Role-Playing Games: The State of Knowledge Anders Drachen Marinka Copier IT University of Copenhagen Utrecht University Rued Langgaards Vej 7, 2300 CPH S, Denmark Munstraat 2a, 3512 EV Utrecht, The Netherlands [email protected] [email protected] Michael Hitchens Markus Montola Macquarie University Nokia Research Center North Ryde 2106 Sydney NSW, Australia Visiokatu 1, FIN-33720 Tampere, Finland [email protected] [email protected] Mirjam P. Eladhari Jaakko Stenros Gotland University University of Tampere Cramérgatan 3, 621 57 Visby, Sweden Kanslerinrinne 1, FIN-33014, University of [email protected] Tampere, Finland [email protected] ABSTRACT develops through play experience as well as on storytelling, Role-playing games form one of the major genres of games provide a unique opportunity to examine many of the and exist across all hardware platforms as well outside of pressing questions of game studies. Therefore, in recent the technology domain in a huge variety of forms and years, RPGs have been the subject of rapidly increasing formats. Role-playing oriented research has focused on interest in the game studies community, from a variety of culture, storytelling, game processes as well as e.g. user viewpoints including design, development, culture, interaction, play experience and character design. Today sociology, psychology and interactive storytelling [e.g. role-playing games research is an established component of 11,13,19,21]. Similarly, the operation of NPCs (agents) in game studies. This panel presents a state of the art of the these games is of interest in agent-based systems [20,22]; knowledge of role-playing games research covering a great and the unique nature of RPGs make them an obvious variety of angles and interests, providing an overview of the source of study for investigating the interaction between the current hot topics and future research directions within one player, their character (representation within the game) and of the key genres of games. the game itself, with the results applicable across the spectrum of game studies [e.g. 35]. KEYWORDS This panel will present a range of perspectives on RPGs, Role-Playing Games, experimentation, culture, storytelling, covering the latest advances within topics such as game masters, emotion modeling storytelling, game process, RPG culture, characters and player-character interaction, LARPing and much more. The INTRODUCTION key takeaway for participants is an updated view on the Role-Playing Games (RPGs) form one of the primary current state-of-the-art of RPG research and development genres of games, and is possibly one of the most widely across various forms and media formats. varying game forms around. Furthermore, RPGs have been designed for or ported between every existing hardware THIS PANEL IS JOINTLY HOSTED BY THE DIGRA platform produced for games, in addition to tabletop and ROLE-PLAYING GAMES SIG & THE INTERNATIONAL live-action variations. RPGs formed one of the primary JOURNAL OF ROLE PLAYING. sources of inspiration for the early evolution of computer games, and retain a strong influence to this date [e.g. 17]. ALTERNATE REALITY ROLE-PLAYING A new form of role-playing has recently been emerging. The diverse range of RPGs, which despite a strong variation Quite different from traditional role-playing games: across and within formats, share a similar focus on Alternate reality role-playing is similar to larps (live action providing the player with a character that grows and Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory. Proceedings of DiGRA 2009 © 2009Authors & Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA). Personal and educational classroom use of this paper is allowed, commercial use requires specific permission from the author. role playing games), being based on interaction with comparatively less work done focusing on the evolution of mediated simulacrums. the collaborative storyline. In comparison, within the games Baudrillard [8] discusses mediated personalities as research community, an increased amount of attention has simulacra that no longer bear any relation to any reality: been given to the subject of how the collaborative, Oprah Winfrey, as we perceive her in media, does not exist interactive storyline is evolved and managed. This in terms as such, but is only a construction pieced together from her of mapping GM functionality and how to transfer GM story media. Many people spend more time with simulacra than facilitation to digital storytelling systems [e.g. 2,35,36]. with actual people. The simulacra are now reaching for a Despite this recent work, the cognitive processes and new level of (un)reality through responsivity, interactivity detailed mechanics of how GMs operate are not known in and fabrication [see 31]. “Bree”, the fabricated video- detail [8]. This presentation will cover the state of the art of blogger of lonelygirl15, responded to your emails. “Laia knowledge of the game process of RPGs, GM functionality Salla” of The Beast received hundreds of condolence emails and storytelling. after blogging about her grandmother’s death [32] “Adrijanna Klinga” of Sanningen om Marika could even be DR. ANDERS DRACHEN is a Post Doctoral Research met in person. This creates role-playing interactions where Fellow at the Center for Computer one party is unaware if the other is playing, role-playing Games Research at IT University of where you have to pretend to role-play to succeed in game Copenhagen; and science journalist. His tasks and advance the narrative. While it places increasing research is focused on empirical and demands on actors and producers, such techniques are theoretical studies of games across powerful way of creating easily accessible role-playing tabletop and digital platforms, user experiences. experience, interactive storytelling, usability/playability and related game DR. MARINKA COPIER is researcher and lecturer at evaluation methodologies. He Utrecht University and director of collaborates with a range of companies, including IO programs in game design & development, Interactive and EIDOS. game art and interaction design at the Utrecht School of the Arts. Her dissertation focused on role-play in DESIGN RULES FOR SERIOUS ROLE-PLAY online games. Currently she works on the Originally the term role-play referred to acting out a role for educational application of role-play therapeutic reasons. The psychiatrist Moreno, who coined mechanics. the term role-play in the 1920s, asked his patients to act out their problems instead of talking about them. Role-play became a common tool to approximate ‘real life’ GAME MASTERS AND STORYTELLING experiences in disciplines such as psychotherapy, Pen and Paper RPGs (PnPs) are complex games that organizational change and education [37]. In 1974 Gygax involve multiple participants engaging in an activity that and Anderson [14] designed the first rule set for takes place partly in the real-life gaming situation, partly in entertainment role-play in the pen & paper game Dungeons the minds of the participants. One of the key aspects of & Dragons. From that point on role-playing games these games is that they form very pure examples of developed into a diverse set of entertainment products interactive storytelling systems [2], which makes them ranging from tabletop RPGs to MMORPGs, to live-action sources of inspiration in the creation of digital storytelling and alternate reality role-playing. These role-playing systems. Notably, PnPs generally contain a function often experiences are negotiated shared fantasies, which consist referred to as Game Masters (GMs) [5,36]. The GM is of (mixture of) imaginary worlds as well as aspects of daily associated with a range of functions, with however life [6,13]. substantial variance in the specific responsibilities. In PnPs, In turn these entertainment role-playing have been the GM normally plays a central role as story facilitator studied for their learning effects. Steinkuehler [30] argued [2,8]. Game Masters are normally responsible for managing that MMORPGs are naturally occurring learning the overall plot of the game story, and controlling the environments that recruit collaborative problem solving and behavior of any game world entities and objects not distributed apprenticeship during play, but also have an controlled by the player characters [34]. In short, the GM effect on the development of digital and print literacy, acts as a drama manager. The specific detail of how GMs science math and computational literacy. Current learning operate and function in PnPs is however far from well- experiences are distributed: teachers and students still get understood, at neither the higher level of operations, nor in together in a physical environment for classes but also make the details of managing action-reaction cycles. The general use of various digital media tools, including serious games. principles of GM functionality have been discussed within the hobbyist community for decades and some models of This presentation discusses what we can learn from the key aspects have been proposed, e.g. concerning division of various instances of entertainment role-play for the design authorial control [e.g. 4,10,16,24,36]. There has been of serious games but also for the innovation of the ‘big 2 game’ [29] of education, in which learning means serious RULES FOR ROLE PLAY and meaningful fun. Role-play (RP) in commercial MMORPGs is seldom supported by the game mechanics. The game play is based on rule-sets following design paradigms set back in the MARKUS MONTOLA is a researcher at Nokia and a PhD- seventies [3,14] which, as Copier [6] shows, encourages candidate at University of Tampere. instrumental game play. Copier notes that RP in He is working on a dissertation on MMORPGs mostly rely on meta-game rules since RP is pervasive role-playing, synthesizing hard to capture in a system. In fact, Copier describes a his work on various forms of role- specific MMORPG play-style as characterized by playing and pervasive gaming, negotiation of principles of these meta-game rules.