"Area geek Ross Davis has learned to overcome his long-standing social anxiety by turning his life into a Role-Playing Game (RPG).

RPG systems such as D&D and GURPS have been part of the geek culture for decades, but they have traditionally served to further cement their participants into Loserdom. With the advent of computerized RPGs such as Neverwinter Nights and the Final Fantasy series, geeks have been able to further socially isolate themselves. Davis claims that his revolutionary application of RPGs can increase a geek's social skill by several levels and result in the accomplishment of new social feats.

"I've been playing RPGs for a long time," said Davis. "From Bard's Tale to Chrono Cross, I've been leveling up while everyone else is out living it up. I decided it was time to get out of my apartment and join the party... wait, hold on a sec." Davis then lapsed into silence as his full attention became focused on Lost Kingdoms II.

"Hooooo buddy - I think this bad boy is gonna cough up a Runestone!" Davis blurted out several minutes later.

After being bribed with an old P233 Gateway system, the 26-year-old Systems Programmer was convinced to leave his apartment in order to demonstrate his RPG-As-Real-Life system.

"Okay," Davis explained, "the goal here is to gain experience so you can level up - just like an RPG. For example, I haven't had a date since about the time that Skies of Arcadia: Legends came out. So my objective is to talk to girls without being paralyzed by overwhelming social anxiety."

He continued, "Every time I talk to a girl, I reward myself with some experience points. The longer the conversation, the more experience I get. Instead of playing as a character in a game, I am the character and my social life is the game. In the end, I am able to transform an unknown, frightening reality into a comfortable, exciting fantasy. Remember - reality: bad, fantasy: good."" [more]