D&D General Portrayal of D&D in Stranger Things 3 -some spoilers

[Arilyn]

It is perhaps as much a nod to him being... a tad desperate. Look at the past two seasons, what that kid went through. Consider how much of life (and growing up) he's missed just dealing with all that crud and the repercussions. He, very desperately, wants things to be *NORMAL*. Which, to him, is still hanging out in the game room with his friends playing games. They aren't interested. So, what does he do? Try to up production values! Careful battlemaps, costumes, all the bells and whistles he can, to get their attention and company.

What's not true about that?

Remember - the show is about the characters first, not about all the things it references first.

This is what I was thinking too. Will, trying to get back to the way things were, before the real monsters showed up...and girl friends. At the end, Mike tells Will that be can find a new group, but Will rejects this. He'll play with his friends, but he's not going to look for a new D&D group in his new town. This fits Will's character. To me, this is exactly how Will would react.

I wonder what the effect of dealing with real monsters in your town, especially after losing people you know to these horrors, would have on playing D&D? Need it more for escapism? Not wanting it because it's too close to what you've gone through for real? Don't need game monsters cause dealt with real thing? No real effect at all, because D&D is just a game?

 

[MarkB]

I wonder what the effect of dealing with real monsters in your town, especially after losing people you know to these horrors, would have on playing D&D? Need it more for escapism? Not wanting it because it's too close to what you've gone through for real? Don't need game monsters cause dealt with real thing? No real effect at all, because D&D is just a game?

The same as when someone with real-world experience of any niche subject encounters it in a game or movie - they find themselves getting hyper-critical of the lack of verisimilitude with which DMs who haven't encountered real monsters portray them in game, and having (or failing) to restrain themselves from correcting the more obvious mistakes.

 

[Sacrosanct]

This is what I was thinking too. Will, trying to get back to the way things were, before the real monsters showed up...and girl friends. At the end, Mike tells Will that be can find a new group, but Will rejects this. He'll play with his friends, but he's not going to look for a new D&D group in his new town. This fits Will's character. To me, this is exactly how Will would react.

I wonder what the effect of dealing with real monsters in your town, especially after losing people you know to these horrors, would have on playing D&D? Need it more for escapism? Not wanting it because it's too close to what you've gone through for real? Don't need game monsters cause dealt with real thing? No real effect at all, because D&D is just a game?

They probably all have some serious PTSD and the last thing they want to do is relive those experiences in a game. It’s a reason I avoided modern combat rpgs for years. Just had no appeal whatsoever and would give me a cold empty feeling just thinking about it

 

[werecorpse]

My point is that D&D was largely portrayed in ST3 as something young kids do, that it’s expected that you will quit it when you hit age 16 & also that girls don’t participate in it. I consider that portrayal has a few negatives. The wizard suit is additionally a portrayal that reinforces negative stereotypes. Many of you may feel that it’s mostly an accurate portrayal. I don’t think it’s manifestly inaccurate but there are many ways you can portray a hobby. When it was portrayed positively in ST1 WOTC considered it enough of a positive to produce a Stranger Things D&D boxed set. I suspect they were right and it was a positive boost. My concern is they should be wary this doesn’t undo some of that good press. It’s done now but it wouldn’t hurt them to try and get some positive product placement in ST4. Maybe some sponsorship dollars to have Max playing D&D with Dustin, Mike and Lucas etc.

I thoroughly enjoy the series and agree it’s about the characters etc. The D&D portrayal is a tiny element of the series. But my only point is about the way in which D&D is portrayed in ST3 vs ST1. I accept that the creative decision of having Will begin to seperate from the rest during the season with his attachment to the hobby may have foreshadowed his eventual leaving & the talk he got from Mike about “what did you expect, we’ve grown up” was followed through with Will ditching his D&D gear to symbolise him maybe growing up, which also enabled Dustin to pass it on the Erica etc. All good stuff. Yay storyline, characters etc. So maybe the answer is, yes it was portrayed that way to serve a bigger creative purpose in the same way sometimes young skateboarders are portrayed as punk kids. My point is more that D&D doesn’t get heaps of exposure to the uninitiated and this might encourage 15/16 year olds to ditch rather than pick up the game.

I thought the ham radio scene wasn’t comparable, it didn’t portray that hobby as a kids thing one should ditch now that you are a bit older - though it was used to show some changes and the effects of girlfriends on the group. It showed that Mike and Elle were always ditching the group to go away and make out. This was commented on as being what they did all summer. The rest of the group stayed with Dustin, helped him assemble the radio antenna but eventually left when he was trying but failing to contact Suzy, leaving him still trying when it got dark. When he complained about being ditched by his friends to Steve he was sympathetic (he didn’t diminish the hobby) & when he brought it up with the group they apologised. But really, what more could they (apart from Mike & Elle) do apart from sit next to him while he failed to contact Suzy.

 

[Sacrosanct]

They did have a nod to the Satanic panic, so there was that.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I think the key lesson from ST is that never date or want to date Joyce Byers.

 

[Dire Bare]

Dude.

In the 80s, very few middle-school girls DID participate in D&D. And having 2 of the boys prioritize "girl problems" over D&D is very realistic. It isn't "Stranger Things" job to portray D&D, or anything, in a positive light, although I feel they have throughout all 3 seasons. You are taking this way out of proportion.

D&D isn't getting "bad press" from Stranger Things at all, including season 3. The Stranger Things/D&D boxed set came out to support this season, not seasons past.

You are looking for insult where none is offered, and playing into a D&D fan stereotype, the overly sensitive and easily outraged fan.

Still, in season 4, it would be cool to see the whole gang playing D&D together!

 

[MNblockhead]

This is what I was thinking too. Will, trying to get back to the way things were, before the real monsters showed up...and girl friends. At the end, Mike tells Will that be can find a new group, but Will rejects this. He'll play with his friends, but he's not going to look for a new D&D group in his new town. This fits Will's character. To me, this is exactly how Will would react.

I wonder what the effect of dealing with real monsters in your town, especially after losing people you know to these horrors, would have on playing D&D? Need it more for escapism? Not wanting it because it's too close to what you've gone through for real? Don't need game monsters cause dealt with real thing? No real effect at all, because D&D is just a game?

It depends upon the person. Different people react to things differently. Given the number of people from the military, who have seen real action, that I've played both D&D and also TTRPGs set in more modern settings with, I would say that there are plenty of people that would still enjoy--and may even find it therapeutic--to role play things that they have some real-world experience with. Others would not.

I think it would be less about whether someone who liked TTRPGs, and who thenexperienced real s**t, would still play TTRPGs and more about whether they would want to avoid certain scenarios.

 

[MNblockhead]

The same as when someone with real-world experience of any niche subject encounters it in a game or movie - they find themselves getting hyper-critical of the lack of verisimilitude with which DMs who haven't encountered real monsters portray them in game, and having (or failing) to restrain themselves from correcting the more obvious mistakes.

Yes, though such people can grow out of that, I did. I don't have any experience with the level or horror that, say, someone who has been in a war may have. But I remember getting critical and trying for verisimilitude when it came to wilderness travel and survival after a couple summers with the Student Conservation Association. Also, having some experience with firearms, I have to try hard not to roll my eyes at how certain players depict their character's use of them in games.

But as I aged, I realized it is just a game and that I should chill the hell out.

 

[jasper]

My Dm Alfred E Newman says why worry about how a minor plot point disses your hobby.