial/anti-social?</p>

<p>Only guys? Really? O_o</p>

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<p>I would never usually post under a thread like this, but I thought it was too perfect to pass by.</p>

<p>You see, I awoke early (well, 10:45) this morning just so I could go to a friends house and quest (D and D) around for a few hours. That few hours turned into 6, at which point I returned home to eat dinner and post on CC.</p>

<p>IMO, I fit the description of roleplayers you are familar with, not the sterotype you might have seen. Also, keep in mind that gamers are quick to poke fun at themselves, so many satires exisit on the subject.</p>

<p>But anywho, roleplaying is not a passive way to spend time, and I find it incredibly enjoyable and challenging.</p>

<p>Maybe I'm just a nerd, though.</p>

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<p>maybe....</p>

<p>haha...jp...but really...</p>

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<p>I personally like playing games popular in singapore, the free ones though.</p>

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<p>A good friend of mine is a HUUUUUUUUUUGE World of Warcraft player, this guy has four different characters decked out in purple gear and his current guy has 4000 in WoW gold. 4000! It's impossible to pull that guy away from his game to hang out with us anymore so we stopped trying. I think yesterday he hung out with us for a movie and then went home at 6:30 (?) to get back to his game. The fact that it's the dead of summer and his skin is still as pale as Casper's says it all.</p>

<p>I think his problem is the fact that he has a very devoted girlfriend, if he was single he'd probably would realize how unhealthy it is to be playing World of Warcraft as much as he does.</p>

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<p>It's not such an extreme group as people tend to portray it. I have friends (male and female) who are avid gamers - some are extremely social and well adjusted, some simply prefer to be involved in something considered unusual. One of my best friends met her boyfriend playing World of Warcraft! </p>

<p>That being said, there's also a whole big subgroup of role-playing that is, well, a group unto itself. They go and dress up as their favorite D&D/BESM/whatever characters, complete with duct tape and styrofoam "weapons"...and role play like that. To everyone else they look like lunatics.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
i knew/know many of them, all guys of course, and they're nice people. but good lord i can't take it when they start ranting about games and friggin D&D and lord of the rings deleted scense and shiit.

[/quote]

So what do you mean under 'existence' of social skills then? Do you want them to talk about topics that you like? Maybe they look upon you with the same attitude because you are not talking their topics?</p>

<p>
[quote]
RPG nerds, from my experience, are just that...nerds. they don't have lives and lack social skills. that's a bit of an exageration, but whatever.

[/quote]

Well, maybe from their point of view you don't have life. Please, don't consider the method you spend your 24/7/365 a best way to go through the life.</p>

<p>PS. I have no affiliation with RPGs.</p>

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<p>^haha. ok, i wasn't being ridiculously serious. it was a generalization....sort of. </p>

<p>
[quote]
So what do you mean under 'existence' of social skills then? Do you want them to talk about topics that you like? Maybe they look upon you with the same attitude because you are not talking their topics?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>i'm not saying talk about only what i like. i'm saying it's annoying when people have limited topics of coversation and OBSESS over fake things. i would talk about lord of the rings with them. i like the movies. but it was really weird when they start debating over it as if it were real. seriously....c'mon. </p>

<p>
[quote]
Well, maybe from their point of view you don't have life. Please, don't consider the method you spend your 24/7/365 a best way to go through the life.

[/quote]

um...i'm pretty sure i didn't say i considered it to be. anyway, it was a somewhat of a joke, my exageration i mean. of course not all are like this, but if we're already labeling them in the thread, might as well go along with the stereotypes to get the idea across. </p>

<p>but really. i don't think sitting on the couch pushing buttons is anyway to build social skills or spend your life. i'm sure many gamers do many other things. ok. but many of them also don't, and their social skills are below par. what i mean is that they might not be able to strike up a conversation with poeple that don't game, or they wouldn't care to. and they are usually awkward with girls or don't know how to relax and chill around people. but this happens to any type of person. but gamers in particular.</p>

<p>disclaimer: yes these are generalizations...moving on.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
but really. i don't think sitting on the couch pushing buttons is anyway to build social skills or spend your life.

[/quote]

Ok, but we were talking RPGers, weren't we? :)</p>

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<p>^yeah. my bad. i just always equate RPGers to people that play a ton of video games too. mostly b/c all the ones i know do both.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
i knew/know many of them, all guys of course, and they're nice people. but good lord i can't take it when they start ranting about games and friggin D&D and lord of the rings deleted scense and shiit.

[/quote]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AGREEEEEEE
Like, usually, I'm sitting with couple of friends, having a nice conversation about something nice, and one guy brings up the video game topic and they all start going, "I WAS SOO CLOSE!" "MY FINGERS WERE ON FIRE!" "MY HANDS ARE SHAKY FROM YESTERDAY HAHAHA".......and im caught in the middle. So I always have to walk away lol</p>

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<p>^haha. yay. i'm not alone. i remember ALL of my ap chem class were guys and ALL were RPGers. after the AP test, all they did was play D&D, while watching star trek and lord of the rings. i wanted to kill myself. so instead i went to friends' study hall.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AGREEEEEEE
Like, usually, I'm sitting with couple of friends, having a nice conversation about something nice, and one guy brings up the video game topic and they all start going, "I WAS SOO CLOSE!" "MY FINGERS WERE ON FIRE!" "MY HANDS ARE SHAKY FROM YESTERDAY HAHAHA".......and im caught in the middle. So I always have to walk away lol

[/quote]

Alright, so I was sitting there with my friends talking quietly about D&D and RPGs and then that one guy brought topic about football. And he all started going "AAAH HE WAS SO CLOSE!!!", "AAAH, HAVE YOU SEEN THAT JOHNNY, THAT RECEIVER WAS ONE FOOT FROM MAKING HUSKIES WIN!!!" ... and I just had to leave :(</p>

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<p>^i dont like when guys obsess over sports either. i'd much rather have a sports obsessed friend/boyfriend though. </p>

<p>i don't mind guys talking about sports so much, it's just when they start talking like they could do better or like they actually know the athletes and worship them. ugh.</p>

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<p>lol mr_chipset, you've got a point there..</p>