It’s people.

Though… and here is where I prove that I am swine and bad and all the things that my enemies say about me…

I do think there is a thing where gamers, as a population and a generalization and #notallgamers , have a tendency to want to get things fixed down and arbitrary/systematized that might be slightly higher than the general populations.

Like, when I used to teach mythology, I could usually tell gamers (table top or computer) pretty quickly because they needed myths to have a certain level of “fixedness.” Like, they really, really needed to know that God X, was the God of Y and Z.

And while all the students needed that a bit (it’s a weird thing about the way we study mythology, I blame the Victorians), gamers really wanted it. Like they’d ask me “What is Nuada the god of” and I’d say “Well, these clusterings of tribes had him as a patron…” and then all the students would be like “No, I mean is he the god of like thunder and swords?” and I’d sigh.

And then the gamers would say “Is his charisma higher than Lugh’s?” And I’d throw an eraser at them.

There’s a similar thing in larp that I find, if more subtle, and in table top. Folks want there to be a “THE ANSWER” instead of a cluster of tools and ideas that you develop your own answers from. Like, folks want to be able to have a magical technique that will make all debriefs always work every time, and get frustrated when you tell them there is no such thing.

Anyway. I’m swine. Carry on with your day.