Dungeons & Dragons, the grandfather of fantasy role-playing games, celebrated its 30th anniversary in the year 2004. It was the subject of much controversy in the early 80s, as a result of media sensationalism. More recently, the fantasy genre experienced great breakthroughs into popular culture with movies such as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. While the public openly accepts imaginary creatures and magic references in these mainstream movies, Dungeons & Dragons continues to be stereotyped by the media as ?the geek?s game,? as a cause of violence, depression, suicide, and as a path to satanic worship. This audio documentary explores the myths and mysteries of D&D, with hopes to reach beyond its sub-cultural community, to encourage its listeners to think outside the Dungeons & Dragons defined by popular media through the years.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
Dungeons & Dragons, the grandfather of fantasy role-playing games, celebrated its 30th anniversary in the year 2004. It was the subject of much controversy in the early 80s, as a result of media sensationalism. More recently, the fantasy genre experienced great breakthroughs into popular culture with movies such as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. While the public openly accepts imaginary creatures and magic references in these mainstream movies, Dungeons & Dragons continues to be stereotyped by the media as ?the geek?s game,? as a cause of violence, depression, suicide, and as a path to satanic worship. This audio documentary explores the myths and mysteries of D&D, with hopes to reach beyond its sub-cultural community, to encourage its listeners to think outside the Dungeons & Dragons defined by popular media through the years.
Timing and Cues
Musical interlude from 19:20 - 19:42, good place to splice the piece in half.
Musical Works
"Good Evening" and "Test Render" by Aaron Charlwood
Additional Files
- Transcription (dndtranscription.doc)
Arvid Hokanson
Posted on September 28, 2006 at 08:48 AM | Permalink
Review of What's the Deal with D&D? An Audio Adventure in Dungeons & Dragons
This story is a good start, but needs work before it's ready for broadcast. I think a good editor could help tighten the story, including shortening it and dropping some of the tape. The story would be stronger at about half the length.
The tape of the game playing is hard to follow at times and would be better with some processing or better mic recording in the future.
The story also assumes the listener knows something about Dungeons and Dragons. I'm not sure how many listeners know much about the game beyond the title - especially that is not a false stereo-type. I would like to know more about the game. Where do people play? How long do games last? Do people eat and drink a lot while playing? There is an explainer of D&D, but it comes to late in the story. Also, I never learned how you win the game or how it ends.
I did like the tape of the Smith College alumni. It was conversational and a good explanation for listeners.
Also, the story needs an ending. I felt like the tape ended with no conclusion, summary or explanation.
This would be a tough piece to air with the length, but could be paired with a 20-24 minute piece from PRX.