Below you find all articles from the third issue in separate PDFs.

Download the third issue here.
ISSN 2210-4909

Editorial

The year and a half since the publication of issue two has both seen incredible formal advancements
within the study of role-playing as well as witnessed several cases of people trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel, or to improve it while not actually acknowledging its existence. Read the full editorial here

Karl Bergström. Creativity Rules. How rules impact player creativity in three tabletop role-playing games

This article sheds light on how different rules systems for tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs) impact players’ sense of creativity. It uses interviews and group discussions to make the players reflect on how they are influenced by rules of their game.

Petri Lankoski and Simo Järvelä. An Embodied Cognition Approach for Understanding Role-playing

The article proposes that the theories of grounded cognition and embodiment can be utilized in explaining the role-playing experience.

Mikael Hellstrom. A tale of two cities: Symbolic capital and larp community formation in Canada and Sweden

The purpose of this article is to locate common authoritative symbols in the larp presentations
from two cities, and use Bourdieu’s theory to identify central norms in the material and how they can be significant as a homogenizing force within a larp community.

Mikko Meriläinen. The self-perceived effects of the role-playing hobby on personal development – a survey report

Investigating earlier research into the individual differences in those who play role-playing games, this article provides a comprehensive review of research in the areas of demographics, interests, personality and identity as they pertain to gamers.