Talking the talk

It occurred to me yesterday that I currently spend more time and energy on writing stuff for games I don’t play, than I do actually playing RPG’s.

Due to my real-world obligations (kids, college, work, etc.), I am unable to commit to much gaming time. I have a regular game of D&D with a group comprised of three couples in our 40’s (more or less), with kids and similar obligations. We meet roughly every two weeks, with occasional interruptions due to a child’s school (or in a couple of cases, martial arts) functions, family vacations, visiting relatives, and so on. We even have a player (also a 40-something) who recently moved from Wisconsin to Florida, but still participates through Google Hangouts and Roll20.

When I compare my past experiences to the recollections of others who have been interested (if not participating) in gaming for as long as I have, I find my experiences somewhat lacking, as it were. I started D&D with Moldvay’s box in 6th grade. But, I don’t recall getting to play a whole heck of a lot. I mean actually play. There were no campaigns, no long-running sessions. There was just a lot of talk, conjecture, and planning. In fact, until I was a sophomore in high school, I’m pretty sure I had only ever gone through one module (Slave Pits of the Undercity).

When I was a sophomore, I finally found a gang of buddies who were also into RPG’s, and we played a lot. But, we still never played any campaigns. The closest I came to one was when my friend took me (as Andrew Hearst, 005) solo through three different missions, using Victory Games’ James Bond RPG. We also played a lot of Marvel Superheroes, a bit of Gamma World, and a few odds and ends games. But nothing terribly long-lasting.

Then, during my senior year, I met a couple of new friends. My old gang had broken up, as a couple of their parents had moved away from the Air Force base we lived on. So, when I met these two brothers (who it turned out, had been there when were in 8th grade a few years prior as well), we started an AD&D game that lasted several months. That was probably my first “campaign” of any kind in D&D.

Through my 20’s and 30’s, there were several dry patches. In the Army I had some buddies who played, and we played a lot. Even a couple of mini-campaigns. But nothing lasting more than a few months. This trend continued, with breaks, when I got out and moved to San Diego. My last group there liked to play all kinds of games. And while the Stargate SG-1 run was pretty long, even it had breaks in the middle for other stuff.

So, now I find myself in my 40’s and finally experiencing the kind of years-long campaigning so many of my fellow gamers talk about doing back in high school and college. It’s an interesting experience, and I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like to do this kind of gaming back when I was a young man, without much of a life beyond my own personal gratification.

Now, if you have stayed with this post to this point, you get bonus XP. Honestly, in my rambling and reminiscing, I may have forgotten what my original point was. I think what I’m trying to say is that my gaming experience sometimes feels like it has always been atypical. I’ve always had an interest in a wide variety of games, but haven’t played half of the ones I’ve wanted to. Maybe it’s time to try and rectify that. I’m in a position where I have a wife who totally understands the jones to play (she is running a Dragon Age RPG session at our local Con next month), so I might be able to finagle some time to join another group. Can’t quite get myself to try out the online thing, as I would be very self-conscious about talking into a mic, not to mention being interrupted constantly by the 5-year old. But, I might get to that point someday.

Either way, I will continue to generate content for games, just as I’ve always done. I have reams of old papers containing ideas I would dream up during my dry spells, where I didn’t have anyone to game with. So, I guess that just comes naturally. Now, if I could just find a way to quit my day job and do this stuff full-time…