Why is Fantasy so Big in Gaming?

Fantasy is a mainstay for role-playing games (RPGs), in fact, it is for all types of games. Why is the fantasy genre such a major choice for games? It's true the first major RPG was based in fantasy, but it wasn't the only RPG getting started at the time. There is also the aspect that before that time the fantasy genre in books, movies, and other media was not popular. It was such a small niche, it was considered part of science fiction or speculative fiction.

Yes, there was some fantasy out there, some became classics like The Hobbit, and The Lord of The Rings. But, if you look for other fantasy from that earlier period of writing, you find authors who were writing fantasy stories to use the genre for retelling stories, or creating children stories. The level of epic fantasy didn't really take off until the 1970s. So, did Dungeons and Dragons ride the wave into popularity, or did it help create the popularity? This question might be more for someone interested in the history of the genre, right now, the question I want to address is, "why fantasy is so strong in RPGs and other games?"

It must be understood RPGs are not some incredibly new phenomenon, they go back through history. It wasn't call role-playing, and wasn't considered a game—to the extent that it was organized into a formal game system. People have always role-played. One basic training technique is role-playing, "If you were the customer, what would you do?" This isn't even in formal training, but in families growing up. The children emulate the parents, neighbors, friends, etc. And, I see this is where the basis for why fantasy is the basic genre gaming.

Children have creative minds. I can remember watching my nieces playing "the dragon and the princess." They chased each other around taking turns being the dragon who was chasing the princess. I think everyone has played some form of role-playing, we just called it playing. We were the soldiers, the cowboys, the knights, the warriors, the astronauts, the your turn to fill-in the blank.

As we grow older, we are faced with the everyday aspects of life. First, we are faced with being appropriate at certain locations or situations. Then we become students, and as students there are new controls on how we interact with others, and status. Imagine how different it would be if in high school you saw people chasing each other in the halls with foam swords and one person yelling out, "I'm the dragon! I'm breathing fire!"

Soon enough we are in the business world, the adult world, or, as many people like to say now, we are adulting. Even more restrictions are placed on us as we are requested, and required, to follow the social norms. We have to be the parent, the good example, or just make ourselves properly presentable.

It isn't until we get much older, closer to retirement age, when we tell people how our grandparents, parents, or even ourselves, are going into a second childhood. They have moved beyond the level of having to maintain a perspective of status. So many elderly people will tell you they are not concerned, anymore, about how other people view them—they are going to have some fun.

This entire cycle of life brings us from a time of enjoying our imagination, to a point, eventually, when we can enjoy our imagination again. The entire mid-section of our lives are an exercise of control on how we allow ourselves to be viewed—how we are perceived. RPGs allow for the escape during that time. Imagination can go in many different directions. The fantasy genre, however, allows a special break from reality.

Only fantasy is a complete break from the reality we face. So much of our adulting life is under the control of factors beyond us. We all have a certain level of control over what we do, how we do it, when we do it, where we do it. But, there is a level of conformity we must adhere to. If you want a job to earn money, then you have to meet the requirements of that job. And, that can be applied to pretty much every area. If you want to make a living off of your own efforts, then you have to create something others want, or find a way how you can take care of all your own needs. There is no magical solution to the problems we face, except with fantasy.

Fantasy allows us to see what it would be like if we could use magic. Science fiction usually uses science, westerns are based in a historical era (even if it is a mythical west), and most other genres are based in something tied to reality. Fantasy provides wish fulfillment. The dreams, imagination, of our childhoods can be given new life. And, fantasy provides the wish fulfillment along with giving us a break from reality.

Bringing together RPGs and fantasy provides the perfect fit. We can create characters who have abilities nothing in the real world can explain. We can play the characters and leave the real world far behind us. We can embrace the imagination of our childhood in a "controlled" fashion. It might be on the fringe of socially acceptable to play RPGs, but we are just considered weird and not crazy.

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