A little historical context on how the RPG Research Project has evolved.

This posting is a more personal history of how the RPG Research project evolved over the years. Though some content seems tangential, it all ties together eventually over the decades towards helping make this project possible. This is sort of a short autobiography, but focused on components that seem relevant to the development and implementation of this project, it is by no means complete due to this focus point.

I was first introduced to role playing gaming around 1978-1979 by a cousin using the original D&D rules. A few months later I was playing it intermittently with friends.

It was not until 1984 that I began to get much more involved with rpging (then using AD&D) with a neighborhood friend, playing fairly regularly, usually weekly for a few hours. Within a year, I was gaming rather intensely. By 1985 I was DMing my own group. Eventually I was DMing 3 diferent groups, 2 on Saturday and one on Sunday. Originally it was one group but began getting so large, I broke it up into separate groups.

Around this time I began charging $1.00 per gamer per session. This was to feed my hobby. I would use the money to purchase rulebooks, modules, miniatures, dice, battlemats, miniature paints & brushes, etc. 

I eventually setup my first "convention"  with about 12 participants at a local library.

The following year (around Summer of 1986 I believe), I had my second convention. I was then an RPGA member, and hosted an AD&D RPGA-rules-based convention, though not fully RPGA official. I had upwards of 50 participants with different DM's running the tables. This was at the Milllcreek Library in Salt Lake City. It was for one full day.

Around the same time I was attending Realms of Inquiry school for "gifted & talented" children. My friends and I would game during lunch & recess breaks, and sometimes after school waiting to be picked up from parents. The girls would taunt and tease and accuse the game of being devil worshiping. This was during the heyday of the "Satanic Panic" and other balony thanks to B.A.D.D. (Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons), which I detail in some of the essays in the Documentation section of the site.

This was upsetting enough to me, that when our English teacher asked us to write a  minimum 3 page essay on something related to current events that we felt had an impact in our lives, I decided to write about  the benefits of RPGing, and refute all the junk that was floating around.

I received an excellent grade for this 8 page essay, and she actually asked me if I would read it to the class, since she thought it would help with the issues with the girls taunting the game.

I did so, and the following weeks, the taunting immediately stopped, and some girls actually showed interest in asking more questions about the game. I wish I had that old essay, it would be interesting to see it after all this time.

Meanwhile, coincidentally, we lost our Theater/Drama teacher for reasons I don't recall. This left a big hole in the curricullum schedule for a little while. Initially the Headmaster just allowed us to use the theater/gym for volleyball or other activities, or to use the time to work on homework.

At some point however, I had the crazy idea of running a role playing gaming class during that slot. I approached the headmaster about that. After some back and forth, and his asking me to write up a semi-formal proposal. He tentatively agreed, with the condition that I didn't let it impact my grades.

It was a great experience setting up "Class" in the biology classroom (it had the best tables for rpg sessions). I setup several tables with different genres. One was ICE MERP (Middle-earth Role-playing), another was Call of Cthulu (1920's horror based on HP Lovecraft's works), another was a cowboy western setting for Boot Hill, another was science fiction, and another was classic AD&D. I wanted to give everyone as broad an experiene as possible, so that they didn't continue with the misconception that D&D was "it". As everyone filed in, both boys and girls to this totally ellective course, i initially discussed a little about the high level overview of RPGing. Then quickly found out which genres which people would want to start with. I then let everyone take turns between different genres and different roles as either player or game master as per their preference. Then I would walk around to the tables and interject with suggestions, rules help, etc.

This was a blast, and an unbelievable dream come true for a gaming young teen. This lasted for about a month or so. Then 2 things happened to end it. First, a new teacher was found to fill the timeslot, and secondly, due to all the time I put into prepare each daily class, five days a week, my grades did suffer, so the headmaster had the program ended. However, many of the participants continued playing on their own, and no one taunted any of the players anymore either. So I think was a very benefical opportunity, and only a school like Realms would have had the open mindedness and flexibility to let a mere kid take such an opportunity. I am especially grateful to Ross Jones for having taken the chance and shown the kindness and support. "May the hair on his toes never fall out" --The Hobbit

That was pretty much the end of my gaming "activism" days. After that I continued to game here and there, though less intensely, and sometimes with years-long gaps between gaming session. But I managed for the most part ot hang on to all of my gaming books over the years thankfully.

Around 1989-1991 living in Utah, besides working as an automotive technician I was also involved with many brief jobs in the medical industry, including working as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) at Doxie Hatch Medical Center, a glorified orderly emergency room prep tech at St. Marks Hospital, a Habilitation Therapist for the disabled at Hillcrest Care Center, a salesman for Bodywise Nutritional Supplements, and picking up various stage and video acting gigs. I very much enjoyed the Habilitation Therapist job and the acting.

While living in Malad City, Idaho around 2002-2004, in addition to working as an information technology & security consultant, one of several small businesses I ran was "The Computer Schools" offering technical education services to all ages. I had regular customers from ages 7 up to 76. Some students were brought in by their parents because they needed help with computer courses they were struggling with in school. One teenage boy in particular had been diagnosed with severe ADHD, and he according to his mother he was failing typing class, because he would keep taking things apart, and was generally just not interested. I explained I didn't have any formal training in such issues, but I would give it a shot, since I had my own background developing coping mechanisms with ADHD, dysgraphia, dyscalcula, etc.

To me it seemed very simply straight forward, come up with a way to make learning typing fun. So I found some online typing video games, put a box over the keyboard so he couldn't see his hands on the keyboard, and "made" him play the video games for 30 minutes each day. I also took about 15 minutes just talking to him about computer hardware, because he was interested in "how it all works", and that was why he kept taking the computers at his high school apart (without permission). I brought in old computer parts, and explained their design and function, and even let him assemble basic test systems.

The mother was stunned how he stayed seated and focused for the full time of 45 minutes most days, and he immediately improved not only in typing class, but other courses at school.

This piqued my interest in child psychology. In speaking with a PhD-level psychologist I'd known for years, I mentioned some interest in that field of study. He made it clear I would hate it because the insurance companies made it an hour of paperwork for every hour spent with a client, and that it was very restrictive in what could be done. He suggested I look into "alternative therapies". I researched, and came across Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Art Therapy, Music Therapy, and Recreational Therapy. I settled on Recreation & Music Therapy as the best approach to the ideas I was beginning to form in my head, and I thought my background in music, martial arts, outdoorsmanship, and many other areas would be a good combination. I was not involved in any role playing gaming while living in Malad (I was mostly on the road building my businesses during 2002-2003).

I had worked with computers and related technologies since 1979. I made it a full time career from 1995 through 2003. Thanks to circumstances making it possible, I was able to come home to be with the kids and focus more on being a father who was there to help raise them, rather than continuing to be on the road for weeks at a time.. I retired from full time work in this field in 20003 so that I could be home to focus on the family, though I've continued the occasional short gigs, mostly speaking and advising gigs, and talk shows. Tech has been part of my life since I was 9, it'll always be an aspect.

I began getting more proactive in RPGing in 2004 shortly after moving to Spokane. I started finding the local gaming stores, and posting flyers, and building my own new groups. This was also a wayt to start getting to know people and develop a social network. Through gaming, working at KYRS radio, and some general entreprenurial endeavors, I began developing a personal and professional network in the area.

I began attending EWU in January 2004 very part time (just while kids in school), working very slowly towards a degree in Therpeutic Recreation with a dual minor in music and psychology with a research emphasis. I hope to at least acquire a Masters, and preferably a PhD by 2018, when my kids will be fully grown (18+), and then I will dedicate much more of my time to therapeutic recreation, music therapy, and psychological research projects.

In the Summer of 2005 I hosted the first annual "MerpCon" (Middle-earth Role Playing Convention) in Spokane. I continued hosting this free even until Summer 2009. I had committed to five years, and followed through with that committment. Details at http://www.merpcon.com. I have learned much, and benfitted greatly from that experience, though it has been a lot of work for one person, and now is too large for one person to continue.

I am tentively planning to continue the convention, but under the new name of TolkienMoot http://www.tolkienmoot.org, and expand the venue further. However, I am stiill undecided if I am up to doing so next year, or if I want to give it a few years hiatus while I finish raising my kids, and working on my degree, and all the other projects including the RPG Research project, though they tie in nicely.

It's time to call it a night, but here is some background history I hope some find useful.

Cheers!

-Hawke