To Hell with Dungeons & Dragons ! ! !

[Rel]

Yeah, this is not what I want to see come back from the 80s.

I'm hoping 5e will at least have Tieflings with leg warmers.

 

[Umbran]

I think for example there is pretty good evidence that the CBS executives were always uncomfortable with the darkness of the material in the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, and that the show was torpedoed rather suddenly in 1985 despite having won its time slot for two years running (despite relative low promotion compared to other shows in the lineup). Similar things happened to the nascent D&D toy line for which the cartoon was one of the strongest marketing vehicles.

The real problem with your argument isn't the counter-factual nature. It is Occam's Razor. Your argument is complex, when the simple one - that it was just one bad movie in a whole host of bad movies - is sufficient to explain the observed results.

 

[Celebrim]

The real problem with your argument isn't the counter-factual nature. It is Occam's Razor. Your argument is complex, when the simple one - that it was just one bad movie in a whole host of bad movies - is sufficient to explain the observed results.

First of all, I'm not sure what that has to do with the material you quoted about the D&D cartoon. What I wrote about the demise of the D&D cartoon is based on the statements which have been made over the years by the shows producers and writers, and I think that its fairly common knowledge that the show was cancelled to preempt negative publicity. Occam's Razor just doesn't apply here.

Secondly, I'm pretty sure that's a misuse of Occam's Razor in general. While 95% of everything is garbage, the variables that contribute to a peice of entertainment's success or failure are no doubt complex. This reasonable invocation of complexity is I think sufficient to explain why 95% of everything is garbage. Making a good movie is a wicked problem not easily ammendable to a formulaic solution. But its not at all sufficient to explain why any particular thing is garbage. Your explanation, "that it was just one bad movie in a whole host of bad movies", is a tautology. It's just like saying, "It was a bad movie because it was a bad movie.", and it makes no attempt to be explanatory at all.

And even if you had attempted to be explanatory, you still couldn't have invoked Occams razor just because you'd suggested a reasonable proximal cause. Imagine that I'd invoked Occam's Razor against the claim that the occult/suicide scare increased D&D's popularity. Do you find persuasive: "D&D became popular because it is a good game. This is the simplest explanation for its success, therefore, by Occam's Razor the occult/suicide scare did not contribute to its popularity." Obviously, a game can become popular for many reasons, so admitting one doesn't exclude others as plausible contributing factors. Similarly, a movie can be bad for many reasons, so admitting one doesn't exclude others as plausible contributing factors.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I'm hoping 5e will at least have Tieflings with leg warmers.

And dragonborn with zubaz (not boobiez)!





















Sorry . . . I couldn't resist.

 

[Kzach]

Umm... I hate to be the one to break this to you all but it seems like it wasn't common knowledge like I thought it was...

Mike Mearls = Satan

Monte Cook = Anti-Christ

WotC Staff = All the Devils of Hell.

I really thought everyone already knew that *shrug*

 

[foolish_mortals]

Injecting D&D with an air of rebelliousness, anti-establishmentism could help.

Certain celebrities danced around satanic themes to the success of their carriers. But look at those celebs. They were generally attractive people or so ugly they were attractive.

Now look at your stereotypical gamer. We can't pull it off folks. There is no type of cool tabletop RPGers can cloak themselves in. Even this one.


That said . . .


Frankly it is rather questionable that this thread has been left open. :/ This kind of equal-opportunity mockery would never be similarly left opened. *sigh*

I have to agree. Most of the celebraties I know of that are in dnd aren't people that are that cool. Vin Disel and that guy who plays some weird conservative are the only two I can think of. Can't we get Schwartzenager? That'd be cool.

foolish_mortals

 

[Spinachcat]

How come D&D has remained stunted while WoW has exploded?

We forgot our pact with Lucifer!!! The dark one must have the sacrifices we promised!!!

Or its a decade of incredibly bad marketing and near zero advertising by WotC and the lack of a VTT to engage online gamers.

 

[Jawsh]

I have to agree. Most of the celebraties I know of that are in dnd aren't people that are that cool. Vin Disel and that guy who plays some weird conservative are the only two I can think of. Can't we get Schwartzenager? That'd be cool.

Herman Cain plays Pokemon, and I'm pretty sure he's cool.