Playing role-playing games is fun and easy, but despite what their fantastical settings might suggest, the worlds and characters that we create are not free from the issues of the real world. As such, before undertaking the effort of learning and creating your own game, or moderating a gaming space, it is important to understand the issues that often arise in gaming spaces.
The Killing Roll: The Prevalence of Violence in Dungeons & Dragons
This study by Sarah Albom is a deep dive into how the design and incentives behind Dungeons & Dragons, and indeed much of the role-playing space, centers and facilitates violence. Albom conducts a literature review on games and heroic mythology, looking at "common violence motivators of heroism, hatred, and sensation-seeking curiosity" (Albom, 2021). What are the implications of game design that designates sapient creatures as fodder for the conquering hero? Hows does the structure of adventures replicate the circumstances of colonialism? This paper is must-read to understand the cultural background of violence behind role-playing games.
Social Conflict in Role-Playing Communities: An Exploratory Qualitative Study
A look into the many social issues that can worm their way into fantasy worlds, this study by Sarah Lynne Bowman offers valuable perspectives into interpersonal issues in role-playing spaces. Encompassing tabletop, live action, and online games, Bowman identified a number of factors that lead to strife within gaming groups. Disagreements about rules, themes, and qualities of play were common, especially between players and their game master. Bowman provides an extensive look into "bleed," which is when "out-of-character emotions, thoughts, physical states, and relationships... cross over" and negatively affect the player (Bowman, 2023, p. 16). This can lead to heightened emotional states and have negative consequences for a player, who, instead of controlling their character from afar, is effectively trapped within the character's emotional state. A good game master should know how to look out for signs of character bleed, and stop the game before they manifest.
This study surveyed a collection of public, adult gaming spaces, looking at the cultural values that existed in fantasy spaces. In short, Garcia found that instead of creating a space outside cultural norms, role-playing games often uncritically reinforced these norms, creating spaces where issues like racism and sexism went unchallenged. Garcia discusses the implications of these findings to critical pedagogy and educational spaces.
Role-playing games, with Dungeons and Dragons at their head, have exploded in popularity in the past few years. Players are entering RPG spaces with new ideas about what RPGs are, having learned about the genre from popular media like the Netflix series Stranger Things or the podcast and live streamed Critical Role. Duddy and Rosnau discuss the implications of the effects of popular culture on RPG spaces, drawing from interviews with enfranchised players and talking about what influences games have on their players. For readers new to RPGs or for veterans, this article is an intriguing look into the culture and psychology of role-playing games. For aspiring game masters, this article will prime you on what RPG-specific cultural norms to expect from your players.