Gaming in general is a male thing. It isn't that gaming is designed to exclude women. Everybody who's tried to design a game to interest a large female audience has failed. And I think that has to do with the different thinking processes of men and women.
Random chance plays a huge part in everybody's life.
The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules.
The essence of a role-playing game is that it is a group, cooperative experience.
There is no winning or losing, but rather the value is in the experience of imagining yourself as a character in whatever genre you're involved in, whether it's a fantasy game, the Wild West, secret agents or whatever else. You get to sort of vicariously experience those things.
Of course as children, we all, in all cultures and societies, learn behavior from observation, imitation, and encouragement of various kinds. So by the suggestion made, we all 'pretend' most of the time.
There's a call to adventure. It's something in the inner psyche of humanity, particularly males.
Outside of the mindless sitcoms that the networks thrive on, people able to think generally consider most entertainment is escape in one form or another.
When AI approximates Machine Intelligence, then many online and computer-run RPGs will move towards actual RPG activity. Nonetheless, that will not replace the experience of 'being there,' any more than seeing a theatrical motion picture can replace the stage play.
I hated school, didn't like the discipline.
Role-playing isn't storytelling. If the dungeon master is directing it, it's not a game.
I wasn't popular in the home office because I wasn't chicken. I'm just a risk taker. I have gut instincts.
Somebody said they threw their copy of Dungeons and Dragons into the fire, and it screamed. It's a game! The magic spells in it are as real as the gold. Try retiring on that stuff.
I foresee online gaming changing when there are good audio-visual links connecting the participants, thus approximating play in a face-to-face group.
I'm just a risk taker. I have gut instincts.
