Why Gamers Make Great Friends
by Theresa Bane
I am a gamer and have been rolling dice consistently since 1980. Active in the gaming community, married to a game designer, and using a very clever pen name, I also write role-playing game source material (No, I am not telling you what my pen-name is, that’s the whole point of having a pen-name). Nearly all of my friends, about 87%, are gamers as well.
And by “friends” I mean those folks I see and interact with socially on a routine basis, spend the holidays with, would allow to house-sit/pet-sit for me, would lend money to, know their birthdays, the names of their spouse and children, and their phone number (as opposed to speed dial 4). My “real friends,” bless their hearts, have moved bodies for me and seen me in my pajamas with unbrushed hair and teeth.
I can’t speak to what friendship is like for the rest of the world, or for “people who live in reality” if you prefer, but I can tell you why I feel my friends are the best sort of friend a person can have.
1. Gamers Don’t Judge. To begin, normally my OCDs would insist this entry be listed as number two, where it would fall according to the rules laid out in The Chicago Style Manual, but all the voices in my head had a meeting and in a rare unanimous decision agreed this is a key and essential point, likely the foundation of gamer friendships. For whatever reason, the gaming community tends to attract the widest array of personalities, life-stylers, orientations, and the like. However, because of our profound love of gaming, we completely overlook everything a person brings to the table except for dice and chips. Religion and politics have no place at a gaming table unless your Knight is going to be facing down a Cleric of Toth.
not only for you but for others just remember this one simple rule: Verb it. By that I mean, “do something,” like breathe life into your creation. Imagine how it will walk and talk and interact with the world. Don’t just make a character that is a stereotypical archetype, slap a name on it and call it a day. Explore your options. Think about what you need and want out of a character. Whether you’re an author looking to make a character that will capture your reader’s interest or a gamer wanting to bring something to the table that is more than a name and a set of numbers, it’s all the same.
