The why’s of gaming

I have turned out 40, which I reckon to be great news. This is, I hope, the beginning of my most productive era. Not too young to be naïve, nor too old to be wasted of energy. No, I don’t feel like I’m passing through any sort of crisis, nor that I have to catch up with anything. I’ve done my share of adventure; perhaps I was too cautious at times, but not in the sort that I regret with self-pity the fantasy world of what-could-have-been-if-only.

Life’s grand, there’s a lot to do!

Any time for gaming?

I have bought near a hundred games a supplements in my life, and got as many as presents and hand-me-downs. I have given away many of them, not because they were particularly bad, but simply because I could no find the time for gaming. And then I still tens of role-playing game, being published, day in and day out. (And hearing again the voices of doom that prophecy the coming death of the hobby).

And yet, having all those games, I find myself with less opportunities to play. I no longer feel at ease playing with teens, a few boys my age keep their dice. Thank God for the conventions, and the message boards, and the friendly local game store, but it doesn’t feel like a regular gamer group.

And then, when I do find the time to play I always feel like if a ghost holding a hourglass was next to me whispering…

Young man, what are thee doing with thy life?

I should be working on my novels, creating games or even taking care of my fat in the gym. I should be more involved in church, with family, at my main job, not dicing my life away. I should not even waste time longing for the next game.

Should I?

Gaming why’s for a kid

Gaming is natural when you are kid. I let you explore, i makes you learn, it’s the best way to make and keep friends, and even adults enjoy seeing you goofing around. Then you get a bit older, and gaming still makes a lot of sense. When you young your hopes seem far away enough to belong to the reals of fantasy.

Gaming why’s for an adult

It’s not the social convention that adults spend time on sophisticated games; beyond sports.True, times are indeed changing in this respect, but still when we adults play, we are expected to do solitaire, angry birds or minesweeper, not an evening of pretending to be knights in shining armor or wizards.

It takes a little courage to confess you still roll d20′s.

Let me share a little list of why’s, the standard fare you are expecting from a post. And then I’ll come up with the only one reason that seems to work, at least for me.

• It is fun.
• It is still a good way to make and keep friends.
• It is an exercise a creativity
• It is cheap -hey you have bought your game already, haven’t you?
• It makes you interesting
• It keeps you in touch with the younger generations, which comes handy if you write YA Fiction, like me. (If you are wondering at my grammar, let me assure you I write almost all of my fiction in Spanish)
• You can boast of your gaming knowledge before a captive audience. (OK, I’m stopping here)

And then you live

I refuse to believe that humans are some sort of machinery, even of a creative sort. Life’s purpose is not about creating thousands of works of art, even of wonderful art. Nor it’s about money, nor even about fun, religion, politics, charity, family or love. Life is a good, chaotic mixture of all that, in different doses along your years, but never completely deprived of any of those elements.

When you game, you put the daily cares aside, and let your days begin anew. Then every bit you do, makes sense, playing is a form of unconscious meditation in which you re-discover your true self.

Gaming is reclaiming the impossible. Gaming is hoping from your Hogwarts’ letter, your USS Enterprise command to where no man has gone before, or daring to be a Marvel artist, or superhero. Gaming is accepting that you are still growing.

Like food, rest, sex, charity and love, gaming gives us the potential to do great things. True, too often we have too much unrealized potential. But I don’t think you spend half a a lifetime “livin’ la vida loca” and then the other half slaving yourself away. You need balance.

And you know what? I’m stopping this article right now. See me having fun somewhere