[D&D 40th Anniversary Bloghop] Day Twenty-seven

Day Twenty-seven: If you had to do it all over again, would you do anything different when you first started gaming?

This is a tough question, because I'm not sure that I'm in a "bad place" gaming-wise.

I suppose it would have been nice to have had a wider gaming circle, or to have had more exposure to different games and gaming styles. But Utah in the 1980s was not (or didn't seem to be) a gaming mecca. If I had searched harder, perhaps I would have found a wider group of gaming friends. But then, I may not have ever met the friends or group I have now. The guys I play with now are a pretty good influence on me in all respects of my life, including my emotional, spiritual, and professional life.

I'm sure, if you've read my blog for very long, you probably think I would like to do away with the decade-plus long drought from gaming. I disagree. I'm not sure I could have attained the college and post-graduate degrees I have had I been gaming at the same time. That is not a statement about gaming or the gaming culture. That is a statement about me. I know just how obsessive I could become with video games or other distractions. Heaven knows that my grades and education suffered enough from Civilization, Sim City, WarCraft, Doom, and Diablo. I can't imagine what it would have done if I'd thrown in D&D and any of the attendant parts of the hobby.

I'm guessing if I'd done anything differently, I'd be a very different person today, and probably not in a good way. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied.