Battling Stereotype

What is a gamer? Is it a man, a woman, a geek? Do they have glasses? Tousled hair? A pocket protector?\nGamers are much more than this popular stereotype. Still, stereotypes exist in almost every hobby and participants learn to live with it. But role-playing games are being banned from schools, clubs and libraries, according to the Web site www.TheEscapist.com. Cultural assumptions make it challenging for gamers to engage in their hobby. \nRole-playing games are defined as interactive storytelling where all of the participants act out the roles of the characters, according to www.TheEscapist.com. \n"It's like improv radio theater set to rules," said Andrew Reyes, assistant manager Game Preserve, a gaming store. "Role-playing games are monkey bars for the imagination."\nIn role-playing games, one player acts as the writer, and is usually called the "Game Master," or "Dungeon Master" in "Dungeons and Dragons." Role-playing is similar to childhood games like "Let's Play House," or "Cops and Robbers," but with set rules and a referee, said Bryan Roberts, manager of The Game Preserve at 117 Fountain Square Mall.\nThirty years ago, the concept of two characters interacting in a game didn't exist. \nRole playing started in the early 1970s when Gary Gygax, Dave Aneson and a few friends were playing "Chain Mail," a popular miniature game at the time.\nGygax and his friends began to consider ways they could personalize the game's battles.\nThey created individual alter egos, which took the focus off winning and losing and placed it on the relationships between the characters. Gygax and Arneson set out to create rules for these complex relations. This was the framework for what would later become "Dungeons and Dragons," one of the most popular role-playing games today. \n"'Dungeons and Dragons' is like the grandpa of role-playing games," Reyes said. "But he has a thousand screaming children running around pretending to be everything they can think of." \nAccording to a study conducted by www.TheEscapist.com, 66 percent of gamers have played "Dungeons and Dragons" at some point. \n"This was the first time someone used role playing for more than psychological uses," Roberts said.\nBefore role-playing games were created, the same aspects were used to diagnose mental disabilities. Tests such as Thematic Apperception Tests and Rorschach Inkblots, named after Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach, were used. \nThese tests presented inkblots and pictures to the patient. Depending on the response, certain mental problems were diagnosed.\n"These methods are not reliable nor useful," said Laura Wager, an associate instructor in the Department of Psychology. \nWhen role-playing games were first created, many people worried making such techniques into a game could be unhealthy. But Wager said there is no problem.\n"Adults are better at knowing the difference between fantasy and reality, so I wouldn't recommend it for very small children (ages 1 to 5)," Wager said. "But as with anything else, if done in moderation, I see no problem with it."\nSince the beginning of role-playing, gamers have faced plenty of stereotypes. \n"I suppose some people will always think of gamers as 40-year-old virgin men who live in their parents' basements," Reyes said. "But there is absolutely no truth in that."\nThe stereotype of gamers is just a continuation of the larger stereotype for geeks that people receive in high school, said socio-cultural anthropology and folklore graduate student Bryn Neuenschwander. "It's not different than being labeled a jock or cheerleader," he said. "The stereotypes are all based on hobbies."\nNeuenschwander is a member of the IU Live Action Club, an organization of gamers. The group usually meets Sundays in various rooms at the Indiana Memorial Union. \nAnother stereotype is the belief that all gamers are men. According to a study conducted by www.TheEscapist.com, 19 percent of all gamers are women. \n"More and more women are becoming involved all the time," Neuenschwander said. "As a female involved in the activity, I suppose it might be intimidating at first to get started, but after you get involved, it's no big deal."\nPopularity of role-playing games occur in waves with the creation of new rule books. The newest book, "Player's Handbook: Core Rulebook I (Dungeons & Dragons, Edition 3.5)" was released in July. Roberts said even with a rule book, flexibility is still available. As the game has evolved, trends have also changed.\n"The new trend seems to be a type of geek-chic," said folklore graduate student Ben Aldred. "Visibility has increased a lot within the last 10 years through such things as characters on last season's 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' taking part in role playing." \nAldred knows Neuenschwander through the IU Live Action Club. Everyone in role playing seems to know everyone else. \nReyes said nearly anyone can take part in role playing. Young adults, politicians, race car drivers and even well-known actor Vin Diesel have been gamers, according to the Web site www.art-of-vin-diesel.com.\n"Identifying famous people who play these games is just a way to say to the world that it's not so bizarre after all, if this many people are doing it," Neuenschwander said.\nRole playing has influenced American culture through the creation of XBox and PlayStation, which partially grew from the psychological aspects of role playing.\n"A great many of the PlayStation and XBox games today would not have existed if it weren't for the creation of role playing," Roberts said. " ... So many of them are based on the idea that a character reacts to something, or makes a decision based on the actions of another character. This idea was shaped through role playing."\nA variety of role-playing games exists on the market. Nearly anything that can tell a story has a role-playing game fashioned around it. A few role-playing topics include superheroes, "Star Trek," vampires and "Star Wars."\nMovies spawn continued interest in gaming. Films such as "Star Wars" and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy brought back science fiction and capitalized on the hobby. \n"It's a creative outlet for someone who wants more than what they can get from their PlayStation games," Roberts said. "People become involved in a genre, such as 'Star Wars' or 'Lord of the Rings,' and they want the story to continue even after the movie ends. The way to do this is through role playing." \nAccording the Web site www.TheEscapist.com, in the 1980s, role-playing games received a bad reputation because of organizations such as Bothered About "Dungeons and Dragons," or B.A.D.D. The group was founded by Patricia Pulling, a mother whose son Irving committed suicide. She believed he had done so because of a supposed spell which was cast on him during a game of "Dungeons and Dragons." Irving was later discovered to have had mental problems which contributed to his suicide, and not the alleged accusations about the game. In Oct. 1997, Patricia died of cancer, along with the organization. \n"Aside from radical religious groups, there is no reliable argument against role-playing games," Reyes said. \nMisconceptions drive the stereotypes and make them stronger, Neuenschwander said, and gaming is often met with ignorance. \n"People are afraid of what they do not know," Neuenschwander said. "And it's much easier to shun someone than to take time to understand it." \nThe concepts of role playing are used in daily life, Neuenschwander said. Along with being involved in psychology, people use role playing for things like business training and historical reenactments. \n"Playing 'Dungeons and Dragons' is not much different from watching a movie or playing video games," said junior Alejandro Ramos, who plays "Dungeons and Dragons" every Tuesday. "It's something people do to pass time and be social."\nThe key to changing people's minds about gaming is for them to see it is a safe and creative hobby, Roberts said. \n"Like anything else, if you do it in moderation. It enhances creativity, reading skills and social activity." \nRoberts said he hopes people will begin to see role playing as something even families can do together. \n"I can't think of a better thing to do on a cold winter night than to play (it) with your children," Roberts said. "It's like a Pandora's box that opens when someone realizes they can create a story for their children … it's very powerful."\n-- Contact staff writer Lynndi Lockenour at llockeno@indiana.edu.