D&D General The New York Times on D&D

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I posted a thread with a link to a New York Magazine article and it was closed because it was thought to be the same article as this New York Times piece. ¯\(ツ)/¯

It is an entirely different publisher written by entirely different authors, so I’ll post the different story link here I guess. Enjoy!

https://www.vulture.com/article/is-dungeons-and-dragons-fun-game-popularity-misunderstood.html

 

[TiQuinn]

No, if Elon Musk, arguably the most powerful man in America, is putting his oar into the debate, it becomes News. That is why the NYT is covering it, and they refer to his involvement in the article.

Look, I have always been against using "race" and am firmly in support of the switch to "species." For me, that not what makes this a legitimate news story. It is a legitimate news story because Kuntz represents a vocal minority who Elon Musk has chosen to champion. So you have an intersection of D&D, which on it's own maybe gets an article in the arts and culture section or whatever, plus controversy that tangentially links to the current American furor around DEI initiatives, PLUS Musk coming in with his megaphone, and that combination makes it a significant news event.

Yeah, I'm just not gonna give this any further oxygen, thanks.

 

[J.Quondam]

I posted a thread with a link to a New York Magazine article and it was closed because it was thought to be the same article as this New York Times piece. ¯\(ツ)/¯

It is an entirely different publisher written by entirely different authors, so I’ll post the different story link here I guess. Enjoy!

https://www.vulture.com/article/is-dungeons-and-dragons-fun-game-popularity-misunderstood.html

And it's a much more interesting article, too, imo.

 

[Clint_L]

And it's a much more interesting article, too, imo.

It is a fabulous essay, but that's really an apples and oranges comparison.

Edit: I love this point: "...it is difficult to develop a proper aesthetic account of D&D. It is less like reviewing a book and more like reviewing a book club."

 

[J.Quondam]

I posted a thread with a link to a New York Magazine article and it was closed because it was thought to be the same article as this New York Times piece. ¯\(ツ)/¯

It is an entirely different publisher written by entirely different authors, so I’ll post the different story link here I guess. Enjoy!

https://www.vulture.com/article/is-dungeons-and-dragons-fun-game-popularity-misunderstood.html

It is a fabulous essay, but that's really an apples and oranges comparison.

Edit: I love this point: "...it is difficult to develop a proper aesthetic account of D&D. It is less like reviewing a book and more like reviewing a book club."

That thread's been unocked! We can talk about it over there instead of here.

 

[Bedrockgames]

It is a fabulous essay, but that's really an apples and oranges comparison.

Edit: I love this point: "...it is difficult to develop a proper aesthetic account of D&D. It is less like reviewing a book and more like reviewing a book club."

I haven't read the whole way through that one yet, but I agree, it looks like more of analysis and opinion, whereas the NYT article was more straight forward reporting

 

[Sir Brennen]

People are widely uneducated about who Elon Musk is [...]

Whut?

 

[Lidgar]

You know what would have been a nice ending this piece? Some interviews with players on how we are still gaming together regardless of these changes and their social/political viewpoints.

That’s certainly the case for our group, who have a wide variety of viewpoints, from hard right to hard left. But we’re respectful of each other’s views and mostly leave that stuff at the door.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What bother's me about the article is: why? Why do this article at all.

An editor who doesn't know anything about D&D but does know who Elon Musk is wanted to know what the heck Musk's problem this time was. It's a slow news period at the end of the year and the reporter didn't have anything they could say was occupying all their time, so they were ordered to write it.

There's no agenda behind most news stories beyond "answer this (sometimes dumb) question" and "we have a news hole to fill."

Publishing this story at this time of the year is basically the same as burying it. People here clicking on the link are probably a fairly significant number of its overall readership.

 

[Oofta]

Melissa C. : “I tell them it’s like a game of make-believe, but the rules are what actually make it fun,” she said. “If you just win all the time and defeat every monster, that is not fun.”

David C. : “All the species are becoming humans with decorations,”

As one sided as the article seems to be, I can't say the 2 DMs above are wrong.

Have species ever been anything other than humans with decorations?