How Dungeons & Dragons Can Make You a Better Designer
Maybe it’s the resurgence of 80s nostalgia (e.g. Stranger Things), or the growing mainstream love of the fantasy genre (Game of Thrones, anyone?) or simply the general acceptance of nerd culture as ‘the new cool’, but I’ve noticed an increased interest in the famous tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, and have recently started playing it myself.
What was once regarded as a dorky activity for pre-pubescent boys is now thoroughly enjoyed by people of many ages, genders, and walks of life.
There are already a few blogs and articles about this phenomenon (I love this illustrated one by Josh Kramer.) But I wanted to give a designer’s take on why and how tabletop role-playing has helped me, both personally and professionally.
So what exactly is Dungeons & Dragons?
Put in simplest terms, D&D is a collaborative fantasy tabletop role-playing game. You and a bunch of friends create characters and go on adventures through verbal storytelling. Certain actions require you to roll dice in order to determine if your actions were successful. And a Dungeon Master is the overseer of your shenanigans. They dictate the rules of the world, describe the surroundings, act as NPCs, create monsters that the party has to defeat, and craft puzzles the party must solve. The story never really ends, which is part of the magic, and also why some games have lasted over 35 years.
So how does D&D help with design?
Here are a few ways that I think D&D has helped me reflect on my design practice, and how it might help you too:
It requires you to step into someone else’s leather boots
D&D is some of the most intensive persona building I have ever had to do. It requires you to craft a character with depth — one that has a role, a personality, a backstory. There are many races and classes to choose from and endless variations on the original lore. Though the Player’s Handbook lists certain tendencies, personalities, and alignments, it never deters you from going against the norm. You’re meant to become that character by thinking, talking, and acting like them.
Personas need to be more than just demographics to be useful. I often leave demographic information (such as age, ethnicity, gender, etc) out of my personas, because they don’t tell you who someone is, or how you can better design for them. A persona’s personality, values, and life experiences are what make them a useful design exercise. As designers, if we can shift our headspace to embody like our users, we can better figure out their true wants and needs.
It gets you to investigate and question ‘why?’
The game is narrated by a Dungeon Master (DM) who presents a calculated amount of information about the players’ surroundings. In order to advance the story forward, the players must use their inquisitive minds to observe, ask questions, and think about what the DM is/is not revealing. In doing so, the players give the story a direction, which moves the game forward.
Similarly, in practice, I like to challenge what is presented to me. Putting considerations into why things are being presented to you is essential as a designer. We must dig deeper into what is being shown and said to us, asking ‘why?’ until we find the root cause of the problem, and from there we can work on ways to solve it. The client can tell you what they want, but your job is to figure out what they need. In D&D, I find this investigative approach is a regular occurrence, and is essential to gameplay.
It calls for quick, improvisational problem solving
Role playing games often require a lot of problem solving, and sometimes incorporate puzzles and mysteries into the plot. As a designer, I’ve had a few projects metaphorically catch on fire, but instead of freaking out, I had to come up with a patch and douse the flames. Not everything is a well-crafted solution with months of user testing to back it up. Sometimes you have one hour to save a dying project, or one turn to save a dying party member. Both situations call for quick thinking and even quicker action.
It’s collaboration at its finest
Role playing games aren’t a one person affair — every player comes with a unique human experience that translates into how they play. With D&D in particular, the party is often a rag tag group with different values and strategies, but figure out how to work together towards a collective goal.
Similarly, design projects also involve multiple stakeholders with different methods for the same goal. Interdisciplinary teams allow you to evaluate a variety of different methods of achieving that goal, and opens you up to possibilities you might not have considered. It can also be a humbling experience. Sometimes designers are so deeply embedded into what they believe is ‘good design’ that they lose sight of the bigger picture. Finding a balance between different personalities and opinions is what makes life interesting.
It simulates real-world constraints
There isn’t a single design project that I have worked on that went exactly as planned. Clients stop responding for weeks, or respond too much and create unrealistic demands. Projects get dropped due to lack of funding, you get burnt out due to overworking and have to take a few days off. Of course, there are the good surprises too, like having ice cream cake at the weekly staff meeting.
Much in the same way, D&D is unpredictable. Sometimes you manage to haggle with a merchant so charismatically that you get free equipment, but other times you discover that the phosphorus moss you’ve been keeping in your pocket is actually a parasitic organism.
This happens for not just the players, but also the Dungeon Master.
“Dungeon Masters, like designers, set up things the way they want them to go. Like a vision, a direction, everything — but they need to be prepared for that to all be taken away. It teaches you to be humble, to listen, and pay attention to your players & clients”
-Alexa Tarrayo, DM
Just as real life throws you unexpected curveballs, D&D is dictated by chance, and it’s part of what keeps things fresh and interesting.
It brings up ethical quandaries
In Dungeons & Dragons, characters have alignments which determine certain values and often influence their decisions based on their worldview. Campaigns give plenty of opportunities for players to make choices, revealing who they truly are. Lawful or Chaotic? Good or Evil? Maybe even completely neutral? Who we are and what institutions we believe in affect how we live, how we play, and how we design.
Ethics is becoming an increasingly hot topic in the design world (as it should!) especially with big tech scandals in the mainstream media regarding consumer safety and privacy breaches. When we design real products, we know that real people will be using them. Real people with lives that might be compromised with our products. As designers, we have a responsibility to do no harm. But also, we must consider those who create products that hurt others, and how we can include ways to combat this in our work. A holistic approach, to prevent and treat issues whenever possible, is a direction I’d like to see the design world embrace.
It’s fun as hell, and a good way to bond with friends
This is a somewhat tangential reason why Dungeons & Dragons relates to design, but I get a thrill out of making stuff. Even though design is real work, it’s also endlessly rewarding.
There is a bonding that goes on while playing D&D that I don’t experience anywhere else in my life. I can barely begin to remember the number of times I have cried laughing or lost my voice from yelling while playing D&D. It’s truly an adventure to meet with this group of friends once a month to sit around a table and throw dice, because the only limits to the story are our imagination.
Disclaimer
Obviously, I’m not saying that playing D&D is the equivalent of going to design school and getting a degree. But playing D&D has allowed me to reflect on my practice in a different context, and to think deeply about my approach to situations in life. Consider giving it a go, and you might be surprised as to how fun and enlightening it can be.
Written by Ophelia, a Manakete Druid. Special thanks to Merewen — the figurehead to our venerable DM, Aki, Gawain, Lilia, Galdot — my fellow party members, and Oly — an Orc Barbarian and my true love.
