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So, Odyssey and Focus have some strong opinions. We can conclude that they are against gay marriage, the theory of evolution, and probably some others I missed. Are there any other controversial things AiO had an opinion on that I missed?

Three words: "Castles and Cauldrons". Seriously, what were they thinking? If you ask me, those episodes probably made Focus look more unreasonable than they did shed any light on how role-playing games actually work.

Oh, yes. I forgot about C&C.

Yeah, that episode never made any sense. It made it sound like role-playing games involve summoning demons...
I don't know for sure that Focus (and AIO) has consistently held the same views over the years.

Role playing games = summon a devil and wreck your family.

Makes total sense.

I would have preferred they make it more like a cautionary tale, maybe about games in general, about getting sucked into a game so much that you lose focus on what's actually important.

I actually think that in Castles and Cauldrons they made me want to play role-playing games. Really, they made it appear somewhat fun to me, until they got into the camping scene; that scared me.

As a child, Castles and Cauldrons confused and scared me to no end. I mean, what kid doesn't pretend they're someone else in another world? What on earth is wrong with make-believe?
On one end you've got Whit and the Imagination Station, saying using your imagination is great thing and you can use it to go anywhere.
Then on the other Whit also saying pretending you're someone else from another world is evil and of the devil.
????

Castles and Cauldrons was a pretty great episode on its own terms, but it's true that it was slightly ridiculous, and, from what I hear about actual role-playing games, untrue.

I disagree with the message in What Are We Going To Do About Halloween?, for reasons I've already stated in the Halloween topic. Also, I heard You Go To School Where? on the Official Podcast, and it was completely ridiculous as well, but then again, the writers already apologized for that. I think I agree with the moral in Wooton's Broken Pencil Show, but it was conveyed in such a bad way that I barely know what the moral is. It was supposedly "Should entertainment have a point?" but then they didn't even answer their own question, or if they did, their way of answering was too oblique for me. Other than those four, I can't think of a time when I've strongly disagreed with AIO on the moral side of things.

Yes, and while the sagas were entertaining, their messages were still very blurry. A lot of times, even after listening to Chris's wrap-up when she would explain things, I would still be asking myself, "what did I learn? What was the message?"

Yah I agree about You go to school where.
They admitted that they have many homeschooled staff members. Some teamwork, maybe?

ArnoldtheRubberDucky wrote:Castles and Cauldrons was a pretty great episode on its own terms, but it's true that it was slightly ridiculous, and, from what I hear about actual role-playing games, untrue.

That depends on which RPG. Most of those kind of RPG's have gone out now though.

What the episode in question described is known as "LARPing"—Live Action Role Playing. LARPers are considered pretty weird even by RPer standards, but they're no more likely to get involved in the occult than anyone else who does RPGs. Had the episode discussed the problems with being consumed with gaming in general, it would have been fine, but to warn parents against the evils of RPGs because they apparently lead into the occult simply proves that the writers did not do the research...or that they researched from a Chick Tract (same thing, but still).

Was the episode supposed to be about the game Dungeons and Dragons?

Just look at the title: "Castles and Cauldrons". The alliterative "X & Y" fantasy-based title is a very clear reference.

underseasie wrote:As a child, Castles and Cauldrons confused and scared me to no end. I mean, what kid doesn't pretend they're someone else in another world? What on earth is wrong with make-believe?
On one end you've got Whit and the Imagination Station, saying using your imagination is great thing and you can use it to go anywhere.
Then on the other Whit also saying pretending you're someone else from another world is evil and of the devil.
????

This is entirely different. Imagination is one thing. Messing with the Occult is another.

Whether or not RPGs even get into the occult is the crux of the debate in the first place.

Pretty much the only things I disagree with Adventures in Odyssey about is the American War for Independence. But otherwise, I rarely disagree with them.

Baron von Odyssey wrote:Pretty much the only things I disagree with Adventures in Odyssey about is the American War for Independence. But otherwise, I rarely disagree with them.

You believe that war was a wrong thing?

I disagree with them on a couple of things including some of things mentioned above, such as Evolution and part of Castles and Cauldrons. Another thing I disagree with them on is their opinion on man being completely or intrinsically evil.

I would say I disagree with Odyssey on a few counts, one of them being Castles and Cauldrons, as many have already mentioned. I'm also quick to distance myself from the entirety of "The Ties That Bind", not because I disagree with their base argument (as I do believe gay marriage is wrong), but because the argument was so poorly made and the representatives of the opposing viewpoint very, very unrealistic.