Role-playing...

Yeah, I still play paper and pencil role-playing games. Only, now it isn't any fun. I play on Thursday nights with a group of guys that are all much older than I am. All we have ever play is D&D. I still enjoy the company, which is why I still go, but the game sucks. These guys are by the book D&D'ers including the current DM. He is reading straight from the book. In one instance, someone asked him how much an item was worth while rolling appraise, the DM replied he didn't know, it wasn't in the module. Because of this group, I have realized three things.

Firstly, if I was introduced to paper and pencil RPGs like this the first time, I would have never kept playing. Video-games can achieve what these guys are looking for better and with less work. And to be honest, the stories in the modules are campy at best.

Secondly, I was very fortunate to have the experiences I did. The groups of people that I gamed with when I was younger had already been through all this and rejected it. Then they just started making it up as they went. Perfect. I thank all of them for that.

Lastly, this is how most people play these games, and I am ashamed to be put into the same category with them. I now understand the stigma that gamers get because of these people. This is really lame and childish. Something I never thought when I played with the other groups. There is nothing being brought to the table. I do enjoy hanging out with these guys, but that is about it. We could be playing a board game and have more fun in my opinion.

With all this said, it is true that there is no right or wrong way to play these games. But there is a way to get the most out of the medium. And that is exactly what it is, a medium for story-telling. A medium that, if done right, can blow every other medium out of the water. A medium where those playing the game get to dictate the story that they want told through their character's actions. You can be who you never could be, do things you have always wanted to do.

I learned to DM from a few masterful DMs and didn't even know it. I played with people who had imagination and creativity. I want to thank them all.