D&D 5E What is up with the popularity of watching other D&D groups play the game?

[twofalls]

Not sure this explains why watching other D&D groups is popular, but it may directly answer the question of why, as a DM, you SHOULD watch.

Great Authors voraciously read other authors
Great Filmmakers watch hundreds or thousands of films
Great Musicians listen to a variety of styles and composers
Great Painters study other's art
Great Video Game designers play other games

Before streaming and podcasts, the ability to expose yourself, as a DM, to a wide variety of other DMs work was difficult, if not impossible. With streaming, you can easily do it. And the games you watch whose playstyle you don't like personally can be just as important to improving your game as the ones whose style you do like. To a lesser extent, it can also help players become better as well, by watching how other's play the game and incorporating ideas that appeal to you that you'd never thought of.

I certainly understand your point, and it's a good one.
I've run games for four decades and I will never be perfect, but the idea of spending time doing something I really dislike in the hopes of improving my performance in something I do because I enjoy it seems rather counterintuitive.
After 40 years I have learned that it's very hard to make myself change my play style no matter how much I might improve by doing so. My players keep coming back, so I must be doing okay.

 

[Charlaquin]

Thank you for telling me this. I turned off the first episode feeling disappointed and not wanting to say so here (didn't wish to offend). I will go give it more time.

No problem. Those first few episodes can be downright painful to listen to, and I actually stopped. Fortunately, my partner kept listening and I overheard some later episodes that were much better, so I decided to give it another chance. Very glad I did.

Also, I won’t be offended if you don’t end up liking it. It’s not going to be for everyone and that’s fine.

 

[twofalls]

Considering that one PC death resulted in Matt Mercer having to issue a public apology to Critical Role fans, I suspect there's not much of that going on anymore.

Seriously?

 

[twofalls]

Tried to get into Critical Role when my girlfriend (now wife) was into it. Didn't like it. His gaming style just doesn't mesh with mine. Then I tried to watch Matt Colville's livestream, and despite liking the rest of his content, oddly didn't like his DMing style.
Makes me wonder if I run games wrong.

Not if you and those you entertain are actually entertained. A good sign is when your players actually return for the next game.

 

[twofalls]

What's up with the popularity of watching sports teams play the game? I honestly don't get why it's so popular, and it seems like everyone besides me shares the opinion that watching sports is something I should care about. I've been forced to watch countless football. basketball, and soccer games, with absolutely no interest in the outcome of any of the games. I truly cannot think of any activity more boring, to the extent that it feels like I'm going mad every minute I sit watching a game. However, it seems like no matter how much I dislike sports, the world doesn't care about my opinion, because they like sports and enjoy watching them so much that they will readily throw money at anything that has the name of their favorite team on it.

The same thing applies to you and the others in the thread expressing the same viewpoint. You don't care for it as much as I don't care for watching sports.

If I were somehow forced (how were you forced btw? that sounds very odd) to watch anything, I'd be rather ticked off about it myself.
You're right, I don't care for it, but the creation of this post was to find out why others do, not to justify my personal tastes. There is no moral position I'm taking, I'm not scolding folks for liking something I dislike, that would be exceptionally shallow thinking.

 

[twofalls]

Other people have said something similar and I just don't get it. This is what any decent drama regardless of the medium basically is: characters talking and otherwise interacting. Do people space out during dialogue in films, TV shows, books and plays too?

As a matter of fact this is entirely human, and just about everyone does it. It's actually a form of natural meditation most of the time, and there is a whole psychology behind this that is easy to begin to research, but I won't bore you with any particulars. It's enough to say, yep!

 

[Crimson Longinus]

As a matter of fact this is entirely human, and just about everyone does it. It's actually a form of natural meditation most of the time, and there is a whole psychology behind this that is easy to begin to research, but I won't bore you with any particulars. It's enough to say, yep!

Well, I tend to space out during the endless predictable CGI action scenes the modern movies are burdened with, so I guess I can see it...

 

[twofalls]

True. But I think you'd find Mercer's game is far more roleplay heavy than a typical D&D group's play. Which is understandable, as they're all actors and they're making dramatic entertainment. But people who run more typical games can be forgiven for finding Critical Role's playstyle strange and unfamiliar. I'd wager it's uncommon for a group to spend more than 5 or 10 minutes talking in-character unless it's a key dramatic scene with NPCs.

The only actual play I've followed for more than a handful of sessions is Glass Cannon. And I think the reason is that it sounds a lot closer to the actual play of my own experience (though still more dramatic and in-character).

My games do not play like structured D&D at all. Most of the game time is spent exploring and roleplaying. Combat happens, but when it does most of the time the fights are desperate and deplete the parties resources quickly. This is happening less as they raise in levels, after a year and a half they are now at 6th level in a very heavily modified SKT. My players spend hours talking in character, and they keep coming back to the next session. I still do not like listening to critical roll.

Not that my game proves anything either way, but heavy roleplay in a game might not be so uncommon after all.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

Since someone mentioned The Adventure Zone, I will say that though I haven't listened to it yet I have one friend (who I unfortunately haven't been able to play with in a game yet) who loves The Adventure Zone and dislikes Critical Role, so there's different flavors of actual play shows that appeal to different people.

For whatever reason, though, Critical Role is the only one that has gotten an officially published book from WotC, a comic series from Dark Horse, and an upcoming two season animated adaptation on Amazon Prime. Probably has a lot to do with the fact that the players are almost all voice actors with a decade or more of industry experience and high profile roles (the video game Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell, which released before Mercer's campaign became the Critical Role livestream, actually has one of the game's voice actors/future star of Critical Role making a reference to the campaign's animal companion Trinket the Bear).

 

[twofalls]

A player in my own campaign is a long time fan of Critical Role who got into D&D because of it. She's an elementary school teacher and started listening as something to do while grading papers before becoming an enthusiastic fan.

I myself started listening to Critical Role at episode 100 of campaign 2 (relying mostly on the fan wiki and recap videos to gain an understanding of what had happened before and who the characters were).

Of all the responses in this surprisingly long thread, these are those that I've liked hearing the most. How these programs draw folks to the game. Even if I never personally come to enjoy these shows, I can appreciate this about them.

I wonder if the second campaign is better than the first given they had more experience doing this by then?