The Critical Role of Media Representations, Reduced Stigma and Increased Access in D&D’s Resurgence

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Sidhu Premeet Carter Marcus
2020 DiGRA ’20 – Proceedings of the 2020 DiGRA International Conference: Play Everywhere

Over the last five years Dungeons and Dragons [D&D] (Arneson & Gygax, 1974) has risen in prominence and popularity with a broadening of its player demographic. Though the game’s resurgence has been widely discussed in non-academic outlets, it has been neglected in academic literature. While there are many factors motivating renewed and engaged play of D&D, in this paper we draw on our 2019 study of contemporary D&D players to present key contextual factors of the game’s resurgence. Through discussion of our results, we argue that the influence of representations and trends in popular media, reduction of associated stigma, and impact of convergence culture (Jenkins, 2006) on increased game access, have led to the resurgence of D&D according to our participants and shed light on some key reasons for its success in recent years.

 

Towards an analysis of virtual realism

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Tavinor Grant
2019 DiGRA '19 - Proceedings of the 2019 DiGRA International Conference: Game, Play and the Emerging Ludo-Mix

That VR media are realistic, or more realistic than other traditional forms of depictive media, has sometimes claimed to be a “common-sense” view (Murphy, 2017). Exactly what comprises the realism of virtual media is not entirely clear and needs careful analysis, however. This paper offers the beginning of a philosophical analysis of the concept of “virtual realism” as it applies to videogames and related media. The term turns out to have several different senses that though related, are materially distinct and of differing credibility. This paper will add depth and clarity to the growing literature on virtual reality media by providing analysis of a key concept that is currently undertheorized.

 

The Disappearance and Reappearance and Disappearance of the Player in Videogame Advertising

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Young Bryan-Mitchell
2007 DiGRA '07 - Proceedings of the 2007 DiGRA International Conference: Situated Play

Throughout the short history of videogames the ways in which they have been advertised has changed dramatically. Although videogame advertising has yet to be adequately studied it played a key role in the constitution of and education of potential videogame players. While most modern videogame ads feature the games themselves, early videogame ads prominently featured the players as a tool not only for selling the new gadgets but also as a way of showing consumers how to use them. This paper will explore the ways in which videogame advertisements functioned to change the ways in which consumers thought about the home and the ways in which they could actively co