scholarly journals The friends that game together: A folkloric expansion of textual poaching to genre farming for socialization in tabletop role-playing games

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Robert Underwood

Tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) are a folkloric form for creating and reaffirming community bonds and performing identity. Gaming is used to communicate and perform cultural capital and identity through fictional narratives, functioning as a form of community building and/or personal expression. With quotations from ethnographic research over the course of 2 years, including interviews with several groups of gamers and participant observation, I examine the ways that players create and affirm social bonds. I return to Michel De Certeau's idea of textual poaching, as adapted by Henry Jenkins, to contrast with it a new concept of genre farming. As both platform for and object of genre farming, RPGs allow players to display cultural competence, create and reaffirm social ties, and seek entertainment in a collaborative fashion.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elizabeth Haynes

<p>Massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) attract millions of people every year and are now a major industry. Using the internet, these games connect players and give them goals to pursue within virtual worlds. This thesis examines the early life of one such game, the North American version of TERA, based on participant observation on a player vs. player server. TERA’s players met and interacted within a virtual game world controlled by the company which developed the game, and although players constructed their own social groups and factions within this world they were constrained by software that they could not change. Everything from the combat rules to the physics of the environment was designed, and players could only take actions that were accounted for and allowed by that design.  However, TERA launched as one of many available MMORPGs which were competing for the attention of the same audience. Its players tended to be experienced and well-informed about the genre, and used their knowledge to evaluate and critique TERA both privately and in public forums. Aware that game companies’ chief concern was for profit, players exercised agency by embracing a consumer identity and pressuring developers in their own commercial terms. To retain players’ loyalty and continue receiving their fees, companies were obliged to appease their customers. This allowed players to see the game world develop and change in accordance with their desires despite the fact that they lacked the access or the expertise to change it themselves. I link this approach to agency to the rise of consumer movements in capitalist societies, and show how the virtual world of TERA can serve as an example for other situations in the physical world where contemporary technologies are used to both enable and constrain agency.</p>


Author(s):  
Mark G. Elwell

This chapter reports on movements toward de facto standards for role playing games in the freely accessible and configurable shared virtual environment of Second Life. All users can not only freely join, but also construct and implement role playing games of their own design. Consequently, new games are constantly emerging, and others either persisting or failing. The resulting body of practice has implications for business, technological, and social dimensions of computer games. To elucidate these implications, this chapter presents the case of the Role Play Nexus, a venue created for role playing game designers, managers, and players to share experiences, questions, resources, and proposals for sustainable ventures and communities in Second Life. Issues, controversies, and problems are identified, and solutions and recommendations discussed. Source material is drawn from transcripts of public lectures, discussions and demonstrations, from interviews, and from participant observation.


2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-162
Author(s):  
Tunç D. Medeni ◽  
Kazunori Miyata ◽  
Mustafa Sağsan

The online role-playing games and their virtual communities, which are free and run by volunteers, attract much attention from business and academics, although studies on smaller gaming communities are still limited. One of these small online fantasy roleplaying communities, the world of Wold, is researched, using participant observation and Internet interviewing techniques within an e-research framework. After providing background information about the research, the paper then presents the conceptual framework, which consists of three main parts: (1) use of asynchronous communication tools for learning and reflection, (2) conceptualization of reflection, and (3) role of roleplaying and storytelling in reflection and learning. In the light of this framework, research findings about the learning and reflection that occurs at (1) intrapersonal, (2) personal and (3) interpersonal levels in online role-playing games will be discussed. The paper will then be concluded by research implications and limitations. It is hoped that, relating to learning in terms of developing sustainable virtual communities for reflective learning, this research will provide insights into the function of multiplayer games for serious purposes like learning and socialization, as well as the role of hard technology for soft purposes like reflective learning and practice.


Elore ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Haverinen

In her article the author reviews the preliminary results of her doctoral thesis, in which she asks why online memorials are being created. Is the privatization of mourning becoming more public in the 21st century? Does the popularity of internet mourning tell us more about the coherent internet culture or about the diffusion of the American (commercialized) death culture? The author’s methods are virtual anthropological and her research material consists of participant observation, three queries, online interviews, video and screenshot documents. The material was collected during 2007 and 2011. The research results indicate that the Web has given new possibilities for experiencing communal support through different applications, such as Facebook, virtual memorial websites, online (role-playing) games, blogs and discussion forums. The Web has increasingly become a larger part of people’s everyday lives, enabling virtual bereavement, loss and honouring. Sharing memories, photos and videos with the family and friends makes these virtual memorials an important part of the mourning process. Privacy is often concerned, but seldom executed properly. The publicity of the memorials is justified by the notion of giving information. The results also indicate that virtual memorials are a culture on their own, independent from geographical, cultural and national boundaries, and constitute a part of internet sociality


2021 ◽  
Vol 123 (13) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Antero Garcia

Background This chapter explores player interactions and engagement in tabletop role-playing game settings. Objective Particularly focusing on the intersection of gaming systems, virtual settings, and player interactions, this chapter seeks to explore how implicit systems shape individuals’ experiences and behaviors. Through this focus, the chapter intentionally draws parallels between informal gaming settings and classroom-based interactions. Setting Though this study makes specific connections to classroom pedagogies, data were collected from a multiyear ethnographic study of playing tabletop role-playing games with adult participants in informal learning environments. Data were collected from within public gaming cafes and shops. Research Design Participant observation within a role-playing game community served as the primary approach to this ethnographic study. In addition to fieldnote-based observation, interviews with players and archival analysis of gaming artifacts helped triangulate meaning-making at the gaming table. Analysis was conducted through an inductive coding approach that focused on player interactions, systems, and settings. Findings Cultural values, including racism and sexism, shaped player experiences at the table, based on systemic designs and textual guidance from game-related fiction. While games speak to broad possibilities for exploring race and gender, these constructs become limited through the layers of player beliefs, designed rule sets, and depictions within narratives. The emancipatory possibilities of ludic imagination are flattened by cultural norms that may oppress. Conclusions Broadening the findings from this study, this chapter concludes with classroom-based recommendations. If a contemporary approach to critical pedagogy depends on dialogue and cultural understanding, this chapter points to the limitations of confining such work to traditional classroom settings. Instead, it suggests that an interrogation of these systems, alongside youth, is a necessary step in critically oriented classrooms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 621-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn-Ole Kamm

Background. The history of larp, live-action role-play, in Japan may be rather short but documents exponential growth in the entertainment sector as well as in educational gaming. Following trends of related forms of analog role-playing games, the horror genre functions as a motor of increasing popularity. Aim. This article explores the development of non-digital role-playing games in the Japanese context in light of the online video platform niconico popularizing horror role-playing and practical considerations of adopting the genre to live-action play. Method. Cyberethnographic fieldwork including participant observation at larps between 2015 and 2018 forms the data basis for this article, followed by qualitative interviews with larp organizers, larp writers, and designers of analog games as well as observations online in respective webforums. Results. Replays, novelized transcripts of play sessions, have been an entry point into analog role-playing in Japan since the 1980s. With the advent of video sharing sites, replays moved from the book to audio-visual records and a focus on horror games. Creating a fertile ground for this genre, the first indigenous Japanese larp rulebook built on this interest and the ease of access, namely that players do not need elaborate costumes or equipment to participate in modern horror. Discussion. The dominant form of larps in Japan are one-room games, that work well with horror mysteries and function as a low threshold of accessibility. Furthermore, the emotional impact of horror larps, the affective interaction between players and their characters, allows for memorable experiences and so continues to draw in new players and organizers.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elizabeth Haynes

<p>Massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) attract millions of people every year and are now a major industry. Using the internet, these games connect players and give them goals to pursue within virtual worlds. This thesis examines the early life of one such game, the North American version of TERA, based on participant observation on a player vs. player server. TERA’s players met and interacted within a virtual game world controlled by the company which developed the game, and although players constructed their own social groups and factions within this world they were constrained by software that they could not change. Everything from the combat rules to the physics of the environment was designed, and players could only take actions that were accounted for and allowed by that design.  However, TERA launched as one of many available MMORPGs which were competing for the attention of the same audience. Its players tended to be experienced and well-informed about the genre, and used their knowledge to evaluate and critique TERA both privately and in public forums. Aware that game companies’ chief concern was for profit, players exercised agency by embracing a consumer identity and pressuring developers in their own commercial terms. To retain players’ loyalty and continue receiving their fees, companies were obliged to appease their customers. This allowed players to see the game world develop and change in accordance with their desires despite the fact that they lacked the access or the expertise to change it themselves. I link this approach to agency to the rise of consumer movements in capitalist societies, and show how the virtual world of TERA can serve as an example for other situations in the physical world where contemporary technologies are used to both enable and constrain agency.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-33
Author(s):  
Iu. V. Amelina ◽  
R. V. Amelin

The article discusses the prospects of role-playing games in the educational process to increase students’ motivation and involvement, as well as the possibility of modern information technologies (primarily social networks) for constructing innovative forms of such games. The author’s format of the live-action role-playing game is presented. It was developed and tested at the Saratov State University. It involves the integration of numerous educational tasks into a single plot, within which each participant plays a role and communicates with other participants to complete tasks. The main interaction, plot development and group activities occur in dialogs, conversations and groups of social networks. This approach has shown its viability in teaching legal disciplines, and also has prospects for use in IT education.


1970 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-172
Author(s):  
Оксана Воронкевич

У   статті   актуалізовано   проблему   поширеності   шкільного   насильства   у   середовищі   учнів  початкових класів. Особлива увага звертається на необхідність діалогічної взаємодії учасників освітнього  процесу як необхідної умови попередження насилля у школі.  Опираючись на результати власного дослідницького пошуку, автор пропонує варіант програми  психологічної профілактики шкільного насильства вчителів стосовно учнів. Дана програма спрямована на  формування  у  педагогів  навичок  глибинного  самопізнання  й  пізнання  дітей,  апробування  нових  форм  поведінки та базується на ідеї діалогізації педагогічної взаємодії, оскільки важливо налагодити суб’єкт- суб’єктну взаємодію учня та вчителя й не використовувати монологічну модель спілкування. Наголошено,  що педагоги повинні стимулювати будь-які прояви суб’єктної активності дітей, що сприяють виробленню  у них адекватної оцінки себе та свого оточення, розвитку здатності до самовизначення. Відзначено, що  для   діалогічного   освітнього   середовища   характерними   є   такі   властивості,   як   різноманітність,  динамічність, напруженість, достатність, кожна з яких сприяє високій ефективності освітньої взаємодії,  здійснює істотний вплив на розвиток особистості. Під час занять використано різні тренінгові методи:  рольові ігри, міні-лекції, мозковий штурм, обговорення в загальному колі тощо. Разом із тим поширено  інформацію з актуальних для педагогів питань спілкування з дитиною без агресії, злості та конфлікту.  Представлено  результати  успішної  апробації  програми  психологічної  профілактики  шкільного  насильства  з  боку  вчителів,  що проявилися в розумінні важливості толерантного ставлення до учнів,  набутті практичних умінь відчувати психологічний стан іншої людини та адекватно реагувати на нього,  виявляти доброзичливість, прихильність до школярів та надавати їм необхідну допомогу.  The article actualizes the problem of the prevalence of school violence among elementary school pupils.  Special attention is drawn to the need for dialogical interaction of participants in the educational process as a  necessary condition for preventing violence in school.  Relying on the results of his own research, the author suggests a variant of school violence psychological  prevention program of teachers in relation to pupils. This program is aimed at educating the students the skills of  deep self-cognition and cognition of children, testing new forms of behavior and is based on the idea of pedagogical  interaction dialogization, since it is important to establish subject-subject interaction between the pupil and the  teacher and not use the monologue model of communication. It is highlighted that teachers should stimulate any  manifestation of children's subject activity, which helps to develop an adequate assessment of themselves and their  environment, development of self-determination ability. It is noted that a dialogical educational environment is  characterized by such attributes as diversity, dynamism, intensity, sufficiency, each of them contributes to the high  effectiveness of educational interaction, have a significant impact on the development of personality. During the  classes various training methods were used: role-playing games, mini-lectures, brainstorming, discussions in the  general circle, etc. At the same time, information on relevant for teachers issues about communicating with a child  without aggression, anger and conflict is propagated.  Was presented results of successful approbation of the school violence psychological prevention program  from teacher’s part, manifested in the understanding importance of the tolerant attitude towards pupils, acquiring  practical skills of feeling the another’s person psychological state and react adequately to it, showing benevolence,  adherence to schoolchildren and providing them the necessary assistance. 


Temática ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naiade Caparelli

O crescente desenvolvimento tecnológico tem transformado as diversas mídias do cotidiano. As mídias analógicas ganharam suas versões digitais e, junto com essa transformação, as características presentes nos primeiros meios também têm se reconfigurado para o digital, mostrando uma possível relação entre as novas e velhas mídias. O mesmo acontece com os jogos, em que os modelos analógicos constantemente influenciam as novas versões. Desta forma o presente artigo tem como objetivo entender como os livros-jogos analógicos se relacionam com os Role-playing games eletrônicos. Para compreender como ocorreu essa relação, foi necessário realizarmos uma comparação entre as diferentes modalidades de épocas distintas. Através desta pesquisa, foi possível demonstrar não somente a relação mútua dos livros-jogos com o RPG eletrônico atual, como também, de forma geral, entender como as novas mídias se apropriam de recursos de outros meios.Palavras-chave: Livros-jogos. RPG. Videogames.


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