This is a transcript of the video titled “A TTRPG (Tabletop Role Playing Game) Renaissance”

I have not been in the space long enough to have an idea of back in the day but i am lucky enough to know a lot of really approachable folks who have been gaming for a few decades and they all universally agree that things are changing, and mostly for the better,

Does this mean every single change is a good one? Maybe not for everyone’s perspective - for example, mechanics have generally gotten more streamlined and complexity is not driven by crunchy rulesets - some people really dig that kind of thing. And for those people, D&D 3.5 or Shadowrun still exist. Or if you want something modern, Eclipse Phase. That’s the beauty of this newness, it doesn’t erase or invalidate any of what has existed before!

New voices are being heard - you don’t have to work for a big publishing house to be published in the ttrpg space. It’s not a massive money making endeavor or anything but what community-based growth is? And I’m not saying it’s still now hard work but the ability to self-publish, find artists from communities you want to work with, hire freelance design and editing experts… it’s incredible! I personally know at least 5 published creators in the tabletop space and three freelance designers. And this is not even close to my industry. 

New stories are being told - and at least some of them, by people who didn’t even have a seat at the table before. 

There are so many accessible resources for new people, and so much depth for older players. 

One of the biggest online entertainment organizations is centred around D&D. Regardless of how you feel about Critical Role, that’s amazing. And I love Critical Role so its extra amazing!

I feel like one of the main reasons so much of the hobby has opened up is that a lot of it migrated online over the last two years. For the first time, people who may not have been able to access physical games or local game stores had a much higher chance of finding and being able to play games that they never had before. This goes for women, disabled folk, for black, brown, people of colour - really anyone who wasn’t an ablebodied cis white guy… If you’re a disabled brown woman… hoo! I’m not saying that we’re banned from these places or anything but just that … It's a different space for a lot of us. Notice I didn’t say friendly local game store even though that’s the common phrase. 

But like.. None of that stuff matters online. In fact, a lot of it is celebrated. My voice has been given value in some spaces specifically because I am a disabled brown woman. It feels really good to know that my perspective is being sought. And I guarantee you, yours will be too. 

Anyway, none of this is to say we’ve gotten to where we need to, in terms of accessibility and diversity and inclusion but we are actively moving in the right direction and for every one detractor voice feeling like things were better with terrible racial coding of orcs and goblins or whatever, there are multiple more being like uh no that’s stupid and please go away from me if that’s what you think.

The caveat I’ll make though is that this experience of growth and seeking out new experiences, even among older tabletop players, mostly exists on Discord, in medium to smaller communities that are centred around content creators, not around games. Find a few content  in the space that really resonates with you and join their Discords. You will find like-minded people who share similar values to you. And especially if you are a woman, a person of colour, a disabled person - please seek out and join these communities. They are great spaces to start or join conversations that desperately need to be had now to make sure we are celebrating and platforming the right people and content.