EDGE

Empowering Game Design Education

Course Content
Course Information
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Orientation & Instructions
Course Calendar
Course Material
Assessments & Deliverables
Learning Objectives and Success Criteria
Unit 1: Cultivating Transformational Communities
This course explores foundational concepts and practices to consider when community building around analog role-playing games for transformative impacts.
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Overview: Cultivating Transformational Communities
Discussion Forum Instructions
Sign up for Your Playtest and Feedback Group
Discussion 1: Community Building and Transformational Containers
Discussion 2: Leveling Up Role-playing Communities
Reflection Journal 1: Safety, Autobiographical Games, and You
Unit 2: Emotional Safety in Role-playing Games
We have touched upon many of the concepts in this Unit before, but we will focus less on game design and more around the community built around the game in terms of emotional safety.
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Overview: Emotional Safety in Role-playing Communities
Discussion Forum Instructions
Playtest 1: Crisis Management Scenarios
Discussion 3: Cultures of Hardcore, Consent, and Safety
Instructions for Major Assignment 1: Autobiographical Game Design Document
Discussion 4: Emotional Intensity and Role-playing Games
Unit 3: Academia and Analog Role-playing Games
This section considers a specific role-playing community: that of scholars studying these games and practices.
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Overview: Academia and Analog Role-playing Games
Discussion Forum Instructions
Discussion 5: Analog Role-playing Game Studies
Discussion A: Introduce Yourself and Connect! (ROCKET)
Discussion B: Positions, Interests, Feelings, and Needs (ROCKET)
Unit 4: Group Dynamics and RPG Communities
We are broadening our scope now from role-playing games in academia to thinking about groups surrounding role-playing as a whole.
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Overview: Group Dynamics and RPG Communities
Discussion Forum Instructions
Discussion 6: Group Work, Listening, and Feedback
Discussion C: Worldview, Cognitive Dissonance, and Perception Checking (ROCKET)
Submission of Major Assignment 1: Autobiographical Game Design Document
Instructions for Major Assignment 2: Cultivating Transformational Communities
Schedule Playtest 2: Autobiographical Games
Unit 5: Conflict and RPG Communities
Our approach when discussing conflict will be to examine how games can address and sometimes even improve conflict situations.
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Overview: Conflict and RPG Communities
Discussion Forum Instructions
Discussion 7: Activism and Democratic Participation
Reflection Journal 2: Community Toxicity, Dysfunction, and You
Discussion D: Conflict Styles (ROCKET)
Playtest 2: Autobiographical Games
Schedule Playtest 3: Autobiographical Games
Unit 6: Sociology and Role-playing Games
In alignment with this course’s focus on communities, we will shift gears to consider role-playing through a sociological lens.
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Overview: Sociology and Role-playing Games
Discussion Forum Instructions
Discussion 8: Sociology, Status, and Appearance
Discussion 9: Race/Ethnicity and Gender/Sexuality
Playtest 3: Autobiographical Games
Submission of First Draft of Major Assignment 2: Cultivating Transformational Communities
Peer Review Instructions for Major Assignment 2
Unit 7: Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
In this unit, we will be explicitly focusing on the impacts of these topics on communities as a whole beyond the context of specific game designs or play experiences.
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Overview: Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
Discussion Forum Instructions
Discussion 10: Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
Reflection Journal 3: Cultural Consulting and You
Unit 8: Safer Community Container Setting
In this unit, we will speak more explicitly about the sorts of issues that can arise in communities and ways to make them feel safer.
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Overview: Safer Community Container Setting
Discussion 11: Safety Teams, Anti-Harassment Movements, and Organizer Safety
Reflection Journal 4: Codes of Conduct, Encouraged Behavior, and Internal Procedures
Reflection Journal 5: Safer Community Container Setting and You
Submit Peer Reviews for Major Assignment 2
Unit 9: RPG Communities Around the World
We have discussed styles and cultures of play before and examined various traditions. We will expand that work in this unit.
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Overview: RPG Communities Around the World
Discussion Forum Instructions
Discussion 12: RPG Communities Around the World
Discussion 13: Backstory Bonus Round
Unit 10: Transformational Communities and You
In this Unit, you will submit your final draft of Major Assignment 2, as well as reflect upon your experiences.
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Overview: Transformational Communities and You
Discussion Forum Instructions
Reflection Journal 6: Transformational Communities and You
Submission of Final Draft of Major Assignment 2: Cultivating Transformational Communities
Cultivating Transformational Communities

Overview: Conflict and RPG Communities

Welcome to our unit on Conflict and Role-playing Game Communities! As usual, our approach when discussing conflict will be to examine how games can address and sometimes even improve conflict situations, as well as conflicts that arise within RPG communities. While we have discussed conflict in all of these courses, this time we will consider the ways in which conflict impacts community dynamics positively and negatively. We will also discuss Conflict Styles, exploring the different choices of response we have in conflict situations.

You will also discuss positionality and reflexivity in your Major Assignment 2. Positionality refers to your social identities and cultural backgrounds that inform your position as a researcher and, in this case, a game designer, for example demographic information or involvement in specific subcultures. Reflexivity refers to your paradigms, beliefs, and potential biases as a researcher that inform the way you analyze your data. Remember that bias here is not necessarily a bad thing as long as it is openly acknowledged, addressed, and discussed in terms of ways in which it might limit your analysis.

In this Unit, we will cover:

  • Activism in RPGs
  • Democratic participation in RPGs
  • Toxic and dysfunctional behaviors in role-playing communities
  • Recommendations for addressing toxicity and dysfunction
  • Conflict styles
  • Positionality
  • Reflexivity

Click here to access the ROCKET Studium page.

Required Materials:

Videos:
  • Anderson, Ane Marie, and Martin Nielsen. 2018. “Pillars and Parasites.” Living Games Conference. YouTube, August 17.
  • Bowman, Sarah Lynne. 2020. “Conflict Styles.” Center for Peace & Conflict Studies. Austin Community College.
Readings:
  • Abadía, Teos. 2023. “The Community Rises at the D&D Creator Summit.” The Alphastream Game Design Blog, April 7.
  • Boccamazzo, Rafael. 2023. “Lessons Learned from Both Sides of Games.” TheeDoctorB. Tumblr, January 19.
    • Content Advisory: Discussion of harassment, threats, and mental health challenges.
  • Toft, Ida, and Sabine Harrer. 2020. “Design Bleed: A Standpoint Methodology for Game Design.” In Proceedings from DiGRA ’20 – Proceedings of the 2020 DiGRA International Conference: Play Everywhere: 1-18.
Review:
  • Bowman, Sarah Lynne. 2013. “Social Conflict in Role-playing Communities: An Exploratory Qualitative Study.” International Journal of Role-Playing 4: 17-18.
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