Part I. Topic Introduction
Every now and then it is fun to imagine a world different from our own. A world full of magic, adventure, and dragons. However, where some may want to read about such worlds, there are those who want to be a part of the action, literally creating the narrative, as they choose their own adventure in a world of their making. Sounds impossible? Well, within the genre of fantasy, it is made possible through the tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG), Dungeons and Dragons (D&D).
Dungeons and Dragons was “first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc.[…] [and] is now over forty years old” (Byers-Crocco, 2016). In looking at the four lenses: humanities, history, natural and applied sciences, and social sciences, one may ask how does D&D fit? Or does it fit? Over the last several years, there has been study of such RPGs and their effects on things such as videogames- which fall under the lens of applied science. However, there has been little study of the effects of D&D on aspects of society in terms of culture and society. This will be the focus of the analysis of D&D.
D&D is a collaborative game, where the “premise […] [is] simple: players create fictional characters, and then use those characters to simulate adventures in a combination of spontaneous narrative and battle simulation” (Inloes, 2018). The game brings people together from all walks, creating a colorful narrative, innovative thinking, and the introduction/consideration of societies, races, and culture. Yes, one game has the ability to do all of this. In addition to this, due to the fact that the game has been around for so long, there are players both young and old, and those who are just starting out.
Society has embraced D&D even more in recent years, as mainstream “geek culture” has grown in popularity through “the popularity of streaming games online and, internally, the release of the 5th edition of the game in 2014” (Collins, 2014). The new edition introduces diversity through “sensitively-crafted races and character archetypes also nurtured [through] the growth of a far more inclusive community around the game” (Collins). The game and society play off each other in that society can be seen reflected in the game through how characters, culture, and society play out within the game. On the other hand, D&D sparks conversation and brings to light the need for diversity. For example, the well-known Marvel movie, “Guardians of the Galaxy” is “a D&D party” (Collins). They personify the very essence of what the game is, the bringing together of different cultures, races, and beliefs in order to reach a common goal.
Learning to be tolerant, understanding, and open to others in order to collaborate and make the world better, is not just a lesson that D&D has taught through their game but has also transcended into other facets of our society as it weaves itself into popular culture.
Part II. Analysis
D&D has a far reach in the world because it can be applied to many different aspects that create our societies. Education, for example, is one of these aspects. Within this game is the freedom to explore and manipulate one’s surroundings, something that is inherent and necessary when it comes to play. Playing for children teaches them about the world and themselves. In a world where early education can be geared or focused to a specific thought type, games like D&D not only support play but also divergent thinking. Where different types of divergent thinking may be seen as disruptive or difficult in a typical social or educational setting, games like D&D provide a space for children and adults to be who they are. Games
“are played within a “magic circle” where social norms are ignored. Within the “ritual of play, players are granted the agency to do things that society would judge as strange; “falling down” during Ring Around the Rosie, for example, is common and expected behavior in the “magic circle” of play” (Byers-Crocco).
In addition to this, the game also provides lessons in real time problem-solving as students learn about de-escalation, new technologies within the world, and the mediation of situations that may arise within the world. “Constructing such academic play as a “problem posing” mode of learning enables students to think critically about their own positionality and the collaboratory opportunities that emerge” (Byers-Crocco). This early education and introduction through play allows for these lessons to be learned in a way that is inherently fun but also simplifies it so that it is understood. Then, later in life as things become more complex and complicated, the ability to think creatively in order to find solutions, have tolerance for other ideas and modes of thinking, and be open to collaboration are aspects already known and utilized.
However, understanding the benefits of games such as D&D have not always been known. In the 1980s, Dungeons and Dragons was seen as problematic by religious groups and concerned parents. Patricia Pulling, a woman who blamed the game for her son’s suicide described the game as,
“[…]a fantasy role-playing game which uses demonology, witchcraft, voodoo, murder, rape, blasphemy, suicide, assassination, insanity, sex perversion, homosexuality, prostitution, satanic type rituals, gambling, barbarism, cannibalism, sadism, desecration, demon summoning, necromantics, divination and other teachings” (BBC, 2014).
This sentiment launched an intense media campaign that painted the game in a bad light, leading many to believe that the game was a tool for the occult, influencing young adults and children negatively. These sentiments went widely unchallenged and as recently as 2010,
“the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld a ban on D&D by the Waupun Correctional Institution. Captain Muraski, the institution’s gang specialist, testified that D&D can “foster an inmate’s obsession with escaping from the real life, correctional environment, fostering hostility, violence and escape behaviour” (BBC).
In more recent years, this sentiment has changed. This is partly due to the fact that “[t]he students who played D&D in the 1980s are now grown up into respectable careers. [And] […] mostly because the predicted ‘streets awash with the blood of innocents as a horde of demonically-possessed roleplayers laid waste to the country’ simply never materialized” (BBC).
Presently, D&D has been gaining popularity, especially amongst young people. In an article written for USA Today, Cole Asher is quoted saying, “I think it helps people my age detach from the real world[.] […] No matter what age, race, what your home life looks like, how [you’re] doing in school or at work, it all fades away for a few hours and allows you to express yourself and fulfill your wildest dreams” (Cross). There are others who are also finding that the game is very welcoming. There is a unique ability for players of the game to set aside differences, be it culture, religion, or race in order to come together to work towards a common goal. “[E]veryone is so welcoming. […] [A]nd I think that’s a really nice part of it” (Cook).
Through the ability of people who play D&D and any other similar game to be tolerant and welcoming of other cultures, races, etc. this allows for something that is so important in the advancement of society and our world, the sharing of ideas and understanding of others, either in game or in real life. Dungeons and Dragons encourages players to create or play as other races, all with their own unique culture, ideologies, ethics, and values. This causes players to stop and consider what they want when creating a character and be mindful of how these aspects would shape their character both psychologically, physically, and emotionally. This then transfers into the real world because it creates and allows people to apply the same courtesy of what they would do for their character or another person’s character in terms of empathy. In addition to this, the game also teaches the importance of diversity.
“To be able to survive the dangers lurking in the dark and find the glowing treasure, the adventuring party needs diversity. You need the ‘fighter’, the front man able to take and deal out damage; the ‘mage’, weak in constitution but able to throw his spells out from the back; and the ‘healer’, able to tend the wounds and reconstitute the other team members, just to name a few […]” (Betz, 2011).
The same can be said in real life. Understanding the importance of diversity, as well as the merit, means that when it comes to collaboration in the workplace, for example, all voices will be seen as necessary. Through collaboration comes solutions and progress. This progress, then can trickle into different facets of what makes our society run be it technology, education, or other innovation. Understanding the unique attributes that different members bring to a team will only impact us for the better.
This understanding of the merits of diversity is something that outsiders looking in for the first time will learn as well. The reason for this is that, in addition to there being several different class types, there are also several different races that one can be within the world of D&D. “The core races are dwarf, elf, gnome, half-elf, half-orc, halfling, and human. Each race, and each culture and/or region of geographical origin, brings with it its own pros/cons and unique perspective that affects the character role chosen by the adventurer” (Richie, 2020).
In order to combat segregation or the reluctance to choose one race over another, the game does a great job in promoting a diverse set of characters in that “no one knows what race of being the party may encounter that leads to the next stage of the adventure. If the party cannot be represented by someone who can be seen as friendly to that individual, the adventure may end prematurely” (Richie). Due to this, it is learned that every race has merit and importance to the world being built, much like society in the real world. Everyone has a place, purpose, and role.
The game also promotes conversation through in-game dialogue, sidebar discussions/debate, and interactions with other characters played by the dungeon master (DM). Through this exploration and exchange of thoughts and ideas in the game, there is a transference of this into the real world.
“Mechanically and philosophically, the flexibility of D&D continues to allow participants the ability to negotiate issues of conflict, violence, and moral uncertainty.” In other words, between the dialogue that develops amongst the adventurers during gameplay and the outside-the- game conversations that inevitably take place during breaks, D&D is a vehicle that allows for people to discuss and navigate their way through the real life problems presented in the game. D&D gives some the opportunity to voice their objections to certain situations, and others the opportunity to combat stereotypical judgments while in the safety of a game environment” (Richie).
With this ability to mirror situations in one’s life into a game setting, besides just personal questions of morality or ethics, there can also be lessons taught such as cultural appreciation, racial appreciation, and empathy towards others who are different from oneself.
“Without knowing it, the characters we embody in Dungeons & Dragons are often reflections of our own flaws[.] […] We created them, through our own knowledge of our own experiences, and the experiences of our friends and family. […] This not only allows us to inhabit our characters with realism and purpose, but also holds a mirror up to ourselves, and to our fellow adventurers, allowing us to examine and understand our own flaws in the reflections of the flaws we create for our characters around the table” (Ashby, 2019).
Being able to not only evaluate ourselves, but others, illustrates to us that we all have similar things that happen in our lives, or have experienced. The human experience is something that we can all relate to, regardless of culture or race, which allows us to see past those constructs and appreciate what everyone can bring to the table.
In looking at the analysis of D&D and all that it teaches through play, one may ask “how can this be applied in order to meet goals set for yourself?” The first thing that I would suggest is to be cognizant of your world. Consider what makes the world around you rich and full of life and pull from things that are happening around you and use it for inspiration. The second thing I would suggest is to be open to feedback from many different perspectives. Through the running of materials, such as writing, through numerous different opinions, you can glean how your work may be construed by others. Through collaborative efforts such as this, you may be able to deepen your world further making it more believable and ensuring that you are highlighting diversity in the right ways.
The ability to be open and cognizant to the world around you will assist in the understanding of popular culture because popular culture is made up by the majority of people in the world. This means that it is not niche to those of the elite, who are few when it comes to the whole of the world, and therefore, are going to be culturally and racially diverse. This will lead to cultural and racial acceptance, appreciation, and collaboration. Popular culture is meant to bring like-minded people together under umbrellas of things we all find joy in, which can only happen if we are open to others different from ourselves.
Part III. Reflection
Popular Culture is something that I was always aware of in my everyday life. I think it is difficult to not see how much it is engrained in how we choose things and develop opinions. In terms of my own perceptions, I definitely see how popular culture has developed me as a person. As I consider all of the things that I enjoy in my life, I have to admit that a big part of that is because others have also enjoyed it and brought me into the “fold” so to speak.
D&D is a great example of this. I had heard about the TTRPG before, but I thought of it as just a really complicated board game and had very little interest in it. Then about three years ago now, at the beginning of Covid, my friend reached out to me and asked if I would like to join an online session. My curiosity was piqued as she described the game to me and so I agreed. From the moment we started, I was hooked. Suddenly, I was a part of a team, and we were adventuring, solving problems, and just having fun. It didn’t matter where we were in the world, who we were, or what we had going on, for three hours a week we were playing a character, and we were all in the same space working together.
Having the understanding of the importance of being open to other people and new things has made me further understand popular culture. Popular culture is a way to connect to others through things that we find interesting in our world. It allows us to join people under an umbrella without worrying about being rejected. We get to be ourselves in the space of popular culture and do things that may be outside the norm in everyday society, but within the groups and subgroups of popular culture, we are accepted.
That being said, I am not perfect, and I am not always open to things within popular culture. If there are things that I am not interested in or do not fully understand, then I either do not engage with it at all or have my own preconceptions of what it may be, which could be completely off the mark. I think that this can definitely cause you to miss experiencing some great things. Again, using the example of D&D, as I mentioned before, I had little interest in playing the game because I 1) did not know anybody who played and 2) thought it was a game for “mega” nerds, which I did not “identify” as, even though I am pretty nerdy. That being said, I wish I had just asked someone about it or done my own research, because I could have been having fun with it so much sooner than I have. This illustrates how having misconceptions or ideas without fully understanding something or someone can cause you to potentially miss great experiences. Having this understanding now, I try to be more open-minded and ask questions in order to understand why someone may engage with something within popular culture, because I do not want to miss out anymore.
Being open and more understanding of aspects of popular culture will only help me as I work towards my goal of being a writer. The ability to understand and appreciate those different from us will be important as I pursue my career of writing. Literature, in order to be good, relies on characters that are different, much like that of a D&D party. Having the understanding that differences create colorful and rich characters, will in turn create a richer story. For example, look at books such as “Harry Potter” which have characters from different cultures and races, such as giants, half-giants, centaurs, and elves, all of which bring something to the table and add to the story/world.
Writing and literature is something that can potentially reach massive amounts of people. However, if you write about things that aren’t necessarily popular, then you might not get seen. That isn’t to say, one should not write about what they want, but it does not hurt to look around and see what is doing well. This is something that I learned in an early literature class, looking at the competition. For example, young adult dystopian fiction is a very popular genre. Therefore, if I write historical fiction similar to “Anne of Green Gables,” I may get lost within the world of literature. Understanding your audience and target demographic and what they like within popular culture will help you in having the competitive edge, as well as help you advance towards a successful career.
The education lenses can also be used, as mentioned before, to give us new perspectives on so many different topics and facets of popular culture. For example, if a different lens had been used, say applied science, in the understanding of D&D then the analysis would be completely different. Instead of discussing the effects that the game has had on society, we would be looking at the effects it has had on technological innovation and application. For example, I came across an article in my research, “Rolling the dice: Imagining Generative AI as a Dungeons & Dragons” which discusses AI application in generative storytelling. From this point of view, I would understand D&D as a tool to be utilized in order to further creative technologies, rather than just a game.
This is what is interesting about the different education lenses, depending on which is utilized in the analyzation of a subject, different perspectives can be gleaned. This is a skill that is immensely helpful and useful in life. Having the ability for critical analysis means that I can enter into almost any situation and be able to consider something different in a completely new way. For example, I am not a big fan of rock music, and yet, I find myself going to a benefit concert this weekend where they will be playing said music. With my understanding of the lenses, I have found myself asking, what is it about rock music I do not enjoy, that others do? It has led me to consider different subgenres within the general genre of rock music. I now look forward to going, not just for the music, but also for the people that I will encounter. These are people that I have encountered here and there, but never in a group setting such as this. Learning and analyzing this culture, outside of my own, will allow me to be more understanding and open to this experience.
This is where the strength of the lenses shine. When we give consideration to those different from us in terms of lifestyle, belief, culture, race, and so on. For example, coming back to D&D, there is a group member of ours who lives an alternative lifestyle from the considered norm. Normally, I think I would judge someone by their choice to live this lifestyle. However, through the game, I have come to learn more about them as a person first rather than their choices in life. I have learned that though they live differently from me, I enjoy them as a person. I have learned that, though it is not something I would choose for myself, it is not something inherently bad, just different.
Having these education lenses to lean back on, we as a people are able to step away from our own biases and ideals and adhere to the questions posed by the lens we are using to analyze. From these questions, we can then gain answers and insights on people, learning more about them. Sharing ideas and cultures is something that has been imperative to human progress. Having the ability to look past ourselves in order to gain deeper understanding of each other, continuing to share ourselves, will only be helpful as we continue to progress. This will also assist in much needed tolerance and acceptance towards one another as we live in our shared human experience.
Works Cited
Ashby, C. (2019, July 10). Why playing dungeons & dragons can teach you to be more empathetic. Medium. https://medium.com/creative-scatterbrain/why-playing-dungeons-dragons-can-teach-you-to-be-more-empathetic-5dc94ae59c1d
BBC. (2014, April 11). The great 1980s Dungeons & Dragons Panic. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26328105
Betz, U. A. K. (2011). What fantasy role-playing games can teach your children (or even you). British Journal of Educational Technology, 42(6), E117–E121. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01209.x
Byers, A., & Crocco, F. (2016). Title: The Role-Playing Society : Essays on the Cultural Influence of RPGs. Southern New Hampshire University. https://eds-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook
Collins, H. (2019, August 25). How dungeons & dragons quietly took over pop culture. CBR. https://www.cbr.com/dungeons-and-dragons-stranger-things/
Cross, G. (2023, August 18). Dungeons & Dragons gains popularity with younger players. USA Today, 01D. https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/apps/doc/A761367630/GIC?u=nhc_main&sid=ebsco&xid=3686a970
Inloes, A. (2018). Muhammad Abd al-Rahman (Phillip) Barker: Bridging Cultural Divides through Fantasy/ Science-Fiction Role-Playing Games and Fictional Religion. Southern New Hampshire University. https://eds-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/
Richie, B. (2020, September 11). Dungeons & dragons-A life changing experience. Mount Tamalpais College. https://www.mttamcollege.edu/dungeons-dragons-a-life-changing-experience-by-brian-richie/
Santiago, J. Ma., Parayno, R. L., Daja, J. A., & Samson, B. P. V. (2023). Rolling the dice: Imagining Generative AI as a Dungeons & Dragons … Arvix.org. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2304.01860.pdf
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