[picture removed due to my increasing disgust with linked content presenter]
Watch it. Watch it all. You'll have to power yourself through it, unless you are just as toxic as the creator.
Take note of the self-styled opinion the presenter has about himself: that he is "great." Take note of the repeated cognitive dissonance as he justifies each action he advocates, then rushes in to qualify that justification, only to then dismiss the qualification he's just made on the basis of doing whatever feels "right" at a given moment.
Take note that the individual clearly has no concept of his own humanity, his foibles, his limitations, his arrogance or his biological limitations in judgement making.
Then, once you've completed the video, if you still have the stomach for it, read through the cheering, praising, vociferous panegyric of the DM's belief system and opinions in the comments section, filled with unrestrained awe and love.
The picture is one of a community so bereft of good sense, so lacking in perspective or any knowledge of effective human management or person-to-person respect, that they are ready to lunge for this leaden life preserver of an emotional despot in the hopes that they won't drown in their campaigns. To a responder, it is clear that none of them run a good campaign, that each and every one is merely a perpetrator of the same noxious habits of the presenter, seeking nothing less than affirmation and a pat on the back for being injurious, self-absorbed, indifferent assholes themselves.
I cannot help but wonder how much influence the writers and publishers in the industry have over guys like this (and over his audience). I've only just begun scouring YouTube for videos because, apparently, this is a thing that gamers do; so I recognize that I probably don't have much perspective. Yet... well, for the time being, it very much looks like the only people out there who have any real clue aren't actually gamers. They're academics or professionals or hobbyists (of a different sort) who are cognizant of the limitations of their chosen field, and so they seek out information from other fields, or they highlight the specialties of their field in order to better educate others.
ReplyDeleteEither way, I have more thoughts on the subject but don't want to take up all your space.
Please Oz! Take away.
Deletehttps://crossingtheverse.wordpress.com/2017/06/05/a-culture-of-mediocrity/
DeleteI forget this layout doesn't make a hyperlink obvious...
I could not finish it. I lost it at the orc part, when fudging suddenly becomes ok if players are unlucky...
ReplyDeleteMy players know that some monsters are deadly. They know that a giant could crit and one-shot the thief. They know that a band of orcs could overwhelm a medium level party with tactics and numbers. The point is, they act accordingly to it.
The rules are there because they ARE the game. With proper and not improvised rules players know exactly well what they can and cannot do. They rarely, if ever, blame misfortune; they say "we fucked up" and PLAY BETTER the next time.
I am having trouble leaving a message on wordpress. Sorry about that, Ozymandias.
ReplyDeleteYour post (link) was excellent. I would like to think that these people are something we must suffer as elements in the game culture, but the fact is these people are the pre-eminent element and we are the fringe. That can be insufferable at times.
It will probably take at least another decade to wash these people out of the culture. I think the WOTC has to die, first, or at least be dropped as an entity by the mother company, who comes to see nothing viable in its continued existence. This will eliminate people like Perkins from the dialogue, as I'm certain that without a paycheque his total commitment to the game is about zip. The evaporation of corporate money would mean self-created gaming groups, which would become less poisonous in the long term, once it was understood there was no longer an "authority" to run to when disputes arose. Disputes would have to be resolved on their own merits, which would help cleanse the system.
All that is a long way off. Until then, I must close with the sentiment of Henry II, "Will no one rid us of this troublesome priesthood?"
[I take no responsibility for anyone determined to interpret this statement in the worst possible manner]
Well said, deeper insight here.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first began DMing, I read message boards looking for advice as I was new to gaming in general. This was 4-5 years ago.
ReplyDeleteAdvice such as "always say 'yes' to players" and "failure should aleays be interesting" were common, and I recall reading a long discussion on whether death should be cut out of the game.
And it was alluring, and I tried it. And I was bored to tears. What was the point of playing, if success was predetermined? Why even roll dice?
I realized railroads were not for me; I enjoy world-building and creating systems and rules. But I had no conception of how to begin. I came upon your blog because you berated me on here over something I said, I cannot recall what it was nor does it matter, and then gave me the link.
So I read your post, and commented. But as I read your posts, I quickly realized you had advice for how to begin, how to make everything less overwhelming. So I ditched that communuty and read your stuff instead, because their advice was boring.
Thank you James. That is most kind.
ReplyDeleteWhat James said.
ReplyDeleteExcept I still read part of the community. Some blogs because they are sources of inspiration, some because they concern themwelves with games that I like very much (GURPS mostly), some because they touch on general subjects that are of interest to me ...
I ditched many of the old blogs I read before you, though. I discovered yours, read it from start to end, and you set the mark, the highest mark possible. Everything else dulled, and all that were too dull were cut off. And the process continues still.
All the blogs that you inspired, however, are of interest to me. Seeing someone implementing your work is always a pleasure.
The rest is, for the most part, a distraction from my main interest : your next post, my next fix ! Fucking addiction ...
I did a response video to this stuff. I felt I had to interrupt him every 20 seconds, so my video is even longer. My video is https://youtu.be/HAdAkEib5Oc.
ReplyDeleteLate to the party, but just realized I have seen this guy's videos before. I watched about 3 minutes of a previous video before disregarding it, and him. Disliked everything from the content, to the delivery, though it does seem like he has a decent camera, decent mic, a set, and some editing, because the video quality at least seems a step above most of YouTube
ReplyDeleteBut when the only compliment that can be paid to a thing is its production values ...
Otherwise, pretty horrific.
ReplyDeleteI watched one of this guy's videos (I'm not going to watch this one). Yes the advice was appallingly bad, and I said so in the comments.
ReplyDelete