| Role Playing (game): n. A game in which players take on roles of imaginary character who engage in adventures, typically. . . overseen by a referee. -The New Oxford American Dictionary |
| Typically when people think of role playing they tend to picture 4 or 5 geeky teenage boys with glasses, acne, and wearing �Kiss me I�m a Trekker� t-shirts, sitting around a table rolling dice and referring to themselves as �paladin� or �mage� or some other Dungeons and Dragons middle earth type fantasy reference. When I refer to role playing I generally mean a game my friends and I play that is more similar to that childhood game of old, �Let�s pretend�. As in �let�s pretend I�m Nebula and you�re the bad guy, Okay!� �No, let's pretend I�m Nebula and you�re the bad guy! Okay?� Only when my friends and I play we drop all the �lets pretend�s and take for granted that everyone in the game knows we�re pretending. Most frequently these little sessions take the form of �A lot of imaginary people we all know and like accompany us on such and such a daily activity�. And instead of saying �Okay, so pretend I do such and such� We just do it. The game largely relies on acting and on our parties understanding of the characters and the unspoken rules of the game. Yes, we do also role play stories and adventures but these too are played more in the form of "let's pretend" adventures, on a playground or in our bedrooms and without the aide of board maps, dice, and Star Trek T-shirts. For my little circle the game �Let�s pretend� is to life as salt is to popcorn. (And if you don�t like salt pick a seasoning. ^_~) |