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Book: Playground Worlds: Creating and Evaluating Experiences of Role-Playing Games available for download
2009-12-18 23:08 | Posted by jpzagal | Permanent Link | GeneralPlayground Worlds: Creating and Evaluating Experiences of Role-Playing Games, published last year in Solmukohta, is now also available as a free download. The book features 25 articles on Nordic live action role-playing games.
Playground Worlds is a collection of articles on role-playing games by leading researchers, artists and other experts. The book documents the theory and practice of the Nordic role-playing scene ? one of the most vibrant in the world -? and presents numerous methods and techniques that are directly applicable to larp design and production. It also offers a peek into some Anglo-American role-playing cultures.
The book is divided into three sections. Community and Journalism includes articles on role-player communities written particularly with an eye for approachability. Art and Design covers role-play as the product of a creative process, exposing philosophies and intentions behind specific role-playing works while providing advice and guidance for prospective designers. The Research and Theory section focuses on recent advances in analytic and academic thought on role-play.
Playground Worlds is edited by Markus Montola and Jaakko Stenros. Ropecon ry published the paperback version of the book for Solmukohta 2008 in April 2008. You can also still order paper copies.
Reactions to the book in the role-playing game community:
"This book is a gem! A collection of diverse and quite useful articles on roleplaying, with a strong emphasis on live action play." (Jason Morningstar)
"If the idea of scholarly discussion of larp comes as a surprise to you, this book may deliver quite a shock. There are some contributors that are full-time widely-published game theorists, who specialise in larp theory. They?re writing about envelope-pushing larp, but the analysis is often generalisable to more garden-variety larp. If you?re not familiar with the Nordic larp scene, expect to read some articles while thinking ?what the hell?? Read with an open mind, and ideas that seem crazy or outlandish at first may grow on you." [...]
"A thought-provoking collection of works on roleplay, and innovative larp in particular. Well presented, dense with content, and definitely worth the purchase price to get it in hardcopy." (Ryan Paddy)
The table of contents
- Introduction by Markus Montola & Jaakko Stenros
- Journalism & Community
- The Role-Players? School: Østerskov Efterskole by Malik Hyltoft
- Leave the Cat in the Box: Some Remarks on the Possibilities of Role-Playing Game Criticism by Jussi Ahlroth
- The Dragon Was the Least of It: Dragonbane and Larp as Ephemera and Ruin by Johanna Koljonen
- Producing A Nice Evening by Anna Westerling
- Design for Work Minimization by Kåre Murmann Kjær
- The Children of Treasure Trap: History and Trends of British Live Action Role-Play by Nathan Hook
- Art & Design
- Frail Realities: Design Process by Justin Parsler
- High Resolution Larping: Enabling Subtlety at Totem and Beyond by Andie Nordgren
- Walking the White Road: A Trip into the Hobo Dream by Bjarke Pedersen & Lars Munck
- Adventurous Romanticism: Enabling a Strong Adventurous Element in Larp by Katri Lassila
- Exhuming Agabadan by Matthijs Holter
- The Nuts and Bolts of Jeepform by Tobias Wrigstad
- Behind the Façade of A Nice Evening with the Family by Anders Hultman, Anna Westerling & Tobias Wrigstad
- Stupid Stories: Using Narrativism in Designing Agerbørn by Jonas Trier-Knudsen
- Levelling the Playing Field and Designing Interaction by Troels Barkholt-Spangsbo
- The Age of Indulgence by Juhana Pettersson
- Parlor Larps: A Study in Design by John H. Kim
- Research & Theory
- 24 Hours in a Bomb Shelter: Player, Character and Immersion in
- Ground Zero by Heidi Hopeametsä
- We Are the Great Pretenders: Larp is Adult Pretend Play by Erling Rognli
- Are You the Daddy? Comparing Fantasy Play in Children and Adults
- through Vivian Gussin Paley?s A Child?s Work by Andreas Lieberoth
- Kaprow?s Scions by J. Tuomas Harviainen
- Key Concepts in Forge Theory by Emily Care Boss
- Broadcast Culture Meets Role-Playing Culture by Marie Denward & Annika Waern
- We Lost Our World and Made New Ones: Live Role-Playing in Modern Times by Gabriel Widing
- Fantasy and Medievalism in Role-Playing Games by Lars Konzack & Ian Dall