The Critical Role in Changing the Way we Game

Moriah Goldblatt

Advanced Mass Communication

Blog 2

The Critical Role in Changing the Way We Game

Media and technology are always changing, and due to this our consumption of media so constantly evolving. Gaming is a form of media that is vastly popular with many people across the world. Gaming and media are constantly evolving, but how we consume media and who is gaming are trends changing very rapidly and very recently. One show epitomizes these changes. That show is Critical Role. Critical Role is a show produced by Geek and Sundry. It shows voice actors playing their game of Dungeons and Dragons. It is as simple as that, but it shows the inclusion of women into the gaming industry, and the new ways in which we watch and absorb games/media.

What is Critical Role

Critical Role is a live stream television show about a bunch of voice actors playing Dungeons and Dragons- or D&D. The show is broadcast every Thursday night on Geek and Sundry’s Twitch channel, and every episode is about 3-5 hours long, depending on what happens. The show’s 50th episode is Thursday, April 21st. The current cast of the show are Matthew Mercer (Dungeon Master),

Marisha Ray (Keyleth), Liam O’Brien (Vax), Laura Bailey (Vex), Travis Willingham (Grog), Taliesin Jaffe (Percy), and Ashley Johnson (Pike). The success of Critical Role comes from its ability to bring a relatively unknown game into the lives of people that otherwise wouldn’t play it. Critical Role brings D&D into the realm of television shows- complete with romance, action and compelling characters. Ryan Teitman says it best in his article for Slate, “Critical Role... has elevated this old-school game into something else entirely: compelling television, even for those who wouldn’t know a vorpal sword from a Volkswagen” (Teitman). Critical Role is becoming an avenue for people to be exposed to the gaming world in a way that is familiar, yet different. Comforting, yet exciting.

How it’s changing

Critical Role is not your average piece of media. It combines RPGs, live stream television and the binge-watching phenomenon to form its own media definition. This show defines the always changing way with which we watch and take in media. Media is becoming increasingly more cross-platform and traditional media outlets (like television) are decreasing in popularity and profitability. It’s morphing from short episodes to long ones, thanks to the introduction of binge watching. And it’s becoming more and more audience involved. Audiences are opting out of traditional cable media for online shows and streaming services. According to Will McGauran, “As online video streaming services have proliferated, there have been many references made to the idea of ‘cord cutting,’ in which customers cancel their expensive cable subscriptions in favor of watching their shows online for free ( McGauran, 8). All of these changes in media are present in Critical Role. Critical Role is episodic, in the sense that every episode has a mini storyline within the larger storyline of the game. This appeals to the more traditional television viewers. However, each episode in 3-5 hours long, which appeals to the audiences that love to binge watch. Critical Role is live streamed every

Thursday night, which appeals to those audiences that like to watch things live. Every episode is then uploaded onto Geek and Sundry’s website, and can be watched at anytime through this platform. This appeals to those audiences that can’t always watch things live. According to an article from RichMedia, “Every day more people are joining in on the TV cable-cutting trend. According to Deloitte, the stats for millennials, TV is no longer their dominant media and it won’t take long for the rest of us to join in” (RichMedia, 1). As television decreases in popularity, show like Critical Role flourish, because they relate back to aspects of television while also giving us a new media experience. Critical Role also is very heavy in it’s audience interaction. There is a live stream comment section/chat during the live broadcast, and often times the players will answer questions or comment off of the live chat. There is a heavy involvement on Twitter- audiences with create fan art that the players will then retweet or Tweet about. We see this “multiscreen” media trend happening in mainstream culture (RichMedia). There is even a special episode every couple of weeks called “Critmas” where the players open all the gifts that fans have sent them in. This interaction and involvement with the audience creates a dedicated fan base that makes the show even more successful. We are seeing a trend in all of these directions in media engagement and consumption, and Critical Role shows us how successful a program can be when it combines all of these media forms and strategies. Critical Role gives us a guide as media consumption changes and evolves for a program style that is effective. As media consumption changes, it will take the form of programs like Critical Role that are cross-platform and heavy on audience engagement.

Who is Gaming

For years, the mantra was that gaming is a man’s world. While it's true that some women are still being harassed and prohibited from gaming, the general feeling in the gaming world is becoming

more inclusive. This is evidenced in the show Critical Role. Vex, Keyleth and Pike are the badass characters played by Laura Bailey, Marisha Rey and Ashley Johnson, respectively. They often have storylines and adventures based on their characters, and are often the focus of many episodes. While they show is definitely an ensemble show with no real lead, the ladies are hugely important to the show, and this parallels the trend of women in gaming. The ladies of Critical Role were recently interviewed by Carolyn Cox for The Mary Sue, an online feminist geek culture

haven. The ladies revealed their experience with gaming and pushback from men. When asked “Do you deal with any pushback as a woman working and playing in traditionally male arenas?” the ladies had very similar answers. Laura Bailey, who play Vex, stated, “Y’know I think that stigma is changing. I haven’t really experienced a lot of prejudices in the gaming arenas I’m involved in lately. I used to a lot more, when I would game online, but I don’t know – I feel like

more male gamers are becoming aware that video games, and tabletop gaming as well, is open to everyone” (Cox). All the ladies said relatively the same thing- that they had experienced some push-back or harassment at some point in their gaming careers, but that recently they’ve seen a trend in the right direction. There will always be people who want to bash or harass successful and happy women- we call them haters. And while haters often talk the loudest, they can’t stop the progress we see in women in gaming. According to Big Fish Games, a leading game developing company, 48% of all gamers are women and 22% of the video game workforce is female, which is double what it was in 2009. The gaming industry is becoming more and more diverse, and this positive trend is heavily needed in this area. Critical Role is a great example of both the changing media consumption trends, and the inclusion of women in gaming. It emphasizes all the great aspects of cross platform media and the gaming industry. It is a hugely successful and important show because of this. Critical Role can help us to better understand the changing media environment and the changing gaming identity.

Works Cited

"Critical Role." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

"How We Consume Media Is Changing." RichMedia. RichMedia, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

"The Ladies of Geek & Sundry’s Critical Role Explain How D&D Changed Their Lives." Interview by Carolyn Cox. Gaming. The Mary Sue, 31 Mar. 2016. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

Lofgren, Krista. "2015 Video Game Statistics & Trends Who's Playing What & Why? | Big Fish Blog." Video Game Statistics & Trends- Whos Playing What and Why. Big Fish, 3 Mar. 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

McGauran, Will. Lights, Camera, Action: A Proposed Strategic Plan for Netflix in a Changing Media Landscape. Thesis. American University, 2012. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Washington Research Library Consortium. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

Mercer, Matt. "Critical Role Episodes." Critical Role. Geek and Sundry, 3 Apr. 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

Teitman, Ryan. "The Dungeons & Dragons Web Series Critical Role Is Flat-Out Great TV." Browbeat. Slate Magazine, 22 Feb. 2016. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.