Cultureshock

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Video transcript

 When I was six, a neighbour came to invite my brother over to play something new - a tabletop roleplaying game, Dungeons and Dragons. When I asked if i could come too, my brother retorted "no, you're too young!" Of course, from that moment i was determined to join in, and prove i was nothing of the sort. Although initially I had to work out all the sums by hand, my imagination was fired up and i kept on playing. But that was just the start. Fast forward twelve years to Newcastle University freshers fair, where i was stopped in my tracks by the sight of a tall man with long purple hair and a huge drinking horn full of beer, behind a table strewn with armour and mysterious objects. I exchanged a glance with the girl standing next to me, and almost as one we wondered - "Whatever is he doing....?" That Saturday night, while most of my student cohort hit the pubs and clubs of Newcastle, I found myself in Jesmond Dene, wearing a borrowed tabard and brandishing a foam and latex sword at a parade of goblins and zombies. I was hooked. The hobby has been described as "crosscountry pantomime", but there are many different sides to live roleplay, limited only by the collective imagination of the participants. People do it for all sorts of reasons - for me, the key is what I call emotional bungee jumping - exploring different characters, whether world weary, scatterbrained, pious or devious, and experiencing a version of high intensity situations and emotions, all from a position of safety. Live roleplaying can take over your life. It's certainly taken over my house, especially now that I also make props for sale to other players. My mother said it would never last, but sixteen years on, here I still am, keen as ever to play my part in creating and exploring other worlds.