#TrueImpactOfD&D

Read more about the article Celebrating D&D

Celebrating D&D

Back in 1980, a reporter who asked if D&D was only a passing fad learned that “Gygax and Blume think not. D&D, they say, will last fifty years or more.” As unlikely as it was in the 1970s that this esoteric offshoot of the wargaming hobby might become a pop-culture phenomenon, it is just as unlikely that in 2021 the game would be more popular than ever. As a new generation grows up playing the game, it may be that the true impact of Dungeons & Dragons has yet to be felt.

—Jon Peterson, Game Wizards

This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. In 1974, it was a new kind of game, created at the intersection of wargames and fantasy and science-fiction literature. It came to be called a role-playing game, enjoyed by millions over these five decades.

So this year, we celebrate the game and the millions of fellow players with whom we share the common experience: fantastic adventure in make-believe worlds. We celebrate friends found and friendships made firmer. We celebrate a simple connection to a diverse array of people from all around the world. A stranger is not so strange when we both know what it’s like to explore a dank dungeon, torch in hand, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and fighting monsters.

We also celebrate D&D’s several editions over the years as well as the hundreds—thousands—of other role-playing games that followed it. One of its strong points is that D&D is a toolbox. With it, we can have an adventure, make a string of adventures into a campaign, and create an imaginary world full of adventures. We are given license to change the rules as desired, and in so doing, perhaps, make a new game altogether. It is so malleable.

We celebrate the game’s cultural impact. From a niche 1970s game that broke out of its intended wargamer audience by the end of the first print run to a game played by thousands who hardly understood the rules and condemned by thousands more as devil worship in the ’80s, D&D in the 21st century has grown into a pop-culture phenomenon. As a teenager, when I said I played D&D, I had to follow with “It’s a game of imagination, without a board. Players take the roles of…” Today I just say I play D&D and know that most folks are familiar with it, even if some may still misunderstand the game. The curious ask, a conversation starts.

We also celebrate the use, in recent years, of D&D and other RPGs in education, psychotherapy, spiritual growth, and team-building and leadership development. Just playing an RPG for fun is good for us in countless ways. More than that though, the game’s innate means of personal growth applied, with intent, to overcome individual and collective challenges increases the game’s impact manifold.

It’s there, in applied RPGs, that in the next 50 years we may see an important impact of D&D in the world. Maybe its most important—its true impact.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, Lake Geneva, WI: Tactical Studies Rules, 1974. Box cover image from the Acaeum: Dungeons & Dragons Knowledge Compendium, Original D&D Set.

Raised on DnD

Interviewed for the Raised on DnD podcast, I talk with Nick Cardarelli about old-school editions of D&D, a little about how they differ from newer editions, but mostly about how I love all the editions and how D&D is good for us.

Raised on DnD S8E10 on Spotify
Click the image to listen on Spotify.

Raised on DnD podcast helps enrich your family’s gaming experience by bringing you interviews with parents, educators, game designers, and influencers. Join us as we delve into the many ways tabletop role-playing games inspire creativity, develop communication skills, and create lasting bonds among players.

Read more about the article Adventure Never Ends: A Tabletop Saga

Adventure Never Ends: A Tabletop Saga

In a short review of Jon Peterson’s triptych of D&D history, I allude to “The True Impact of D&D,” which, Peterson speculates in the closing of Game Wizards, after almost 50 years “has yet to be felt.” Since then, I’ve been thinking more about the game’s impact on my own life and how I see its effect on others’ lives. I have also been searching the information network for ways in which the game’s more forward-thinking proponents are, today, using DUNGEONS & DRAGONS as more than just a game. So exploring, one discovers a meta-dungeon stocked with obstacles and monsters, populated by heroes and wizards.

The wizards are those who work the game’s magic to help dungeon explorers overcome obstacles and defeat monsters. I don’t mean dungeon obstacles, like heavy portcullises and bottomless chasms. The dungeon is real life, and its obstacles are emotional, like autism and social isolation. And not fantastic monsters, either, like hobgoblins and trolls. I mean more fearsome monsters, like anxiety, depression, alcoholism, and post-traumatic stress disorder—dragons encountered in our daily lives. The heroes are those explorers who, through their experience in the game, emerge from the dungeon an improved version of themselves.

We also find treasures in the meta-dungeon. They come in many forms: anecdotes about making life-long friends at the game table, accounts of personal transformation aided by playing RPGs, and documentaries about the game and its impact on human lives.

One such treasure, recently unearthed, is Adventure Never Ends: A Tabletop Saga. Produced for Time Studios by Douglisio DiMuccio, Rob D. Miller, and Aaron Pagniano, this 40-minute documentary was released last month. It emphasizes the importance of D&D and reveals, through multiple interviews, recurring themes in the D&D play experience.

Notable interviews include Luke Gygax and Peter Adkison, among other game designers, a host of actors, and several school children. The children participate in therapeutic game programs, at which point we discover another treasure:

Also interviewed are Game to Grow founders, Adam Davis and Adam Johns. Game to Grow, a non-profit organization, uses D&D and Minecraft for therapeutic, educational, and community growth. Of their game therapy program, Davis says, “A lot of our kids are so burnt out on therapy, and they’ve been in social skills training programs that haven’t really helped them… This is more important than learning how to make eye contact or learning how to shake hands effectively. This is an opportunity for your child to care about being around other people” [17:10].

Heroes and wizards agree: D&D is a powerful tool to inspire, educate, and motivate. It’s a treasure.

I’m thinking to open the scope of this blog to talk about D&D’s larger impact on society. I know little about using hashtags, less about making new ones. On social media lately I’ve been tagging appropriate posts with #TrueImpactOfDnD. Some more savvy social media maven might suggest better.

A still image from the video, a child’s hand holds a pencil, on a table with paper and dice. Text reads: “In its 50 year history, the game of Dungeons and Dragons has inspired generations of players—each for their own reasons—but the common themes of community, creativity and confidence are hard to miss. This short film features dedicated players including actor Matthew Lillard and Luke Gygax, son of D&D co-founder, Gary Gygax. A film by DiMuccio & Miller” 39:18, 13 April 2023.
Click or tap the image to watch the full documentary on Time.com.

Help Defeat Real-Life Demons, Game Therapy UK

Are you a military veteran? Are you also a Game Master? Would you like to run role-playing games as a therapeutic tool for fellow veterans suffering from psychological trauma?

Game Therapy UK is starting a pilot project you might find interesting. It’s a volunteer project. They are to offer several training modules, from basic through advanced, including mentorship.

From their website:

Game Therapy UK is an exciting new charity providing innovative, evidence-based therapeutic games (“Dungeons and Dragons Therapy”) to groups across the UK, including people experiencing homelessness, people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction and military veterans exposed to psychological trauma/PTSD.

Military veterans of any country are eligible to participate, whether it’s to run games or to play.

For more information, visit Game Therapy UK and sign up for their newsletter.

Defeat demons with D&D!

The True Impact of D&D

I am a long-time professor of D&D’s influence on contemporary culture. The thesis, familiar to many of us, begins with the concepts of hit points and experience levels, borrowed from D&D and incorporated into the earliest video games. Where it ends is expressed in eloquent fashion by Jon Peterson at the close of Game Wizards.

Back in 1980, a reporter who asked if D&D was only a passing fad learned that “Gygax and Blume think not. D&D, they say, will last fifty years or more.” As unlikely as it was in the 1970s that this esoteric offshoot of the wargaming hobby might become a pop-culture phenomenon, it is just as unlikely that in 2021 the game would be more popular than ever. As a new generation grows up playing the game, it may be that the true impact of Dungeons & Dragons has yet to be felt.

Jon Peterson’s Triptych
Jon Peterson’s Triptych of D&D History:
Playing at the World: A History of Simulating Wars, People and Fantastic Adventures, from Chess to Role-Playing Games, San Diego: Unreason, 2012 [currently out of print]; The Elusive Shift: How Role-Playing Games Forged Their Identity, Cambridge: MIT, 2020; and Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons, Cambridge: MIT, 2021.

Peterson’s work is thorough, well-researched, and written from the historian’s objective perspective in a clear, concise style. Jon Peterson carries the lantern by which we explore the labyrinth of D&D’s obscure past, from its creation throughout its continuing evolution.

Find Jon Peterson’s books and read more about D&D history on his blog at playingattheworld.blogspot.com.