Gamers logo

'Critical Role' Kickstarter Hits $7.5 Million in 48 Hours

And it's all thanks to the community.

By Christina ScanlonPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
2

I’m a special kind of nerd: One that obsesses over things such as Doctor Who, World of Warcraft, Destiny, etc. Once I get to liking something, you can’t shut me up about it. I’d like to introduce you to my husband, Scott. This fine man LOVES Dungeons and Dragons. It’s one of his highest passions to talk about, and I’m happy to hear about what brings out the spark in his eyes when he talks about something he loves.

Dungeons and Dragons has been around since... forever. I know it’s been around since before I was born. I never knew a game like this existed until I was introduced to it by my husband Scott back in 2007. I’m a complete noob at it even to this day, so many mechanics, dice, and paper... I was easily lost. Still kind of am. If I was to sit down to a game of D&D, I’d be a deer in the headlights. To me, it’s highly confusing.

Critical Role launched their show on March 13, 2015 on the Twitch platform, with the campaign itself having launched December 8, 2012; it’s a show of about six to eight voice actors sitting around a table, nerding it up, and diving into a session of D&D with new episodes airing every Thursday night at 10 PM EST.

The cast is as follows: Matthew Mercer (McCree in Overwatch) as Dungeon Master, Marisha Ray (various video games and she’s my spirit animal), Laura Bailey (Jaina Proudmoore, World of Warcraft), Travis Willingham (Turalyon, World of Warcraft), Liam O'Brien (Illidan Stormrage, World of Warcraft), Taliesin Jaffe (if you were an 80s kid, he was the little boy with the blanket in Mr. Mom), Ashley Johnson (Last of Us, Tales from the Borderlands), and Sam Riegel (Middle Earth: Shadow of War, Ratchet & Clank).

Critical Role has a massive following, racking up millions of fans and viewers each week on Twitch. I can often find my husband glued to the TV and wouldn’t see him for hours until the show was over. I am one of the unlucky few who have not had the chance to jump on the Critical Role train yet, even though my husband insists I actually sit down and watch an episode and be “inducted.”

Recently, Critical Role launched a Kickstarter campaign to make an animated special. Kickstarter is similar to GoFundMe, but for projects for creators. The voice actors wanted to make an animated special, and thanks to their millions of fans, the Kickstarter reached a whopping $7.5 million dollars in a little over 48 hours and it’s still climbing. From my knowledge, the animated special will focus on Critical Role’s first campaign “Vox Machina.” I personally liked this campaign due to a few factors: Scanlan the Gnome played by Sam was hilarious to watch what he was up to, then you have Grog who was played by Travis who’s a Goliath Barbarian and sometimes not very smart; the hijinks that these two plus the rest of their group get into is entertaining to watch and I can’t wait to see it animated, which I believe will make it 10 times more entertaining.

It warms my heart how a community such as Critical Role comes together to help make a dream come true, to help something come to life that a lot of people have been asking for. The great thing about Critical Role is it helps a lot of people who suffer from mental illness feel better about themselves—to know that they are not alone in their love for this series.

I personally can’t wait for the animated special, I think it’s going to be awesome.

table top
2

About the Creator

Christina Scanlon

41 year old introvert and professional procrastinator. I love video games and writing as it is therapy for my mental illness. I hope you read my stories and share them with your friends!

[email protected]

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.