Matt sez, “With that rocks-for-brains reporter in Boston trying to link campus shooter Amy Bishop’s crimes to Dungeons & Dragons, I thought I’d take an opportunity to look at the good D&D has done for several writers I know. This is that article. By the way, I’ve been a D&D player for almost thirty years now, and have been a happier, more productive person for it.”
And Cory adds:
I haven’t played since my early 20s (late teens?) but D&D was an enormously positive influence on my life and imagination.
And I would add: Me too! D&D helped me as a writer, storyteller, project organizer, and was also one of my entrees into making. When I started with D&D, my friends and I were too poor for miniatures, so we made our own from clay, and our dungeons and scenery were constructed out of paper, cardboard, and foam. I got my first Dremel tool to help me make gaming components. And it was my first heavy, multi-application use for my first computers (writing scenarios, player handouts, drawing maps, keeping character databases, and hanging out on D&D BBSes).
Not to mention, as someone who has dyslexia, it helped me with my number/math skills and in seeing the utility of applying math to something that was hugely fun and creative.
ADVERTISEMENT