Curmudgeon's Corner: So, what's the deal with Critical Role?

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Celebrim]

I'd say that our tastes are pretty different.... but watching someone else play an RPG is something I find I can't do.

I can watch someone else play a video game, something which my wife doesn't get and even I find a bit weird.

But I get bored out of my mind watching someone play a RPG.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Celebrim]

It obviously appeals to some people! I feel like I'm missing something.

Well, we are both missing out obviously. There is a community of people who enjoy Critical Role and we're on the outside.

But I'm not convinced I'm missing something. I think perhaps they are.

 

[generic]

I'm not an old curmudgeon, but, while I do enjoy watching people play a video game quite a bit, I despise watching people play a TTRPG, it's just so boring for me (not to mention, ridiculously time-consuming).

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[generic]

Ugh! Well, at least we are all in agreement on watching people play TTRPGs. GO OLDS!

But how do you and @Celebrim manage to watch people play video games? At most, I can watch a very short clip if it's a gameplay hint (how to get past X boss), and then only if there isn't a written guide.

I may have to petition to remove your OLD cards. No more control of the thermostat!

Well, as I said, I'm actually not old. I'm pretty young, but I agree that watching people play TTRPGs is boring. Video games are more visual, I think.

 

[Charlaquin]

The title pretty much says it all.

But to elaborate-

I love all the attention that TTRPGs get. Even if they aren't TTRPGs, they are just RPGs. Yeah, you heard me, CRPGs. You can just go straight to H-E-double hockey sticks, so long as you take your C with you!

So I appreciate podcasts, and shows, like Critical Role for developing more of an audience.

...but I just don't get it.

I've tried to engage with it (Critical Role, that Dan Harmon one), but it's just not for me. If I wanted to watch a show, there's approximately 5 billion shows and movies to watch; I'm literally DROWNING in content.

And, more importantly, why would I want to watch others play a game that I can play myself?

I have the same, strong, revulsion to most Twitch streams; why would I watch someone else play a videogame that I can play myself? That's, you know, weird.

Look, I get that this is the classic, Old Guy Yelling at Clouds argument ("What's with the kids these days, riding around in their funny cars and blasting their hip hop music and shooting the jerbs????"), but I don't get the appeal.

Also, I understand that people can make similar arguments about, say, sports or music (why watch football when you can do it? why go to concerts that you can play?) .... to which I have two answers: A. Shut Up. B. It's difference.

...ahem. Seriously, though, is this something I'm missing? Can someone explain the appeal to me, or how I might get to understand this?

Or am I doomed to forever not be able to waste hours of time watching other people play, and be forced to play myself instead?*


*Yeah, I did that. What are you going to do about it?

The argument, “why watch other people play a game when you can play it yourself?” relies on the assumption that you can play it yourself. I think this is why the usual “well, why watch Football when you can play that yourself?” comeback falls flat for most of the people who make this argument. Sure, in theory you might be able to play football, but in reality you can’t just do that any time you want. At minimum, doing so would require organizing enough people for two teams and all the necessary equipment, not something you can just do on a whim. And even if you did, you and your friends are unlikely to be able to play at the level professional players do.

The thing is, not everyone can just play D&D themselves. It’s a group game, so at minimum it requires getting a group together, which realistically isn’t something you can just do on a whim. And even if you did, you and your friends are unlikely to be able to be able to act at the level of professional (voice) actors. That’s all before considering the fact that a lot (a LOT) of people who like the idea of D&D are too intimidated by the rules, the social aspect, or both to be comfortable actually playing it themselves. For those people, watching critical role gives them a taste of what interests them about D&D without having to learn the rules or put themselves out there with a group of other people.

Another part of the appeal of watching sports is the social element. For many sports fans, it’s more about the ritual of getting together to watch the Big Game than it is about the game itself. This is also true of Critical Role. For many fans it’s more about a shared experience with their friends who also watch it than about the show itself.

Lastly, Critical Role (and games like it) has a story, with characters, that people get invested in for much the same reason they might get invested in any serialized TV drama. They want to know what happens next in the story. This is kind of doubled for Critical Role because of the para-social relationship it fosters with the actors. People get invested in the actors like characters on a reality TV show, so there’s a double-whammy of potential investment.

EDIT: For the record, I actually don’t actively follow Critical Role. I do understand the appeal, but not enough hours in the day for me to want to spend 3-4 of them watching a D&D game I can’t participate in. I do enjoy The Adventure Zone though. Shorter episodes and a smaller, more focused group help a LOT.

 

[Salthorae]

I don't watch them a ton. I've watched maybe 4 episodes of CR (at the end of their original run) and a few dozen of MCDM (which I do like but 3 hours is a lot to keep up with).

I just watched one that DND Beyond posted yesterday from Game Hole Con with Chris Perkins DMing and Pat Rothfuss and a few others as players. It was 2.5 hours and I was laughing my butt off almost the whole time.

I think for me when I do watch them, I enjoy the stories that they're weaving, but I also enjoy the camaraderie of the players. That's the best part of TTRPG for me and to get a hint of it even when I'm not playing is fun.

If I do watch, it's usually on my headphones at work, more listening than anything else.

 

[cmad1977]

I listen to the podcasts. Don’t watch. I do it as a ‘watching the tape’ type thing.

Situations crop up and I think to myself ‘I’d handle things in X fashion’. Then I see what the Gm does and wether I can see why they made the calls they made.

I don’t really care about the actual role-playing so much.