Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most influential, important creations in entertainment history. The vast majority of video games that exist today, and large amounts of the average American’s conception of a “fantasy world” exists largely due to the world created by Dungeons & Dragons founders back in 1974. While always popular, Dungeons & Dragons has recently reached a mainstream popularity greater than at any time in its history (Whitten, 2019). While the majority of the experience is an exercise in creativity and imagination, speckled with moments of stress and fear, Dungeons & Dragons relies heavily on social psychology as a means of drawing it’s players in, and remaining engaged.
Despite being stigmatized for years as being a game for those who are anti-social outcasts, Dungeons & Dragons (aka DnD) relies heavily on finding a group of people who one is able to find effective means of social communication with, as socializing between players is the thing that one spends the majority of the time doing while in-game. The roleplaying aspect is what makes this especially fascinating however, as it requires the players to not only overcome issues that arise in social settings in the real-world, but they also must accomplish this while playing to role of unrelated characters at the exact same time, with their own personalities, flaws, social abilities, etc. While the players of DnD may not be thinking of it while doing so, but they are participating in a complex interconecting series of social psychological exercises with every decision they make, both in the game as characters, and at the table as players.
One of the biggest challenges in playing a game like DnD is the ability for one to separate themselves and their friends as people from the characters they and their friends are playing. Not only is this challenging in relation to immersion, but it can often result in intense social conflicts that while they may begin as conflicts between the characters in game, can very easily and quickly result in real conflicts between the individuals playing the game. This is a challenge that all groups need to come up with solutions to try to overcome, as the purpose of the experience of DnD is enjoyment with friends.
DnD also offers social psychology as a way of overcoming obstacles in game, which is one of the most important skills one can master to become effective at DnD. When trying to accomplish tasks, players do not have to take physical action as their primary decision. Often the most effective way to overcome a given situation is through the use of persuasion and intimidation as a means of accomplishing a given task. Much like conflicts can arise both in game and out of game, the effectiveness of a given social solution is determined both through the use of social psychology in game and out. In game, the decision to use a social solution to the problem results in the player rolling a dice, however the words chosen by the player have a strong impact outside the game, as the person running the game, the dungeon master (or “DM”) can change the effectiveness of the attempt based on how persuasive the words were.
The DM also must heavily rely on social psychology to create an effective game. As this is a game reliant on pencils and paper to tell the story, the DM must find ways of engaging the players without much in the way of visual imagery, and must instead appeal to the emotions through the use of language to engross the players in their world. Thus, a DM will often rely heavily on fear as a means of encouraging motivation, with hinted at, or promised reward being presented as a means of creating determination among the party members.
References:
Whitten, S. (2019, March 18). ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ has found something its early fans never expected: Popularity. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/15/dungeons-and-dragons-is-more-popular-than-ever-thanks-to-twitch.html.
Hello,
Your post intrigued me because I have always wanted to play Dungeons & Dragons! I heard that this game is extremely complex and requires a good amount of critical thinking that allows successful advancement. After reading your post, my perception of DnD was confirmed. It seems as though this game gives the players opportunities to improve problem-solving and communication skills. Your application of social psychology allowed me to view this game with a new perspective and helped me realize how complicated DnD is but in the best way. A game that requires psychological thought really is an innovative concept, which leads to my new understanding of why it is still so popular after 45 years.
Based on your explanation of Dungeons & Dragons, I am assuming you have played before. I am curious, if my assumption is correct, how was your experience playing it for the first time? Were you aware of the psychological and situational complexity?