Would you ever watch other people play RPGs, as entertainment?

[CAFRedblade]

Mostly what above is pretty good for what I'd like to see if this was done Combine the PAX DnD Podcast videos with better editing/post production ala Tabletop, with a variety of celebs big and small and you might have something. On a recent Tabletop Hangout with Wil Wheaton, he mentioned the difficulty of trying to do longer forms of gameplay, including DnD/RPGs. He even mused that they would have to do a different type of show from Tabletop to get those kinds of longer play games done right.

Linked here for those who'd like to watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNpmVQl4YR4

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

It would definately have to include mainstream celebrities to get me to watch. Celebrity Poker Showdown was entertaining, watching Texas Holdem played by pro players was not.

 

[BriarMonkey]

I've tried watching some of these things on YouTube, but after the first one or two, I loose interest. I think it's a combination of things; depending on what I was watching it was things like the video isn't done well; or the story isn't compelling; or the persons involved aren't interesting as video personas (or entertainers if you prefer); or that across episodes something seems lost - there's no cohesion; or it's just boring.

*shrug*

While I think it could be done well, I do think it's a very uphill battle. You'd need a good story, people who grab your attention, and cohesion between episodes. And if it devolves into some "reality" tv, then you pretty much can kiss any care about it I'd have good-bye (there's already way too much of that trash out there).

 

[Li Shenron]

For entertainment?? No way!!

But if they turned into an (edited) series of "see how we have dealt with these RPG gaming problems at the table" with commentaries and perhaps interviews at the end, or subtitle commentary, then perhaps yes... at least it might be useful to learn how to play or run a game better.

 

[Nytmare]

I think the only version of this that has ever sounded interesting to me is/was an improv troupe somewhere in the New England area that would do a truncated, and I'm assuming somewhat tongue in cheek game in front of an audience, where the characters' actions, and all the heavy roleplaying, were played out up on a stage by other members of the troupe.

[EDIT] Aha, found it! Dorks in Dungeons

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

It seriously depends on the gamers sitting around the table. I've been to enough conventions to know the average gamer, erm, has the looks for radio. But enough times I've just sat on the sidelines around a table of some of the most inspirational gamers ever, just to watch "art" so to speak.

Me, I'm pretty sure I'm more like a bump on a log to the observer. And I've gamed at conventions enough to know how common it is that I'M the outgoing one. Such a table needs quality players as the majority at the least even if not everyone is top gamer.

 

[PhillyG]

Eighty percent of roleplaying is watching - the gm and other players. The other twenty percent is acting, interacting, and influencing. Personally speaking, The last twenty percent is eighty percent of the fun. A show like you describe would beabout as much fun as watching professional bowling.

 

[Jhaelen]

Well, I very much enjoyed watching the session with Chris Perkins and the RoboChicken guys. Even the DM's commentaries were both interesting and fun.
The first of the sessions with the Penny Arcade guys was also fun. The other session weren't as interesting, though.

So, what does this mean? Probably that it's not something I'd want to watch regularly. But if it's sufficiently entertaining I might watch it once in a while.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

I just posted a column about essentially this topic: http://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?442-Gamehackery-Dungeonmaster-stars-tour-Harmontown

Essentially, it's a podcast and live comedy show that includes a 15 minute segment of D&D. And the D&D segment is probably the most popular part of the show.

There are some keys to making it entertaining -- for one thing, it's very loose and improv-ish. It's all theater-of-the-mind, which makes it work as a podcast, but also speeds it up and avoids a lot of fiddly tactical stuff that we all tend to obsess over when we play but that will make lousy TV. And the guys playing are smart, depraved, funny improvisational guys. And minor celebrities.

So, since it's happening, I think it can be done, but it needs to be a very carefully engineered sort of D&D that's geared towards being entertainment.

-rg

 

[am181d]

Well, I very much enjoyed watching the session with Chris Perkins and the RoboChicken guys. Even the DM's commentaries were both interesting and fun.
The first of the sessions with the Penny Arcade guys was also fun. The other session weren't as interesting, though.

So, what does this mean? Probably that it's not something I'd want to watch regularly. But if it's sufficiently entertaining I might watch it once in a while.

See, and I take the opposite conclusion from the same experience: It can work, in isolated cases, with the current set-up. If it were souped up with (a) tight editing, (b) music, (c) on-screen graphics, (d) intercut player and DM interviews, etc. (Basically, all the things they do with boardgames on Tabletop) then it would be *more* successful.

It certainly wouldn't be *easy* to do, but virtually nothing you enjoy watching in any media is easy to do. You ALWAYS want super-talented people working really hard.