STRATEGY WARGAMING
ARTICLE SW_004

MUSINGS ON HOBBYIST WARGAMER COMMUNICATION NEEDS AND REALITIES

Why do I ascribe such importance to whether a hobbyist wargamer is communicative or not ? Well, it is a matter of...... philosophical orientation ! In essence, all of the INDUSTRY's headaches, heartaches, back biting, labours of love and the like that go into the design and (commercial) release of a particular wargame amount to a BIG ZERO at the point of purchase..... Unlike the INDUSTRY participants who consider their masterpiece or nightmare a reasonably (?) completed project, the hobbyist wargamer who is about to purchase the wargame is only embarking upon HIS open-ended project with it and, hence, starts at POINT ZERO ! From that moment on, it is up to the hobbyist wargamer to decide on a wargame "appreciation" approach and pursue it accordingly.

Communicative hobbyist wargamers (CHWs) are important to one another because they are believers in the...... dialectic ! Instead of trying to "appreciate" their wargames just on the basis of their current intellectual and aesthetic make-up, they invite partners into the process firmly believing that the dialectic that is inherent in CHW interaction is bound to enrich as opposed to threaten their hobbyist experiences. In other words, they are very far removed from Mr. J. Dunnigan's reference to hobbyist wargamers being considered a "hindrance" by some other hobbyist wargamers.......

In the second half of the 20th century, most CHWs have sought face to face (FtF) interaction with other hobbyist wargamers (at least in the english speaking countries). They did so DESPITE tremendous obstacles. The tales of rambunctious pets and irate spouses are legion.... So are the frustrations of finding SUITABLE fellow hobbyists within the same geographical area ! No, it has NOT been very easy. Nevertheless, determined CHWs pressed on and, many times, hit gold. There is nothing like a true and tried local group of CHWs who become friends and do their thing over the long haul. Now, not all CHWs were THAT lucky. Some of them had to settle for the temporary hobbyist community experiences provided by wargaming conventions. Others even resorted to the torture or expense of utilising regulated postal or long distance telephone services to KEEP those precious hobbyist contacts alive.....

Things changed DRAMATICALLY in the 1990s. The Internet and long distance telephone services deregulation appear to hold great promise for CHWs, right ? Well, let us be a bit careful here. It IS true that a virtual or long distance community of CHWs can largely circumvent uncooperative pets, spouses and children.... In fact, many a CHW would welcome such a community if their local FtF hobbyist interaction prospects are dismal. BUT, those lucky CHWs who DO have the luxury of a geographically collocated SUITABLE hobbyist community may not be that eager to SUBSTITUTE it with a virtual or long distance one...... To boot, how is one supposed to game with miniatures utilising virtual means ? What about those CHWs who are aesthetically drawn to board wargames ? I know, I know, the prescription these days is for such recalcitrant hobbyists to take a better look at computer-enabled wargame title unit and terrain graphics !

When CHWs interact FtF, many psychological processes are at work in the background. Although the actual discussion may be about some vague wargame system rule, in actuality, the participants may be gauging the "suitability" of their conversationalists. In many instances, FtF interaction helps CHWs to get to "know" THEMSELVES a bit better..... Time and time again, hobbyist wargamers have gotten together with other cousins of theirs only to realise that they COULD NOT STAND such interaction even under the best of circumstances !

I am of the opinion that deregulated long distance carrier or Internet telephony is superior to HTML document and E-mail enabled communication in a very strategic sense. Namely, it is a second best to hobbyist FtF interaction in regards to the CRITICAL area of hobbyist partner SUITABILITY assessment. HTML document and E-mail enabled communication in this area runs a very distant and poor third.......

What is, then, wrong with the written word in cyberspace ? Well, it is more of a question of unreasonable expectations..... To begin with, certain educational reforms and the advent of technologies emphasising the image over the word have decidedly contributed to a marked decline in writing skills among the populace. However, this is NOT all. Written communications in cyberspace are by their very nature impersonal and, hence, invite the externalisation of all kinds of aggressive impulses that civilised people have long learnt to keep in check in FtF and telephone interaction with others. The very SUBJECT of wargaming renders things infinitely worse for the "hobby" as compared to other subjects..... To conclude, it takes TREMENDOUSLY disciplined hobbyist wargamers to persevere with the limitations of written communications in cyberspace so as to take a crack at establishing fruitful long term hobbyist relationships with other hobbyists "out there" ! Basically, the Internet is largely conducive to the conceptual equivalent of the "one night stand" with the all too frequent bitter aftertaste.....

The author, Panos Stoucas, is a long time all-human strategy wargaming enthusiast and is currently the "Facilitator" of the PG (DOS) PBEM RESEARCH CENTRE. He can be reached at pstoucas@istar.ca