Yes, I understand the video is meant to be funny, so maybe I'm over reacting just a wee bit when I find it to be insulting that "one book" can cure a bad DM or a bad campaign. Not to mention that I find the caricature of the bad DM here truly insulting.
Yes, it's over the top, but so were the 4e videos trashing gnomes. Insulting your user base for a few laughs seems counterproductive to my way of thinking.
Eh, maybe I am over thinking.
Maybe it's just a funny video and not meant to sell anything.
Right.
(hat tip to +Benoist Poiré )
I don't understand how intimating half your customer base is a bunch of basement dwelling no lives who need the product to not ruin a game on their own is supposed to be funny, let alone appealing to me as a referee.
ReplyDeleteI don't get the ironic laughs these type of things seem to get.
But then again, I'm no fan of the Big Bang Theory for basically the same reason.
Painful to watch.
ReplyDeleteMeh. I think its biggest issue is that it's not particularly funny... though I can see how the premise has potential some humor in later episodes. I can see they're already setting up "Mercy" as the TPK-er DM in a future episode.
ReplyDeleteThe caricature didn't really bother me, and I think many of us had our share of Monty Haul campaigns when we were kids. This was just an over-the-top rendition of what those games were like.
It's more of an in-joke thing than an advertisement. I'm not actually sure who the target audience is from the advertising perspective. Anyone who'd look to find this video is likely a gamer who already knows about the DM guide (at the very least).
I didn't think it was very funny, but I didn't find it offensive at all. However, I guess I'm sort of puzzled about who their intended audience is? DM's from older editions maybe? They could have done much better perhaps by poking fun at themselves rather than DM's. A game designer's support group to show how the new DMG fixes *game design issues* rather than *DM issues* might have been the better choice.
ReplyDeleteI doubt it "fixes" any issues... unless your problem is a too-heavy wallet...
DeleteWait, XP isn't a thing anymore?
ReplyDeleteI'm a pretty Shitty DM. Maybe the 'pretty' should be capitalized as well. I play with mostly immediate family, the game is a very effective tool for learning lessons from each other. Not one person at the table ever tells a lie (unless it's to an NPC!) and that environment kicks ass. I came in to being a DM like a lot of folks, I'd guess- First one to learn then teach others to play. Oh...ha! I took the post title literally.
ReplyDelete"Maybe it's just a funny video"
ReplyDeleteNope. Just watched it. That's definitely not it.
If there is an advantage to my first retirement, it's that I don't draw a salary for wasting time watching this . . . thing. Still too lazy to waste personal time on it.
ReplyDeleteI don't find it funny, but that's really the worst of it. I think one would have to be of a pretty peevish state of mind to draw any insult from it.
ReplyDeleteGod you guys need to lighten up! The crappy DM was funny
ReplyDeleteI didn't think it was that funny, but remember, this is a product for 12 year olds, too. Not every piece of marketing needs to be directed at 45 year old grumpy dwarves. I didn't find it offensive, but then again, I don't pretend to be a beautiful and unique snowflake. Sticks and stones and all that. They still taught us that where I'm from.
ReplyDeleteI agree with The Dave. Hilarious! I actually laughed out loud... and then again at the tale end of the video. Hopefully, this is just one of a series. I also love Big Bang Theory.
ReplyDeleteWho even bothers clicking the button to watch this stuff?
ReplyDeleteIt seems that if you are intelligent, you're better off sticking with the OSR.
ReplyDelete