To be honest, it is a question of perception, and like most stereotypes, it is often based on crazy ideas that are just not true.
I mean, Iâve probably seen it all, in thirty years of RPâing when it comes to the often stupid perceptions people have about it as a hobby, whether tabletop RP gaming, online RP, or LARP. You get the same generalisations that just are not true, so lets look at those.
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RPers are sad lonely geeks. Right, weâll leave for a moment the fact that the Streamer saying this, is playing a computer game, which also is seen as a Geeky stereotype, and move on. âLonely geeks?â Rpâers are playing the most -social- aspect of the game, where it is key to interact extensivel with other people, whether your character loves or hates another character is neither here nor there, RP is by its very basis, a -Social- activity, I mean I donât know how to better debunk that, if all RPâers were antisocial types, then RP wouldnât exist, becauseâŚwell, you -have- to be social to do it!
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It is the preserve of (and for some reason this wavers madly) either Spotty 14 year old Virgins, or fat greasy men in their forties, No girls allowed.
Well this is just crazy, I mean I am an RPâer and only one of those things is accurate in my case, I am no a teenager, nor spotty, thankfully and certainly not a virgin, that ship sailed a long time ago, I am not fat or greasy, being in the prime BMI for my age thank you very much, slightly on the wiry side of ânormalâ in fairness. I am however a 45 year old man. That doesnât matter though. Iâve RPâd since I was 12, continually till now, and still do now. As for âNo Girls allowedâ, this is also utter madness and not true. This is the same âhurr hurr, Girls donât play WoWâ nonsense that is outdated, and frankly people should be embarrassed for using. RPâers span all types, all walks of life, including just from my own mates; Students, Teachers, Squaddies, Senior Military Officers, Doctors, Published Authors, Actors, Politicians, Nurses, Police, beauty therapists, call centre workers, pilots, professors and much more. Some of these people are not âfat geeky losersâ (Not that being overweight is bad if someone is happy with it), but hit the ends of the âattractionâ levels that youâd crawl over broken glass just to get a smile from.
Just a reminder, Dame Judy Dench plays a mean male Dwarven Beserker in Dungeons and Dragons, as well as being one of the most accredited actors of our time, and Vin Diesel is a massive Geek and Games Master at Dungeons and Dragons (In fact he introduced Dame Dench to RP when they worked together on the Riddick films, She loved it).
Anybody calling Vin Diesel an antisocial loser?
Yeah, thought not.
- Itâs -Weird-
Ok, lets examine this.
This is a description:
âA person who is portraying the role of a person that is not themselves, interacting with other people who are also portraying the role of a person that is not themselves, in a non-real situation to tell a storyâ
What type of person did I just describe?
Bonus points to anyone who went âA Roleplayer, and oh, also every celebrity star Actor, including the ones I may have crushes onâ
Thatâs what it is!
Those A-list celebrity stars, that people worldwide crush on are -Roleplayers- (Just they get paid for doing it!) Brad Pitt? a Roleplayer, he plays a Role in a setting, Charlize Theron? a Roleplayer, she plays roles in a setting. In fact Brad Pitt actually nailed it pretty well in a comment he made after playing a role in âSeven Years in Tibetâ when asked about what he thought about Chinaâs actionâs in Tibet, he said something like âWhat does it matter, why does my opinion matter, I am a man who professionally wears makeup and pretends to be other people for a livingâ
A Roleplayer is doing the same, just for their own enjoyment and that of (hopefully) the people they interact with.
What makes it Geeky? The fact that they are not earning Millions for doing it? Is that all it takes?
Because if we apply that logic, then anyone who plays football for fun is a loser because they arenât getting paid the same as professional footballers.
Telling stories is an integral part of human culture, and has been since we learned to speak. If you watch a Hollywood Blockbuster or a soap opera or some gritty TV Drama, you are watching people Roleplay. You are literally paying to watch people roleplay!
So why is it weird?
OK, lets talk about that big old elephant in the room.
âIts all about people having computer Sexâ
No, it really isnât. Whilst most RPâers are happy with the concept that their character (Not them, their -character- Roleplayers are better at making the divide between real life and roleplaying than many non-Rpâers) may form romantic liasons with other- characters- that doesnât mean they are spending all their time Cybering away in Goldshire. Roleplayers actively -hate- that stuff. If two characters -do- get to a stage where they bump uglies, knock boots, insert euphemism of choice, its pretty much always âFade to Blackâ âYeah, our characters banged, we donât need to describe itâ.
The irony of things like the âGoldshire Problemâ (and RPâers do regard it as a problem, moreso than most) is that the people doing it are trial accounts and Off-realmers coming over to be seedy. Its not the actual Roleplayers, because that makes no sense. Two lovers meet in Stormwind, they both have their own houses, there is no barrier to their mutual attraction, in what world would they go (Unless they had a kink) âLets consummate our love by going to a small logging town, hit the pub, and then do the nasty in front of hundreds of foreign people!â
Yâknow, whats wrong with going âWell, my house is closest?â.
With the exception of Exhibitionists, (Fair enough, I guess thatâs their kink, I donât get it personally) nobody does that, literally nobody does that.
As long as you get people like that goon who I shall not name, who plays a role in front of a camera for his âfansâ, whilst mocking those who play a role not in front of a camera, we will have this problem.
What is so hard for non-rpâers to understand about how its not actually that weird, but something that humans have done since the dawn of time, and the chances are almost certain, they have watched people doing in a film, or a play, or a TV show, without going âhurr Hurr, Losers!â
We need to change the -perception- of RP, is what I am saying, because goons like that guy, blatantly have not got a scooby doo what they are on about.