Pimpcron: Faith in Humanity Restored
Pimpcron gets all gushy about fellow gamers.
Us nerds and gamers get a bad reputation for being smelly, socially awkward, sexist, and smelly. I said smelly twice because some of us are REALLY smelly. But in my travels I have found that is just not the case for the vast majority of the community.
There Are Exceptions
Look, I can’t even pretend to claim that there are absolutely no bad people in this community. Being a jerk is relative, like most things. Jerkiness is sliding scale depending on the group. If you’re in prison and the guy next to you doesn’t help pick up your items you dropped, you wouldn’t call him a jerk. The place is crawling with people who wouldn’t go out of their way to help you. You’d consider yourself lucky not be shanked while collecting your dropped items. If you drop your stuff in front of a family member or friend, you might get a bad taste in your mouth if they don’t even offer to help.
I imagine all inmates look like this.
Even the worst “jerks” in our community have a very low likelihood of stabbing you when you go to pick up your models you dropped. So what we are talking about when we talk about “jerks” in our community is pretty pedestrian violations. Rudeness, social awkwardness, poor hygiene, low self-awareness are things that will get you classified as a jerk in our community, and not unfounded.
My Findings
In my travels with other gamers, I found that an estimated 60% of all gamers are extremely nice. 30% are socially awkward and may come off as different than thy intend. This is usually remedied when you get to know them and find out they are good people. The bottom 10% can be summed up as the following:
- Developmental issues that they can’t help
- Have been bullied to the point of being a jerk
- Are highly insecure
- Are Magic: The Gathering players that you mistaken for wargamers
- Posing as a gamer when they are really a crook
Friends don’t let friends play Magic.
Now is the part of my article when I give you some examples of the kindness, generosity, and friendships I have made along the way. This is not inflated in any way, and is 100% true. Obviously, I can’t sit here and list every nice person I’ve ever met, so don’t be hurt if you’re not in this extremely brief list.
Generosity
The generosity of the random wargamers I have met has been staggering. Since selflessness is a good indicator of kindness, and generosity is a good example of selflessness, here are my examples of generosity.
Andy has become a great friend of mine that I met through Shorehammer. From Patreon to my Brutality game, he has gone out of his way to support my creative endeavors. Any of you who have put effort into making something creative will recognize the value of someone being supportive of you work.
Matous over at gamemat.eu has been so, so generous in his support of Shorehammer, my podcast, and our charity raffle. A super friendly guy, always pleasant and kind. They have been the longest running sponsor of my convention and most of the terrain and all of the mats we have bought are from them. Plus I don’t have to paint it. Haha. I can’t suggest them enough.
Euan Smith was one of the first strangers to ever adopt my game Brutality for play. Long, long before it was anywhere near finished, he slogged through the playtesting phases with me online. He even made battle reports. Just a very friendly, supportive, gem of a person.
Me when I meet nice people.
Mike is a pretty well known TO a state away, and I met him through Shorehammer. His event is a multiple tournament charity event called Berk’s Winter Blast, which my friends and I go to. He promised to bring X-wing mats for the tournament at Shorehammer last year, and he loaded them in his car. Little did he know, his kids took them out before he left for Shorehammer. He drove for a couple hours on his way until he realized he didn’t have the mats he promised. That man did not want to go back on his word, so he TURNED AROUND, drove 2 hours back home and got the mats. Then drove the trip ALL OVER AGAIN so he would not let me down. All in one night. A true hero and a genuine person.
More Generosity
Leroy Jenkins and I have become great friends, as if we have known each other for years. We are surprisingly very similar despite living far away. Even before we were friends, he listened to my podcast and wanted to send me a birthday present because he could tell I was quite worn out. A freaking Stardrake! The single most humbling thing a ”stranger” has done for me, out of the blue. He wanted to thank me for all the six years of articles that I have written for free and the podcast he enjoyed. A truly touching moment.
Oh, she pretty. . .
Geoff over at gamechefs.net in Ohio got in touch with me over stocking the Brutality rulebook. They sell all kinds of RPG, board game, and miniature stuff. He learned about our charity raffle at Shorehammer. Without being prompted at all, he told me he wanted to donate something to the charity raffle! It blew me away, what a nice person! Just compelled to support a kids’ charity raffle.
Matt is a local guy and a true friend of mine. He is my wingman, down to help with anything I ever ask. In the four years prior to releasing Brutality, he was instrumental in play testing, proofreading, and providing feedback. Need help with Shorehammer? Matt is willing! Need help painting terrain? There’s Matt! Need help playtesting your game you may never release commercially and/or finish? Call Matt!
Matt over at saboldesigns.net makes the original Sabol Army transport. He has been one of the kindest supporters our children’s charity raffle at Shorehammer. Every year he sends more and more stuff for us to raffle off in support of a local charity that helps kids in school. When he told me he was sending 3 FULL ARMY TRANSPORTS and FOAM this year for our raffle, I actually said, “Are you sure?”. Haha. I am truly humbled by the generosity and willingness to support a good cause.
Disclaimer
I realize that this may seem like an ad for these companies. This isn’t my intention at all. But honestly, if you need to support some gaming company, you might as well support a bonafide friendly one. So next time you throw accusations around of “gamers are all ________”, think twice. You can’t just paint whole swathes of people with one brush. That’s led to a lot of problems in this world.
What Percentage of Friendly Gamers have You Met?
Hey! This article is brought to you by my top-tier Patreon supporter Mike Cowley!
Thanks Michael, smooches!
We’re on Podbean, Stitcher, iTunes, Spotify, and others!
Pimpcron’s Narrative Wargaming Supplement
Free PDF version, full PDF version, or hardback version!
