In the latest issue of Wired (Alright, I'm still catching up on my reading.), there is a mention about an online article about Gary Gygax written before he passed away.  I was doing some reminiscing about the time I played Dungeons & Dragons (I actually played and preferred Advanced D & D.  I quit playing around the time that the 2nd edition came out, a long time ago.) and I realized that all that role playing in my teen years has helped or shaped my skills for my current position.  Yes, that’s right, playing D & D is like programming.

The rules can be compared to a programming language that a Dungeon Master creates a scenario with.  Just like a programmer writes an application from a set of rules or a programming language.  Other players play the scenario the Dungeon Master created with their characters or roles.  Users interact with an application attempting to perform a task and in usability terms have a role or a set of defining characteristics about their experience, etc.

My playing of AD & D in my teens has prepared me to be a productive member of society with a paying job (after a detour of several years).  Who would have thought?

If you liked this post, stay tuned for next time when I explain how an action film has the same structure as a musical!

(I had the chance to meet Gary Gygax when I went to a GenCon conference in Wisconsin.  My friend and I decided not to stand in line to meet him because we didn’t have anything to say to him other than I like your game, etc.  The same stuff that everyone else says to him.  And being "cool" teenagers we didn’t want to act like everyone else and look stupid.)

(I think I still have my dice I used to play AD & D with somewhere in my house.)

(Once you read the Wired article about Gygax, you'll realize that a 20-sided die is revolutionary. I first learned about probability and bell curves from this game.)