Creation of Narrative in Tabletop Role-Playing Games - Jennifer Grouling Cover [6]
Game designer Andrew Rilstone also sees the interaction between player and DM, and the goal of that interaction, as the defining characteristics of the TRPG. In his 1994 introductory essay for the Inter*action magazine, “Role-Playing Games: An Overview,” Rilstone defines the TRPG as “a formalized verbal interaction between a referee and a player or players, with the intention of producing a narrative.” The DM, which Rilstone calls the referee, sets up the story and the world that the game will focus on. Often times this setting is as basic as a dungeon populated with monsters, but it can be as complex as a complete world. The DM presents a situation, such as the one presented in the epigraph, and asks the players “what do you do?” The players, who create and manage characters in the world, respond with “I do [such and such].” For Rilstone, this form of interaction and its goal of producing a narrative is what sets TRPGs apart as a distinct form. Even still, this definition seems rather tentative as the interaction between a DM and a player may vary considerably depending on the individual group and game, just as the interaction between a teacher and student may vary greatly depending on the classroom.
To what degree is definition and classification a necessary prerequisite to studying games and to what extent must our definitions and classifications come from our studies? Although I have cited previous definitions of TRPGs that I believe to be valid, I don’t believe that they alone explain the complexities of TRPGs. Therefore, one aim of this book is to further define and categorize the TRPG. In addition, I believe the struggle to define a text such as this may pose questions for methods of defining and categorizing other texts as well, particularly other games. Thus, I also aim to address larger issues surrounding the nature of texts and the way we define them, particularly in terms of narrative, genre, and rhetorical studies.
Research Samples
Many previous studies on gaming are ethnographic in nature. Although traditionally ethnography has involved a researcher looking at an unfamiliar culture, it seems to be more common in the field of game studies that researchers analyze cultures that they are already a part of. Mackay (2001) analyzes his own role-playing group as do many of the authors in the Gaming as Culture (2006) essay compilation. There are several reasons for this trend. In many cases, a great deal of “insider” knowledge is needed not only to play these games but also to analyze them. Therefore, it is advantageous to have a researcher who is familiar with both the rules and norms of game play and the gaming subculture. In addition, while a computer game can easily be purchased and played alone or with others online, TRPGs often involve groups that develop over time and are by invitation only.8 Thus, researchers who have experience with a gaming community are in a better position to conduct studies than those who are not. In keeping with previous research I, too, base my study on examples from my own gaming experience.
However, as with ethnography in general, one experience may prove idiosyncratic and not generalizable, and thus not particularly useful for answering definitional questions. Therefore, I draw on multiple gaming experiences, both mine and others, as well as textual analysis for this book. As a result, I am more familiar with some of my research participants than others. The home game of Sorpraedor, which I draw on heavily in this book,