Well, D&D is the daddy of them all, and everything that came came after suffered by comparison. But, more importantly, Gary and Dave struck on something that seems to speak to just about everyone with a penchant for make-believe. D&D tapped into our traditions of heroic epics, magical myths, and fairy tales.
In short, fantasy is familiar. It strikes all the right notes that the majority of us have enjoyed since we first discovered what imagination is. Most players can probably recall the one element that piqued their interest in trying D&D. Perhaps is was a book, or a movie, or a cartoon.
As I stated before, prior to hearing about D&D I was pretty familiar (for a 10-year old who hadn't embraced reading yet) with the tropes of fantasy through the animated movies based on Tolkien's work. When I asked Richard what D&D was, he probably invoked one or both of those (I can't recall exactly whether he did or not) in describing it.
I know when I answer that question, that's what I do. Only now we have a lot more to reference. Especially Peter Jackson's movies. I'd be willing to wager that the current surge in D&D popularity is largely due to those movies. EVERYONE knows what The Lord of the Rings is. So, who wouldn't be interested in at least trying a game that lets you pretend to live in that world?
So, there you go. Fantasy is familiar. And therefore it's comfortable, and easy to get into. At least, that's how I see it.
No comments:
Post a Comment