Hi all,
I’m Gartenzing, from Gaming All Areas. Now, I’ve got 3 options to talk about today, given
the rules of the competition. I can talk about a recent hobby project- well everything I’ve
been working on recently can be found at All Areas, so that would be a bit of a cop out. Or
I can do a book review, but the only books I’ve been buried in recently are Terry Pratchett’s
Discworld, Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time and Churchill’s Diaries, none of which I feel are
particularly appropriate for HoP (anyone that wants to discuss these, feel free to leave a
comment over on All Areas.) This leaves me with the far broader topic of Gamer Culture!
Ye (deities of choice) that’s a broad topic for such a broad and heterogeneous group as
ours. Especially since, to my mind, gamer culture isn’t restricted to the GW/PP community,
it’s board games, RPG's, historical games, different scales, and different influences. The
whole shebang*. So what makes us unique? What makes us ‘tick’?
Well, for a start there’s the fact that we universally enjoy playing games with plastic dolls.
That’s... well, it’s a little odd, let’s not try to hide that fact. Although I also think that we are
fans of a specific art form (that of miniature sculpting) - we’re certainly all art-critics when it
comes to new releases. I also genuinely believe that the sculptors and painters at the top of
their game are true artists. Maybe not in the same league as da Vinci, Botticelli, Picasso et
al- but they’re certainly worthy of the title of artist when kit-bashing bovines also puts you in
that league*. Consider this; art is intended to produce an emotional response (whether that’s
love, hate, or anything in between). Now read a review of a miniature online, it’s almost
universally an emotive response.
We don’t just play these games with card markers- many board games now use miniatures
for their gaming pieces (and on that note, who else is looking forward to getting their hands
on Sedition Wars?) Then again, Monotony has done that for years - but I think that there’s a
difference between family board games and war gaming. It’s the visual aspect that appeals
to all of us in gaming- and that is a major part of the community. Why else would we spend
all this money, day in day out, on pieces of plastic? We may not be able to describe it (I’m
certainly struggling!) but we all understand the difference between a 2D card cut-out of a
Dreadnought and a model of a Dreadnought. We all know which we prefer.
Due to that we’re invested - time, effort, money, skill - all of it goes into just getting a game
ready. We’re certainly passionate about what we’re doing- that’s why, I suspect, so many
of us have Blogs now. That comes across quite clearly on the internet comment boards
(although “....Abusus non tollit usum...”** - JRR Tolkien) and it’s also shown through the
design of the games we play. It’s clear that the designers and creators of the games we
love are as invested as the rest of us, if not more so. Then again, the same is true of people
in many hobbies- Sports fans spend money and time supporting their team, and they’re
certainly passionate. The same can be said of computer or console gamers... and guess
what, more than a few war gamers are also sports fans and online-gamers. Those aspects
of our overall community aren’t exclusive.
Surely, though, it goes deeper than an appreciation of an art form? That doesn’t seem like
something that would bring together this disparate a group of people into one community?
OK, so what about the social aspect? Damn! Sports and online games are also social
activities. Wait, there is one difference, at least from my personal experience. War gaming
is a one-to-one (or few-to-few) hobby. I can’t think of a game, off the top of my head, where
I didn’t introduce myself as necessary and shake my opponent’s hand at the start of the
game. I also can’t think of the last time I did those things at a rugby game. Sure, I’ll sing
along with the crowd (Wales fan; it goes with the territory) but I’m not going to shake the
hands of 20,000 people whilst doing so- and I’d probably feel weird if someone else did it to
me.
This is where the little ties that bind start to become apparent. I’ve had the opportunity over
the last far too many years to travel quite a bit- and I usually take an army with me when
I go somewhere, on the off-chance that I can get a game. As a result, I’ve played games
against people where we can’t understand each other, but we have a common template of
reference (the rules) and also a common cultural bond***. Things like defining terrain at the
start of a game, checking Line of Sight when it’s needed, shaking hands; all of these are little
institutions for us. Some of them have been truly great games as well
It’s also worth mentioning the fact that this is pretty special; no matter where you go in
the war gaming community, you are a part of it and you can participate in it. I’ve met civil
servants, politicians, managers, directors, salesman, middle class, working class, young and
old- around the table, it doesn’t matter. We’re all there to enjoy ourselves, we all understand
that- and whether or not you get the game you wanted; here's hoping that you enjoyed it. I
know this isn’t always the case and I’m not saying that there aren’t any douche bags in the
community; of course there are. They also don’t tend to stick around for very long. I suspect
that is more to do with the fact that some of these people actively fight against the culture
we’ve developed. They either both stop fighting it and become a part of it or they leave. The
same tends to be true of cheats (which given that we are playing with plastic dolls always
strikes me as an exercise in futility anyway).
Well, this has turned into a bit of a gushy post. That was probably inevitable since I’ve been
a part of the war gaming community for the last 25 years. I’ve tried my hand at various
hobbies, but this is the one I keep coming back to. In honesty that’s got less to do with
the games and the models than it does the community and the culture that has developed
around it. By and large, our attitudes and behaviours are positive and I think that has quite
a lot to do with the fact that we interact socially, for 2 hours at a time, face-to-face. I’ve
certainly witnessed over the years more positive influences on people than negative ones.
Interestingly, I’ve also seen the hobby grow as this “culture of war gaming” has developed.
Most parents, once exposed to it, seem pretty happy for their children to get involved
(providing their wallets can bear the strain). Even though tempers can get heated, I don’t
very often hear about fights and when I do, I hear about them because they are so rare. You
all know the skill-sets that can be developed through the hobby, there’s no need for me to go
into that, but I will offer up this thought for consideration; how unusual is it that we take part
in an overtly competitive hobby, with a militaristic background surrounded by violence, and
yet we still have fun doing it? How much weirder is it that we tend to be polite while doing
it (bearing in mind that politeness differs between groups, for example swearing between
friends is acceptable but most of us won’t do it in a Store or Club around children.)
I’ll wrap up now (I heard that sigh of relief!) For me, the culture that surrounds our hobby
is broader than the traditional WAAC vs. FAAC**** arguments, complaints about Rules
Lawyers and Fluff Nazi’s, cries for realism and balance; these are the discussions that
take place within it. It’s the conventions we apply and the fact that we have developed
a community of people who aren’t like minded and yet can spend time each week doing
something they enjoy. That we can get out more than we put in, and we put in a hell of a lot
just by taking part. Like I said, it’s the biggest reason I’ve been involved in this hobby for so
long. Of course, whether you agree or not, or even if you’ve just found this post in any way
interesting, will be made clear in the comments.
On a side note, since some things are universal, I’ll leave you with this completely unrelated
gem I found which had me in stitches for a good few minutes Enjoy.
http://youtu.be/JcniyQYFU6M- please embed this in the post.
*This a Damien Hurst reference, for those that weren’t sure.
** “Abuse does not take away use”
*** For reference, here’s another post from Sirhelnor at Hogs of War on the topic of gaming
abroad:
http://www.thehogsofwar.com/2012/05/reflections-on-wargaming-abroad.html
And here’s an external perspective from a member of the board gaming community:
http://www.nohighscores.com/2012/03/09/an-introduction-to-wargames/
**** WAAC- Win At All Costs. FAAC- Fluff At All Costs
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