4E - Increased potential for controversy/moral panic?

[Voadam]

Most importantly, they seemed to have deliberately avoided drawing any analogies to the big monotheistic religions - i.e. no crosses for holy symbols, no power or spell titles mimicking real world religions and, most importantly, no provisions for DMs to easily create monotheistic settings.

How is it not going to be easy to create a 4e monotheistic setting?

 

[hazel monday]

Total threadjack but...

4e seems to be selling mighty fine, which suggests to me that WOTCs marketing department has done the job damn well.

Actually, I think the brand name has done all the heavy lifting when it comes to marketing the game. People are gonna buy the game based on the name "dungeons and dragons", not cause some french guy tells them "ze game remains ze same".

I think 4.0 is selling well despite WOTC's marketing efforts rather than because of them.

As for the original topic, I don't see any big contoversy being stirred up over 4.0. It seems totally inoffensive and non threatening. It actually seems kind of like a disney movie. Big and colorful, but designed to be palatable and safe, rather than challenging.

 

[WhatGravitas]

Big and colorful, but designed to be palatable and safe, rather than challenging.

To be honest, if you want to be challenging, it's pretty hard to compete against flicks like Saw + sequels or Captivity - films were you essentially watch people die or suffer in gory and horrible ways.

Cheers, LT.

 

[C_M2008]

Actually, I think the brand name has done all the heavy lifting when it comes to marketing the game. People are gonna buy the game based on the name "dungeons and dragons", not cause some french guy tells them "ze game remains ze same".

I think 4.0 is selling well despite WOTC's marketing efforts rather than because of them.

As for the original topic, I don't see any big contoversy being stirred up over 4.0. It seems totally inoffensive and non threatening. It actually seems kind of like a disney movie. Big and colorful, but designed to be palatable and safe, rather than challenging.

I agree WoTC's marketing blows. They belong to a huge toy company, surely they can afford some big multinational ads, perhaps using celebrities that play to pitch the game WoW style(If there is a WoW idea to steal, that's the one) with a catchline like: is it 4 you?

Being up here in Canada, I never understood the whole religious right/fundamentalist B.S. that occurs down in the U.S. But given the amount of other crap to waste time harping on, I can't see it being an issue.

 

[Celebrim]

Historically speaking, I have found other ways to remain controversial and edgy.

I am, for example, a pervert.

Historically speaking, in the mid-80's, in junior high, I recall that it was considered cool to claim that you were a pervert, that you bragged about being a 'provert', and it was insulting to call someone a 'prevert' - that is that they hadn't been preverted yet.

In school, which would you rather have been known as, a 'pervert' or a 'square'? I recall alot of people bragging about there sexual adventures (real or invented), but I don't recall anyone bragging about being a square.

If you had said,, 'I am, for example, a prude.', I would have been impressed.

I wouldn't have believed you, but at least it would have been edgy.

 

[Ulrick]

Growing up in the 90s and playing D&D as a teenager, I've seen first hand what the Christian Right/Wrong can do. At the time my best friend's parents, upon discovering his hidden stash of D&D books, to him out into the country and threw all his books into a ditch. They burned his books while they prayed for his soul. The forbid him to even hang out with me, even camping outside my home if they suspected that he was inside playing D&D (i.e. being tempted by the devil). The only way I got to see my friend on normal bases what to tell his parents that I'd gotten rid of my D&D stuff (of course I didn't). They did other things too, which I won't go into, to rid D&D's influence among my circle of friends.

With this in mind, I suspect that now there won't be any national campaign from people to suppress D&D. It'll be localized and isolated. Such cases will be few and far between, but they'll happen.

 

[Rel]

If you had said,, 'I am, for example, a prude.', I would have been impressed.

I wouldn't have believed you, but at least it would have been edgy.

I suppose that I shall have to suffer the embarassment of failing to impress you, Celebrim. Anyhoo, off for another sexual adventure!

(not using the 4e ruleset)

 

[Celebrim]

I suppose that I shall have to suffer the embarassment of failing to impress you, Celebrim. Anyhoo, off for another sexual adventure!

(not using the 4e ruleset)

Tee hee.

 

[Ipissimus]

I recall that it was considered cool to claim that you were a pervert, that you bragged about being a 'provert', and it was insulting to call someone a 'prevert' - that is that they hadn't been preverted yet.

In school, which would you rather have been known as, a 'pervert' or a 'square'? I recall alot of people bragging about there sexual adventures (real or invented), but I don't recall anyone bragging about being a square.

If you had said,, 'I am, for example, a prude.', I would have been impressed.

I wouldn't have believed you, but at least it would have been edgy.

Well, now, that depends on what you mean by 'pervert'. If you mean a pervert as in 'I had premarital sex with a girl', yeah, that's pretty tame with today's standards. If he means 'I am Happosai incarnate', however, that's a bit more serious.

Of course, with shows like South Park and Jackass continually pushing back the boundry for shocking behavior, eventually the only way to be 'edgy' without crossing the line would be to become a non-practicing pedophile who preaches atheism door-to-door in the bible belt.

 

[Spinachcat]

A massive raging controversy would be the most awesome thing for our hobby. D&D sold far more books when we were demonic monsters eating babies. Pat Pulling and Jack Chick did more to sell D&D than anyone in TSR's marketing department.

So get out there and munch on some babies! Hail Satan!

Remember, any game where 666 is the best dice roll has gotta be dangerous! Sadly, I doubt we could even get a good controversy going these days