Writer Ethan Gilsdorf recently interviewed Rita J. King and me for an article he was working on for The Christian Science Monitor about virtual worlds and intercultural dialogue. In the course of the interview I discovered that Ethan had a new book on the culture of gamers and role-players called "Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks" that just came out in paperback and I got a copy.
Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, as described on the author's website, is a book to help people (friends and family members, for example) to understand the culture and mindset of fantasy role players and gamers.
I am a lifelong gamer, who started playing Dungeons and Dragons in my family's basement at the age of 10. So I know a thing or two about costumes and roleplaying board and computer games.
If you are looking for information about how these people live their lives and what makes them tick you will find it.
But, if you're a gamer like me, you might find something else: A story about one person's journey to understand himself, his identity, family and love.
Gilsdorf, who found solace at the age of 12 in Dungeons and Dragons while his mother descended into dementia and madness, takes the reader on his own personal quest to understand his mother's illness and what he found meaningful to cope with it and, more importantly, what it taught him about himself and about love.
For those who don't know, one of the linchpin actions of gameplay, especially fantasy gameplay (be it World of Warcraft on a PC or Dungeons and Dragons on a tabletop), is quests. Players and roleplayers are sent on an infinite number of quests toward greater knowledge and experience.
Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks is one man's personal quest to understand this subculture of our culture, people who love creating fantasy worlds. Along the way, the author learns about himself. He takes us through a painful breakup with a girlfriend and translates it through the filter of people who love games. We learn about the culture of gamers. But we also learn a bit about what it means to be human.
For that alone, it's worth the read.
"Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks," by Ethan Gilsdorf
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