by Scott Roberts
August 13, 2001

"One thing I can tell you is we got to be free
Come together
Right now
Over me..."
— "Come Together", Aerosmith

Last week, I skipped writing the column because I was in the process of recovering from a trip to the Mecca of Roleplaying: GenCon 2001, in lovely Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Of all the interesting things about GenCon, not one of them compares to the enjoyment I found in meeting the players of Skotos' Castle Marrach game. Which brings me to the topic of this week's column: gatherings of players from such games in the real world.

Social Games

There's a great deal to be said for the anonymity of online prose games. You needn't worry about the social requirements of a physical gathering. There's no arguments over mushrooms versus pepperoni on the pizza; no traffic to wait in to get to the gaming place; and never a shortage of comfortable seats. You can turn the game on and off at your leisure; there's no real obligation to stay longer than you normally would because it's the last time you'll get together for a month or two.

Yet there's always a missing social element, even in the most social games such as Castle Marrach. Most folks play roleplaying games to interact with other human beings, after all. While there are many people you can interact with, the element of real-life interaction is missing. Hence, when online prose games become popular, their players and administrators often hold real-life gatherings where those who share the love of the game can meet one another.

Unmask! Unmask!

At all gatherings of this type (I have hosted one and attended three, including this one), there are always preconceptions which are quickly shattered. The perception that online prose gamers are socially inept, weird, unattractive, or otherwise outside of social norms is probably the one that is most quickly revealed to be an illusion. When you meet the people behind these characters you rapidly discover that they're a representative sample of the sort of bright and interesting people you can find at any book or gaming store. They may have quirks – most gamers do – but they tend to be amusing, witty, and capable of better social discourse than many give them credit for.

The Marrach player's gathering was no disappointment in this area, and in several ways was more interesting than most. Katherine and Anabeth, the two players who set it up, rented a ballroom, had catered food (in the game's theme), and most everyone wore costumes. They bought props and decorations in theme – snowflake confetti, a duck call, a practice sword, and the like. It was quite interesting and wonderful.

For me, though, it was less about the atmosphere of the castle and more about meeting a representative sample of the people who enjoy the game. I've always enjoyed observing people in general, and running the Skotos booth throughout GenCon provided me with an opportunity to meet many of our players as the booth became sort of a central gathering point for the Marrach attendees of the convention during the weekend. I met a number of interesting folks, from all walks of life. Individuals who played characters that matched their real-life personalities were there – but much more interesting was meeting players who were wholly different from their characters. Listening to them talk about the love they had for the game was enough to make even the most jaded and uninterested person see that there was much to love about Marrach.

The experience once again reaffirmed the reason I love this field, and showed me why online prose games are going to be around for a while. There's simply nothing else that quite compares to them.

In no other forum can you get the depth of character development and ease of use combined with a lack of static reality elements (like 3D character portraits, for example) that combine to bring together truly creative minds in a fusion of ideas and entertainment. I look forward to the next meeting eagerly, where once again I might spend time with the people behind the masks they wear, and perhaps learn more about how to better play my own characters.

And Now For Something Completely Different...

This week's column is a short one, but next week we'll discuss the nuances that make up an interesting character. The devil's in the details, as they say. Until next time, I look forward to your comments!