In my video today I tried to talk about the message that some games can convey, but I felt like I just fumbled around the idea. ~ But this blog post isn’t about that.

Sometimes modern technology can get in the way of having a human and personal RPG experience, and sometimes it can be very helpful. One of the ways in which this new sorcery has improved my experience is messaging.

We’ve always talked about “the game” in between sessions. we’ve always been able to talk about the hobby. What are we going to play next? What do you think about this system? What should we do now? Left? Right? Run like hell? However, we had to get together to do it, or at least wait until we were near a phone, (believe it or not, these used to be stationary) and the other person needed to be near theirs and actually answer. (How did the human race survive?)

With real time text messaging and things like Facebook messenger, the other members of our group or circle are more or less always available, a least available enough to leave a message the moment that an idea or question pops into our heads. As I write this I am involved in discussions about what our next move should be in a game, thoughts on happenings in the hobby, lining up plans to play some games & examine others, and even talking as friends about how we are faring in this thing called life.

Far from being a nuisance, it has been my experience that instant messaging in all of its forms has been an integral part of remaining connected to the hobby, and to each other.