The Balcony


March 25, 2010 - I have set up a new Bards Balcony blog that will be updated frequently. It focuses primarily on photography, but the occasional gaming stuff may show up, especially when I am attending conventions or other game-related events where I do a lot of photography. Stop by and let me know what you think. In the meantime, I'm going to leave the old Balcony right where it is for those more pointed rants that focus on gaming.


Well, the time has come for me to rant. I've passed up a lot of things, mostly politically related, that I could rant about. Mostly, I've skipped over these as I doubt many people even visit the site, much less read my mad ravings. I figure the topic at hand is a good one for my first real Balcony entry since the new site went up, so here goes.

There is an attitude of entitlement that really grates against my nerves. Too many people seem to think that education, television, and a good job are all things that are rights. All they should have to do is sit back and receive. Well, folks, I've got news for you and although there are some out there who would gladly spoon feed you for a wide variety of reasons, that isn't how this thing called Life works. In the good ol' U.S. of A., we've got our rights lined out for us in the Constitution. Guess which of those three I mentioned are NOT listed in the Bill of Rights. If you don't already know that the answer is 'none of the above', I suggest you take another look.

This entitlement attitude seeps down through all corners of our society and the gaming community is not immune. Recently on a small forum, someone bemoaned the fact that there was no tourney scene for their favorite game in our area. They were not the first, nor will they be the last, to lift up these words in a plaintive cry. I feel for you, believe me. When I started gaming, it was me and one of my friends with the occasional interloper joining in, but no tournaments. In fact, for a good period of time, I only knew of one tournament in my area for the games I like to play. There were others, but they somehow managed to slip my notice over the years. My loss and I've now learned to keep one ear to the ground if I want to know about impending events.

Are we, as gamers entitled to tournaments or other events? Shouldn't the owners of game stores be trying to sale their wares by holding such events to draw more of us into their stores? No, we are not entitled. Yes, the owners of game stores should be holding such events. But we are missing a vital key here. The owners want to have more events because it does help the store out in a number of ways. But their resources are limited, especially the time they have to dedicate to such endeavours. It would seem we are at an impasse.

Wrong. The only thing keeping the gamer from his 'entitlement' of more gaming events is the gaming community. All you need is a little organization, other players, and a place to play and you can run an event. It just so happens that those very shop owners you wish would run more events typically have the place to play all ready for your arrival. All you have to do is ask. Stop waiting for someone to make something happen. Make it happen for yourself.

the Bard

February 7, 2009