Sacrosanct
Legend
Yeah, the behavior was exactly the same as my experiences as a teen in the 80s. However, no one I knew wore a costume either. That was the only thing that seemed off.
The only thing that didn't strike me as true was the wizard costume. While cosplay, LARPing, SCA, etc. were certainly starting to take off by the mid to late 80s, I didn't know anyone who dressed up to play DnD. Not saying nobody did, but I feel confident in stating that it was rare. Having Will dress up to DM seemed to be an anachronistic nod to modern assumptions.
It is perhaps as much a nod to him being... a tad desperate. Look at the past two seasons, what that kid went through. Consider how much of life (and growing up) he's missed just dealing with all that crud and the repercussions. He, very desperately, wants things to be *NORMAL*. Which, to him, is still hanging out in the game room with his friends playing games. They aren't interested. So, what does he do? Try to up production values! Careful battlemaps, costumes, all the bells and whistles he can, to get their attention and company.
What's not true about that?
Remember - the show is about the characters first, not about all the things it references first.
Also, it was *hilarious*, and I'm sure some folks were already mixing in costumes in 1985.
The only thing that didn't strike me as true was the wizard costume. While cosplay, LARPing, SCA, etc. were certainly starting to take off by the mid to late 80s, I didn't know anyone who dressed up to play DnD. Not saying nobody did, but I feel confident in stating that it was rare. Having Will dress up to DM seemed to be an anachronistic nod to modern assumptions.
It is perhaps as much a nod to him being... a tad desperate. Look at the past two seasons, what that kid went through. Consider how much of life (and growing up) he's missed just dealing with all that crud and the repercussions. He, very desperately, wants things to be *NORMAL*. Which, to him, is still hanging out in the game room with his friends playing games. They aren't interested. So, what does he do? Try to up production values! Careful battlemaps, costumes, all the bells and whistles he can, to get their attention and company.
What's not true about that?
Remember - the show is about the characters first, not about all the things it references first.
To me, it just seemed like part of Will's all-in effort to draw his friends back into the game. There didn't appear to be any suggestion that he dressed up like that whenever they played.
Of the time? Pfft.
80's, 90's, 2k+, pre-80's, 100 years from now, whatever... This is normal life. This is how it goes. You start finding other interests (or responsibilities) & some things get shelved/discarded/scaled back to make room for the new.
I guarantee you that right now there are teens drifting away from D&D as they discover girls/boys, cars, drugs, sports or whatever else. Maybe they'll play less. Maybe never again. Maybe in 25+ years some of them will be making "Hi, returning player" posts....