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RPG Evolution: The Dragons Come Home to Roost
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<blockquote data-quote="Cergorach" data-source="post: 8870661" data-attributes="member: 725"><p>I understand what [USER=7037991]@Vincent55[/USER] is getting at, but he's getting at it in a pretty arsehole way.</p><p></p><p>Theoretically every generation should be getting more intelligent on average, but folks being 50 won't notice that difference at all. That would take a LOT more generations...</p><p></p><p>What is happening is that D&D (and RPGs in general) have become more mainstream over the decades and companies like WotC/Hasbro have been altering their products to appeal to the masses. In the same way as computer games have done so. What does that result in? A certain level of making it easier to get into RPGs, by lowering thresholds. That means a larger spectrum of people can play D&D (RPGs), which is great. That means that less intelligent people can play D&D, RPGs, use computers, and play video games...</p><p></p><p>But imho intelligence does not a good or bad player make! D&D isn't a difficult game, but in the past it often suffered from writers that are horrible at explaining stuff to others. If you have trouble with explaining D&D to less intelligent players, that is not on them, that is on you. What can be a problem is a certain mindset, that has been prevailant among (but not unique to) the younger generations due to companies pushing that: Instant Gratification. They want their thing now, the way they want it. Or get distracted by other things (like their smartphones)... Is that everyone? Of course not! Many older people have the same issues and lots of younger people don't. But when you open the doors wide, you can expect everyone to walk in.</p><p></p><p>When us 'old' folks started, D&D was pretty nerdy and similar people flocked together to play it. Nerdy doesn't exactly equal intelligence, but I would say that on average, there were quite a few intelligent people playing D&D in those times for extended periods of time. I think the number of intelligent people playing D&D hasn't decreased at all, just that it's become socially acceptable or even trendy to play D&D for other people. I also never subscribed to random people playing RPGs together, it's a social activity and people need to fit and be compatible within those groups. Sure, one offs with a bunch of random people can be fun, you can meet new people that way, but imho it's quite a different experience from campaigns with an established group of (RPG) friends. RPGs are a group activity, where everyone needs to have fun, both the DM and the players. And together you make a fun experience for everyone. If you think your players are all morons, you're DMing them for the wrong reasons and I'm starting to wonder who the real moron is in that equation...</p><p></p><p>I'm 46, ~35 years of gaming, and I never really liked the 'classic' D&D puzzles. For me they always were the products of mad wizards minds. I usually participated because either the DM spend a ton of time and effort on them or someone else in the party liked them. If someone overdid it I could always request if in the next sessions they could please tone done the 'Mad wizard puzzles'. ;-)</p><p></p><p>So if you're pushing your puzzles and things and 'the younger generation' isn't interested or constantly distracted, whose fault is that exactly...</p><p></p><p>Sidenote: Getting 'huffy-puffy' about someone being generic to a degree that is unrealistic, like "It's raining all the time!". You really need to ask yourself, just how smart am I or in what emotional state am I in, that I'm getting triggered by this totally unrealistic generic statement? Does that person actually mean what he's saying? If so, is there really fixing 'stupid' (after all they keep making better morons)? ;-) Or is that person lacking in communication skills or just being an arsehole about it... Or does that person have a point that he or she can't express in a better way...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cergorach, post: 8870661, member: 725"] I understand what [USER=7037991]@Vincent55[/USER] is getting at, but he's getting at it in a pretty arsehole way. Theoretically every generation should be getting more intelligent on average, but folks being 50 won't notice that difference at all. That would take a LOT more generations... What is happening is that D&D (and RPGs in general) have become more mainstream over the decades and companies like WotC/Hasbro have been altering their products to appeal to the masses. In the same way as computer games have done so. What does that result in? A certain level of making it easier to get into RPGs, by lowering thresholds. That means a larger spectrum of people can play D&D (RPGs), which is great. That means that less intelligent people can play D&D, RPGs, use computers, and play video games... But imho intelligence does not a good or bad player make! D&D isn't a difficult game, but in the past it often suffered from writers that are horrible at explaining stuff to others. If you have trouble with explaining D&D to less intelligent players, that is not on them, that is on you. What can be a problem is a certain mindset, that has been prevailant among (but not unique to) the younger generations due to companies pushing that: Instant Gratification. They want their thing now, the way they want it. Or get distracted by other things (like their smartphones)... Is that everyone? Of course not! Many older people have the same issues and lots of younger people don't. But when you open the doors wide, you can expect everyone to walk in. When us 'old' folks started, D&D was pretty nerdy and similar people flocked together to play it. Nerdy doesn't exactly equal intelligence, but I would say that on average, there were quite a few intelligent people playing D&D in those times for extended periods of time. I think the number of intelligent people playing D&D hasn't decreased at all, just that it's become socially acceptable or even trendy to play D&D for other people. I also never subscribed to random people playing RPGs together, it's a social activity and people need to fit and be compatible within those groups. Sure, one offs with a bunch of random people can be fun, you can meet new people that way, but imho it's quite a different experience from campaigns with an established group of (RPG) friends. RPGs are a group activity, where everyone needs to have fun, both the DM and the players. And together you make a fun experience for everyone. If you think your players are all morons, you're DMing them for the wrong reasons and I'm starting to wonder who the real moron is in that equation... I'm 46, ~35 years of gaming, and I never really liked the 'classic' D&D puzzles. For me they always were the products of mad wizards minds. I usually participated because either the DM spend a ton of time and effort on them or someone else in the party liked them. If someone overdid it I could always request if in the next sessions they could please tone done the 'Mad wizard puzzles'. ;-) So if you're pushing your puzzles and things and 'the younger generation' isn't interested or constantly distracted, whose fault is that exactly... Sidenote: Getting 'huffy-puffy' about someone being generic to a degree that is unrealistic, like "It's raining all the time!". You really need to ask yourself, just how smart am I or in what emotional state am I in, that I'm getting triggered by this totally unrealistic generic statement? Does that person actually mean what he's saying? If so, is there really fixing 'stupid' (after all they keep making better morons)? ;-) Or is that person lacking in communication skills or just being an arsehole about it... Or does that person have a point that he or she can't express in a better way... [/QUOTE]
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