Closeted Gaming

...and other nerd nonsense
Remember the days when you hesitated to tell people about your hobby? I do. Not at first though. Way back in college when my friends and I were trying to figure out this new game that came in a White Box and which consisted of several little brown books that somewhat looked like professional journals, except for the amateurish art on the covers, it seemed something cool to do. Like we were out front on a future trend. I was a college athlete, had a girlfriend, got good grades, went to young republican meetings on campus and I also played D&D. Cool wasn't much of a concern. Not everyone who played the new game was like me, but all were welcome who shared an interest in the game. Hobbies are like that. It was a popular pastime for many college students and nothing seemed weird about it.
Then that TV movie showed up and I still hold a slight irrational grudge against Tom Hanks. All of a sudden people had questions about the hobby I was enjoying and they weren't just curiosity questions, they were fearful, judgemental questions. I started to dread talking to people about my hobby and would go out of my way to avoid the subject. I saw many of my friends do the same thing. We were becoming a secret society of sorts because we did something we didn't like to talk about outside the initiated group of fellow hobbyists.
What seemed like a conspiracy against the hobby was developing as churches got involved and media coverage seemed all negative. Those were the dark years and many of us gamers were driven into the closet. I also quit going to church. At best the hobby was seen as nerdy, because being smart and creative and using one's imagination couldn't be "normal". At worst, it was playing a game some said might endanger one's soul and mark you out as someone who threatened society. What? Really? Those of us who played the game through those years knew better and felt on the defensive. Fortunately saner minds would prevail.
Eventually things changed. The sensational stories all proved false, the haters were revealed for what they were and most importantly, being smart, creative and imaginative is being recognized as good qualities to have. Computers have helped this change as those same qualities are an asset in developing skills with the new technology which have changed how almost everyone works and communicates. By the time "Big Bang Theory" showed popular media characters playing D&D, it was kinda cool to do so.
I am older now and maybe that plays a big part in my being open about my gaming interest. I think society has done some shifting too. The popularity of consul gaming, collectable card gaming and Euro boardgames have all helped to "normalize" playing games as a hobby. Harry Potter and the Tolkien movies have brought many of the fantasy RPG tropes into common awareness. We could argue the relative merits of all the changes that have occurred in our society in the past 45 years or so, but I am thankful that my friends and I can openly discuss our hobby these days without fear of being judged (much) because of it. I think there may be a wider lesson here, but that isn't the purpose of this blog.