When Did D&D Become "Cool"?

[1337_master]

I Was wondering when DND became Cool, 'cause I started Liking it around...Second edition, I want/need to know if its cool or not so I can say "I liked DND Before it was cool."

[EvilElitest]

Do you mean cool by our personal standards or by the standards of teh general public?
from,
EE

[Talya]

Geekery in general has become a fair bit more mainstream over the last few years with the rise of the Internet...although D&D generally still remains outside that mainstream by a slight bit.

[jameswilliamogle]

well, theres several celebrities that play regularly now, and generaly play rpg's too, and 3.5 for all its flaws has made it a much more video-gamish game. people that go to every tourney are still geeks tho.

[Seatbelt]

D&D is not cool, or I would have been able to find a group this year. D&D is merely acceptable. :P

[de-trick]

since i started to play

[Emperor Tippy]

It's not exactly cool but it has come far from the days when most people thought it was devil worship and wanted to "reform" you if you played it.

[Yechezkiel]

When will D&D become cool?

[Amphimir Míriel]

Yeah, tabletop roleplaying games has never been cool... In fact, if the name "Dungeons and Dragons" has gotten any sort of recognition, it is as a synonym of geekery...

Of course, being a geek nowadays its not as bad as it was on my day... On those days, no one could imagine that nerds could one day become millionaires and have trophy wives...

...and we had to go barefoot to the nearest hobby store, 10 miles! In the Snow!

Bah, who am I kidding, there's no snow in Mexico city

[Penguinsushi]

It's not exactly cool but it has come far from the days when most people thought it was devil worship and wanted to "reform" you if you played it.

For the most part, anyway...


Anyway, I think what you're seeing is merely the fact that D&D has come to be more accepted for what it is - "a game" - more than "some weird thing that smelly geeks do". I wouldn't say D&D is 'cool', just a bit more...understood.

I think things like the LoTR movies that have brought the genre into the mainstream spotlight have contributed to this a bit.

~PS

[JadedDM]

D&D is not cool. It never was. Not from a mainstream point of view. The normal response I get when I mention D&D in public is, "What's that?"

[PMDM]

The 3rd edition has seen it's own rise in popularity, but that's to be expected from such an intuitive system. I don't think D&D will ever hit the mainstream like it did in the 80s. ONly because it requires so much player effort to enjoy. The reason RPGs are so popular is because they have visual aids, and straight forward goals. D&D is the closest thing to that in a roleplaying game. That's why D&D seems to be so mainstream.

[Cybren]

Never. You're a dork. A super dork since you know what "second edition" means in that context.

[Jack Mann]

Like, dude, isn't second edition what they used to play before D&D?

[doliemaster]

NO! If DnD was cool geeks wouldn't play it, you just think so because people don't hate us like they used to, and on a plus side few think us devil-worshippers, on the downside they think we are powderkegs ready to lose perception of reality and attack anyone who is mean to us.

[Dhavaer]

When will D&D become cool?

Hopefully never. Cool = mainstream, and mainstream = lowest common denominator. Stay geeky, people.

[Penguinsushi]

Hopefully never. Cool = mainstream, and mainstream = lowest common denominator. Stay geeky, people.

Good point. Anyway, I think that's what computer/console rpg's are for...



~PS

[Deepblue706]

Not even Vin Diesel could make D&D cool - so that pretty much means it'll never happen. Ever. Anywhere. In the entire universe. Or any others.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

D&D's always been cool! Everything else is just uncool.

[de-trick]

the classic geeks are gone these day no coke bottle glasses suspenders look at me i play d&d 1 of the bes kids in gym chicks dig me on track team in my school besides the jocks and the preps the d&d nerds are a big group

[Emperor Tippy]

the classic geeks are gone these day no coke bottle glasses suspenders look at me i play d&d 1 of the bes kids in gym chicks dig me on track team in my school besides the jocks and the preps the d&d nerds are a big group

The classic geek is a myth these days; no coke bottle glasses and suspenders.

Look at me, I play D&D, am one of the best kids in gym, chicks dig me, and on the track team in my school the D&D nerds are a large group - along side the jocks and the preps.

/Translated by Tippy Industries: So you don't have to waste any points in Decipher Script.

------
Yes, D&D and being a nerd has changed a lot in the past 15 years but D&D still isn't "cool". It is just not something that gets you beat up or causes the court to order a psych evaluation any more.

[Pink]

The classic geek is a myth these days; no coke bottle glasses and suspenders.

Look at me, I play D&D, am one of the best kids in gym, chicks dig me, and on the track team in my school the D&D nerds are a large group - along side the jocks and the preps.

/Translated by Tippy Industries: So you don't have to waste any points in Decipher Script.

------
Yes, D&D and being a nerd has changed a lot in the past 15 years but D&D still isn't "cool". It is just not something that gets you beat up or causes the court to order a psych evaluation any more.

Ah, thank you Sir, I never did put any ranks in that skill.

As for DnD being cool....nah. It's acceptable, maybe neat to those who've heard of it but don't play, but like others have said, cool = mainstream, and mainstream it is not.

[Viscount Einstrauss]

It's cool in certain circles. Being a geek no longer has the negative connotations it used to, so those that otherwise never would have touched tabletop gaming are starting to come in full force. Where I live only the trendiest play D&D, since it was started by a few of us as privledged and mildly popular children with an abundance of money, spare time, and imagination. It's grown since then so that you aren't really cool if you aren't invited to D&D nights with other cool kids, much like partying.

But our town is loopy anyway.

[Latronis]

You Americans and you're 'Cliques'

a geek never had negative cannotations here

[Piedmon_Sama]

The classic geek is a myth these days; no coke bottle glasses and suspenders.

Look at me, I play D&D, am one of the best kids in gym, chicks dig me, and on the track team in my school the D&D nerds are a large group - along side the jocks and the preps.

/Translated by Tippy Industries: So you don't have to waste any points in Decipher Script.

Okay, not to derail the thread, but I'm getting pretty sick and tired of people pretending that others' posts need "translating." Nobody who's smart enough to spell it right in the first place would have trouble understanding even the sloppiest posts on the board. To show precisely what I think of anal-retentive grammer nazis, I'm going to make this the last grammatically correct sentence I post on GitP.

sos this one times sees i haed a job workin there as a parkin attendant see.and i had to baskly waetch baskly a streetkronur 4 leik ayt hrs a day ok, and this grrl was w/me and we got 2 talkin an i mentund i leik 2 play d&d.so she gets all this big consurnd look on hr faes n she says she says "ono, iv herd a lot of peepul get in2 taht n tehy stops goin outseid n doin nrmal fings an tehy tink ter sum1 else" n im leik "y on erf wud u fink taht?" n she says she saw it on an epusoed of LIZZY MAGUIRE, sheesh.... i fink teh medya is doin a lot 2 bash "nurds" n in2lectual/imaganatif typs in genurul wich feeds in2 things leik teh sur-cuss w/teh Virginia shootins n dat Jack Tompson crctr tryin to portrae us as a dangr.i wudnt fink its a big deel but my X-pear-anses sho a lot of peeps rly do bai in2 dat....

[Ragna]

In singapore, nerd culture is prevalent and from what I've seen, DnD has either neutral or positive reactions here. Haven't seen any "OMG! You play DnD! Satanic occultist" or anything like that. Thank god...

Summary: DnD rather mainstream due to commercial success of RPGs and prevalence of computer gaming here

[AtomicKitKat]

Meh. Back in the day I used to not study, and still get decent grades. The kids who spent their time buried in schoolbooks come exam time tended to be the ones who would also want to convert you from "devil worship". "RPGs" and "Role Playing Games" were considered "dirty words".

[Ragna]

@Piedmon

The main reason you see this grammar nazi phenomenon is mostly from one cause. People treating it like chat rooms. Furthermore its annoying to a significant population of people to see this warping of the language. For the fact that this is a forum, more time can be spent on writing the post. Thus, better grammar is expected from most people on the aforementioned forums.

[Jack Mann]

Okay, not to derail the thread, but I'm getting pretty sick and tired of people pretending that others' posts need "translating." Nobody who's smart enough to spell it right in the first place would have trouble understanding even the sloppiest posts on the board. To show precisely what I think of anal-retentive grammer nazis, I'm going to make this the last grammatically correct sentence I post on GitP.

sos this one times sees i haed a job workin there as a parkin attendant see.and i had to baskly waetch baskly a streetkronur 4 leik ayt hrs a day ok, and this grrl was w/me and we got 2 talkin an i mentund i leik 2 play d&d.so she gets all this big consurnd look on hr faes n she says she says "ono, iv herd a lot of peepul get in2 taht n tehy stops goin outseid n doin nrmal fings an tehy tink ter sum1 else" n im leik "y on erf wud u fink taht?" n she says she saw it on an epusoed of LIZZY MAGUIRE, sheesh.... i fink teh medya is doin a lot 2 bash "nurds" n in2lectual/imaganatif typs in genurul wich feeds in2 things leik teh sur-cuss w/teh Virginia shootins n dat Jack Tompson crctr tryin to portrae us as a dangr.i wudnt fink its a big deel but my X-pear-anses sho a lot of peeps rly do bai in2 dat....

I'll admit that Tippy's translations are rather passive-aggressive, but I'm frankly about ready to stop reading de-trick's posts entirely. Only the fact that he's promised to try harder has kept me reading. I'm reasonably certain that you're being facetious with the second half of your post, but if you were seriously to start posting like that full time, I don't think I'd ever read another post of yours. I don't think I would be alone. It's each person's responsibility to make their point clearly. If de-trick (or you) aren't willing to do that, then there's no reason why we should care about anything you say. If you don't care enough about your posts to make them legible, then we shouldn't have to care enough to decipher them. By posting in that fashion, you're implying that we aren't worth the effort to communicate with. If you don't want to communicate with us, then don't post. If you don't want to play here, then find something productive to do with your time. Read a book. Get some exercise. Learn to cook. Or take the time to make yourself understood, as you've done in the past. But don't waste our time and yours by posting gobbledygook. It will only annoy people.

We aren't demanding perfection. We just want some effort to be understandable. Not even that much effort. A good spell check program would do wonders.

And think about those people who truly do have problems with English. Think about the people who have dyslexia. I have a friend with severe dyslexia. He has a hell of a time when other people make too many spelling errors. That's why he's very careful of what he types. He still makes mistakes, but he makes the best effort he can to be understood. Think about the people for whom English is a second language. They're already having to deal with our jargon on top of having to translate everything. They don't need to deal with chatspeak and persistent spelling errors too.

All we ask is that you think of others when you type. That's all.

[Fourth Tempter]

Indeed; thank you Jack.

For the Record, English is not my first language--nor even my second.