The "Playing D&D With Porn Stars" videos are getting really good

[Noumenon]

I really liked episode 11 of the "I hit it with my axe" series. (Watch it here, I couldn't embed it.)

No one is acting here -- the players are totally into the game emotionally. And yet they're still porn stars, not geeks -- they say things that would only be in character for porn stars to say and they come off as completely cool people in general. The DM (Zak Sabbath) has a blog post about how D&D thrives on the distance between the game world and the real world, and I think he's totally captured that here:

(In the experiences that I myself have personally had) the more tension you can create around the distance between the universe of the game world and the universe of the people sitting around the table playing the game eating double-stuff Oreos--the more fun you have. The game world is a serious place full of life, death, terror and various forms of spectacularness--and it is navigated by people in apartments with jobs who roll dice. This is not necessarily a bug.

This is the most interesting actual play video I've ever seen (the cutting makes for better pacing than most reality shows), and maybe the best advertisement for D&D too. This game is cool. I hope the Escapist sponsors a lot more of it, and I hope WotC copies the filming techniques for their Chris Perkins videos.

 

[Pseudonym]

I should start reading that blog more. Good stuff there.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

... wrong thread.

 

[Nifft]

This is the most interesting actual play video I've ever seen (the cutting makes for better pacing than most reality shows), and maybe the best advertisement for D&D too. This game is cool. I hope the Escapist sponsors a lot more of it, and I hope WotC copies the filming techniques for their Chris Perkins videos.

Yeah, good editing makes a HUGE difference.

It's also important to note this is not a "pure play" video. There are later additions -- where there was no good way to edit the source material into something usable, they simply recorded a quick summary later and stuck it in.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Noumenon]

I should start reading that blog more. Good stuff there.

Yeah -- like this epic-length post on railroading, and all those monster manual entries about how liches thematically are really about how laws and traditions set up by long-dead men constrict our lives. Very brainy.

It's also important to note this is not a "pure play" video. There are later additions -- where there was no good way to edit the source material into something usable, they simply recorded a quick summary later and stuck it in.

They do so much work to make it better -- I don't know if it's the sponsors that make it worthwhile, or if they just have more vision than the "pure play" video makers.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

Yeah, it definitely has gotten better.

I like Justine more than Sasha - gaming is not for everyone, but Sasha just had a sullen way about her and seemed really bored and disinterested. Justine is much more light and lively, and she seems way more interested in the game. It's amazing how much of a difference that makes.

 

[Noumenon]

Well, Zak did a brilliant thing with Justine by giving her a secret to hang onto. Where Sasha summed up her experience by "so I'm sitting here... sucking," Justine could be thinking "I'm sitting here... waiting for my chance to be special!" And she was important to the plot, too, which builds the concept of "guest star" into the gameplay. Seems like a great way to get a new player involved, which even Zak says is a chancy process.

 

[Nifft]

They do so much work to make it better -- I don't know if it's the sponsors that make it worthwhile, or if they just have more vision than the "pure play" video makers.

As much fun as it is to bash on porn for being, well, porn, I must admit that it probably gives one some significant insight into the process of making a video -- and I'll bet the porn stars are able to "act natural" on camera more easily than people who spend less time with cameras pointed at them.

Cheers, -- N