The Most Elusive Theme

by The Blessed God of Death

For the longest time I've pondered what exactly it was about RPGs that kept me coming back. I remember at least one point in my life when I thought I would never play one again. The kinds of friends I had, and the kinds of things I did otherwise for fun just didn't seem to mix well with whole image of an RPGamer in general (level building while listening to punk rock seemed to be some sort of contradiction in terms). What was the draw of these little games fraught with fantasy and adventure? Was it for a sense of escapism? Was it something in the gaming...no, it couldn't be I never found a battle system SO cool I'd play for the sake of fighting alone. Was it the elements of strategy? Probably not, I appreciate thinking and all, but it wouldn't be enough. It was obviously then the story line, but what part? With such diverse plot lines throughout the games I so love, it was obviously something vague, some elusive universal theme hiding in them all.It was that they are all about freedom.

Every RPG I have EVER played in someway deals with freedom. From things as simple as Grandia and Justin's escape from the oppression of his mother, to the early game repression in Final Fantasy VI from the infamous Empire, all the way to Xenogears where Fei must free all of humanity from their destiny created by their 'God'. As I play these games, I can share that wish for freedom. I wish I could be like Setzer and climb on his ship and fly away. I want to be able to live freely, always having the choice to move on to the next town, hoping to find out something new. And last of all, the games remind me that at times a person must fight to keep their freedom. Weather it be against a huge raving monster (i.e. my mother) or doing good at school so that your parents are nice to you. There always seems to be a struggle for freedom going on around me, and through my experience in gaming, I am able to live it many times, most of which turn out much more successful than my own in reality.

These games remind me to always treasure freedom, even when not in the world, but in my heart. With that said, I think all us RPGamer's (especially those in editorials) should sit back every now and then and simply appreciate that they only get to argue about anything because others are free to think things in their own way. The next time someone says something that offends you, take a minute to respect what was said for its own sake as a right, right before you tear it apart since that is YOUR right.

I hope someone enjoys, or at least agrees with this little piece in part or in whole (or else its a bunch of philosophical nonsense). To you all I say love free, think free, live free (if at all possible, sometimes certain things get in the way). Anyone who thinks anything at all about this can get in touch with me at theblessedgodofdeath@gundamwing.org. Until then....I'm on to less profound struggles.