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Not a Conspiracy Theory: Moving Toward Better Criticism in RPGs
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<blockquote data-quote="Aldarc" data-source="post: 8929766" data-attributes="member: 5142"><p>One problem is that gamers, in general, want their games to be perceived as "art," especially when they are perceived as not being "art," but then they get toxically hostile when people criticize said games as they would "art." There is a pervasive sense, IMHO, that gamers want to remove the games, media, and entertainment they consume from any and all criticism. People like what they like. But if they like it, it's good and it <em>can't</em> and/or <em>shouldn't</em> be criticized. That attitude may be the greatest hurdle, IMHO, when it comes to developing TTRPG theory: <em>"Don't criticize games that I like!" <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" alt="🤷♂️" title="Man shrugging :man_shrugging:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f937-2642.png" data-shortname=":man_shrugging:" /> </em></p><p></p><p></p><p>RPGs are not a monolith. Neither are video games, which I suspect have a greater breadth of play than TTRPGs.* Theory is nevertheless being applied to video games. It's a common error in academia to treat one's own field as being "exceptionally unique" when compared to other fields. </p><p></p><p>* I mean no offense here to TTRPGs. There is simply far greater number and variety of video games out there than TTRPGs. Moreover, TTRPGs may have more shared commonalities with each other than video games do. TTRPGs are simply a niche hobby. </p><p></p><p></p><p>It's a starting point. Often academic fields borrow terms from other fields that have already developed them: e.g., literature -> film - > television, etc. Those terms are then tweaked or discarded when their applicability to the new field or medium is "tested" through criticism, discussion, argumentation, and theory.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aldarc, post: 8929766, member: 5142"] One problem is that gamers, in general, want their games to be perceived as "art," especially when they are perceived as not being "art," but then they get toxically hostile when people criticize said games as they would "art." There is a pervasive sense, IMHO, that gamers want to remove the games, media, and entertainment they consume from any and all criticism. People like what they like. But if they like it, it's good and it [I]can't[/I] and/or [I]shouldn't[/I] be criticized. That attitude may be the greatest hurdle, IMHO, when it comes to developing TTRPG theory: [I]"Don't criticize games that I like!" 🤷♂️ [/I] RPGs are not a monolith. Neither are video games, which I suspect have a greater breadth of play than TTRPGs.* Theory is nevertheless being applied to video games. It's a common error in academia to treat one's own field as being "exceptionally unique" when compared to other fields. * I mean no offense here to TTRPGs. There is simply far greater number and variety of video games out there than TTRPGs. Moreover, TTRPGs may have more shared commonalities with each other than video games do. TTRPGs are simply a niche hobby. It's a starting point. Often academic fields borrow terms from other fields that have already developed them: e.g., literature -> film - > television, etc. Those terms are then tweaked or discarded when their applicability to the new field or medium is "tested" through criticism, discussion, argumentation, and theory. [/QUOTE]
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