WOTC ad - insulting to gamers?

[DungeonmasterCal]

I thought it was funny, and damned apt considering I know someone who does nothing but play Everquest to the point he has his wife and daughter bring him his meals in his computer room and has stopped interacting with the real world. So nope...no insult here.

 

[Steel_Wind]

At least the guy in the picture in that ad wasn't wearing a T-shirt we saw a very similar (though much larger) fellow wearing at the CNE Gaming Expo last weekend. T-Shirt read:

"I'm the 14 year old girl you had cybersex with in that chatroom last night."

I think the ad was spot-on and quite funny.

As for the T-shirt? Probably spot-on as well

 

[warlord]

That t-shirt is disturbing as is cybersex in general.

 

[Romnipotent]

computer RPGers know about Dragon mag? I mean some would know sure... but dammit... if your gonna pretend to post on Enworld, at least have some elves to play with.

 

[Falanor]

I'm offended that you are offended.

 

[Nifft]

I know someone who does nothing but play Everquest to the point he has his wife and daughter bring him his meals in his computer room and has stopped interacting with the real world.

Yipes! I'll bet his poor wife could use someone to come around and "interact" with her...

-- N

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

I thought it was hillarious.

I showed it to my wife. She gave up tabletop gaming because she couldn't "role play" enough, and is now on World of Warcraft all day every day.

She thought it was funny.

Then she zoned out because she was in an instance.

>.<

--fje

 

[JDragon]

Along with at least a few other people here I thought is was funny as did a few of my gamer friends that saw it. This includes some people that are WOW & EverQuest Players.

I even cut it out of my issue of Dungeon and put it up in my cubicle at work. Keep in mind that I work in a tech support call ceter that is full of computer and gamer geeks. I've had on the clock conversations with my manager about his 60th level WoW character.

As someone mentioned above, you gotta be able to laugh at your self.

 

[Ranger REG]

In this month's Dungeon magazine I spied a full page WOTC ad promoting D&D that I beleive is insulting to it's target audience, and probably gamers in general. I am referring to the ad on page 11, which shows a scruffy, half asleep looking guy staring at his computer monitor in a darkened room with the caption "If you're going to sit in your basement pretending to be an elf, you should at least have some friends over to help."

* hides under blanket *

Damn! They bugged my room!

Obviously, this ad is aimed at online/computer RPG players, and is presumably appearing in mags devoted to online gaming. I commend them for trying to attract online gamers to what I think is a more rewarding and enjoyable type of gaming, but I'm afraid that their ad just smacks their audience in the face with one of the most obnoxious stereotypes of gamers around - that of the loser/slacker who lives in their parent's basement and spends all hours of the day and night pretending to be Mr. fantasy alterego in their game addiction of choice. The only thing they didn't do was show a fat guy with coke bottle glasses. Hardly the way to attract new recruits.

And IMHO its indirectly insulting to us tabletop gamers too. Are losers who live in their parent's basements the types we play with, or want to show up at our games?

Well, it is definitely insulting for someone to call people who live in parents' basements or home "losers."

At least the ad didn't specifically resort to name-calling.

[image placeholder: a smirking smiley]

 

[megamania]

Funny...? nope.

Stereotypical...? nope


Effective...? nope

I was not offended nor was it funny. It was pathetic and would not have made me want to try DnD on paper.


However ... I have seen MUCH worse.