Given my fondness for roleplaying games, it’s no wonder that I’m a fan of Alina Pete’s gamer webcomic Weregeek. Still, I must admit I enjoy some elements less than others when it comes to her mixture of fantasy and reality in depicting these games. Thus when it comes to the Live Action Roleplaying (or LARPing) segments, I usually must muddle on through and wait for the story to move on to things that I find more interesting. Nor am I a novice when it comes to the Vampire the Masquerade setting as I Judged these on a couple MUSHes (text-based shared universes) years back. It’s just that the thought of dressing up and acting out these elements never really appealed to me.
Oddly, this isn’t the case this time around. I’m not sure what’s different about this segment compared to Pete’s previous LARPing comics, but I’ve found myself drawn into the story and actually enjoying the political machinations that have been coming to a head. Part of this lies with her depictions of her characters, naturally enough, and the various personae they take on in each game. And ultimately, this is Pete’s greatest strength. While it is enjoyable to see the games I’ve played (or browsed through in gaming store bookshelves) depicted graphically, it’s watching her characters’ enjoyment of these games that keeps me coming back for more… and even consider playing games I’ve avoided up until now.