Navigating Keizaal Online this past month-and-a-bit has really been one of the craziest social experiences of my life – even as someone who has been playing text RP and tabletop for more than half of her entire life. I feel a lot like these people who get into LARP, and then go on to say that their entire lives have been changed.
As an autistic person, I have been challenged in so many ways by this experience. Seeing real social issues, and the feelings that come with, appear so vividly in an online game is honestly something I was not prepared for, but now I'm all for it. My characters have grown alive in such unexpected ways, and I have grown with them. Keizaal truly is an ecosystem.
I met some of the biggest assholes there, but also SO MANY lovely people, and each of my character's relationships have moved me in a personal level. I know how, in a game like this, RP can easily become secondary to gameplay (especially for the dudebros with protagonist syndrome), and this has made me want even more to center my experience around stories, characters, and the people who create them.
I have so much admiration for all of the women and queer people in this space – I'm sure many have seen some nasty shit here, like I have, but they are the ones who give me the most energy to keep going.
Like I told a friend, playing Keizaal feels like I'm only playing Skyrim for the first time now.
