Why the Critical Role/Wendy's One Shot is such a "BIGGIE DEAL"...
I was getting ready for Fanaticon (https://www.alabamafanaticon.org/) today and prepping to bring the Wendy's RPG "Feast of Legends" (https://feastoflegends.com) with me when I noticed a seemingly strange message from Matt Mercer's Twitter...
And then a statement from the official Critical Role twitter shortly there after...
"heavy sigh"
As I realize what's happening, I jumped onto the Critical Role Subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/criticalrole) to get the details of what feels like another installment of "Why we're going to hate on the cast/crew of Critical Role this week".
Folks - this has got to stop.
Now, please don't misunderstand me. Voicing concerns about social issues like workers' rights (see http://www.boycott-wendys.org/) is important. We do vote with our dollar, like the community investing $11 million into Critical Role because we trust them to do the right things, WHICH THEY ARE DOING.
However, if we can set this aside for just a moment, I'd like to point out a few reasons how obscenely important that this "Feast of Legends" thing really is for the RPG community. And it was Critical Role and many other content creators who have made this possible.
REASON 1) More National Visibility
Role-Playing Games have been on a precipice for the last five years, thanks in no small part to D&D's launch of 5th Edition. The new edition made it the easiest it had ever been to get into the hobby with the "least" amount of commitment.
But a lot of other things have been helping as well. Stranger Things, Twitch.tv, The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Critical Role, and more have started to penetrate the thinning barrier between "geek/nerd" culture and the mainstream.
All of us who grew up on video games, Mountain Dew, and comics are now droning away at our full-time jobs. We're looking to escape to the gaming mentality of our youth and share that with those we love (partners, children, etc).
This is also starting to happen on the corporate side of organizations as well. Because let's be honest, the fact that Wendy's came up with its own RPG has to be the brainchild of some geek/nerd in a pitch meeting somewhere thinking "this will NEVER happen."
And yet, Wendy's has enough snark in the social media department that it knows that taking chances in the geek/nerd space pays off. And that's why it took the chance here. They took a chance to build a very legit RPG and took a chance to launch it on a beloved channel like Critical Role.
This national brand has essentially shared it's "list" with Critical Role, giving more eyes to the Critical Role brand. Which, as fans of the show, is what we should want. We should want to share the lightning in a bottle that was the first campaign, the lore, and history that makes up a LOT of the second campaign, and the inevitable splash that the animated series will have when it's finished and being distributed.
REASON 2) Professionalizing the hobby
Let's be honest. Most of us have walked into a gaming store and seen a group of "typical" RPG players. Great people once you get to know them, but most aren't going to be on the cover of Maxim or compete in the Crossfit Games. Most of these people (myself included) are happy living their lives just the way they built them. Go in, punch a clock, go home and play their games with their friends and family.
But content creators, such as Geek and Sundry and Critical Role, are more like entrepreneurs. They are constantly looking to build and grow professional relationships.
And that's exactly what Critical Role had positioned themselves to do - leverage the relationships that have built to do cool things they like. Such as build their own studio, do their own animated series, or HAVE THEIR OWN FREAKING SERIES OF FUNKOS AND I WANT THEM ALL SO BADLY... but I digress.
Just as Travis and Sam have outlined before, they are working to leverage these to grow the Critical Role brand just like the entire cast has helped grow the community we enjoy.
And as Matt said, it's trial and error. But the fact that they got enough attention that a multi-national brand reached out to them to run a one-shot, provided them with food/props and even professionally printed books (Yes, I want one!) means they are making headway into industries. This means more money will be continuing to pour in and grow the hobby.
REASON 3) It opens up our community
As a (mostly silent) cis white male member of the Critical Role Community, I couldn't be more proud of the inclusivity that the community provides.
I was born in the Southeastern United States. As they say in the Reese Witherspoon movie "Sweet Home Alabama"...
And trust me, I feel like it's true.
The pride I feel in knowing I'm part of this kind of community and seeing what it means to be an ally to the community warms my heart. I love our little inside jokes (Bidet!) and the feeling of shared experience when I help induct another critter into the fold.
But that being said, I do feel as if, to a certain extent, we're an "exclusive" community of our making. We can be a bit "snob-ish" when it comes to certain things. And we definitely don't tend to speak at other people's levels.
While these things are OK, I feel we should be more open and inclusive when it comes to trying to help and welcome people into the greater RPG community and start to address concerns.
Time commitment to much an issue? Throw the rules out the window and run a one-hour game for that friend.
Math to much? Literally just roll two D6 and have the player do the same with opposing checks.
Scared to Improv? Run/learn a pre-built module!
We, as one of the more prominent RPG communities, need to take advantage of opportunities like these to welcome more people into the fold.
The more people we bring into the fold, the more perspectives we have. And the more perspective, the better the conversations... It's like that's the whole reason I play RPGs. #PlayMoreRPGs