Earlier this week Westpaw Films announced Dungeons & Dragons: A Documentary, an upcoming film exploring the history of the fantasy role-playing game all the way back to its humble beginnings in 1974. From creators Gygax and Arneson’s original goal to “just sell 1,000 copies” of the game, to the formation and turbulent history of TSR, and how ultimately D&D became a worldwide phenomenon and major influence on society and pop culture.
Now the project has come to Kickstarter, where the trio of filmmakers–Andrew Pascal, Anthony Savini, and James Sprattley–are hoping to raise $150,000 by Monday, September 17.
Here’s the trailer:
And here’s a snippet from the film’s synopsis:
“In a very real sense, Dungeons & Dragons changed the world. From its early years, Dungeons and Dragons became a training ground for careers in the realms the imagination and has influenced generations of computer programmers, designers, writers, actors and many others. Its affect on society can be seen in everything from computer games to modern teaching theories and treatment for PTSD. Through interviews with public personalities, psychologists and sociologists, D&D:AD will explore how this game has touched the lives of everyone, even if they have never played the game.”
Though I was never heavily into D&D beyond creating one character and playing a few games (mainly because I never had anyone to play with–not to mention I’m like minus 15 in math IRL) as a gamer and all-around nerd I’m well aware of its influence on pretty much everything I’m into–video games, movies, television, books, collectibles, board games, art. What aspects of geek culture hasn’t D&D helped shape?
You can support Dungeons & Dragons: A Documentary by backing the Kickstarter project and following the film’s progress on Facebook.
