Critical Role Slate feature on Matt Mercer

[Reynard]

Mercer puts in prep time like he is getting paid for it, because...he is. But the players, not so much, not for the game session. Sam still needs rule explanations a lot of the time, because he doesn't really read the PHB.

They are very entertaining...and surely they Amp up their performance knowing they have an audience. But honestly? Still not that different from games that I have experienced. Except our silly voices are kind of garbage.

Remember, even improv actors rehearse.

 

[TwoSix]

MAN, people on this message board will argue about ANYTHING

 

[Parmandur]

Remember, even improv actors rehearse.

...? The players donknow what's coming in these games.

 

[TwoSix]

How could you say such a thing? We never argue about 18th century Venetian naval warfare.

Ha, as if La Serenissima could even conduct high-stakes naval warfare after that spanking by the Ottomans.

Noob.

 

[CleverNickName]

Tell me you've never been in theater, without telling me you've never been in theater.

 

[Oofta]

Remember, even improv actors rehearse.

So I've been rehearsing for decades by DMing and role playing characters?

 

[Oofta]

Tell me you've never been in theater, without telling me you've never been in theater.

So people that are in improv theater can never play a game?

 

[Reynard]

...? The players donknow what's coming in these games.

Right, but in improv, you practice "bits" and you work with your fellow actors in order to be able to pull off "improv" seamlessly. I am sure that the players take time to work with one another regarding their characters, talking about how they should interact and what they might do when X or Y happens.

The point is that they are entertainers working on a professional show. That doesn't mean they can't enjoy themselves, and it doesn't mean they aren't also playing the RPG. But they are also acting the whole time, and it is not like a "home game."

 

[TwoSix]

Nope.

Because unlike athletics, you can't influence the outcome. Now, I know what you're thinking- But wait, is Snarf accusing them of scripting things?

No, I'm not. What I do think should be very obvious is that the reason that reality TV is the better analogy is that people change their performances to "play up" to the cameras. And while the events aren't scripted (they aren't reading off of scripts), the amount of prep time put in and the need to hit certain beats knowing that there is an audience means that it is closer to something like Curb Your Enthusiasm, with a loose outline that provides talented performers a lot of room for improvisational work, than it is a typical home game that just happens to be filmed.

I am not sure why this is controversial. The people involved are in the Business, and this has become incredibly lucrative. They are all talented performers. To think, for even a second, that they are not applying some of their learned knowledge and skills as performers to something that is making them all money seems fantastical. Not to mention incredibly dismissive of their own skills.

But that's just me. I tend to value what they do as performers as business people.

Why can't it be both (which I think is what you're getting at)? It's not like there aren't reality competitions (Survivor, The Amazing Race, Big Brother), which are both polished and edited, and certainly influenced by the producers and other entertainment necessities, but are still ultimately competitions without a predetermined winner.

It's not like "Our Thursday sessions are important bonding experiences for our group and we still have lots of fun playing just like the old days" and "They're professionals who bring their A-game to their Thursday sessions and make decisions that will make the game more enjoyable to a broader audience" are mutually exclusive propositions.

 

[Oofta]

Right, but in improv, you practice "bits" and you work with your fellow actors in order to be able to pull off "improv" seamlessly. I am sure that the players take time to work with one another regarding their characters, talking about how they should interact and what they might do when X or Y happens.

The point is that they are entertainers working on a professional show. That doesn't mean they can't enjoy themselves, and it doesn't mean they aren't also playing the RPG. But they are also acting the whole time, and it is not like a "home game."

You've never done that? Had discussions out of game sessions either with other players or the DM? Maybe I'm just weird because that kind of stuff happens on a pretty regular basis for me.

Nobody is saying they aren't amazing at bringing their PCs to life. But they've said repeatedly that nothing is scripted, it's not preplanned, they don't discuss story arcs ahead of time. We all agree they're actors. So? They're talented actors playing a game.