Analog Board and Role-Playing Games: Narrative, History, and the Collective Player
The Challenge
While many think that contemporary games are mainly digital and video, the last 15 years have seen a revolution in board and role-playing gaming away from war and competitive games towards ones that encourage group interaction and the creation of new lifeworld narratives and understanding of previously marginalized histories. These games are increasingly seen as worthy of study as has likewise happened recently with prestige television and graphic narratives.
Our Approach
We look at game mechanics, the explanatory guidance and social context given in the rules, and the collective effects on player education and group inter-relations. Historian Johan Huizinga called game play a "magic circle" that was separate from everyday life. We explore how gameplay instead models a new approach to everyday life in an increasingly complex society.
Our Impact
Board and Role-Playing Games have been seen as modeling new forms of pedagogy for universities, providing social benefit against social isolation, and tendencies towards anti-democratic movements. By providing expert commentary and explanation, we hope to more broadly circulate awareness of this new cultural and artistic movement.
