5 Reasons Why RPGs Trump Online Dating
Services that guarantee a life match based on personality profiles have no idea what they're doing. Gaming is where to find real harmony! If the character you play meets someone and is living happily ever after, then there's no reason why you can't live vicariously through that. Many people have very real relationships that started out in a gaming environment, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Here are some reasons why gaming is better than online dating.
- Looks really don't matter
Personally, I think those very pretty people in the online dating websites are models. Or at best, normal people whose pictures underwent some heavy Photoshop magic. Even if the person does look that good in real life, there's still the shock of what they look like on sick days, after a heavy workout at the gym, or heaven forbid, the morning after.
Alternately, you don't have put your real self out there. No worries about stalkers scaring you by showing up on your doorstep, or creeping out you out by appearing at your workplace. And you don't have to put your picture online, either! Just find a cartoon character or digital rendering of something that looks like your character, and leave the rest to everyone's imagination. You can game for hours (oh hell, let's be real -- days!) at a time in a uniform of t-shirt and pajama pants, and nobody cares, not even your beloved. - Social status
Okay, so your mom wants you to marry a doctor, or a lawyer. But maybe in the game, your significant other is leader of the druid's guild! When you show up single (again) to family events, just tell them that your long-distance lifemate is head of an environmentally-friendly corporation. They don't need to know that he's between jobs and currently sitting in his parents' basement slaying trolls and orcs in hopes of spending the holiday reaching the next level. - No risk of disease
At this time, you are guaranteed not to catch any kind of real-life sexually transmitted disease through a virtual relationship in a roleplaying game. - Save $$$
Okay, so you live in California, USA but your beloved is stuck in Barcelona, Spain. You'd love to meet, but travelling is an expensive hobby! Just hook up Skype in one window, and leave your game open in the other. You can spend hours gazing at one another while your RPG characters enjoy dinner at the local tavern, bash goblins, or solve a difficult quest that rewards with a tremendous prize. With all the opportunities offered through roleplaying games that are perfectly FREE, there's no way I'd pay good money to travel any distance to meet up with someone. - No skeletons in this closet
If you aren't familiar with the person your character is falling for in a roleplaying game, a background check is as easy as their WHOIS information, or a bit of snooping around on the local forums. Any potential dirty details will be unearthed before you have time to nurture the seeds of a new adventure with this person, and you'll be able to address them sooner than later.
Nobody can guarantee that two people in a relationship can make it last forever. If it's your childhood sweetheart, or someone you met in a roleplay game who lives in another country entirely, you have the exact same chance of success in your relationship as any other couple. Just be honest with each other, and be willing to overlook petty things from the past for the sake of an amazing future together.
Have you met someone online? Do you know someone else who met someone online? Did it work? I'd love to hear your comments, and thanks for reading!