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Message no. 1
From: Gurth gurth@******.nl
Subject: Types of players (was Re: Power Gaming and Benchmarking (Long))
Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 19:31:41 +0200
According to Phil Smith, at 10:45 on 25 Jun 00, the word on the street
was...

> I was discussing this with my group yesterday and we recon that people tend
> to play characters who do a lot of what they like; for example, folks who
> play deckers go on computers a lot, I play a writer in one campaign - which
> is what I want to do when I leave school. If someone is a loner in real
> life they will play one, and so on. Just think about the people in your
> group and you will find it bizarrely true.

I'm not too sure about that... I tend to play people who are unlike me
IRL, and in many of the people in my group I see the same thing. OTOH, a
few seem to be like what you describe, so I guess there are at least two
types of players: one who plays something close to what they are, and one
that does more or less the opposite.

What I also notice is that people tend to play similar characters,
regardless of the game or current campaign, so that if you're not careful
they all blend together a bit.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Yes, I am broadcasting myself!
-> NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.1: GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ UL P L+ E? W(++) N o? K- w+ O V? PS+
PE Y PGP- t(+) 5++ X++ R+++>$ tv+(++) b++@ DI? D+ G(++) e h! !r(---) y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 2
From: Simon and Fiona sfuller@******.com.au
Subject: Types of players (was Re: Power Gaming and Benchmarking (Long))
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 09:43:23 +1000
-----Original Message-----
From: Gurth <gurth@******.nl>
To: shadowrn@*********.com <shadowrn@*********.com>
Date: Monday, June 26, 2000 3:30 AM
Subject: Types of players (was Re: Power Gaming and Benchmarking (Long))


According to Phil Smith, at 10:45 on 25 Jun 00, the word on the street
was...

> I was discussing this with my group yesterday and we recon that people
tend
>> to play characters who do a lot of what they like; for example, folks who
> play deckers go on computers a lot, I play a writer in one campaign -
which
>> is what I want to do when I leave school. If someone is a loner in real
> life they will play one, and so on. Just think about the people in your
>> group and you will find it bizarrely true.

>I'm not too sure about that... I tend to play people who are unlike me
IRL, and in many of the people in my group I see the same thing. OTOH, a
>few seem to be like what you describe, so I guess there are at least two
types of players: one who plays something close to what they are, and one
>that does more or less the opposite.

What I also notice is that people tend to play similar characters,
regardless of the game or current campaign, so that if you're not careful
>they all blend together a bit.

--

In the bad old days when we played AD&D, one loudmouth who used to demand to
be DM even though he sucks at it, used to make us roll up new 0 level
characters every single game (although most would be around level 10 by the
end of said game). Anyway, there were these two brothers who ALWAYS took
Drow Elf Princess Clerics. It was very sad. When I introduced them to
Shadowrun, they were a bit lost, I think one took an elf medic. This was
before Night Ones were invented.
I don't play D&D any more.
Message no. 3
From: James Mick sinabian@********.net
Subject: Types of players (was Re: Power Gaming and Benchmarking (Long))
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 12:51:02 -0400
>I tend to play people who are unlike me IRL, and in many of the >people in
my group I see the same thing. OTOH, a few seem to be
>like what you describe,

If you want to get deeply psychological about this, you could read into it
that it's a matter of how much a person likes themselves. If there's
something they want to be, they're going to show that in their character. If
they like the way they are, then the character will be just like them. But
if there's something they'd like to change or improve about themselves it
may show up in that character as well. (Somebody being able to keep their
cool in a bad situation, etc...)

Maybe it's even a little bit of an alter-ego showing. You know, that same
alter-ego that might root for the bad guy in a movie if he's cool enough...
Freud and Co. would probably have a field day with gaming groups!
Message no. 4
From: Gurth gurth@******.nl
Subject: Types of players (was Re: Power Gaming and Benchmarking (Long))
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 19:06:16 +0200
According to James Mick, at 12:51 on 26 Jun 00, the word on the street
was...

> If you want to get deeply psychological about this, you could read into it
> that it's a matter of how much a person likes themselves. If there's
> something they want to be, they're going to show that in their character. If
> they like the way they are, then the character will be just like them.

Another way of looking at it is that people playing characters who are
like their players, are perhaps afraid of trying something new, or are
turning their characters into an ideal self-image, because usually the
character will be "better" (in whatever way you want to interpret that)
than the player is.

> Freud and Co. would probably have a field day with gaming groups!

I am getting a feeling that most of us here should try to avoid ending up
in a psychologist's office at all cost :)

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Yes, I am broadcasting myself!
-> NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.1: GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ UL P L+ E? W(++) N o? K- w+ O V? PS+
PE Y PGP- t(+) 5++ X++ R+++>$ tv+(++) b++@ DI? D+ G(++) e h! !r(---) y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 5
From: DemonPenta@***.com DemonPenta@***.com
Subject: Types of players (was Re: Power Gaming and Benchmarking (Long))
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 14:13:14 EDT
In a message dated 6/26/00 1:05:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time, gurth@******.nl
writes:

> I am getting a feeling that most of us here should try to avoid ending up
> in a psychologist's office at all cost.

Too late.:-)
Message no. 6
From: Chipeloi chipeloi@***.nl
Subject: Types of players (was Re: Power Gaming and Benchmarking (Long))
Date: Sat, 1 Jul 2000 00:41:08 +0200
In the asylum, Gurth whispered in the corridors:



James Mick screamed in the asilum:

> > Freud and Co. would probably have a field day with gaming groups!
>

acording to gurth:

> I am getting a feeling that most of us here should try to avoid ending
> up in a psychologist's office at all cost :)


I had an conversation a bout an year ago with the father of an friend
and the converstion came to roleplaying games,

I was at that time realy fanatical about trying to get ppl to
understand roleplaying games.

so i explained as mutch as possible to him and he seemed to be
intresstedand he asked a lot of questions.....

but after a wile the questions became like:

did your fother or mother or brother or any part of your famalie ever
hit you,

are you on heavy medical treatment

are you using drugs..

he was an srink (psychologist)

i think that if my friend didn't get me to go out, i would have been
taken away with the men in with suits and have gotten an nice tight
vest and an nice wihte room....=)








--
>If you thought Chipeloi was crazy just wait till you meet me !
Message no. 7
From: Sebastian Wiers m0ng005e@*****.com
Subject: Types of players (was Re: Power Gaming and Benchmarking (Long))
Date: Sat, 1 Jul 2000 09:16:31 -0500
>>I had an conversation a bout an year ago with the father of an friend
and the converstion came to roleplaying games,

>>I was at that time realy fanatical about trying to get ppl to
understand roleplaying games.

>>so i explained as mutch as possible to him and he seemed to be
intresstedand he asked a lot of questions.....

>>but after a wile the questions became like:

>>did your fother or mother or brother or any part of your famalie ever
hit you,

>>are you on heavy medical treatment

>>are you using drugs..

>>he was an srink (psychologist)


Psychologists used to think people who are "fantasy prone" (psychobabble
code for having an imagination richer than the shrink doing the questioning)
were trying to escape reality. That's probably why he asked if you were
abused (which often leads to escapist behavior) or using drugs (another form
of escapism).
Escapist behavior, taken to extreme, can be linked to psychosis, and
mis-informed psychologists often consider "fantasy prone" the same as
"psychoses prone". In fact, its just a type of intelligence, and saying it
causes insanity is like saying being good at math causes autism.

Mongoose

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Message no. 8
From: Simon and Fiona sfuller@******.com.au
Subject: Types of players (was Re: Power Gaming and Benchmarking (Long))
Date: Sun, 2 Jul 2000 09:53:07 +1000
-----Original Message-----
From: Sebastian Wiers <m0ng005e@*****.com>
To: shadowrn@*********.com <shadowrn@*********.com>
Date: Sunday, July 02, 2000 3:58 AM
Subject: Re: Types of players (was Re: Power Gaming and Benchmarking (Long))


> Psychologists used to think people who are "fantasy prone"
(psychobabble
>code for having an imagination richer than the shrink doing the
questioning)
>were trying to escape reality. That's probably why he asked if you were
>abused (which often leads to escapist behavior) or using drugs (another
form
>of escapism).
> Escapist behavior, taken to extreme, can be linked to psychosis, and
>mis-informed psychologists often consider "fantasy prone" the same as
>"psychoses prone". In fact, its just a type of intelligence, and saying it
>causes insanity is like saying being good at math causes autism.
>
I think a lot of people _are_ using RPG's as escapism, I know I am. But
then, it is the same as watching a lot of TV, reading fiction, computer
games or a whole range of hobbies. Probably it could lead to psychosis, in
the right person, if they played a _lot_ with little else to occupy their
time (like OT threads on Shadowrn), the same way Charles Manson was inspired
by the Beatles to do a little family bonding. The difference, I think is
between escapism and avoidance.
However, for the large majority, it is just a hobby that lets you get away
from everyday life, an outlet that must be healthy. Which is why a lot of
people quit RPG's as they get older and are grounded more in day to day
grind. I think it's just psychologists trying to define normal again.
I don't, but I know a few people who are into RPG's who are also heavily
into drugs. They are definitely trying to escape/avoid something.

Further Reading

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