Living Pedagogies of a Game-Master: An Autoethnographic Education of Liminal Moments Graeme Lachance Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Arts in Education Faculty of Education University of Ottawa © Graeme Lachance, Ottawa, Canada, 2016 PEDAGOGIES OF A GAME-MASTER ii Acknowledgements If a thesis were a monster, it would be hideous, with at least a dozen eyes, oozing, slime- filled pores, and terrible, unnatural strength. It would be talked about as the one creature capable of defeating even the most skilled and powerful—whose ranks I am not yet worthy of joining. This monograph was not an adversary taken down alone. Special thanks are extended to the members of the groups in which I have acted as game-master, for providing the fun and fodder on which this research stands. This thesis would not have been possible if it were not for the love, support, and encouragement of my family and friends, especially Catia, who kept an encouraging hand on my shoulder even through the toughest moments. I am appreciative my of thesis committee members, Dr. Awad Ibrahim and Dr. Nicholas Ng-A-Fook, whose advice, ideas, and edits shaped this into a fully-formed project worthy of publication. Without their insight, expertise, and support I surely would not have finished. Lastly, I would especially like to recognize the time and support of my thesis supervisor, Dr. Patricia Palulis. Her guidance, craft, and belief in the non-traditional allowed this idea to flourish. Thank you. PEDAGOGIES OF A GAME-MASTER iii Abstract This study presents the concept of the pedagogy of the game-master. Written from a bricolage of autoethnographic perspectives, a fractured narrative was (de)composed out of the author’s dual experiences as educator and game-master of fantasy tabletop-role-playing games. The narrative seeks to evoke the blurred boundaries of what it means to occupy each role, dwelling between fantasies, (teaching) realities, and player/person/persona identities (Waskul & Lust, 2004), constructing and remaining in the middle of a bridged pedagogy which spans education and tabletop role-playing. From the narrative, the latter section of this manuscript presents a discussion of how the liminal duties of the game-master might help draw educators to and beyond the boundaries of what is possible in education. PEDAGOGIES OF A GAME-MASTER iv Contents Acknowledgements...........................................................................................................................ii Abstract...........................................................................................................................................iii Contents..........................................................................................................................................iv Terms and Abbreviations................................................................................................................vi Space 1: Front Matter......................................................................................................................1 Episode 1: Introducing characters......................................................................................2 A Game.........................................................................................................................3 A Pedagogy...................................................................................................................4 An Approach.................................................................................................................5 Episode 2: A worked-frame of histories and philosophies.....................................................8 You Find Yourself at a Table........................................................................................8 Protracted (in)actions.................................................................................................10 Rhizomes and Role-playing........................................................................................11 Humble, Corrupted Beginnings..................................................................................13 The Role of the Unheard: Aoki’s Attunement.............................................................14 Attuning as a Participant-Listener..............................................................................15 A Liminal Space of Play..............................................................................................16 The Curriculum of Gameplay.....................................................................................17 Episode 3: Game Manuals and Playing Spaces—A Literature Review............................18 Definitions and Features of a Tabletop Role-playing Game......................................19 Why Play?...................................................................................................................20 Tabletop Role-playing Games, Liminality, in-betweeness, and tension.....................23 Game rules: Strict Adherence or Willful Ignorance?.................................................24 The Aesthetics and Narrative Possibilities of Tabletop Role-Playing Games............26 The Game-Master.......................................................................................................29 Episode 4: A Methodological Campaign...........................................................................33 Introduction.................................................................................................................33 Autoethnographic Fragments.....................................................................................34 Autoethnography in Practice......................................................................................37 The Events...................................................................................................................38 Writing the Autoethnographic Narrative....................................................................40 Leavy and Fiction as a Research Practice..................................................................41 Limitations of this Methodology.................................................................................42 Space 2: Narrative.........................................................................................................................45 Preface—Cast of Characters................................................................................................46 Salazar........................................................................................................................47 Perrin Darkcloak........................................................................................................48 Naeris.........................................................................................................................49 The Game-Master.......................................................................................................50 Encounter: Beginning; Stuck................................................................................................52 Mark............................................................................................................................62 Encounter: The Hellback Caverns........................................................................................65 Aidan...........................................................................................................................65 Encounter: Preparation / Hesitation....................................................................................66 Encounter: The Incident.......................................................................................................74 Russell.........................................................................................................................78 PEDAGOGIES OF A GAME-MASTER v Encounter: The Never-Ending Story.....................................................................................90 Space 3: Implications for Education..............................................................................................94 Touring a Bridge Under Construction: Introduction...........................................................95 Conceptual Spaces and Creativity........................................................................................98 Conceptual Spaces and Teaching.........................................................................................98 A Rhizomatic Diffusion of Control......................................................................................102 Gaming the Role of the Teacher.........................................................................................104 Legitimizing the Curriculum-as-lived: A Non-ending.................................................................109 A Game-Master asks, what is the point?......................................................................................110 A Game-Master asks, what do you do?.......................................................................................113 Reference List...............................................................................................................................115 PEDAGOGIES OF A GAME-MASTER vi Terms and Abbreviations ADVENTURE…...………………….A story of quest developed for player-characters to endure CAMPAIGN………………...A series of ongoing adventures