This lecture by Sarah Lynne Bowman gives an introduction to transformative role-playing games (RPGs). Bowman establishes definitions and distinctions between leisure, educational, and therapeutic role-playing games. She discusses the ways in which role-playing is already used in many applied professional contexts and how RPG techniques might augment or improve existing practices. Bowman gives examples of educational live action role-playing games (larps), as well as offering some of the cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills that can be rehearsed through play. She also delineates three types of therapeutic role-playing games that involve different levels of investment and processing: groups for therapy, training social skills, and recreation. She concludes with the importance of safety structures to help participants feel more open to processes to transformation.
Bio: Sarah Lynne Bowman, Ph.D. is a scholar, game designer, and event organizer. She is an Associate Professor for the Department of Game Design at Uppsala University Campus Gotland and the Coordinator for Peace & Conflict Studies at Austin Community College. McFarland Press published her dissertation as The Functions of Role-playing Games: How Participants Create Community, Solve Problems, and Explore Identity (2010). Bowman has edited for The Wyrd Con Companion Book (2012-2015), the International Journal of Role-playing (2016-), and Nordiclarp.org (2015-). She helped organize the Living Games Conference (2014, 2016, 2018) and Role-playing and Simulation in Education Conference (2016, 2018).