Overview: Game Technologies and RPGs
Welcome to our unit on game technologies and RPGs. By its very name, analog role-playing emphasizes interactions between people unmediated by technology, but of course in reality, we often use technologies during play. Facilitators might include special lighting or sound to a tabletop experience to augment the experience. They might add special effects to a larp to intensify the immersion into environment. Analog role-playing games are often played online, just as we have been on Zoom, or on platforms like Roll20 or D&D Beyond. Complex games like Dungeons & Dragons are now played with technical tools that update character sheets and do the math for players.
But how will newer advanced technologies be integrated into analog role-playing games, such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), extended reality (ER), mixed reality (MR), and other methods of shifting visual and aural reality. How can 3D modeling and additive manufacturing help create impressive tangible, custom game pieces, costumes, and props? How will AI affect the writing process of games or the types of interactions we can have? What types of technologies can enhance the role-playing experience? What experiences detract from the spontaneous and improvisational co-creation of play? What are the ethical implications of the use of such technologies for designers, organizers, artists, and players? We will be exploring these questions throughout the programme.
In this Unit, we will cover:
- Various technologies and tabletop RPGs
- Various technologies and larp
- Technologies to play tabletop
- Extended reality
- Augmented reality
Note: Some of the materials below may not be available outside of this course. We have linked resources that are open access. Do not distribute PDFs.Â
* * *
Required materials:
- Suominen, Taisto. 2024. “Game Technologies in Larp and Tabletop RPGs — Taisto Suominen.” Transformative Play Initiative. YouTube, May 14.