Role-Playing Game Studies: Transmedia Foundations, 1st Edition

This handbook collects, for the first time, the state of research on role-playing games (RPGs) across disciplines, cultures, and media in a single, accessible volume. Collaboratively authored by more than 50 key scholars, it traces the history of RPGs, from wargaming precursors to tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons to the rise of live action role-play and contemporary computer RPG and massively multiplayer online RPG franchises, like Fallout and World of Warcraft. Individual chapters survey the perspectives, concepts, and findings on RPGs from key disciplines, like performance studies, sociology, psychology, education, economics, game design, literary studies, and more. Other chapters integrate insights from RPG studies around broadly significant topics, like transmedia worldbuilding, immersion, transgressive play, or player–character relations. Each chapter includes definitions of key terms and recommended readings to help fans, students, and scholars new to RPG studies find their way into this new interdisciplinary field.Role-Playing Game Studies: Transmedia Foundations 1st Edition is written by Sebastian Deterding and published by Routledge. ISBNs for Role-Playing Game Studies are 9781317268314, 1317268318 and the print ISBNs are 9781138638907, 1138638900. Additional ISBNs include 9780815369202, 9781315637532, 9781317268321, 9781317268307.