Role-Playing Game Studies

Sebastian Deterding is a Reader at the Digital Creativity Labs at the University of York (York, UK). He has been an RPG player and designer for more than 20 years and has published ethnographic portraits of the German pen-and-paper RPG subculture. He is founder and organizer of the Gamification Research Network and co-editor of The Gameful World (MIT Press, 2015), a book about the ludification of culture. He holds a PhD in media studies from Hamburg University. See also: http://codingconduct.cc/. José P. Zagal is an Associate Professor with the University of Utah’s Entertainment Arts & Engineering program. He wrote Ludoliteracy (2010) and edited The Videogame Ethics Reader (2012). In 2016, he was honored as a Distinguished Scholar by the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) for his contributions to the field of game research. He also serves as the Editor-In-Chief of DiGRA’s flagship journal Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association (ToDiGRA). He received his PhD in computer science from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008. See also: http://www.eng.utah.edu/~zagal/.

1 The Many Faces of Role-Playing Game Studies

Sebastian Deterding and José P. Zagal

PART I: DEFINITIONS

2 Definitions of "Role-Playing Games"

José P. Zagal and Sebastian Deterding

PART II: FORMS

3 Precursors

Jon Peterson

4 Tabletop Role-Playing Games

William J. White, Jonne Arjoranta, Michael Hitchens, Jon Peterson, Evan Torner, and Jonathan Walton

5 Live-Action Role-Playing Games

J. Tuomas Harviainen, Rafael Bienia, Simon Brind, Michael Hitchens, Yaraslau I. Kot, Esther MacCallum-Stewart, David W. Simkins, Jaakko Stenros, and Ian Sturrock

6 Single-Player Computer Role-Playing Games

Douglas Schules, Jon Peterson, and Martin Picard

7 Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games

Mark Chen, Riley Leary, Jon Peterson, and David W. Simkins

8 Online Freeform Role-Playing Games

Jessica Hammer

9 The Impact of Role-playing Games on Culture

Esther MacCallum-Stewart, Jaakko Stenros, and Staffan Björk

PART III: DISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES

10 RPG Theorizing by Designers and Players

Evan Torner

11 Performance Studies and Role-Playing Games

Sarah Hoover, David W. Simkins, Sebastian Deterding, David Meldman, and Amanda Brown

12 Sociology and Role-Playing Games

J. Patrick Williams, David Kirschner, Nicholas Mizer, and Sebastian Deterding

13 Psychology and Role-Playing Games

Sarah Lynne Bowman and Andreas Lieberoth

14 Literary Studies and Role-Playing Games

David Jara and Evan Torner

15 Learning and Role-Playing Games

Jessica Hammer, Alexandra To, Karen Schrier, Sarah Lynne Bowman, and Geoff Kaufman

16 Economics and Role-Playing Games

Isaac Knowles and Edward Castronova

17 Science and Technology Studies and Role-Playing Games

Rafael Bienia

18 Game Design and Role-Playing Games

Staffan Björk and José P. Zagal

19 Communication Research and Role-Playing Games

William J. White

PART IV: INTERDISCIPLINARY ISSUES

20 Worldbuilding in Role-Playing Games

Karen Schrier, Evan Torner, and Jessica Hammer

21 Role-Playing Games as Subculture and Fandom

Esther MacCallum-Stewart and Aaron Trammell

22 Immersion and Shared Imagination in Role-Playing Games

Sarah Lynne Bowman

23 Players and Their Characters in Role-Playing Games

Sarah Lynne Bowman and Karen Schrier

24 Transgressive Role-play

Jaakko Stenros and Sarah Lynne Bowman

25 Sexuality and the Erotic in Role-Play

Ashley ML Brown and Jaakko Stenros

26 Representation and Discrimination in Role-Playing Games

Aaron Trammell

27 Power and Control in Role-Playing Games

Jessica Hammer, Whitney Beltran, Jonathan Walton, and Moyra Turkington