PAX Penny Arcade Session

[Zaran]

To be honest, I only found Wil Wheaton amusing for the first half of the series.

Don't get me wrong, the session was hilarious, a good example to show people what playing D&D 'looks like' and all the players -- Wil included -- were an absolute hoot.

But after awhile, Wheaton started to grate on me, like he was stealing the spotlight way too often. And despite the fact that I'm actually a long-time Penny Arcade fan (since their days as a LoonyBoi feature) I found Kurtz to be my favorite of the group.

Wheaton just seemed obsessed with getting attention from the crowd and on occasion I had a (petty) annoyance with his inability to take his turns efficiently.

Yeah he took extra time but I am betting that he was encouraged to do so before the game to make the session as entertaining for the viewers as possible.

 

[webrunner]

To be fair, the entire point of the session was focused on Wil's character. Kurtz got a lot of spotlight when they were focusing on the Bronzebottom history.. at least until the acid pit business turned everyone's eyes to Aeofel.

 

[Tortoise]

To be fair, the entire point of the session was focused on Wil's character. Kurtz got a lot of spotlight when they were focusing on the Bronzebottom history.. at least until the acid pit business turned everyone's eyes to Aeofel.

Ding ding ding! Winner.

This is exactly what Chris is so good at as a DM, putting the focus on each character as it is appropriate to the story or session events.

I had the good fortune to play a session he DMed at Gencon in 2000 (egads a decade past and I rememer it like it was yesterday) and he moved the spotlight onto each character as things progressed. He knows how to give the players what they want and make it fun for everyone at the same time.

He's also a blast when he does the personalities of the villains.

 

[Riastlin]

I thought they were a hoot myself. I didn't have any issues with Wheaton myself and thought that it was all well-done, particularly with all the ribbing that was going on in every direction.

I have to admit that at times I feel bad for certain actors (particularly child actors) who get lots of criticism for their characters. Its hard to imagine that Wil was a driving force behind the story lines and writing for TNG. Odds are that he was merely working with what he was given and acting more or less as directed. Often times I think far too little credit/blame is given to the writer's and directors.

 

[ourchair]

Yeah he took extra time but I am betting that he was encouraged to do so before the game to make the session as entertaining for the viewers as possible.

I meant 'taking time' in reference to how long it took for him to pull of his turn, not necessarily his audience showboating.

Which is why I called it 'petty,' because I recognize it's not really fair for me to be bothered or judge a person for how long it takes for him to resolve his turns.

Also, my bother with Wheaton on the PAX game is not something that significantly peeves me, nor does it have anything to do with him being Wesley Crusher (never watched TNG)

I have to admit that at times I feel bad for certain actors (particularly child actors) who get lots of criticism for their characters. Its hard to imagine that Wil was a driving force behind the story lines and writing for TNG. Odds are that he was merely working with what he was given and acting more or less as directed. Often times I think far too little credit/blame is given to the writer's and directors.

Truth.

I find it surprising even that people would hold anything like that against a child actor. It's like saying Scott Bakula is personally responsible for ruining Starfleet history. /offtopic

 

[wedgeski]

I have to admit that at times I feel bad for certain actors (particularly child actors) who get lots of criticism for their characters. Its hard to imagine that Wil was a driving force behind the story lines and writing for TNG. Odds are that he was merely working with what he was given and acting more or less as directed. Often times I think far too little credit/blame is given to the writer's and directors.

As a blogger he's written a lot on this subject, as you might expect. I highly recommend reading some of it.

 

[vaticanassassin]

This podcast inspired me to host my own game.

 

[vaticanassassin]

I can't wait for the new one tomorrow.

 

[vaticanassassin]

The mini used for Jim Darkmagic is the same one one of my players uses.

And love the Romeo & Juliet reference by Wil

Which mini is that? I'm curious as to which mini's the whole party uses.

 

[Ryujin]

Wheaton strikes me as a good guy and a good sport - he can self-deprecate, always a good trait, and a pretty good sense of humor. And anyone who 's seem him in various TV cameos over the past two or three years knows he's a pretty good actor, too.

Plenty of respect for the guy, as far as I'm concerned, and from my perspective the whole "I hate Wil Wheaton because of Wesley Crusher" thing is kinda sad.

It's one of the reasons why child stars are so often completely screwed up; they never grow beyond the role, that made them famous. This might be a rather ironic statement to make, given what many people think of role players, but it's good to see that he seems to be a rather well adjusted guy