Role-Playing's "Golden Age", Part 2: Culture, Conventions, and Criticism

While the RPG industry was flourishing commercially, role-playing as a type of gaming sub-culture was emerging along with it. In the same vein as wargames and science fiction, role-playing had found its niche in society, however small. Amateur and professional magazines were abundant, and a gaming mindset was created. According to the article "History of Role-Playing Part III", slang, gaming jargon, and in-jokes became common, since, like the gaming sessions themselves, the hobby of role-playing produced a strong sense of cameraderie within it and a need to isolate those outside of it.

Conventions were set up so gamers could communicate and collaborate. The first GenCon, a gaming enthusiast's convention, was held in 1978. The information for this year's GenCon 2010 is available, and it looks to be an exciting event! (I'm almost considering going, myself...) At conventions, role-playing gamers learned that they were not alone in their interests, and experienced an environment where they could feel confident and assured about their hobby. Publishing companies grew larger because their audiences had grown as well.

With role-playing at a cult status, the hobby had stability, which allowed writers and designers of RPGs to explore alternate venues of game design. Fantasy had been more or less exhausted, and science fiction was still in the works. Superhero games were published--Superhero 44 and Villains & Vigilantes. Crime RPGs got their start with Gangster!, a game based on movies like Scarface and Bonnie and Clyde.

Dungeons & Dragons was still popular, and the Advanced version of the game now came in three volumes: the Player's Guide, which held the class, racial features, and other information for players to create characters; the Dungeon Master's (DM's) Guide, which was helped someone create game worlds and rules to host a game for their friends; and finally the Monster Manual, the book full of big fantasy beasts and creatures for the characters to encounter and engage in battles with. D&D still does things this way today, but there will be a post on modern RPGs sometime in the future.

With the history of RPGs, just as with all histories throughout time, good things must come to an end. "History of Role Playing Part IV" discusses how, in the case of RPG history, the "Golden Age" was interrupted by tragedy. In August 1979 at Michigan State University, student James Dallas Egbert III (aka Dallas Egbert) ran away from the school intent on killing himself. He left a convoluted note that mentioned steam vents under the university and D&D, which he played avidly. Dallas did not kill himself at this time, and was found by a private detective.

During the case investigation, there was a terrible mistake. Irresponsible journalism as well as confusion by authorities spread a false story that D&D was responsible for Dallas's disappearance. Dallas commited suicide the next year, and gave birth to the story of the first "D&D" suicide, although it was known that he was under pressure as a child prodigy (he was enrolled in college at the age of 16), an alleged drug addict, and mentally unstable.

Although facts were few and mundane, the story of Dallas Egbert quickly exploded into myth, and D&D became a media scapegoat, being presented as a dangerous, cult-like activity that threatened children. After another suicide blamed on D&D, Pat Pulling, the mother of the victim, created the society BADD (Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons). Pulling brought a propaganda war against RPGs, including distribution of flyers and pamphlets, appearances on radio and TV talk shows, and live protests.
In 1984, Darren Molitor was on tirial for the muder of a girl which occurred while he was acting out a Halloween prank. Pulling, along with BADD, was able to convince him that D&D was controlling his actions, and that he was under the game's occult influences at the time of the event.

BADD may have fought dirty, but the RPG industry and its fans and followers fought back. Eventually the "Golden Age" continued.