"Go Play"

[RPGPundit]

The utter irony of the "Go Play" avatar, being used and promoted for a kind of elite groupthink by a bunch of guys who are anything BUT about just "going and playing".  If there was a "go and invent a theory from out your ass, chat incessantly about it for months using words as big and complex as possible, design a pointless and idiotic microgame about it and then occasionally play it" avatar, that might be more truth in advertising.
This sort of thing is nothing but part of the attempt to continue to present Gaming as a kind of "subculture", including the use of symbols now to identify one's self with the "culture", the elite, seperate from normal people.  Its as absurd as having monopoly players being all pretentious about using little race-car or top-hat avatars.
GAMING IS A HOBBY; NOT A CULTURE.

RPGPundit

(august 21, 2006)

[Koltar]

...yeah and now that dinky ggreen & white symbol has invaded GenCon.

 I saw that as annoying signage all over one floor of the Hyatt and a few other places.
 Its almost become the peer-pressure gamer version of "You must wear a cause ribbon on your tuxedo at an awards show!!...  or you ain't one of us" deal.


- Ed C.

[Temple]

Paranoid much, Pundit?

Some people are already getting it twisted, so here it is:

Play is good. Play is necessary. Play keeps us young. Play keeps us alive. Play leads to new ideas and new ways of looking at the world. Play teaches us about each other and about ourselves. Play makes us human.

This symbol says, "Have play in your life." It does not say "I am ______ and you are not." For that matter, it does not say "I am ______ and so are you if you understand this." No, not even when you fill in the blank with "gamer."

This symbol is not even really an exhortation. It's a yelp of joy. It says, go us. Go team. Go humanity. GO PLAY.

Your talking out of your ass again...

[Drew]

I think it's an excellent idea, the perfect antidote to all the hand-wringing and whining that occurs online. The salesmanship may be cheesy, but the sentiment is sound.

I'm not sold on the symbol, but badges were never really my thing.

[Seanchai]

I think it's an excellent idea, the perfect antidote to all the hand-wringing and whining that occurs online. The salesmanship may be cheesy, but the sentiment is sound.

It is.

Why is telling others necessary?

Seanchai

[RPGPundit]

Paranoid much, Pundit?



Your talking out of your ass again...

The fact that you're posting the "go play" things official pretentious and patronizing propaganda doesn't diminish in any way any of what I wrote.  Who gives a fuck what they say they're doing (except maybe to mock just how absolutely patronizing that post was) when what's really important is what they actually DID with the symbol and the behaviours of the people who wore it.

It was yet another attempt to create a "Gamer Subculture" and largely irrelevant to whether the person wearing it was actually doing any roleplaying or not.

RPGPundit

[RPGPundit]

It is.

Why is telling others necessary?

Seanchai

Don't you know, Seanchai? Its so that you can identify each other, show off the fact that you claim to care very very much, and consider yourself part of a special group!

RPGPundit

[Abyssal Maw]

The delicious irony is that a good solid chunk of these guys don't actually game outside of cons, and specially arranged forgie-only things. The real message of the forgies is to self segregate yourself and not play.

[Drew]

It is.

Why is telling others necessary?

Seanchai

I don't think any part of it is "necessary."

It just seems like a harmless way of people identifying their commitment to actual play. What really boggles the mind is other people feeling threatened by this.

[Koltar]

I don't think any part of it is "necessary."

It just seems like a harmless way of people identifying their commitment to actual play. What really boggles the mind is other people feel threatened by this.

Said by many different groups over the past 15 years:

...or showing their commitment to__________ What really boggles the mind is other people feel threatened by this.

Fill in that blank space up there with : AIDS Awareness, Breast cancer, the homeless, bring the troops home, support of the troops /or war, support the environmemnt, Gun owner's rights, hug a pagan, ....etc...etc...


I don't care what is originally supposed to mean - what it has become is the gamert version of Wear this/use this symbol to prove you have "proper think" going on in your head.

 Want to prove your commitment to actual play ?

 Then just PLAY a game.
...and encourage others to play without using the silly symbol.


- Ed C.

[James J Skach]

I don't think any part of it is "necessary."

It just seems like a harmless way of people identifying their commitment to actual play. What really boggles the mind is other people feeling threatened by this.

I don't know.  I always thought it was a little tiny bit of a good idea mixed up in a lot of silliness.  Threatened?  I never felt threatened.

I mean, at least they weren't calling D&D badwrongfun. The worst that could be said, if you chose to interpret it as such, is the implication that people aren't or weren't playing - which was so ludicrous on its face as to not be of consideration for me.

BTW - I just noticed how my second sentence describes just about all of GNS and TBM for me. :haw:

[Drew]

Said by many different groups over the past 15 years:


Fill in that blank space up there with : AIDS Awareness, Breast cancer, the homeless, bring the troops home, support of the troops /or war, support the environmemnt, Gun owner's rights, hug a pagan, ....etc...etc...


I don't care what is originally supposed to mean - what it has become is the gamert version of Wear this/use this symbol to prove you have "proper think" going on in your head.

 Want to prove your commitment to actual play ?

 Then just PLAY a game.
...and encourage others to play without using the silly symbol.

Some people feel the need to proclaim their intent, to feel the familiarity of recognition with others who do the same. It's not something I participate in myself, but nor do I see anything wrong with it. What I do find puzzling is that others want to rag on them for doing so.

Actually, I don't find it puzzling at all. I've got some pretty good ideas why people enjoy attributing motives to self-identified interest groups.

And yes, affirmitive activity is worth 100 times it's weight in sloganeering, but all we're really seeing here is people professing a joy for gaming in terms of actual play. For Christ's sake, it's not battling world poverty or anything. Let them have their fun.

[Drew]

I don't know.  I always thought it was a little tiny bit of a good idea mixed up in a lot of silliness.  Threatened?  I never felt threatened.

I mean, at least they weren't calling D&D badwrongfun. The worst that could be said, if you chose to interpret it as such, is the implication that people aren't or weren't playing - which was so ludicrous on its face as to not be of consideration for me.

I think it grew out of the realisation that many gamers were spending more time talking online about gaming than actually going out and doing it. And I can esily understand the phenomenon-- banging on for hours about why game X doesn't work or how game Y will spell certain doom for the hobby scratches a lot of peoples itches. Gaming is primarily a social hobby, and the internet facilitates a type socialisation that can dilute the desire for face-to-face contact around the table.

And I agree that there's a lot of silliness wrapped around the actual play "movement." That doesn't mean it's an inherently flawed concept or anything.

[chuckles]

Don't you know, Seanchai? Its so that you can identify each other, show off the fact that you claim to care very very much, and consider yourself part of a special group!

RPGPundit

Isn't this exactly what you do Pundy?  Identify the badwrongfun players, rant about saving the hobby, and talk about most of the people on this board as a enlightened group.  You don't have a symbol but you do have some of your own special key words.  

I really dont understand the difference, besides you think that 'go play' is 'bad for the hobby' which is a value statement, so  is useless to differentiate the two.

[joewolz]

I like the "Go Play" thing.  I like the symbol and I like the sentiment.  I find it refreshing.

We are special, Pundit.  We're gamers.