Cartoons, comic books, video games and now tabletop games. The team at Critical Role Productions, the entertainment company that grew out of the web series “Critical Role,” featuring voice actors playing Dungeons & Dragons, continues to expand its media footprint with its newest hires — former Wizards of the Coast game gurus Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford.
Perkins and Crawford, who led the Dungeons & Dragons design team for decades, have literally helped write the books on the most popular role-playing game in history. Perkins was the creative director for Dungeons & Dragons, overseeing the story direction, while Crawford was the game director, overseeing the rules. Their departure from the game publisher Wizards of the Coast earlier this year had fans wondering what their next move would be. Now the news is out that they will be joining Critical Role’s Darrington Press game division.
“I was committed to staying with Wizards until after D&D’s 50th anniversary, which gave me lots of time to work on succession planning and exit strategies,” Perkins said. “What brought me out of retirement was the chance to work with Jeremy and the brilliant folks at Critical Role on things that have a lasting, positive impact on the world.”
“Chris and I talked about his retirement plan for years, so his approaching departure was long on my mind. When we sent the new D&D rule books to the printer last year, I felt it was time to explore a new chapter for myself,” Crawford said. “I love the game and its team, but 18 years is a long time. I was ready for a new adventure. The chapter that we’ve now opened feels like coming home — resuming work with Chris and returning to Southern California.”
Darrington Press CEO Travis Willingham, also a voice actor, stressed the importance of landing the game masters and what it could mean for the growth of this side of the Critical Role company.
“They are two of the biggest names that we’re certainly aware of and that have influenced TTRPGs and the games that we played,” said Willingham, using the acronym for tabletop role-playing games.
“When we first caught wind that they were thinking about taking time off from where they were at,” Willingham continued, “we said, ‘Hey, listen, we’re over here making cool nerdy things. If it’s ever of interest to come over to Critical Role and mess around with what we’re doing, we would love to have a conversation.’ When you look at the opportunity to bring in 15, 17 years of experience, pedigree, pipeline, timeline, management, all of those things from really the granddaddy system of them all, that is always extremely interesting. It’s a chance to level up everyone around here as well.”
That mutual respect and a longtime friendship is what drew Perkins and Crawford to Darrington Press.
“Critical Role creates wonderful entertainment that is deeply meaningful to the people who work there and to fans around the world,” Perkins said. “What brought me out of retirement was the chance to work with Jeremy and the brilliant folks at Critical Role on things that have a lasting, positive impact on the world.”
“Chris and I have had the pleasure of working with and befriending members of Critical Role over the last 10 years, and we’ve long admired their work and spirit,” Crawford said. “When they approached us about joining them, we happily said yes. It meant we could continue our creative partnership in a company whose mission and people we believe in.”
Beyond the Monopoly generation, tabletop games have seen a rise in popularity with titles like Settlers of Catan (now just Catan) and others. To continue that rise, Perkins and Crawford believe there have to be more people involved in not only playing, but creating the games.
“First, we believe there’s strength in diversity,” Perkins and Crawford said in a joint email response to follow-up questions about their plans. “Diverse creators and diverse games help to create an industry that feels more inviting to everyone. The more people we welcome into the proverbial tent, the more powerful the industry becomes.
“Second, we think it’s important for the industry to acknowledge that friendly, introductory experiences are important for onboarding new generations of gamers. Third, we hope the industry never loses the joy of play. So many of us became game designers, game masters and players because of the spark of joy we felt when we first tried a role-playing game. Let’s continue to fan that spark into a flame that fills everything we do with infectious delight.”
So, are there already ideas brewing for Darrington and the duo?
“Oh, heaven’s yes!,” Perkins said.
And that’s about all they’d say about that.
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