by Jess Howe

Created on: December 15, 2009

No, listing my interest in roleplaying games didn't hurt my online dating profile at all; in fact it gained me a wonderful boyfriend who recently became my husband! This is something I've heard again and again, and it reminds me of an adage I've heard in the SCA about dating out in the Mundane world, as SCA people call "normal" folks: that's a harder thing to do, because you need someone who understands you. I got that. Yes I'm a SCAdian as well as an occasional roleplayer, and I'd have to say it's only enhanced our relationship.

My husband and I met through OkCupid, where I had on my profile that I liked to play Zork and occasionally did freestyle roleplaying at Mylanders.com, where you literally create a character and bring him/her/it into the Inn there to see what interactions happen. Personally, I do it because I'm a writer, and I've found RPG to be a good way to try out characters and get inspiration. My husband on the other hand is a composer and does work every so often for games like Lunar Mecha. One of the first things we did together was play through all of Zork till the bitter end, sitting together, arguing about where to go next, how to do this or that - how well or badly this or that riddle was set up.

Birds of a feather flock together, is one reason why having that you're a roleplayer on your online dating site works. For one thing, another person who roleplays but could be very shy about dating might feel more comfortable - like my husband and myself - talking to another person who does it. For a second thing, telling someone on your profile that you roleplay a busty blonde fighter who kicks ass is a turn-on for all sorts of other guys. Dating sites tell you to put something interesting about yourself in your profile, right?

I've become interested in his world because of the fascination he's always had for gaming, and have discovered various other games he's suggested to me to be as useful and more so than Mylanders: Spore helps me sometimes, sometimes it's World of Warcraft which he got me on trial last month as a "finished a book" present. I don't have a problem talking with him about it now any more than I did back when we were dating and he'd tell me about Lunar Mecha and play for me the music he'd written for it.

Another intriguing thing I found when I was still dating, and using OkCupid, was that because there are many other writers and roleplayers out there, even if you don't end up dating this or that person, once they've read your profile which says you are a roleplayer could make you some very good friends.

There are downsides to saying that you like to roleplay, sure; some people might be turned off by that fact. But in the end, don't you want someone to like you for yourself? I wish you all the best, and I'll see you somewhere in Spore, World of Warcraft, or Dungeons and Dragons Online Gaming, all of which I play time to time. And I have no problem admitting that.

http://www.wowwiki.com/Portal:Main

http://www.spore.com/view/myspore

http://www.dndonlinegames.com/cmps_index.php

http://www.mylanders.com/

http://www.xs4all.nl/~pot/infocom/

http://community.livejournal.com/lunar_mecha

http://eastkingdom.org/

http://www.okcupid.com/

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