D&D General Critical Role: Overrated, Underrated, or Goldilocks?

[Deset Gled]

I didn’t say primarily.

I am reminded of the quote attributed to George Will: "Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal."

Is CR just a game of D&D? Sure. Just a game that has a corporation, a non-profit org, and publishing company founded around it. And a $11M kickstarter.

 

[jgsugden]

Oh, so I misunderstood myself? Ok, thanks!

Been inconsistent, as well as not accounted for what other people, including Snarf, said about CR.

 

[Bolares]

Been inconsistent, as well as not accounted for what other people, including Snarf, said about CR.

Sure. I think I'm done talking to you about this.

 

[CleverNickName]

I am reminded of the quote attributed to George Will: "Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal."

Is CR just a game of D&D? Sure. Just a game that has a corporation, a non-profit org, and publishing company founded around it. And a $11M kickstarter.

I totally agree. I don't understand why some folks insist otherwise.

Is Critical Role a game of D&D? Yes, of course it is. There are dice and rules, a DM and characters, hit points and armor class.

Is Critical Role just a game of D&D? No, of course not. It's also a live-streamed television show, a multimillion-dollar business, a comic book series, a cartoon, a non-profit, a published campaign setting, etc.

 

[Xetheral]

I totally agree. I don't understand why some folks insist otherwise.

Is Critical Role a game of D&D? Yes, of course it is. There are dice and rules, a DM and characters, hit points and armor class.

Is Critical Role just a game of D&D? No, of course not. It's also a live-streamed television show, a multimillion-dollar business, a cartoon, a campaign setting, etc.

I think the problem being encountered is that the word "performance" has an unusually wide range of meanings and connotations.

Some posters appear to be interpreting the statement "Critical Role is a performance" as implying that Critical Role is not a game of D&D, and is instead a performance of a game of D&D. This would be similar to how the phrase "a performance of a murder investigation" implies that the performance is not actually a murder investigation. (Although even that would be tone-dependent, and could instead imply that an actual murder investigation was masterful.)

However, I don't think anyone in this thread is actually arguing that Critical Role is not a game of D&D, they're simply saying that it is also a performance. In other words, I don't think anyone who is arguing that Critical Role is a performance is intending to convey any connotation that Critical Role is not real.

 

[Scribe]

If the CR crew turns off the stream, sends home the extras (production crew) and still plays the game. Same play styles, behavior.

Is it still Critical Role?

 

[Oofta]

If the CR crew turns off the stream, sends home the extras (production crew) and still plays the game. Same play styles, behavior.

Is it still Critical Role?

That's a deep philosophical question with no answer. Much like: if a tree falls on a bard mime in the forest does anyone care?

 

[Scribe]

That's a deep philosophical question with no answer. Much like: if a tree falls on a bard mime in the forest does anyone care?

Not particularly deep, but I think it could illuminate the disagreement perhaps.

 

[Charlaquin]

I think the problem being encountered is that the word "performance" has an unusually wide range of meanings and connotations.

Some posters appear to be interpreting the statement "Critical Role is a performance" as implying that Critical Role is not a game of D&D, and is instead a performance of a game of D&D. This would be similar to how the phrase "a performance of a murder investigation" implies that the performance is not actually a murder investigation. (Although even that would be tone-dependent, and could instead imply that an actual murder investigation was masterful.)

However, I don't think anyone in this thread is actually arguing that Critical Role is not a game of D&D, they're simply saying that it is also a performance. In other words, I don't think anyone who is arguing that Critical Role is a performance is intending to convey any connotation that Critical Role is not real.

Right, it’s not a performance of a game of D&D, it’s a game of D&D as performance. I’m running out of analogies here, but you could have a performance of a murder investigation, which might look like an episode of a CSI show, or you could have a murder investigation as performance if, like, the detective was live streaming their investigation or something. Critical Role is like the latter (though obviously much less grim).

 

[Charlaquin]

If the CR crew turns off the stream, sends home the extras (production crew) and still plays the game. Same play styles, behavior.

Is it still Critical Role?

I would say no. No more than Arin Hansen and Dan Avidan playing video games off camera is Game Grumps.