D&D on CNN!

[Scribble]

"In some ways it's like a board game" has been one of the staples of answering the What is Roleplaying? question for years...

Start with the familiar- "Oh hey I know what a board game is!"

Then move into the more complicated, "but it's different in that- blah blah."


But if you're out there trying to find edition war ammo, I'm sure you'll be able to twist anything into the right gauge.

 

[Peraion Graufalke]

Why would you read the comments on a news article. Nothing will erode your faith in the collective intelligence of humanity faster.

Sad but true. Now I'm tempted to quote Einstein...

 

[jaerdaph]

Cool - D&D is in the national news, and nobody had to get murdered first!

 

[dogoftheunderworld]

Cool - D&D is in the national news, and nobody had to get murdered first!

What about those poor zombies? Right, already dead.... the orcs, then? What about those poor Orcs?

 

[nedjer]

The boardgame comment could have been a lot worse. But it does carry that boredgame label and RPGs are so far removed from boardgames it has to be revisited almost immediately.

The drama game idea is OK-ish but not quite? Adventure game, where you go exploring. Bit like a solo gamebook with more people and endless choices. But that requires them to know what a solo gamebook like Fighting Fantasy is like.

 

[ExploderWizard]

"In some ways it's like a board game" has been one of the staples of answering the What is Roleplaying? question for years....

I hope not.

But if you're out there trying to find edition war ammo, I'm sure you'll be able to twist anything into the right gauge.

Nope. Trying to get former players with fond memories of youthful D&D to pick up the dice again is a good goal. Advertising the latest offering as something akin to a board game is setting out to fail at that goal.

Boardgame familiarity is exactly the type of message you want to communicate to those without any idea what an rpg is. Since the article mentioned that the primary audience for the encounters program was former players the message was aimed at the wrong group.

 

[Mallus]

Spokesmen like this aren't helping.

I think they might, especially with new audiences. Haven't boardgames being experiencing a resurgence over the past decade (or more)?

Look, boardgame-like and WoW-like are only considered derogatory by pen-and-paper gaming nerds, particularly ones who're trying to strike an elitist tone.

 

[Shroomy]

Its a nice little article and it should give a boost to attendance at D&D Encounters. I need to free up some time on a Wednesday so I can finally participate.

 

[Herschel]

What about those poor zombies? Right, already dead.... the orcs, then? What about those poor Orcs?

Yeah, they weren't evil, they were just contractors hired by the lich to flesh out his kingdom.

 

[catsclaw227]

Cool - D&D is in the national news, and nobody had to get murdered first!

This was my take as well.

I don't mind if the general masses are given small, palatable bits like this to get them interested. Even if the story convinces a very small percentage of people to give it a try, getting new gamers into the fold, the size of the CNN audience makes this a very good thing.

Too bad the comments make gamers look like a**hats.

Wouldn't it be great if gamers all commented with things like "Give it a try! You may find a hobby you will be enjoying for years." Who cares what edition they learn first, get them into RPGs and it's good for all D&D editions and RPG systems.

Bashing D&D (or the current edition) in article comments will ONLY serve to keep non-gamer type people AWAY from trying out RPGs. That just sucks for everyone.

Get new gamers in, get them loving RPGs, and they will bring more in. Please don't make us all look like petty, my-x-is-better-than-your-y jerks.

EDIT: This doesn't specifically apply to this particular news article and comments, but in general when D&D is in mainstream news.