Shouldn't the associate editor of Popular Mechanics know something about popular game mechanics

Erik Sofge, associate editor of Popular Mechanics took the opportunity of Gary Gygax’s death to trash his legacy.

When you cut through the nostalgia, Dungeons & Dragons isn’t a good role-playing game; in fact, it’s one of the worst on the market. Sadly, Gygax’s creation defines our strange corner of the entertainment world and drowns out all the more innovative and sophisticated games that have made D&D obsolete for decades. (As a game designer, Gygax is far outclassed by contemporaries such as Steve Jackson and Greg Stafford.) It’s the reason that tabletop gaming is not only stuck in the pop culture gutter but considered pathetic even by the standards of mouth-breathing Star Trek conventioneers. And with the entire industry continuing to collapse in the face of online gaming, this might be the last chance to see Gygax for what he was-an unrepentant hack, more Michael Bay than Ingmar Bergman.

Gygax and DnD have gone their separate ways long ago. DnD has continued to evolve and is getting ready to release a the widely anticipated 4th edition. Now, I don’t know the specific profitability figures for it, but might I recommend Mr. Sofge check out his local Barnes and Nobles or Borders and see how many DnD books it’s selling before he calls it an obsolete game in decline.

I actually think Sofge does have a bit of a point. DnD has improved some in terms of moral complexity over the years, but I’ll certainly grant that its a blood thirsty system. Even so, there’s lots of gamers out there who will be happy to bore you with the creative thought they put into their characters. Many people who run the game add some complexity, for an example I’d point to Order of the Stick which both plays in a DnD universe and parodies it. In my opinion is one of the best webcomics out there past and present. But I do think such complexity does sometimes work against the system. Regardless, that’s not where Sofge goes so horribly wrong.

For that, you’ll have to jump after the cut

From the same article (repeating the stupidity of listing DnD as one of the worst RPGs)

Dungeons & Dragons strips the "role-playing" out of RPGs; it’s a
videogame without the graphics, and a pretty boring one, at that.

That is an ignorant libel. DnD is fun because of the rules also known as the mechanics (hence the title pun). Systems such as Gurps which allow full customization tend to create characters of highly variable ability. So those highly creative roleplayers Sofge is so in love with often end up with one character dominating a game or with a game master that has to work hard to make sure that everyone can participate in a fun way.

DnD is more of a tactical combat simulation than a social simulation. The thing is, that the tactical combat game is highly sophisticated and has evolved a lot over the years. The current designers have a pretty good idea of what’s actually fun and have put a lot of work into tweaking and rewriting rules to make the game a good experience for all the players. I also enjoy the sort of games that Jackson and Stafford have created but there’s real trade offs in the choices they’ve made.

So while I buy the moral universe critique, the actual gameplay is easily among the best on the market today. Honestly without that gameplay I’d have dropped DnD long ago. Moreover, that terrific gameplay didn’t come directly from Gygax but it certainly was the ancestor of a system he helped create. So in the end, my point is this: if you’re going to speak ill of the dead, get it right.