How playing Dungeons and Dragons makes you a better engineer
Is there a reason so many engineers today had played D&D as a kid? What is the relevancy that this popular RPG has in regard to the future of engineering?
What often isn’t discussed in regard to the topic of Dungeons and Dragons is the relevancy that it can pertain to one’s everyday life and many career paths, particularly engineering. This game employs life skills that are applicable to this field, which is probably why so many engineers had played D&D in their youth.
D&D is designed to incorporate your problem-solving skills, imagination, and sense of adventure, which is heavily relevant to the world of engineering. What makes D&D different than other kinds of gameplay is how malleable the story is, and how much it can help you bond with your buddies. The commitment to a common goal that forces one to sit down for hours upon hours with your friends over extended periods of time is uncannily similar to the process that many engineering teams go through in the development of a product. By practicing commitment, persistence, and intense problem-solving, one can learn to shift their mindset into one that is conducive to a productive career.
If you practice getting yourself out of absolutely ridiculous situations by coming up with creative solutions often enough, you could learn to bring that outside of the realm of Dungeons and Dragons and have an already exercised brain that doesn’t have as difficult of a time of throwing spaghetti solutions at the wall in order to fix something.
Contrary to popular belief, Dungeons and Dragons is a game in which one’s soft skills can heavily improve and be developed. In a game, knowing what you want to say and how to say it is extremely important as it allows the Dungeon Master(DM) to understand what your plan of action is, and how you are going to do it. This leads to the gauging of how probable the sed plan is, and if the idea is likely to succeed or not. This is incredibly valuable to the field of engineering as most of the projects one works on or even want to work on has to be explained thoroughly and thoughtfully to the Dungeon Master(your boss). Having the skills to explain your intentions and articulate your thoughts is something that tends to be lacking in the tech field, and D&D can come to the rescue as a perfectly safe place to practice these skills.
If one has a story to tell, or a message to get across, the deliverance of such is absolutely vital. People may choose to portray it through art, literature, a video game, or a round of Dungeons and Dragons. However, what I have found is that D&D is the most involving, and personal portrayal of any story or message. In The Adventure Zone, Griffin Macelroy said that there is a certain level of vulnerability in sharing your story through Dungeons and Dragons due to the level of immersive nature and test of respect for one another and their imagination that can be portrayed through the game. The secret to making the most out of the incredible life lessons and opportunities that D&D offers is if all players simply own it and embrace the shameless nerdiness it provides. Yes, this game is a spectacular place to practice life skills that are applicable in the engineering field, but it’s also just a fun game to play with your friends, regardless of your age.
