Demonstrating the fundamentals through D&D

1. How well do you empathise and think human centrically?

As a Designer

In order to create effective, impactful and successful solutions, it is essential that we spotlight user desirability (as well as viability for the business and technical feasibility of course, but we’ll park those).

We develop personas through user research and workshops to help us make informed decisions. We keep in mind their:

• Goals — what are they trying to achieve?

• Needs — what criteria must be met for them? What will help them achieve their goals?

• Pains — what are the challenges they face? What can be improved?

• And more depending on context!

But if you don’t have access to a client project or real users with challenges, what’s a designer to do? How can you showcase your human centricity?

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As a Dungeon Master

You’re first and foremost designing a campaign for your players. You can demonstrate your user research skills and ability to meet your users needs by finding out what your players want out of the game and designing the sessions to suit them.

Find out:

• How experienced are they?

• What do they want / not want included in the story and why?

• What other games do they enjoy?

• What does the ideal session look like?

For example, I had some players new to D&D but who love other puzzle and strategy games, so to introduce them to the mechanics of the game the first session was focussed on escaping from a puzzle room that required planning and clever problem solving. They really pulled together to figure it out and they learnt all about how the core game works at the same time!

Another way to demonstrate this skill as a DM is through NPC design. An NPC is a Non Player Character, which you as the DM play. This could be the innkeeper, the queen, the talking squirrel — literally everyone who is not a Player Character (PC). In order to make a distinct and enjoyable NPC you need to put yourself in their shoes and imagine what makes them them so you can create a 3-dimensional, complex character.

Think about their:

• Goals — are they just trying to get through the day? Do they have a grand evil scheme?

• Needs — do they need work? Are they addicted to the deck of many things?

• Motivations — are they money driven? Do they want fame? Friends?

• And fears — do they have a big secret they don’t want known? Are they terrified of bards because of some childhood memory?

Not every NPC needs to be fully developed, in the same way that not every user group needs a persona. For example, the guard someone asks for directions doesn’t need to be as fleshed out in your mind as the kindly potion master who has been serving your party and gives them quests (what’s up with that guy?? He’s suspiciously nice 👀).

Different scenarios, but same empathetic approach — illustration by author

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2. How well can you iterate?

As a UX designer

We bake feedback and reflection into our processes so we can ensure we are solving the right problem in the right way. We’ll test out ideas and gather feedback early so we can learn quickly and apply what we find out as we iterate.

We often need to be asking:

• How can we better meet our users needs?

• Have we learnt anything that changes our direction?

• Do we have any feasibility concerns?

• And is our client happy with the direction?

But what if you don’t have clients, users or teams to collect feedback from and incorporate?

As a Dungeon Master

You should be experimenting and testing ideas out — especially if you’re new to it or playing with new people. You can show your reflective and iterative approach by collecting feedback regularly and implementing changes from it.

You could be asking things like:

• How are you finding the balance of role play, combat and story?

• What do you think of my voices? And why do you hate them?

• What issues do you have with the sessions so far if any?

• And what are you enjoying most?

For example, after a session a friend said they struggle with ‘theatre of the mind’ (visualising complex scenarios and combat in your head) so I prepared visual aids for locations and NPCs for them and sketched out battle maps to help keep track of combat — they were much more engaged after and they felt a lot more comfortable participating freely!

Different scenarios, but same iterative approach — illustration by author

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3. How well can you craft a story?

As a UX Designer

You need to communicate effectively and create a narrative to grab the audience’s attention and keep hold of it. Storytelling is an essential skill to be able to inspire people, bring them on a journey and get them to see the same vision we do. Whether you’re playing back your user research to the project team, or you’re pitching some innovative idea to your client, you need to be compelling.

But how can you practice presenting or show your storytelling skills without a project to talk about?

As a Dungeon Master

The ability to craft and communicate an impactful, emotional and entertaining narrative is one of the most important parts of being a DM. You’re the storyteller at the table, very literally creating the world for your players to interact with through your words; if you’re not able to do that then your friends at the table won’t know where they are, what’s going on, or what they can do — you may as well just get blackout drunk and have the same experience in the morning.

Whether you’re creating your own story or telling an established one, remember to:

• Think about the structure — what is the inciting incident? Is there a beginning, middle and end to your session and campaign? What’s the conflict or driving force for your players and plot?

• Set the scene — what do they see / hear / feel / smell?

• Set the stakes — what is it they are trying to do? What are the consequences or reward?

• Think about the characters — how will certain plot events impact your players? How have your NPCs developed?

• And improvise with confidence — no one knows the world better than you, so you’ve just got to bring them into the story with you.

A great story — and the way you tell it — can make the difference between a just a fun time or a journey that you and your friends can become fully immersed and invested in, just like it can change a good idea into something that really inspires your client.

For example, Brennan Lee Mulligan is the DM for a D&D show called Dimension 20 and he is one of my favourite storytellers. His ability to create complex, satisfying narratives for his players and approach every NPC with curiosity, empathy and nuance has meant both his players and the audience have just as much love and enthusiasm for the NPCs as they do the PCs. Brennan’s improvisation skills and philosophical mindset gives him the ability to elevate classic fantasy tropes like fighting a dragon into a metaphor for coming of age and struggling against capitalism.

Different scenarios, but same storytelling approach — illustration by author