“‘Let’s Play a Love Game’: Role-playing Intimacy and Relationships in Games”Sarah Lynne Bowman Originally presented at the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference, April 13, 2022. Description:At their core, analog role-playing games are inherently relational. Whether the goals of the…

“Learning and Transfer through Role-playing and Edu-larp: A Cognitive Perspective”Josefin Westborg Originally presented at the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference, April 13, 2022. Role-playing games and edu-larps are used in education to facilitate learning. But how does it work?…

“Role-playing as Your Self: Designing a Live Action Role-playing Game for Trans Self-Expression, Exploration, and Embodiment”Josephine Baird Originally presented at the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference, April 13, 2022. Euphoria is a nightclub that exists in its own pocket…

Enjoy our next lecture in the Transformative Play Initiative Event Series: “Beyond the Couch: Psychotherapy and Live Action Role-playing” by Elektra Diakolambrianou. In this talk, Diakolambrianou discusses the differences between transformative, therapeutic, and psychotherapeutic larps. She also explores several concepts…

This video by Josephine Baird discusses the many reasons why creators should create a game design document. It covers several features that designers might want to include, such as the project description, gam elements, mechanics, gameplay, graphics/styling, a technical description,…

This lecture by Elektra Diakolambrianou discusses the ways in which role-playing is used in transformative, therapeutic, and psychotherapeutic applications. She briefly discusses many types of role-taking, narrative, and play activities already transpiring within established psychotherapeutic modalities. Additionally, she highlights how…

This lecture by Sarah Lynne Bowman gives a brief introduction to identity and role-playing games. Bowman describes common notions of identity as stable and consistent, as well as how shifting identity in daily life can be seen as destabilizing psychologically.…

This lecture is Part I of a series on Safety in Role-Playing Games by Sarah Lynne Bowman. She gives an introduction to safety concerns with regard to transformative role-playing games (RPGs). Bowman describes how processes of transformation happen best when…

This lecture is Part II in a series on Safety in Role-Playing Games by Sarah Lynne Bowman. Bowman describes how processes of transformation happen best when supported and encouraged by safety structures before, during, and after play. In this video,…

This lecture is Part III in a series on Safety in Role-Playing Games by Sarah Lynne Bowman. Bowman describes how processes of transformation happen best when supported and encouraged by safety structures before, during, and after play. In this video,…