I don’t like talking about gaming.
There, I said it. I know that, especially in the indie gaming community, this is tantamount to sacrilege. But…I dunno, I just don’t like it. Whether it’s traditional gamers and their “let me tell you about my character” fervor or indie kids and their “let’s discuss this game mechanic (or whatever piece of minutiae) until our ears bleed” tendencies. I do love gaming, don’t get me wrong there. But I also like sex, and I don’t like talking about sex either. It’s not because I’m uncomfortable with it, I’d just rather be doing it or talking about something else. Some constructive conversation about what just happened, how it could have been better, how to make things better, that’s one thing. Or just reminiscing about good times (or hilariously bad times, I suppose), with the person or persons involved. And sometimes there’s those moments that you just want to tell other people about because their awesomeness leads you to believe that everyone in the world should know about them, that kind of “shout it from the rooftops” feeling. But I don’t want to sit around and discuss sex theory with my friends any more than I want to discuss game theory. I guess it just feels like most gaming discussions don’t really impact anything: most of them won’t change the system you’re talking about, or make a difference in the way your group plays. I do like breaking down what worked and what didn’t after a game session, and I love playtesting, those feel productive, or at least like they have the potential to be helpful, even if it’s never acted on. Talking about gaming the rest of the time just doesn’t float my boat.
Also, I don’t hate when my friends discuss games around me, I know you can’t be a gamer (or even just a nerd) without these conversations. I’d just rather have other conversations, about work or school, or family, or anecdotes, or funny things on tv and things you read in an article about somewhere (probably wikipedia).
I also realize that I have a food blog, which puts me into a different category of talking about things people don’t generally understand putting that much thought/effort/conversation/time into. This might make me a hypocrite, and I’m fine with that. But to be fair, I don’t think I talk (in real life) too much about food above the general “Have you tried this restaurant?” or “I’ve got a great recipe for that!”, and the blog is more to keep in touch with Lucy and give myself an extra something to do so I don’t get bored, or spend any more time than I already do watching tv. And a motivation to try all the recipes I hunt down, bookmark, and would never otherwise make.
And if any friends stumbled over here from Facebook and don’t know what I’m talking about: sorry. I’d explain it to you, but I don’t like to talk about gaming.
Originally published at The Riddle of.... Please leave any comments there.