Or at least it was part of it. That's basically what my friend, who I will call for anonymity's sake, Frank, told me.

I had always suspected that of Frank. Let me explain.

"Frank" was what many would label a stereotypical gamer. Back in his teenage youth, Frank was slightly overweight, face full of acne, low self-esteem, never lucky with women (Frank was the guy who went to prom but was ditched by his date - seriously), the family middle child, and generally teased by enemy and friend alike. I was even a party to this at times.

But Frank loved gaming. He relished in it. There were several characters Frank loved to play, and he was one who thoroughly enjoyed his hobby.

In the back of my mind, I could see that Frank was really being affected by those nasty external forces of the real world, and that the weekend gaming session was his one true escape. Of course, gaming sessions were not always rosy for Frank either. Most of the teasing he took from his few friends was during those sessions. I can remember many a night that Frank would show up at my house, usually the last one there. He then would become the victim of a practical joke played by another member. This would then prompt Frank to turn directly around and drive the five plus mile trip back home. All this before a die was even rolled. Of course, this would force us to apologize (if we even did) to get him to come back (it also ended up forcing me to come up with some excuse to satisfy my mother's curiosity as to why Frank came and left so quickly).

Fortunately, Frank often did come back. Granted, this behavior was not all our fault, but we should have seen some of the signs Frank was giving us. Even if we did, I'm not sure we would have understood it.

Through all this, for some reason, Frank stuck to it. He didn't give up on the one thing that brought him joy - his gaming.

Now you may think you know where this is going. Ah, you say. Lamer gets sucked into the games, becomes eerie to be around, gets a little freaky, talks about his character a little bit too much, starts watching early Tom Hanks films, then offs himself in a storm sewer somewhere.

Well, not quite.

Despite Frank's love for gaming, and the general hostility of the real world, Frank kept a pretty firm grasp on reality, despite its brutality to him. In fact, gaming, and the friends he had there (despite our treatment), is what ended up saving him.

I asked Frank not long ago, if he had never discovered gaming, would he have killed himself. He told me that yes, he would have. If it had not been for those sessions and the friendships he had with us, despite their disfunctionality, his life probably wouldn't have gone much further than high school.

Even though I always suspected that was the truth, it was quite unsettling to hear it. And it gave me a deeper appreciation for a man I had always never thought very deeply about.

Frank has since grown up quite a bit. He's married and has two children, and a pretty successful career. The real world has become much better for Frank, and he's also come to understand a lot about what was happening to him back in those days and has dealt with it pretty well.

He still games regularly with us. Something that I'm happy about. Now that the maturity level of our group has grown in certain areas (but of course not all), I'm sure he enjoys his games even more than he used to.

Frank's story made me wonder about other gaming groups. How many of them have or had a "Frank" among their ranks that the others never knew about? How many of these players are unaware how much of a friend Frank considers them to be? How many "Frank's" has gaming saved?

Gaming sessions are wonderful places for social interaction and relaxation. Remember that we are part of a larger community that shares a common bond unlike most hobbies. Perhaps you should take some time in your next session and talk to your fellow players, and really get to know them. See how much you can talk about other things besides games and gaming. Strengthen those bonds that already exist, then watch the dice really roll.

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