"The Gamers" film as example of actual play

[Michael S. Miller]

in terms of "fun" outside the concept that perverts must somehow enjoy their perversions.

In other words, do the people in The Gamers have fun in a way that non-gamers would be inspired and interested in having fun that way too?

While the type of fun displayed in the film is similar to the type of fun that certain non-gamers have, I doubt it would be inspiring or enticing to nonGamers, precisely because it does appear so similar. Let me explain. Have you ever watched die-hard sports fans watching sports? Particularly when they're rooting for opposite sides? There's all the singing and dancing and cheering that was portrayed in the film, along with the "in your face"-type comments that the players directed at the GM. I have trouble imagining someone who likes that kind of rowdy, boisterous fun deciding that gaming might be a better way to get rather than getting his favorite team's entire season via satellite. After all, there's less math in watching football. And, after seeing a film like The Gamers (or reading KoDT, for that matter) who would want to be a GM?

I'm reminded of a piece in Entertainment Weekly several months back. A humor columnist evidently convinced Elijah Wood (of LotR fame) to join him for a D&D game. He contacted WotC and they sent Jonathan Tweet to run the game. There were some digs against the "gamer image." I recall the columnist exagerrating his surprise that Tweet was married, for instance. However, one of the things that struck me, is that the article never explains what D&D is, or the kinds of thing that goes into a game. In a column in a major national publication, it was assumed that most of the audience would know these things without being told. I think the existence of a "gamer image" of any kind is a step in the right direction.

Back the The Gamers, I'm still trying to interpret the ending. What follows is SPOILERS, if you care.

In the end, the fictional characters burst into the room where the players are playing and slaughter them. My first thought: My God, it's Over the Edge! But, is the film commenting on the destruction that immersion in the fantasy has on the real lives of these guys? I mean, the characters see the only woman in the film as a princess, while the players can't even be civil to her. On a symbolic level, I'd say that the ending is a more negative portrayal of gaming than the entire preceeding film.