The D&D movie captures one of the best parts of gaming

about midway Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among ThievesIn the episode, Michelle Rodriguez’s character, Holga the Barbarian, visits her ex’s home to somewhat mend their relationship. The scene is played pretty straight forward, with Holga and Marlamin (played by Bradley Cooper) having a heart-to-heart talk about where their marriage went wrong. But it’s also one of the funniest scenes in the movie, because this deep, emotional conversation is happening between two actors, while one of them is a short, fancy man in a regular-sized chair, and the other a scruffy, axe-wielding Hai, the fur-clad barbarian who just beat up an entire team of guards.

This sequence particularly tickled me because in my opinion, a former swim is such a fun mechanic to integrate into a role-playing game. It’s a reminder that even in this fantasy world of dungeons and dragons, characters still mean something to each other. It goes beyond previous romantic dalliances and backstories – I love having personal, face-to-face interactions within game settings, because it makes the characters feel real, like they exist in this world beyond their quests and adventures. Beyond slaying demons and seizing loot, they have influence over other people.

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Image: Paramount Pictures

There can be mechanical advantage as well as personal advantage. One of my current D&D characters has a long list that I’ve woven into his backstory. Only one of them has made an appearance in our game so far (with more amiable dialogue than Holga and Marlamin), but my character constantly makes reference to his long-time exile. It’s a telling description of their history, but I’ve also used it to argue for a knowledge of certain languages ​​and historical details, all because of the things they’ve derived from a variety of relationships in their past .

I’ve already written about my love of downtime filler episodes many, many times here at Play Gamez, so it probably isn’t a huge surprise that I love video games where a core mechanic is just hanging out with other characters. Fire Emblem: Three Houses And its tea-party system owns all my heart, but I worship too marvel’s midnight suns, which not only builds in player-initiated hangouts, but also adds extracurricular activities, even if it is not a school setting. best mass effect DLC is where you go on light-hearted, laugh-out-loud missions, then throw a party and hang out with your friends. in that scene Dragon Age: Inquisition Where the evil storyteller Varric tricks everyone into a card game? Wonderful. (And yes, I’ve been told I should be playing the Persona games; they’re on my ever-growing backlog).

Image: BioWare/Electronic Arts via Play Gamez

I’m the type of person who likes to stop and talk to every NPC, so when a game acknowledges this and integrates it into the gameplay, I get really excited. I love that my player character has an effect on the world around them! I love that people have opinions about them, and want to hang out!

It made sense that even when I started to explore tabletop gaming, I would still love downtime and role-play, not just with puzzles or battles, but a chance to interact with other people. Initially, it was a bit daunting not having preset dialogue options, but now I realize that tabletop RPGs have everything I love about video games, but with more freedom. I’ve been fortunate enough to have DMs who incorporate this preference, specifically from engineering in-character interactions to setting up an entire gathering where player characters and NPCs alike bring in dishes for a potluck luncheon.

Don’t get me wrong – I still enjoy some good combat in my games. But there’s something especially satisfying about a memorable role-play interaction that always gives me creative energy. It’s a fun way to socialize with friends, and partly the joy of making something together, even if the audience is just us.

Image: Paramount Pictures

And this is something the Dungeons & Dragons movie captures surprisingly well. Amidst the action sequences and heists, the main adventurer is Pleasure Together. Since this is a movie and not a long-running television show, it does not have designated filler episodes where they all go to the beach or play a drunken game of cards. But within the framework of the film, the filmmakers managed to integrate enough social scenes and personal interactions to really emphasize what we see on screen, which is very rare in big genre action movies these days. Is.

Characters can be upset. They may struggle to adjust to magical items, and may call nonsense to their insecurities. He may have uncomfortable interactions with his ex-mates. But later, when Holga sadly mounts her horse and begins to ride away, her good friend Edgin the Bard (Chris Pine) sings a song to cheer her up. It doesn’t take long for a smile to appear on her face and they both are singing together. I’m here for shit like this!

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Is in cinemas now.