This wasn't really the focus of the article, but I'm annoyed by how so many articles feel the need to "defend" D&D. The 80's and the height of D&D hysteria was over 25 years ago.
If there's anyone who seriously thinks D&D is harmful in some way, they are fringe elements. Even the designation of D&D players as losers is losing ground. A lot of people that I would never think of as the type to play a table-top game have joined my campaigns.
I don't even hear very much about censoring violent video games anymore. It's time to let go of the persecution complex.
I played RPG tabletop games mostly in the 90s, and in Spain it wasn't really a "persecution complex".
One man was murdered by two young guys while playing a "role playing game" one of them had invented. That spawned a massive media offensive against RPGs and uneducated people consuming trash TV basically believed all the crap they were told (also some movies were filmed "based" in the incident).
I remember my neighbours were really concerned because we played "that kind of games" and asked my mom if it was "safe". I think we had just started playing Vampire back then (after years of LOTR and Rune Quest, I never played D&D myself), and my mother was really amused with that kind of question (she said to one of them "vampires don't exist, you know that, don't you?"). I guess we were tagged as "weirdos".
I'm not sure my parents really understood what was all about, but I remember my dad saying "that must be good" because we could spend 4 hours reading books, tables, and filling forms just to make a character. I guess he saw himself doing his tax return and our game looked pretty much like that ;).
I think you're right; I also think that is a common attitude of those of us who were gaming at the time of hysteria (as the author was). Maybe this article is for the author, a reclaiming of how awesome gaming was for some of us, and discarding the the rubbish notions of that time.
Or maybe that's just me projecting my feelings about the article ;-)
My mom still believes that D&D is some kind of dangerous anti-religious thing. Not that it disproves your point. And the "nerd" stereotype definitely still exists.
I remember tentatively asking my mom if I could go play D&D with some friends in the late 90s. I was aware of what happened in the 80s, and my parents were quite religious and strict.
She laughed and said "Of course? Why would I mind?" Apparently, my uncles had played, and she somehow wasn't even aware there was some kind of controversy.
You seem fairly busy with signaling to others how cool you are. That's sort of an ironic turn of events if you were willing to play RPGs in high school.
Huh? If you think I'm a bragging idiot/hipster/wannabe cool guy, you obviously don't know me at all. And wow, did I hit a nerve there, with all the people downvoting me. Insecure much?
I'm just saying, I prefer (or choose) not to play RPGs any more, because I have my priorities elsewhere. If you like RPGs, then good for you. It's just the kind of people I see announcing RPGs, well, they certainly seem very nerdish, and this is me, Mr Nerd, speaking, so go figure what other, "normal"/"average" people think.
I was mostly seconding Houshalter's commend about "the "nerd" stereotype definitely still exists." Yes, it does. Very much so.
I don't know anything about you, I'm just telling you how your comment came off. Personally I have no skin in the game because I've never played an RPG, so you should put your defensive accusations of insecurity on hold for a second and consider whether there really was something about your comment that made it come off the way I interpreted it. Hint: it wasn't simply agreeing that table top gamers tend to be nerdy.
Fair enough. I was only sharing my thoughts and impressions, thus the phrasing "I think" and similar words.
My preference doesn't in any way imply I think less of others that like playing games. I generally like playing games/watching movies/reading books, it's just my priorities that often direct me otherwise.
Yes, maybe the OMG Nerd sounds offensive to some, but then that's just life. It's how others see you if you happen to be a nerd. I am also a bit nerdy, so I also have to accept that reality sometimes.
The 80's and the height of D&D hysteria was over 25 years ago.
This may not have been "D&D hysteria", but when I was at CTY in the mid-'90s, role-playing games were banned. Hence, the infamous role-playing-game-with-playing-cards, "Scum: the Masquerade".
That may have been there for practical reasons, though. As it was explained to me, the fear was that people would have a less social experience if holed up playing games all weekend.
If there's anyone who seriously thinks D&D is harmful in some way, they are fringe elements. Even the designation of D&D players as losers is losing ground. A lot of people that I would never think of as the type to play a table-top game have joined my campaigns.
I don't even hear very much about censoring violent video games anymore. It's time to let go of the persecution complex.