| The Gamers: Dorkness Rising | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Matthew R. Vancil |
| Produced by | Ben Dobyns Cindi Rice John Frank Rosenblum Don Early Leticia Y. Lopez Jeff Madsen Ken Bolding Michael S. Bottorff |
| Written by | Matthew R. Vancil |
| Starring | Nathan Rice Brian Lewis Carol Roscoe Christian Doyle Scott C. Brown Jen Page Tallis Moore |
| Music by | David Wolbrecht Steve Wolbrecht |
| Cinematography | Christopher Mosio |
| Editing by | Daniel Capuzzi Ben Dobyns |
| Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Gamers: Dorkness Rising is a feature length film produced by Dead Gentlemen Productions, and focuses on a group of table-top gamers as they attempt to beat their adventure. While the film is set in the same universe as and has a similar theme to its predecessor, The Gamers, it is not a direct sequel to the first film, as it focuses on a different group of players. Also, unlike its predecessor, this film dedicates a substantial portion of the film to the players themselves, and not their characters. It began filming in 2005 and was set for release in 2006, and was finally released at Gen Con in Indianapolis by Anthem Pictures on August 14, 2008. Paizo had an exclusive sales window for the 2008 Gen Con convention where the cast and crew of The Gamers: Dorkness Rising were signing copies at the Paizo booth.
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The film opens with a trio of Dungeons & Dragons characters facing the final villain. However, they are quickly killed and the players blame the game master, Lodge, claiming he did not follow the rules and plotted against them. While Leo and Gary wish to play a different game the following week, Cass demands to play the same campaign again, even though they just played it for the second time, to preserve his reputation that there is no game he cannot win. Lodge wishes to publish his campaign as an official Dungeons & Dragons game module, but he is having trouble writing it: he knows how he wants it to end, but his players never actually finish the module. Gary suggests that for the next game they bring in two more players, in order to have a more well-rounded party. Cass is able to recruit his ex-girlfriend Joanna. However, Lodge is unable to find anyone (despite asking fifteen regular gamers) and resolves to be the fifth player (though he does not reveal this at first).
The campaign begins when the characters Luster (Gary), Flynn the Fine (Leo), and Daphne (Joanna) are summoned before King Erasmus the Randomly Biased. The evil necromancer Mort Kemnon has discovered an artifact known as the Mask of Death and wishes to use this to overthrow the kingdom. As they go on their way, they are summoned before the Hierophant of the Order of Therin who sends two members of his order to accompany the party, Brother Silence (Cass) and Sir Osric (Lodge) -- the latter of whom the other players (with the exception of Joanna) take an instant dislike to, as Lodge created Osric just to keep the story on track. On their way, the group runs into a large party of goblins. The men's overconfidence is shattered when Joanna singlehandedly wipes out the entire party of goblins, even though the men thought that she created a poor character (Leo's bard, however, is killed three times; his death-prone bard is a running joke throughout the film).
Resting at an inn near Westhaven, the group faces Mort Agrippa and defeat him. They head out for Westhaven and decide to stop playing for the night. Lodge explains to Joanna the reasons why he keeps the other players on such a short leash: if he does not, they will kill, plunder, and impregnate the gaming world. The following week, the players continue the campaign by facing Drazuul in the town of Westhaven. Due to his character's weak traits, Leo goes through multiple copies of the character until the players are able to cleverly defeat Drazuul by hiding behind "the mound of dead bards". Torturing Drazuul with holy water, they learn of Mort Kemnon's location.
Making their way through an abandoned mineshaft, they find a henchman from the previous campaign and take all the equipment. The battle goes poorly for the players, until Lodge's cat messes up the floor-tiles and Cass distracts Lodge while they place their characters in more preferable positions. After a lengthy battle with Kemnon (with Silence using a lightsaber, shotgun, chainsaw, and dynamite), Kemnon is defeated and cryptically implies there is another enemy. It is revealed to be the Hierophant, who intends to use the Mask to rekindle the Light of Therin. The group then realizes that the "Heart of Therin", the church's most sacred relic, is actually a prison housing the deity. Leo finally proves to be of use as he awakens Therin from her prison, allowing Daphne to release her (though Osric is killed in the encounter). Afterwards, Daphne is offered an unlimited wish by Therin. After the other players recommend she wishes herself immortal, she uses it to resurrect Osric, much to the extreme disapproval of Cass, who insults her and storms out. After the campaign ends, with positive comments from Gary and Leo, Lodge is inspired enough to write his module and has it published. Sometime later, Cass apologizes for his behavior and the group begins another adventure. Lodge wants to send his group through the adventure module that another group was playing in the first Gamers film, but upon mentioning 'The Shadow', Mark—the lone survivor of that campaign—screams in fear and runs from the gaming store.
Unlike the original movie The Gamers, multiple games companies were involved in the production process for Dorkness Rising, enabling real game products to be used in the film. While the game being played in the first film was anonymous, in this film it is clearly stated that the group are playing Dungeons & Dragons (specifically the 3.5 edition, though there is significant artistic license taken, e.g. with the character's feats, spells and class abilities); and the adventure they are playing, The Mask Of Death, is a real adventure module published as a limited edition by Goodman Games (at the end of the movie, Lodge is seen writing up the adventure for publication). Quotes are included from Knights of the Dinner Table, and the character Nodwick has a cameo role.
Interestingly, at one point the GM and female player together play a board game featuring ninjas delivering take-away pizza; it is assumed that this is an homage to Ninja Burger, which is (among other things) a card game by Steve Jackson Games which involves ninja delivering hamburgers and other fast food items. Notably, the Munchkin card game (also by SJG) appears directly in the film. In fact, the characters' inventory list appears to include quite a few Munchkin cards, when they get back their old equipment.
There are several references (both subtle and not) to the original Gamers movie throughout. The most prominent of these is the inclusion of the character Mark from the original film (who makes a veiled reference to "the incident", and notes that people often forget he is there), and mention of the character "The Shadow". In addition, the lines "I shall smite thee with my mighty blade" as well as "And now begins the killing" come from the first film. When Lodge mentions his new villain is "The Shadow", the theme music from the first film is heard, and the characters say "The Shadow," in the same manner as in the first film. The final person to say "The Shadow," is Mark, appearing from behind a shelf in the store, who immediately becomes extremely frightened and runs away.
Much like the first film, Dorkness Rising makes reference to many quirks and conventions in roleplaying games and table-top gaming in general, including: