The Postmodern Joy of Role-Playing Games by Rene Reinhold Schallegger

For Johan Huizinga, play is the motor of humanity's cultural development, and it has accompanied us through history. However, since the late 20th century, its influence has been more pervasive than ever before, and gamification has become a buzzword in social and cultural life. Hand in hand with this cultural turn, theories of Postmodernism emerged, also privileging interactive playful behavior. If play drives culture, understanding it is therefore understanding culture in Postmodern times.

Many of the core concepts of Postmodern thought also inform the new medium of the pen&paper role-playing game that coalesced at about the same time as Postmodern theories, a symptom of and feeding into the processes of cultural change. Analyzing these language games beyond their entertainment value shows how current socio-political conditions affect the shifting dynamic and mutual relationship between individual and society. A deep exploration of the complex interrelationship between narrative, game, players, and society raises questions of authority, agency, and responsibility that provide insights into the crisis of engagement that we see in our societies, while at the same time offering a new and original appreciation of the socio-political potential in games as the leading medium of the 21st century.

About the Author
Rene Reinhold Schallegger is an assistant professor for British and Canadian game studies at Alpen-Adria-Universitat in Austria.


Book Information
ISBN 9781476664934
Author Rene Reinhold Schallegger
Format Paperback
Page Count 258
Imprint McFarland & Co Inc
Publisher McFarland & Co Inc
Series Studies in Gaming
Weight(grams) 350g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 11mm