Celebrity Gamers & Quality Of Roleplaying

[Kaodi]

"Celebrity" here needs quotations marks but I was idly wondering: has the era of D&D streaming created pressure on how "good" people are at the table now that we have a bunch of examples of people with varying degrees of acting experience playing the game? Of course there always going to be people who just become really good through practice, like Jason Bulmahn, and I am sure we have plenty of people here who are exception as well. But has there been an increase in what level of immersion people are trying to put into their gaming? Or have I just not had enough facetime in my gaming career to see all of this already?

I am watching the Knights of Everflame series on Geek & Sundry and Gina DeVivo and Rachel Seeley are just hilarious. They do (good) voices for their characters, they get right into it with their facial expressions and tone. That is the sort of person at the table I want to be, though I imagine my voices would be hella uneven and my "acting" would be flat.

Of course there is always the other side of the coin: I cannot remember whose signature it is or was but I remember one of our members here way back when had a saying something, "Show me deep, meaningful, and heartfelt roleplaying and I will show you me leaving through the door." Different strokes for different folks and all that, .

 

[Umbran]

"Celebrity" here needs quotations marks but I was idly wondering: has the era of D&D streaming created pressure on how "good" people are at the table now that we have a bunch of examples of people with varying degrees of acting experience playing the game?
...
But has there been an increase in what level of immersion people are trying to put into their gaming?

Note something very important here: Acting and immersion are not strongly connected. Actors help the audience immerse into the story, but may themselves not really be all that immersed. An actor playing to an audience may very well be rather tied up with how they perform, and not all that tied up in the fiction itself. And vice versa, you don't need to have a table of good actors to have a table of people immersed in the game.

Immersion and acting - they really are separate skills.

 

[Lanefan]

Immersion and acting - they really are separate skills.

Perhaps, but either always helps with the other.

And, keep in mind that even if your acting doesn't help your own immersion it'll help the other players - who are also your audience, as you are theirs - immerse themselves.

 

[Doug McCrae]

There's no consensus regarding the purpose of roleplaying. For me, portrayal of character, with the other people sitting round the table as the target audience, is the main point of rpg-ing. But for others being a 'good roleplayer' means winning the game - keeping your PC alive, finding the most treasure, beating the monsters.

 

[S'mon]

has the era of D&D streaming created pressure on how "good" people are at the table now that we have a bunch of examples of people with varying degrees of acting experience playing the game?

Having a professional voice actor like Jack Glanville at my table, and new players whose previous experience =watching Critical Role, has increased my awareness of the issue. But none of my players has demanded MOAR ACTING! MOAR VOICES!

It's like having a professional (now former) WoTC author at my table, starting in the 4e era - obviously she (Kimberly Pauley) writes great background, vignettes and session accounts, which leads me to think more about campaign depth, but she's not scolding me for a lack of Authoriness.

 

[Umbran]

Perhaps, but either always helps with the other.

I don't think that's necessarily true - it will vary from individual to individual, and should not be treated as a general rule any more than, "gamers like pizza." Sure, "method" actors are all about immersion, but other schools of acting don't stress that aspect. The actual work of modern film and television acting likely precludes immersion for many actors, due to how the piece is chopped into many small takes, filmed out of order.

And, keep in mind that even if your acting doesn't help your own immersion it'll help the other players - who are also your audience, as you are theirs - immerse themselves.

More important, keep in mind that stressing how important acting is at the table will act as a disincentive to those who are not, in their own minds, particularly good actors, or who feel anxiety over performing for others.

I've personally seen two teens and one adult reject invites to play, because, "Oh, and I can't do stuff like they do on Critical Role."

 

[Jacob Lewis]

How good an actor do people think they need to be to cast a fireball, wield a sword, or roll some dice? I think we are losing sight that this is still a game. The goal is to entertain and have fun. The only audience should be your friends and peers at the table. So unless they're pressuring you to perform better, I think should be more of a perceived problem than an actual one.

I've personally seen two teens and one adult reject invites to play, because, "Oh, and I can't do stuff like they do on Critical Role."

And the proper response to that: "Good! Because that is a show with professional actors targeted for a viewing audience. We're just friends getting together to have fun. You can do whatever feels comfortable for you, and you are more than welcome to join us."

 

[Coroc]

I have both kinds at my table. No professionals though. One guy who does rarely rp but if he does he does it true to his character, but he is more the type who enjoys the game as such and loves combat and exploring more than rp.

The other one who loves to play little "kenderlike" characters who uses his great repertoire of voice mimicking and word variations in different situations, doing things like pushing another char - who was to inactive for his taste - into the heat of the combat thereby shouting "for the group!" etc. He would be close to those actors in the livestreams in theatrical rp skill.

I like both although the second does make me laugh so hard sometimes by his chaotic comedy style.

 

[Arilyn]

When my daughter was a teen, she played a lot of RPGs with us. She is short, weighs practically nothing and has a light voice. She made a variety of characters including muscular male fighters and burly dwarves. She never altered her voice and is not an actor, but her characters were all believable because she gave them personality and quirks. Everyone was immersed in the game. No acting skills or "funny voices" required.

 

[MonkeezOnFire]

I've seen a couple times on Twitter that it is apparently a point of frustration for Matt Mercer himself that so many people compare their games to his. He tries to be very outspoken about how everyone should focus on their game for what they want and to not worry about replicating the high production values, years of DMing experience or character acting experience on display.

It seems like the social media effect of comparing experiences and feeling like one comes up short is starting to make its way into the tabletop hobby. Every once in a while I will get this feeling that I could be doing more or I wish I was better at X for the game. But when I take a step back I realize that I am my own worst critic and that my players generally have a good time.