Uncovering Seams in Distributed Play of Tabletop Role-Playing Games Andrew M. Webb Pablo Cesar Abstract CWI CWI We uncover how geographically distributed players of table- Amsterdam, Netherlands Delft University of Technology top role-playing games engage narrative, ludic, and social
[email protected] Amsterdam, Netherlands aspects of play. Our existing understandings of tabletop
[email protected] role-playing games are centered around co-located play on physical tabletops. Yet, online play is increasingly popular. We interviewed 14 players, experienced with online virtual tabletops. Our findings reveal the seams—points where media, activities, and technology intersect—within virtual tabletop environments that enable distributed players to shift among collaborative storytelling, applying game rules and mechanics, and socially interacting with each other. CCS Concepts •Human-centered computing ! Ethnographic studies; Author Keywords Dungeons & Dragons; narrativity; virtual tabletop; Roll20 Introduction Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or Tabletop role-playing games, such as Dungeons & Drag- classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation ons, are seeing a resurgence in popular culture [2]. In these on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. games, players take on the roles of fictional characters as For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author. they collaboratively create stories while sitting around a CHI PLAY EA ’19, October 22–25, 2019, Barcelona, Spain. table. Players interact with various physical objects, such © 2019 Copyright is held by the owner/author(s).