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A chat with Ethan Gilsdorf

Fiction editor Julie McGuire interviews the author of Fantasy Freaks And Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest For Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, And Other Dwellers Of Imaginary Realms.

Visit Ethan at http://www.fantasyfreaksbook.com

1. Do you currently have a significant other? Is she a geek? How does she feel about your interest in gaming/fantasy role play?

Hey, no fair! Just kidding. At the moment, I’m single. But whether a reformed Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) addict and a latent Tolkien freak like me can find a mate is certainly one of the big questions that drive the narrative of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks. As a 40-something who still recites lines from Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Lord of the Rings, I wondered and still wonder if I will find someone who will tolerate my geeky interests. The quest for a “lady geek” is a running joke in the book. Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks also charts a personal journey to accept these nerdy interests for myself, too—to embrace my inner geek. But the happy ending of my romantic fairy tale (not that I believe in fairy tale endings) has yet to be told.

2. Some people criticize D&D as having a dark side. Does this concern you? Do you feel it is a fair criticism?

I played D&D in the 1980s when the game was a cult phenomenon but not widely known or understood. An unknown young actor named Tom Hanks starred in a cautionary TV movie about the horrors of D&D: Mazes and Monsters, based on a novel by Rona Jaffe who used some well-publicized cases of kids taking D&D too far. The movie was pretty silly, but it did make people wonder and worry. Conservative Christian groups also accused the game of being a front for devil worship, and thought that “in game” magic spells (which D&D players never actually incanted) might open a portal to the ninth circle of hell. Rubbish, of course. Ironically, Gary Gygax, the co-founder of D&D, was Christian and it pained him to see his game being blamed for adolescent angst and the occasional mental breakdown or suicide. But like with a lot of new and scary pop culture fads—comic books, the Beatles, Facebook—ignorance breeds fear. Now with online role-playing games like World of Warcraft, a couple of well publicized and sensationalist stories of people playing for days and expiring at their computers has driven new fears of addiction and death. Gaming is like anything: it probably appeals to some addictive personalities, but so do drugs, gambling, TV, shopping, eating, and collecting Beanie Babies. If doing any activity to the exclusion of normal social activity and relationships, then it’s time to stop.

3. How has D&D evolved? Has it added things?

D&D has become more and more complex over the years since I played—or my mind has become softer! The combat system and rules are more detailed and the characters’ abilities and talents offer many more options and customization. In my view, the game now seems less about role-playing and more about killing the monsters. Not that when I played me and my buddies were Shakespearean-level actors, but I worry the game has changed to focus on statistics, not storytelling. I recall D&D being as much about finding a new personality for myself as it was about being powerful and omnipotent. I was just discussing this issue with a guy I met at TheOneRing.net booth (a Tolkien/Lord of the Rings fan site) at Dragon*Con, a huge fantasy convention held each Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, where I spent four days selling my book. We were both lamenting how the game—so-called “4th Edition”—had changed and that it focused on killing stuff not role-playing. That said, I can see why an old-fashioned game like D&D needed an upgrade. It’s hard to compete against all the digital eye candy of an MMORPG—a massive multiplayer online role-playing game—like World of Warcraft. Unsurprisingly, D&D also launched an MMORPG version about four years ago. I also wonder and worry if computer games might be leading a whole new generation of gamers away from using their imaginations and storytelling in a more literary, narrative, original way. Maybe I’m just getting older and nostalgic—everything in one’s youth was better, right?

4. What do you make of the Pokemon craze?

Pokemon—the card game, the video games, the cartoons—is mainly for kids, but I think its popularity is related to other manifestations of fantasy and gaming I discuss in my book. As we’ve become further removed from our agrarian pasts of being ruled by the sun and moon and elements, and as we’ve become more intellectually sophisticated, we’ve lost our ability to think magically, to believe in fairies and monsters. Only religion provides this link to our past anymore. In Japanese, Pokemon means “pocket monsters,” and there’s an interesting parallel to western culture, where possibly real and certainly fictional wizards (witches, shamen, Gandalf, and Harry Potter) had “familiars”: demons or magical beings that would obey commands of warlocks and witches and assume the form of animals.

We all want to connect to magical nature and have special powers, to cast spells or control the actions of others. Hence the general popularity of fantasy and super hero movies like Lord of the Rings and Spider-Man, et al. I think this also explains why folks are into paganism, Celticism, Burning Man, and so on. In a complex world where our fates would seem beyond our control, who wouldn’t want to return to a simpler time, or wield a wand or magic sword, shoot fireballs and be the hero? Fantasy seems the answer to our present problems.

4b. What currently rivals D&D among “geeks.” What’s hot now?

While online and home console gaming is hot (take World of Warcraft, with 13 million subscribers and growing), I would say that beyond that, the “hottest” thing is the general acceptance of fantasy and science fiction (and horror, and other genre works). Conventions like Dragon*Con and Comic-con, and movies, TV shows and books like Harry Potter, Twilight, District 9, Battlestar Galactica are all huge, attracting mainstream audiences like never before. Fantasy and SF used to be for geeks only. Blockbusters like Star Wars changed all that. Hollywood really got us trained to accept these genre movies as mainstream fare. And Hollywood has learned these IPs are huge money-makers.

5. Do geeks have words for those that they perceive as non-geeks? For example, is there an opposing word for geeks?

“The enemy”? “The ill-informed”? Seriously, nothing that I am aware of is used widespread, although the Society for Creative Ananchronism (SCA), a medieval re-enactment group that I hung out with for a week as part of my research, uses the word “mundane” to describe anyone who is a non-participant. And a “mundane” name is the name SCA members use in the real world. I’m told goths and “furries” (people who dress as animal characters—think giant Bugs Bunny costumes) call non-members “mundanes” or “norms.” By the way, the SCA annual gathering, Pennsic War, in western Pennsylvania, is an incredible experience. Imagine camping with 12,000 others in medieval period costume and 3-4,000 people dressed in armor fighting on a battlefield. It’s in my book and it’s astounding and beautiful, like a medieval town that appears for two weeks each year and then disappears into the ether.

6. Are most people geeks at heart?

I don’t think most people think of themselves as geeks, or use that name, but I think we all exhibit geeky tendencies. And we all have passions and hobbies that others don’t understand or think is odd. Of course now it’s somewhat fashionable to admit you are a geek, though the definition now has stretched to include “film geek,” “wine geek,” “30s jazz music geek,” whatever. I’m running a contest during the month of September called “The Great Geek Giveaway”—I’m asking folks to share their geekiest moment and if their short essay, photo or video is chosen, they get cool prizes. More info here: http://www.fantasyfreaksbook.com/greatgeekgiveaway/

7. How often, and what, do you play now?

While researching my book, I played a lot of games like D&D, tabletop fantasy, war games, and World of Warcraft, but now my game playing is pretty limited. I will play an occasional video game if I see one in a bar or arcade. I’m more of a Tolkien and fantasy geek and movie/media consumer than a gamer. That said, I still dream of getting into a regular D&D game, but I know that takes time and commitment. I was at Gen Con (the country’s largest gaming convention) in August and saw a panel discussion called “All grown up and still gaming.” The point was that just because you’re 40 and have a wife or husband and kids doesn’t mean you can’t have a gaming night with the boys (or girls) but it does mean that you need to plan better. When you’re a teen, you have tons of time to game but no money to buy game gear; now we have disposable income but not enough time to game one or two nights a week like I did from age 12 to 17.

8. You compare fantasy players and real world people. Do you have any specific examples of prominent people who game and/or role play?

Sure. Vin Diesel is known as a D&D player. So is Felicia Day, who starred in Dr Horrible and has a web TV show called The Guild. She plays various online games. Other folks who used to play D&D include Stephen Colbert, Mike Myers, and Robin Williams.

9. Is gaming/role play still largely dominated by men? Do girls play? How about women?

Tabletop role-playing games (like D&D—played face to face, with dice, maps, etc.) and war games (miniatures and maps) tend to be dominated by men. Some women play D&D but I’d say the ratio is about 70/30. More women tend to be into the live-action role-playing (LARPing) and “cosplay” (short for “costume roleplay”), costume-based fandom or other dress-up. Interestingly, a recent study found that in online gaming, while male gamers outnumber females 60/40, the most dedicated and hard-core players of MMOs are women.

10. Is D&D still as popular as it was when you were in high school?

I don’t know the raw numbers but I think it’s definitely more popular than when I played back in the Reagan Administration. But the fantasy gaming hobby overall has exploded since then, which is one of the reasons I wrote my book. Now, kids and adults have old-school D&D-type games to choose from, online games, XBox and PlayStation home-console games, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings fandom activities, and many, many more game conventions (lots are locally-run) to attend. The Internet has done a wonderful job connecting kindred spirits who in the past had no idea of each other’s existence. This makes gamers feel much less alone. And of course you can play over the Internet now with friends and strangers all over the world.

11. What was the impetus for writing the book?

Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks is part travel book, part pop culture analysis, but it also represents a personal quest. As I said, I was a fanatical D&D player. I stumbled onto the game when I had to face my mother’s tragic illness. But I left behind the game when I went off to college. Years and years passed. Around when I turned 40, I discovered my old D&D books in my parents’ basement. I was inspired to journey through my past and also through the present and future—to see how fantasy and gaming had changed. I knew the topic was timely. Fantasy and fandom is a much more acceptable activity now, compared to when I was a kid. Parents and teachers wonder how safe it is for kids to immerse themselves in these fantasy worlds. People worry about addiction and abuse. But as I said to two parents and their young son who came to one of my book events, “It’s OK to let your kid become a geek. Look at me: I’m perfectly normal.”

I will also say that this year being my 25th high school reunion, the 35th anniversary of D&D, and the fact that both founders of D&D died in the past year and a half, really gave me pause to reevaluate this groundbreaking game. I met a lot of other folks out there who shared my story. They used to game, they put their games away, and grew up. When Gygax died they longed to play again. To have fun again. To go on adventures again.

12. What was your writing process?

Hard. Perplexing. But rewarding. I wrote under a pretty tight deadline and had to make difficult decisions about what aspects of this fairly huge subject matter to cover. A few of the chapters are based on articles I wrote for The Boston Globe and The New York Times. Those were reworked and expanded. Most chapters were brand new. I traveled to several U.S. locations, to France, to England, to New Zealand. I interviewed dozens of people. Then I rushed home to crank out a chapter or two before hitting the road again. It was a bit hectic. But necessary. I don’t write very diligently unless I have a deadline.

13. What books inspired you?

Steve Almond’s hilarious Candyfreak was similar to the kind of book I wanted to write. That helped me see how to structure a personal quest mixed with a travel/cultural exploration. Same with Jake Halpern’s Fame Junkies. A.J. Jacobs. But my old D&D books—my tattered Monster Manual and Dungeon Masters Guide, still wrapped in brown paper bags from my teenage years—inspired me the most.

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Julie McGuire, fiction editor of The Internet Review of Books, is a paralegal. Her personal essays and poems have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor and several small periodicals. She and her family live in Virginia.

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