(Academic) Writing on RPGs

[grodog]

Key historical rpg publishing sites:

• The Acaeum @ www.acaeum.com
• Afterglow2 @ http://www.afterglow2.com/
• The Tome of Treasures @ http://www.tomeoftreasures.com/
• Adrian Newman's TSR Archive @ http://home.flash.net/~brenfrow/

What are your aims for the course---to cover the history of the hobby, the role of RPGs in the modern PC gaming/Hollywood film markets, etc.?

Several scholarly (generally psych-based) books on rpgs have been published over the years; however, I'm away from my reference shelf on business travel, so I can't highlight the key ones I'm thinking of at the moment. If you're interested in details, ping me next weekend....

 

[TwinBahamut]

Sorry if it is a bit sketchy of a reference, but I do remember seeing a small book on this topic (probably a former thesis of some kind) at my former college's library a while back. I can't recall the title, but the ones mentioned here don't ring a bell...

It was pretty interesting too, and was built around the idea of comparing RPGs to theater. Now I am wishing I had checked it out and read it more thoroughly.

 

[Zander]

Quick update: I'm pretty sure now that I have a solid academic foundation for the course. Readings suggestions are still welcome, of course.

The RPG studies link in one of the posts above is a good starting point but the list there is by no means complete. There's a growing body of literature from the field of cultural studies that covers RPGs. This corpus of work has largely slipped under the radar of RPGamers themselves. A couple of very worthwhile contributions from the field are: Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media published by MIT Press and Gaming as Culture: Social Reality, Identity and Experience in Fantasy Games. Another one worth a look is Warlocks and Warp Drives: Contemporary Fantasy Entertainments with Interactive and Virtual Environments by Kurt Lancaster.

I am still interested in any ideas that you might have for this kind of course. What might be a good assignment? What is an essential topic?

Possible topics include:
1. Identity in RPGs. This could include concepts of identity and the application of Goffman and Mead's respective writings. Daniel Mackay's book, which is listed in the RPG studies link above, is a good place to start.
2. RPGs as Subculture. The sociology and social anthropology of RPGs. Gary Alan Fine's book is a must read on this topic. The recently published book by Robin D. Laws on the history of Gen Con is also worth a look (published, IIRC, by Atlas Games). Mark Barrowcliffe's The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange might offer insights though it's an autobiography, and a humorous one at that.
3. Sex, Gender and the Psychology of RPGs. As well as Shelly Mazzanoble's book that you've already mentioned, I would recommend Michelle Nephew's essay in Gaming as Culture (above). I don't agree with all of Nephew's premises such as male sexual fantasies being inherently misogynistic but her thesis that RPGs appeal more to male fantasies than female ones rings true.
4. Religion, the Media and the RPG Controversy. The RPG Studies list is a good starting point. Contact CAR-PGa (Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Games) and GAMA (the games manufacturers' association) for more information.

Hope all the above helps. Any questions?

 

[SpiderMonkey]

One of my office mates did her M.A. thesis on D&D. I believe she did a narrative analysis of the medium (well, she calls it a genre, I call it a medium; whaddya gonna do?). I'll ask her about it when I see her next and see if she has it available online.

 

[Mark]

I highly recommend http://www.rpgstudies.net/. It lists a bunch of newspaper articles and studies that involve role playing games.

Early hobby development from wargames; the high profile fad years (Unfortunately, you can't forget Dallas Egbert, Rona Jaffee, Patricia Pulling, Jack Chick...);

Yup. Include a section on The Pulling Report.

http://www.rpgstudies.net/stackpole/pulling_report.html

http://www.skepticfiles.org/religion/d-and-d.htm

 

[Varianor Abroad]

For a historian who's been in the hobby since before Gygax (he at one point wrote about seeing people using polyhedral solids before D&D was out), try contacting Paul Carr of the Committee for the Advancement of RPGAs. I believe he can still be reached through their website: http://www.theescapist.com/carpga.htm (I first encountered him as an apa member. Paul is a gentleman, a scholar, and a great advocate for the hobby.)

As someone said, the whole Mazes and Monsters movie is a very important milestone in the hobby as well. You might try picking up the Forty Years of Gen Con by Robin Laws, which has lots and lots and lots of photos and tidbits.

One topic that I think deserves huge attention is "RPGs as collective story." Aside from improv theatre, I don't think there's any other form of collaborative effort quite like it on the planet. (I don't count online versions except for MUDS and MOOs and whatnots as offshoots. WOW definitely doesn't count.)

 

[Pramas]

We just published a book that's a great window into the history of modern games. It's called Hobby Games: The 100 Best. You can find more info on it here:

http://www.greenronin.com/store/grr4001/

You might also try tracking down the four issues of Interactive Fantasy by Hogshead Publishing. It was an attempt to do a sort of academic journal about RPGs some 12 years ago. Some interesting articles in there.

 

[Kwalish Kid]

Key historical rpg publishing sites:

• The Acaeum @ www.acaeum.com
• Afterglow2 @ http://www.afterglow2.com/
• The Tome of Treasures @ http://www.tomeoftreasures.com/
• Adrian Newman's TSR Archive @ http://home.flash.net/~brenfrow/

Thanks.

What are your aims for the course---to cover the history of the hobby, the role of RPGs in the modern PC gaming/Hollywood film markets, etc.?

This course is a media studies course. So it will focus on how and why communication happens.

In this course, it will look somewhat at how RPG books and supplements get published and thrive or fail. It will also look at the communication that takes place at the table. And it will look at the interplay between the two.

A lot of this will be focused, I imagine, on the question of how much the rules shape the story of an RPG game and how much the story shapes the rules. That's somewhat of a rough description.

The history of RPGs will be discussed at least briefly.

 

[Kwalish Kid]

Sorry if it is a bit sketchy of a reference, but I do remember seeing a small book on this topic (probably a former thesis of some kind) at my former college's library a while back. I can't recall the title, but the ones mentioned here don't ring a bell...

It was pretty interesting too, and was built around the idea of comparing RPGs to theater. Now I am wishing I had checked it out and read it more thoroughly.

There are actually a few theses out there that deal with RPGs. I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[Kwalish Kid]

The RPG studies link in one of the posts above is a good starting point but the list there is by no means complete. There's a growing body of literature from the field of cultural studies that covers RPGs. This corpus of work has largely slipped under the radar of RPGamers themselves. A couple of very worthwhile contributions from the field are: Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media published by MIT Press and Gaming as Culture: Social Reality, Identity and Experience in Fantasy Games. Another one worth a look is Warlocks and Warp Drives: Contemporary Fantasy Entertainments with Interactive and Virtual Environments by Kurt Lancaster.

Excellent. I have only one of those books and an early article by Lancaster, I believe.

Possible topics include:
1. Identity in RPGs. This could include concepts of identity and the application of Goffman and Mead's respective writings. Daniel Mackay's book, which is listed in the RPG studies link above, is a good place to start.
2. RPGs as Subculture. The sociology and social anthropology of RPGs. Gary Alan Fine's book is a must read on this topic. The recently published book by Robin D. Laws on the history of Gen Con is also worth a look (published, IIRC, by Atlas Games). Mark Barrowcliffe's The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange might offer insights though it's an autobiography, and a humorous one at that.
3. Sex, Gender and the Psychology of RPGs. As well as Shelly Mazzanoble's book that you've already mentioned, I would recommend Michelle Nephew's essay in Gaming as Culture (above). I don't agree with all of Nephew's premises such as male sexual fantasies being inherently misogynistic but her thesis that RPGs appeal more to male fantasies than female ones rings true.
4. Religion, the Media and the RPG Controversy. The RPG Studies list is a good starting point. Contact CAR-PGa (Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Games) and GAMA (the games manufacturers' association) for more information.

Hope all the above helps. Any questions?

Looks good.