How D&D Shapes Game Designers

 

The "Dragon" part from "Dungeons & Dragons" 

Introduction

People nowadays have probably heard of Dungeons & Dragons or “D&D” from the popular Netflix TV show Stranger Things, or even from Critical Role shown on YouTube and Twitch. Back then, however, starting from the year 1974, it was mostly associated with nerdy kids who met up with nothing but dice and their imaginations. Though it went through its rough patches, with parents linking it to Satanism, D&D is far from these controversies. D&D is a collaborative, imaginative, and creative fantasy tabletop role-playing game that has inspired countless of the media that we consume every day. It probably will for a very long time, too.

Stranger Things Scene with the kids playing D&D
Huzzah!

D&D Game Overview

First and foremost, D&D is a game bound by rules, comprised of the players who create their own characters. The Dungeon Master or “DM”, acts as the referee and the story’s narrator. Players tell the DM what they want to do, and the DM applies the rules, sometimes using dice to decide outcomes to the player's actions or the story’s results. The DM must create a convincing world, and players must discover this world whilst building the story together.

Look at all this teamwork!

In the best-case scenario, the following ingredients are present at the table to ensure a safe and fun environment for everyone involved:

  • Teamwork
  • Communication
  • Inclusion
  • Adaptation
  • Resourcefulness

Now that sure sounds like the skills in my resume!

DM's as Game Designers

As the DM, you need to see the world you create through the lens of different professions, such as a theater director, creative writer, researcher, and even psychologist. What seems to tie all of these aspects together is the fact that D&D builds Game Designers.

Essentially, Game Designers need to understand the fun behind what one might consider the boring, mechanical aspects of a game. They build content, refine features, and communicate concepts that bring a game to life. It is natural to move from designing table-top games to video games, akin to knowing art fundamentals and moving to graphic design.

Similarly, Game designers would benefit from playing D&D, as learning how to be better storytellers will give them an advantage in their field, as they constantly have to analyze rules and find what works well and why.

D&D Dice. Or as I'd like to call them: D&Dice

Players as Game Designers

Likewise, the players are just as much considered game designers as the DM is. There are no programming languages that you need to know beforehand, just your freedom of imagination and your dice. For example, this is not Catan or Scrabble, but a life that you breathe into a character. It is what could be the best representation of yourself, or even the worst. All in all, it is what you want it to be.

How NOT to play D&D

Moving from the D&D Table to the Field 

What starts at the D&D table is a gateway to Game Design as a whole. DM's are not traditional storyboard artists or writers, as they are combining the intricate puzzle pieces that are mechanics and human emotions. They understand how they function, and how the rules interact with them.

Traditional writers tend to work in a linear fashion but add the D&D rules to the mix and you shift into the works of game design, where you figure out the rule structures that affect the players emotionally.

D&D and Design go hand in handMoreover, the fact that D&D's combat system and encounter design is lax enough yet so well-structured, enables people to get their hands on a template to follow and change if they so please. Nothing is stopping them from creating their own homebrew monsters, materials, or rules either! There are a million different narrative roads that the players and DM can choose from!

Freedom & Fluidity 

Role-Playing Games are not complete games, as they are built through game design ideas, tips, and practices that the group of people playing it decide. They choose the game they want to play, and this leads to an evolution of a microculture that involves those players.

The vagueness of the mechanics, fluidity, and the constant construction of the storyline make it easier for dungeon masters to make mistakes, explore new things, and get out of their comfort zones.

This is how one can get better at something, whereas other forms of game design might be a bit more intimidating, due to no room for errors being present. The existing rules are not set in stone, and it is encouraged to explore different things that fit your playstyle. A feature that is so inspiring and should be applied to life overall. Fewer rules, more exploration!

A D&D Wizard and a Rogue
Get ready to make some mistakes!

Conclusion

D&D is still relevant and even flourishing, with a spike in worldwide interest according to Google Trends when the global pandemic COVID-19 started to spread at the beginning of 2020. This is due to the opportunity it provides for people to interact, build confidence, express themselves, and explore their creativity with just their imagination (and a Zoom link). Therefore, get off your screens, grab a friend or two, and go Dungeon some Dragons!