Questions & Answers About Role-Playing Games

   Distributed with permission from GAMA - The Game Manufacturers
   Association
   
   Written by Loren K. Wiseman and Michael A. Stackpole
   Copyright (c) 1991, Game Manufacturers Association, all rights
   reserved.
   
   GAMA is a trademark of Game Manufacturers Association.
   
   WHY ARE THE GAMES SO POPULAR?
   
   They are popular because they are a great deal of fun. Ordinary people
   from all walks of life can use role-playing games to work off their
   everyday frustrations by vicariously becoming something they want to
   be. A player in a role-playing game can slay dragons, pilot a starship
   through space, save civilization, explore the unknown, or a thousand
   other things, from the safety of a comfortable chair.
   
   WHY ARE THEY CRITICIZED?
   
   The games get criticized for one basic reason: they are unfamiliar to
   the majority of parents and grandparents who suddenly find a game
   enthusiast in their family. Because these games have only been around
   since 1974, very few people who were out of high school or college at
   that time have played them. As a result, many adults have no
   understanding of this hobby that takes up a great deal of their
   child's time. All that is really necessary to combat the worry many
   parents feel is for them to sit down and share a gaming experience
   with their children.
   
   WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ROLE-PLAYING GAMES?
   
     Role-playing games encourage reading skills. Even the most simple of
   the rule books require an 8th grade reading level to understand them
   and many require much more than that. In addition, many players go off
   and research the era in which a game is set, which develops library
   and research skills.
   
     Role-playing games encourage math skills. Rolling dice, totaling
   them, adding and modifying factors, subtracting them, multiplying and
   dividing them by something else are common occurrences in these games.
   
     Most importantly, role-playing games are a social activity. Having a
   group of friends to rely upon during the tough years of adolescence is
   invaluable, and role-playing games build friendships that can last a
   lifetime.
   
   ARE THERE ANY DRAWBACKS?
   
   As with any other activity, it is possible for a player to become
   obsessed with games. It is important for a parent to keep track of
   this sort of overindulgence and, if schoolwork begins to suffer or
   other undesirable behaviors arise, speak with the child. As
   role-playing games are build on communication, speaking with a player
   and learning about the game can relieve a lot of parental anxiety.
   
   WHAT ABOUT LINKS TO THE OCCULT?
   
   Several games with fantasy settings do contain elements of magic.
   However, even supposing real magic exists and works, it would be
   easier to pilot a fighter jet after watching Top Gun than it would be
   to work magic from the rules in a game. Magic spells are used in the
   game by wizards in the same way a mechanic uses a wrench: it is a
   tool.
   
   Some people object to the presence of magic in games on religious
   grounds. These people should know of the large number of games with
   non-magical (science fiction, wild west, espionage, etc.) backgrounds.
   These games do not include magic, but still have all the fun and
   excitement of role playing games.
   
   A few critics of games have tried to make the case that playing a game
   will turn an intelligent, well-adjusted child into a blood-thirsty
   cultist in a matter of days or weeks. Despite having tried diligently
   to find a single instance of this happening since 1974, they have yet
   to come up with any supporting evidence to support their theory. In
   fact, millions of people world-wide have enjoyed the hobby of
   role-playing for years without any harmful or mystical or occultic
   results.
   
   CAN THESE GAMES HURT MY CHILD?
   
   Various groups, both religious and secular, are very vocal in their
   criticism of role-playing games. Many well-meaning people, law
   enforcement professionals and clergy among them, take these game
   critics at face value without checking on their claims. Basic research
   has shown these claims to be false.
   
   One of the more persistent claims is that role-playing games has
   caused teens to commit suicide. The Center for Disease Control
   conducted an extensive study of teen suicide and found no evidence to
   link role-playing games with suicide. Investigations by the
   Association of Gifted and Creative Children (Dublin, CA), the Albert
   Einstein College of Medicine (the Bronx, NY), and the American
   Association of Suicidology (Denver, CO) have likewise found no
   evidence that games encourage suicide.
   
   Moreover, researchers point out that the most heavily weighted factor
   in determining a child's suicide potential is whether or not he is a
   loner. Participation in a group activity of any sort sharply reduces
   that potential. It also provides a circle of friends who can pick up
   on any unusual behavior and encourage their friend to get help when
   there is a crisis.
   
   SHOULD I LIMIT MY CHILD'S ROLE-PLAYING?
   
   Parents should take an interest in any activity that their children
   enjoy and spend a great deal of time pursuing. As noted above, if
   games interfere with school or job or family activities, taking steps
   to bring this hobby into its proper perspective is an excellent idea.
   Discussing the game with your child, or having a trained professional
   discuss it with him is a good place to start.
   
   The only simple and direct way to determine whether or not the game is
   right for your child is to take a look at it. If you decide, for
   whatever reason, a particular game is not the sort of thing your want
   your child playing, work with him or her to find a new game that you
   find appropriate. Make a list of the things you consider objectionable
   and talk them over with your child. Set clearly defined limits on
   their gaming and explain why you are doing so.
   
   WHAT ARE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES?
   
   Role-playing games are childhood games of "Let's Pretend" or "Cops and
   Robbers" all grown up and governed with rules. They are very much akin
   to improvisational theatre or "communal storytelling." They are
   generally a group activity in which one person - usually called the
   Gamemaster - serves the same function as a play director. He provides
   the background for the game, has devised a plot for the players to
   unravel and plays the role of any secondary characters the players
   encounter during their game.
   
   Role-playing games are set against different backgrounds, some real,
   some fictitious, in the same way that movies and novels use real
   fictitious settings. The number of backgrounds is vast. There are even
   games where players can pretend to be animated cartoon characters!
   
   The Gamemaster employs a set of rules that determines all sorts of
   things, from how far a player's character can leap to how much of an
   overheard conversation in Croatian a character can actually
   understand. Dice are used to inject an element of realistic
   uncertainty, so the players cannot be completely sure that they will
   succeed in any given task.
   
   DON'T MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS USE ROLE-PLAYING?
   
   Mental Health professionals do employ role-playing techniques in some
   therapy. In the hands of a trained professional, who directs the
   role-playing towards tightly determined therapeutic goals,
   role-playing can help change attitudes and modify undesirable
   behavior. Therapeutic role-playing is a highly controlled situation in
   which the therapist does not allow for the randomness dice might
   inject for the same reason a medical doctor does not roll dice in
   determining how much of an antibiotic to prescribe. Role-playing
   games, on the other hand, are directed toward the goal of having fun.
   
   WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE?
   
   If you have concerns about a particular game, or you simply want
   information about role-playing games in general, we suggest you
   contact your local gaming retailer. They will be happy to show you
   games, answer your questions, and may even be able to arrange for you
   to watch or participate in a game being played.
   
   WHO IS GAMA?
   
   This pamphlet [i.e. this document] was written and distributed by
   GAMA, the Game Manufacturers Association. GAMA is the trade
   organization for the adventure gaming industry. It includes
   manufacturers of miniature figures, historical war games, role-playing
   games and computer games; as well as distributors and retailers of
   those games. It promotes excellence within the industry and fun within
   the hobby of adventure gaming.
   

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