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When I was a kid, way before I found Jesus, I used to be a roleplayer. I used to worship strange dieties and pretend that it didn't matter, because I told myself that it wasn't me, that it was all a big game and that I was just PLAYING with these demonic forces.
I don't know what happened to the rest of my old group - they cover before me now that I've got Jesus Christ at my side - but I remember that as the games progressed, it stopped being about rescuing damsels in distress, and more and more about "realism".
Instead of inventing castles with spike traps and acid pits, they drew maps of actual buildings in town: Churches, banks, government buildings...
Instead of smiting goblins with swords and spells, they began fighting security guards with automatic weapons using military tactics, and there was great debate about where to place the plastic explosives.
As the games progessed, it became more and more clear that they weren't playing cops and robbers anymore - they were just pretending that they were. Anyone who still "roleplayed", became an annoying disturbance, because now it was all about supporting the group in the latest attack. They began to hang out with actual criminals out on parole, and began stealing things even outside the game. I couldn't believe what was happening to my closest friends.
I think that the last game I played with them was Vampire: The Masquerade. I decided to have my character let the police know about the vampires, he was immediately proclaimed dead by a nuclear attack out of nowhere. After being accused of "disrupting the game", I wasn't informed of any other game meetings after that.
I used to think better of my friends than that they could ever be dragged into extremist terrorism, but I guess that teenagers in general overestimate themselves. They think that they can't be brainwashed into something that "isn't even real", and won't be molded according to whatever situation they're placed in, imaginary or not. I kept telling myself that it was all just a game, but the minute that you start to associate your SELF with a scenario, it ceases to be "just a game". Then it's YOU who worships demons and false gods, YOU who plans to burn down the town church, and YOU who supports and inspires your friends to do so.
I don't know what happened to the rest of my old group - they cover before me now that I've got Jesus Christ at my side - but I remember that as the games progressed, it stopped being about rescuing damsels in distress, and more and more about "realism".
Instead of inventing castles with spike traps and acid pits, they drew maps of actual buildings in town: Churches, banks, government buildings...
Instead of smiting goblins with swords and spells, they began fighting security guards with automatic weapons using military tactics, and there was great debate about where to place the plastic explosives.
As the games progessed, it became more and more clear that they weren't playing cops and robbers anymore - they were just pretending that they were. Anyone who still "roleplayed", became an annoying disturbance, because now it was all about supporting the group in the latest attack. They began to hang out with actual criminals out on parole, and began stealing things even outside the game. I couldn't believe what was happening to my closest friends.
I think that the last game I played with them was Vampire: The Masquerade. I decided to have my character let the police know about the vampires, he was immediately proclaimed dead by a nuclear attack out of nowhere. After being accused of "disrupting the game", I wasn't informed of any other game meetings after that.
I used to think better of my friends than that they could ever be dragged into extremist terrorism, but I guess that teenagers in general overestimate themselves. They think that they can't be brainwashed into something that "isn't even real", and won't be molded according to whatever situation they're placed in, imaginary or not. I kept telling myself that it was all just a game, but the minute that you start to associate your SELF with a scenario, it ceases to be "just a game". Then it's YOU who worships demons and false gods, YOU who plans to burn down the town church, and YOU who supports and inspires your friends to do so.
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