tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post7077851274932193431..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: The Great GameratiAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-64867944973600751682023-03-28T23:36:54.055-06:002023-03-28T23:36:54.055-06:00As an addendum to this post, writing in 2023. The...As an addendum to this post, writing in 2023. The original link is gone, and searching for Joanna Gaskell & "gamerati" produces no results. There are a few Joanna Gaskell videos ib youtube, but the last was 2 years ago ... apparently she was trying to teach people how to be an "actor" roleplayer.<br /><br />I stand by every comment I made under this post, and in it.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-7806951041915805102014-04-24T14:07:53.422-06:002014-04-24T14:07:53.422-06:00...this might be the reason I still have trouble g......this might be the reason I still have trouble getting people to understand the hobby.<br /><br />"I wonder for what other hobby there are a group of apologists who anxiously defend people who are obviously the worst at it."<br /><br />I work with people who boat and fish. They play and watch football. They play golf. I have a passing interest in these things, but they are not my passion. These are not my hobbies. Yet I understand them. I can relate to my peers because I see how they take their hobbies seriously, and I understand that it is serious.<br /><br />When I watch the Gamerati vids, I see people who do not take their hobbies seriously. A fisherman might discuss the finer points angling in such detail as to lose an audience if they do not have a basic understanding of the underlying concepts. The Gamerati, however, discuss their experiences in vague, abstract terms that suggest they don't really know their hobby like other hobbiests.<br /><br />I look forward to the day when this is not the case...Ozymandiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01065642299277380465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-58212932067524142452014-04-23T19:15:30.481-06:002014-04-23T19:15:30.481-06:00After a bit of thought, actually, describing a ser...After a bit of thought, actually, describing a series of cooking disasters ending in ordering pizza does sound awfully cliche, Tim.<br /><br />I don't see why the fact that it is a different experience than my own should make it any less mediocre. In fact, I should think the very fact that it sounds straight out of a Homemaker's magazine rather proves its mediocrity.<br /><br />No malice intended, but I just don't celebrate that. I really, really don't celebrate it in a game I am interested in making BETTER. Sorry if that seems elitist, or what have you . . . but we've had 40 years of bad D&D, and here is what we've come to - people in the hobby defending vigorously the right of people to be really crappy at it.<br /><br />I wonder for what other hobby there are a group of apologists who anxiously defend people who are obviously the worst at it.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-82004657807029185452014-04-23T18:05:42.002-06:002014-04-23T18:05:42.002-06:00And so?
These are her memories and they are fond ...And so?<br /><br />These are her memories and they are fond ones.<br /><br />My wife and I laugh to this day about series of cooking disasters that ended in us ordering pizza. By any measure this was bad, but the memory wasn't.<br /><br />This isn't mediocrity, it is a different experience than yours.Timothy S. Brannanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02923526503305233715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-82743945375882814862014-04-23T16:03:53.152-06:002014-04-23T16:03:53.152-06:00The issue is that the game was quite obviously SHI...The issue is that the game was quite obviously SHIT, the design was quite obviously SHIT, yet somehow her memories consider that's FINE, because RPGs don't have to be good to be AMAZING.<br /><br />The issue is that, like everything else in western culture at the moment, we don't celebrate talent or ability or effort or quality, we celebrate MEDIOCRITY, because "When I'm shit at something, it's AMAZING!!!"<br /><br />I wouldn't expect you to get it, Tim. But as you know, I don't celebrate mediocrity, nor do I much appreciate those who do.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-53917768378663940222014-04-23T15:56:49.299-06:002014-04-23T15:56:49.299-06:00Ok...so.. she is talking about her gaming memories...Ok...so.. she is talking about her gaming memories as part of a series of videos of people talking about their gaming memories.<br /><br />I fail to see why this is an issue.<br /><br />That video talking about failures could have been me talking about CoC or any other game really.<br /><br />Timothy S. Brannanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02923526503305233715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-9727472294792341212014-04-23T00:35:50.685-06:002014-04-23T00:35:50.685-06:00About the first vid: soo wanky and marketing depar...About the first vid: soo wanky and marketing department. I would have liked to hear what she would have done differently, it might have been more telling about her personally... I suspect the lessons learned have not improved her games for players who like sandbox freedom.... oh but her stories would be epic (for her).<br /><br />About the second, glad you included it... really wish it wasnt necessary... clearly it was... <br /><br />the dark side of oxytocin: we hate the out-group more strongly.<br /><br />the "pretty" is the political correctness social landmine - WTF cognitive disonance lesson #112 - apparently only women may be critical of women - relevance be damned.<br /><br /><br /><br />kimbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12961382206655820923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-31263247589134674912014-04-22T16:10:34.669-06:002014-04-22T16:10:34.669-06:00I am the only male in my gaming group (5 women), b...I am the only male in my gaming group (5 women), but that is a function of me never playing a tabletop RPG until my wife got me into it a few years ago, and they are all her friends. I DM because I am the only one with the patience for it.<br /><br />It opened my eyes to how segregated the gaming community as a whole is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-57386929762294107372014-04-22T14:56:39.700-06:002014-04-22T14:56:39.700-06:00Agreed, Chris.
I run three campaigns. I have fiv...Agreed, Chris.<br /><br />I run three campaigns. I have five women in those campaigns and seven men. Four of the seven men are online, where I have no women running. In my two offline campaigns, women outnumber the men.<br /><br />I don't count myself, here.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-5590218621634310122014-04-22T14:41:24.860-06:002014-04-22T14:41:24.860-06:00I readily admit it could all be lies.
Hell, any...I readily admit it could all be lies. <br /><br />Hell, anything on the internet is ripe for lies. <br /><br />At the end of the day it's a video, which in my opinion will hopefully further gaming for some folks. <br /><br />Either way I don't get the *cool* moniker that is supposedly implied. <br /><br />On another note we need more women GM's. Locally the count is starting to rise and with it a diversity in the player pool. Having a good cross section of the sexes adds a much needed depth at the table. Chris Matahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970387879179700009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-63429650515723337472014-04-22T14:32:18.609-06:002014-04-22T14:32:18.609-06:00Yes, Chris. An organized campaign, where individu...Yes, Chris. An organized campaign, where individuals are encouraged to begin their 'memories' with the appropriate buzz words, couldn't possibly be <i>scripted.</i>. There are no child actors in the world, people never perform for pay, and I personally like to begin all my memories on this blog by first encouraging the reader to buy into a brand name.<br /><br />It's the Internet. Like Reality Television, no one ever lies.<br /><br />Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-56818141651013058502014-04-22T14:16:32.025-06:002014-04-22T14:16:32.025-06:00I think what I took away from this whole thing is:...I think what I took away from this whole thing is:<br /><br />They played a game, twisted/bent/broke the rules, learned somethings, had FUN, and gamed continuously for three years. All the while generating fond memories they will talk about forever. <br /><br />Personally I don't see the big problem with it. I know to each their own as always but you have someone genuinely interested in being a GM, a rarity at times, and a table full of players that showed up for 3 years. <br /><br />It could be alot worse. Chris Matahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970387879179700009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-29357853840411369212014-04-22T14:15:26.540-06:002014-04-22T14:15:26.540-06:00Sometimes, James, I have to wonder what I am doing...Sometimes, James, I have to wonder what I am doing here. I've always been a social leper, and it's plain from my vids that I'm not attractive. So perhaps I've got them snowed?<br /><br />But then, I don't make their money.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-32887476194460335432014-04-22T14:09:04.288-06:002014-04-22T14:09:04.288-06:00Appearances matter. Pretending they don't in s...Appearances matter. Pretending they don't in some sort of attempt to portray an ideal of equality doesn't serve any useful purpose. It is not sexist to remark upon the attractiveness of another human being, seeing as how the attractiveness of human beings is often quite relevant, especially when marketers get involved.<br /><br />Though I feel like discussion as a whole would be much more productive if we resisted the urge to yell "sexism," "racism," "homophobia," or any other such card. Even if the other person is acting in such a manner, such a claim only serves to derail a conversation and move the goal posts, as it were. It is intellectually dishonest and hinders attempts at conversation, forcing people to be much more careful with their words than they otherwise might be.<br /><br />As an aside, it's funny. I have more and more been hearing about this stereotype of fraternity/sorority guys and girls, which I imagine is nothing more than priming. I was in a fraternity in college, I had a lot of fun and made a lot of friends, but I guess I didn't get quite the same advantages these stereotypes got. I'm probably not attractive enough.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-6075687670200623422014-04-22T10:27:15.412-06:002014-04-22T10:27:15.412-06:00Being that I've never heard of "Gamerati&...Being that I've never heard of "Gamerati" in any sense, it comes off as pompous and stupid. If you're going to develop a catch phrase for the internet, it makes a bad first impression. It also smacks of "Cool Person" thinking, helping to support that it is a poser collective.<br /><br />And THAT is aided by the appearance of the individual.<br /><br />I know that politically, Jason, it would be really, really lovely if Looks were not relevant to a discussion, but as I live in the REAL WORLD, working every day around people who make six figures and who are all plainly ex-fraternity brothers and sorority sisters . . . who speak and talk the part . . . I have to wonder, where are the ugly people?<br /><br />Oh, right, they're at the coffee shop where I buy my coffee, and the burger joint, and the security desk, where my willingness to wish them good morning instead of brusquely ignoring them as pond scum never ceases to catch them by surprise.<br /><br />There are people in this world who get special attention because of their appearance. We know it, and I can promise you THEY know it. The appearance of the speaker becomes more and more relevant as it turns out she's A) an internet celebrity; and B) part of a poser collective. I made the comment about appearance before I knew either of those things.<br /><br />But see . . . I sensed it, didn't I? Because her appearance in this Gamerati video wasn't random, nor were her appearances in webisodes, or anything about the presentation in the video. It was all inherently present in her flippant, happy manner . . . and somehow, instinctively, I tagged to it and tossed in one benign comment about her appearance.<br /><br />The media trains us to think this way, Jason. Don't think it doesn't.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-9737285987102005132014-04-22T10:03:49.715-06:002014-04-22T10:03:49.715-06:00Point taken - but!
I think that the minute that ...Point taken - but! <br /><br />I think that the minute that appearance enters into this discussion - whether it be neutral, positive or negative - it threatens to derail things unnecessarily. It didn't add anything to your argument, I guess is what I'm trying to say, and it did leave an entry point for those who wanted to disregard you out of hand as being "one of those people."Jason Packerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02240705069654358715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-61477995769838324752014-04-22T09:57:53.261-06:002014-04-22T09:57:53.261-06:00And I return, having watched the video! Unscathed!...And I return, having watched the video! Unscathed!<br /><br />She calls herself the Gamerati because that's who is hosting the video. They refer to anyone who is part of the gaming community thus. I bet there are lots of videos on this channel that start that way.<br /><br />Her mistakes are pretty bad, if you're the sort that has been playing long. They boil down to "the system sucks, and I didn't know how to counteract that" for the most part.<br /><br />If you claim to not want to railroad your players, you don't get to complain about them going all over the place. And if you have a plan for 20 levels of story arc, you've already donned a little engineer's cap and tooted the horn on your locomotive.<br /><br />The part where I give her the most slack in your response, though, is the paladin story. It wasn't an intentional plan, it sounds like to me, but something that occurred naturally during the course of play. And it's an archetypal story - like something out of Jung or Joseph Campbell. Of course you've been there - I suspect we all have, in the games we play, the stories we read, and the movies we watch. What some will see as a retread, others will see instead as a classic tale.Jason Packerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02240705069654358715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-92078176361182375302014-04-22T09:57:18.380-06:002014-04-22T09:57:18.380-06:00IF the male were plainly metro-sexual, the sort of...IF the male were plainly metro-sexual, the sort of wall street alpine ski-chiseled featured fellow with the sort of blank look that passes now and then to indicate that someone was home, yes, I would have mentioned his attractiveness.<br /><br />Assuming I wouldn't because I'm a man, and that men don't comment on men, is again a sexualized argument. I don't know why people don't understand that when they accuse people of being sexualized in their statements, the origin of the sexualization is from WITHIN, not without.<br /><br />I don't think you are actually accusing me of anything Jason, but you <i>have been trained</i> to make presumptions. As have we all.<br /><br />If I had said the guy was handsome, I'd have some reader assume I was gay.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-51040805938715424262014-04-22T09:47:39.150-06:002014-04-22T09:47:39.150-06:00There is some gender-sensitivity involved, but I d...There is some gender-sensitivity involved, but I don't think you've crossed the line terribly. Except once. The fact that she's pretty shouldn't enter into it. I find it hard to believe you'd have commented on the appearance of a similarly off-putting male commentator. That appears to be your only real slip.<br /><br />I've not watched the video yet. I begin to dread doing so now. And yet, for science, as they say...Jason Packerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02240705069654358715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-19738137364108445682014-04-22T09:18:25.400-06:002014-04-22T09:18:25.400-06:00You're not wrong, I'll grant you. I'm ...You're not wrong, I'll grant you. I'm being optimistic, hopeful that a general background of RPG related white noise will build up popular resistance to being weird about it. <br /><br />As a side point, I think the big leap will be when someone respectable talks about D&D et al. as something they <i>do</i> rather than something they <i>did</i>. Even that internet-famous lady seemed to be very past tense about it.Daniel Sellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08255260306512797559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-6552469266892678702014-04-22T08:59:04.279-06:002014-04-22T08:59:04.279-06:00Is she in the popular media? I didn't know. ...Is she in the popular media? I didn't know. Never bothered to see if she was.<br /><br />Looking at <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3667231/" rel="nofollow">her imdb page now</a>.<br /><br />I see she is a minor celebrity in the webisode gamer world. What we used to call a poser.<br /><br />That certainly explains the brown paper bag map she's so proud of.<br /><br />I'm not sure that's cultural penetration so much as opportunism, Daniel. But I take your point. Is it possible, however, that someday a person who talks about this game in the media comes off as something more than an utter dolt?Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-60675798313272333632014-04-22T08:46:59.501-06:002014-04-22T08:46:59.501-06:00Aren't all talking heads in popular media like...Aren't all talking heads in popular media like this though? They're wafer thin everyman talk-boxes.<br /><br />Maybe it'd be best to look at it as a symptom of a healthy ecosystem. Boring people are talking about RPGs to earn money, there's some cultural penetration right there.Daniel Sellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08255260306512797559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-46174377109870218332014-04-22T08:13:59.155-06:002014-04-22T08:13:59.155-06:00I've answered you by adding to the post, Dave....I've answered you by adding to the post, Dave.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-23122473916680469392014-04-22T08:06:12.960-06:002014-04-22T08:06:12.960-06:00Be careful, Alexis. Considering the climate in vi...Be careful, Alexis. Considering the climate in video-gaming and other geek circles these days, just criticizing this woman could get you labeled as a misogynist.Dave Cesaranohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01454928720043301400noreply@blogger.com