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Salon article on D&D

Started by Simlasa, March 09, 2011, 08:13:11 PM

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Simlasa

March 09, 2011, 08:13:11 PM
I was just reading Salon and stumbled across this, which seems like a nice bit of semi-mainstream RPG mention.

Thoughts?

Akrasia

#1
March 10, 2011, 12:56:06 AM
I thought it was quite good!

The concluding section of the article (about 1/5th of its length) reads somewhat like a promotion for Wizards of the Coast.  I suppose that is inevitable in an article intended for a general audience.

The rest of the article is enjoyable and worth reading.  I certainly agree with the author's observations about the appeal of D&D to awkward male teenagers in those crazy years of 1979-1984.

(I also remarked on this article over at my little blog.)
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Benoist

#2
March 10, 2011, 01:25:08 AM
Yeah. Basically what Akrasia said. I think it's a decent article. Shows D&D in a positive light. I can overlook details on that account.

stu2000

#3
March 10, 2011, 09:24:58 AM
I read the book a couple weeks ago. It's more of the same from the article, with some interesting pieces about his mother's illness, and a more developed explanation of his rediscovery of geek culture in the mainstream. Kind of the opposite side of the coin from the article Patton Oswalt did in Wired, sad that geek culture was mainstream.

I'm largely indifferent to dscussions of what's geek culture or mainstream. And the guy's book was mostly notes about coming back to a party I never left, so it had a limited appeal to me. But when he talked about how he eveloped his escapist streak, and how it affected his adult development, I thought it was a mildly interesting personal narrative.
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John Morrow

#4
March 10, 2011, 11:31:36 PM
Quote from: Simlasa;444958Thoughts?

I think there are a lot of people who would give role-playing a shot again if they and their friends had ample free time.

If you haven't already read them, in 2001 Salon had John Tynes' account of the early days of Wizards of the Coast in his article "Death to the Minotaur" (Part 1, Part 2).
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RPGPundit

#5
March 11, 2011, 11:52:54 PM
Yes, any publicity is good publicity at this point, and at least this one wasn't riddled with errors or stereotypes.  That said, its unfortunate that the focus was on "nostalgia" here, rather than the idea that RPGs are a plausible relevant hobby to anyone, not just middle-aged guys who played it before.

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#6
March 12, 2011, 12:02:52 AM
I've decided to hate this article without bothering to read it. Say what you will, but knee jerk reactions are awesome time savers.
You are posting in a troll thread.

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skofflox

#7
March 12, 2011, 01:04:32 AM
A nice bit  o'whimsy on gaming! Leads me down paths of yore...
:p
Form the group wisely, make sure you share goals and means.
Set norms of table etiquette early on.
Encourage attentive participation and speed of play so the game will stay vibrant!
Allow that the group, milieu and system will from an organic symbiosis.
Most importantly, have fun exploring the possibilities!

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jeff37923

#8
March 12, 2011, 01:18:48 AM
He mentioned Cheetos in the article.....
"Meh."
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