FANTASY GAMES and SOCIAL WORLDS Simulation As Leisure
>> Version of Record - Sep 1, 1981 What is This? Downloaded from sag.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on December 8, 2012 FANTASY GAMES AND SOCIAL WORLDS Simulation as Leisure GARY ALAN FINE University of Minnesota As the longevity and success of this journal attest, simulation games have had a considerable impact on the scholarly commun- ity, spawning cottage industries and academic specialties. Simu- lation gaming is now well established as a legitimate academic pursuit and teaching tool. Simultaneous with the growth of educational games, the 1970s witnessed the development and popularity of other role-playing games, essentially simulations, which have enjoyment and fantasy as their major goals. These games are known generically as fantasy role-playing games. My intent in this article is to describe the games, discuss the relationship of these games to similar activities (including educational simulations), describe the players, and examine their reasons for participating in this social world. By studying these play forms, researchers who specialize in educational simulations can observe parallels in this leisure activity. AUTHOR’S NOTE: The author would like to thank Sherryl Kleinman and Linda Hughes for comments on previous drafts of this article. SIMULATION ~c GAMES, Vol. 12 No. 3, September I981 251-279 @ 1981 Sage Pubhcations, Inc. 251 Downloaded from sag.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on December 8, 2012 252 WHAT IS FANTASY ROLE-PLAY GAMING? A &dquo;[fantasy] role-playing game&dquo; has been defined as &dquo;any game which allows a number of players to assume the roles of imaginary characters and operate with some degree of freedom in an imaginary environment&dquo; (Lortz, 1979b: 36).
[Show full text]