The rehabilitation of roleplaying games

[Hairfoot]

It’s disappointing that one of the finest forms of entertainment ever created languishes in obscurity and stigma.

By rights, tabletop roleplaying should be enormously popular. Or at least a lot more popular. It's creative, communal, inexpensive, encourages lateral thinking, and it's accessible to everyone. "Roleplaying game" is as generic as "sport". Almost anyone who enjoys reading fiction can enjoy roleplaying games.

But feedback from gamers seems to suggest that roleplaying can't be separated from D&D, and D&D can't be separated from mental illness, the devil, and (worst) terminal uncoolness.

It seems ridiculous that RPGs are still stuck with mud slung 20 years ago. The Satanic suicide business has been thoroughly debunked, but the media and individuals who cashed in on hysteria at the time had no interest in reporting D&D's eventual vindication. And I fear that Wizard's pot-shot ad campaigns will fail to woo consumers who are already into fantasy material and drifting inexorably toward computer games.

Maybe what's needed is an awareness campaign that goes beyond advertising. Right now there doesn't seem to be any formal advocacy, just marketing and various online communities.

So, my question is: would lobbying be effective in changing public perception of roleplaying games, would it be worth it, and what form would it take?

 

[Starman]

So, my question is: would lobbying be effective in changing public perception of roleplaying games

No.

The only way it might ever become popular is if one, lots of "popular" people started playing, or two, if one could somehow become very wealthy doing it.

 

[Mark Hope]

There should be a Big Brother-style show with celebrities locked in a house for three weeks and forced to play D&D in marathon sessions until they snap and are carried out drooling and saying stuff like "Blackleaf, nooo!"

Not sure that it would do gaming's image any good, but I'd love to see Robin Williams flip out and call Jessica Simpson a %&@*ing munchkin and flush her dice down the toilet, or watch Sean Astin tear up his character sheet and sit in the corner crying. Of course, Vin Diesel would win, if only because the organisers of the competition would be too afraid to award the prize to anyone else.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

The problem is that role-playing is a very time-intensive hobby - especially if you are the GM. And if you are a celebrity of any sorts, you probably won't have enough time in your schedule for a regular gaming group, even if the stigma goes away...

 

[Hussar]

I'm not even sure if we really are languishing in the back anymore. As mentioned, role-playing is an every day word. However, there is a pretty large barrier into entering things - a honking big stack of rules. "Rules Light" games don't really solve the problem since they assume that any player is already a gamer. You can't really expect someone to ad hoc rulings right out of the chute and then expect the game to be good. It's a lengthy learning process.

One thing that the gaming industry has to learn from the computer gaming industry is how to get girls. The average computer gamer is 30 years old and 40 some percent of them are female. DnD demographics put female gamers at a much smaller minority. I rmember a Dragon article saying that readership was about 5% female. This is something that needs to be addressed if you want the game to become mainstream.

When 95% of gamers are male, it's going to be pretty hard to expand without winning over some of the other side. A considerable effort has to be made to attract female gamers.

 

[Ranger REG]

When 95% of gamers are male, it's going to be pretty hard to expand without winning over some of the other side. A considerable effort has to be made to attract female gamers.

Fine, but I draw the line on pink-colored PHB. It's bad enough my PHB looks like a girl's diary (it has everything but a functioning lock).

 

[Glyfair]

The only way it might ever become popular is if one, lots of "popular" people started playing, or two, if one could somehow become very wealthy doing it.

Actually, there are popular people playing (Vin Diesel gets mentioned often). The important thing is that popular people be seen doing it.

Indeed, it would help if normal seeming people were seen playing often. Roleplaying is most often done away from the public eye. When it is done in a public area, it's often accompanied by large helping of the stereotypical behavior that "normal people" tend to want to avoid (people in costumes, the worst of geek and loser stereotypes, etc).

I think part of the problem is roleplaying isn't particularly conducive to get media coverage. It's very poor as a spectator sport. How many people really want to watch a roleplaying game in progress? The last time I remember seeing "normal people" playing an RPG in any form of media was in E.T.

DnD demographics put female gamers at a much smaller minority. I rmember a Dragon article saying that readership was about 5% female.

I'm pretty sure that the number of female roleplayers is much higher than that.

 

[Dirigible]

So, my question is: would lobbying be effective in changing public perception of roleplaying games, would it be worth it, and what form would it take?

From the headlines, 2016:

LATEST STUDY FINDS DICE CARCINOGENIC
[...] research conducted by the Chick Institute of Molecular Genetics has found that plastic compounds found in dice can be absorbed through the skin, leading to excessive growth of facial hair and [...] calls from some groups to ban RPGs, the nation's most popular pass-time were called 'ridiculous' by Timer-Warner-MicroWizardSoft of the Coast. A statement put out by the corporation suggests that the cancer studies failed to correct for Cheeto contamination,which was found to be carcinogenic in [...] a class action lawsuit has been lodges against Big Gaming on behalf of the thousands of ex-gamers who claim they were never warned gaming could be addictive, and now suffer crippling, claw-like arthritis from years of tossing d20s [...] AngstWolf games has already been forced to pay out over lower back strain caused by its game, Exulted. Lawyers are expected to cite the so called 'bucket of d10s' case as evidence of [...]

 

[Psion]

But feedback from gamers seems to suggest that roleplaying can't be separated from D&D, and D&D can't be separated from mental illness, the devil, and (worst) terminal uncoolness.

Some have suggested this makes the game more, not less popular.

 

[Victim]

By rights, tabletop roleplaying should be enormously popular. Or at least a lot more popular. It's creative, communal, inexpensive, encourages lateral thinking, and it's accessible to everyone. "Roleplaying game" is as generic as "sport". Almost anyone who enjoys reading fiction can enjoy roleplaying games.

Why?

RPGs are more time consuming that most other entertainment forms, usually have significant upfront costs (often in time as much as money), and require a large degree of social coordination in order to be enjoyable.

It's no surprise me to that they aren't massively popular.

But feedback from gamers seems to suggest that roleplaying can't be separated from D&D, and D&D can't be separated from mental illness, the devil, and (worst) terminal uncoolness.

It seems ridiculous that RPGs are still stuck with mud slung 20 years ago. The Satanic suicide business has been thoroughly debunked, but the media and individuals who cashed in on hysteria at the time had no interest in reporting D&D's eventual vindication. And I fear that Wizard's pot-shot ad campaigns will fail to woo consumers who are already into fantasy material and drifting inexorably toward computer games.

Maybe what's needed is an awareness campaign that goes beyond advertising. Right now there doesn't seem to be any formal advocacy, just marketing and various online communities.

So, my question is: would lobbying be effective in changing public perception of roleplaying games, would it be worth it, and what form would it take?

The mud slung at RPGs is the same mud thrown at rock music and video games. It's hardly been the deathknell of those interests. The success or failure of RPGs can hardly be related to those accusations.