Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Index

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Almost 50 Years of Academic Research on Tabletop Role-Playing Games: Historical Evolution and Bibliometric Analysis

Almost 50 Years of Academic Research on Tabletop Role-Playing Games: Historical Evolution and Bibliometric Analysis

https://pmartinolli.github.io/JDR50bibliometrie/index-english.html

This descriptive study offers an in-depth historical and bibliometric analysis of academic research on tabletop role-playing games. It examines the evolution of publications across various academic formats (conferences, monographs, theses, peer-reviewed articles) and explores new trends in scientific dissemination, including preprints and literature reviews. The analysis reveals a marked growth in scientific output since the origins of role-playing games, with a notable acceleration over the past decade. While research remains primarily based in North America and Europe, new hubs are emerging in Latin America and Asia. Several major themes are explored: the dominance of Dungeons & Dragons, the moral panics of the 1980s and 1990s, therapeutic applications, issues of diversity and representation, as well as the phenomenon of actual plays. The study also includes an analysis of theoretical reflections developed by the gaming community outside of traditional academic publications. It examines how these high-quality, para-academic contributions might be integrated and validated by scholarly institutions. Finally, it highlights the influence of academic practices and values, particularly in terms of citation, on role-playing game culture.  

This translation is to be submitted to a journal. It is a translation of the presentation in French made in the colloquia “Vous êtes dans une taverne…” Retour sur cinquante ans de jeux de rôle (27-28 mars 2024, Metz, Université de Lorraine) that will be published as a chapter in a monograph. The translation relies heavily on Claude 3 Haiku by Anthropic and ChatGPT 4o by OpenAI.

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Tuesday, June 25, 2024

On the Shoulders of Cloud Giants: dataviz with JavaScript in Observable

Extrait de diagramme d'accord 

My project On the Shoulders of Cloud Giants which attempts to describe citation practices in tabletop role-playing publications is a bit dormant at the moment. I am testing a new technique which consists of creating automatic citation indexes but it takes time.

Here it is : https://observablehq.com/@pascaliensis/on-the-shoulders-of-cloud-giants

  • The code queries Wikidata and returns the data in a structured manner in the form of (mainly) a series of pairs between a citing tabletop role-playing game and a cited TTRPG.
    • The data exists in Wikidata thanks to property P2860 (cites work).
    • The code is in the appendix (at the very bottom of the Observable page) in the variable query=
    • Other data is repatriated along the way: date of publication, “movement” to which the role-playing game belongs (The Forge, OSR, etc.), publishing house and game mechanics.
  • This data in the form of a table is encoded in JSON format. This is important because as we are going to do JavaScript visualizations, we need to structure the data in this format so that it is absorbed correctly by the JavaScript visualization libraries.
  • Then this JSON table is transformed into a JSON hierarchy, this is an organization of information specifically designed for network/relationship visualizations.
    • Basically, the structure of this JSON hierarchy is divided into two parts: a part describing each game independently (nodes part) and a part listing each relationship (edges part).
    • The transformation was done by a function named table2hierarchy
    • The variable containing this file is located in data_citingCited
  • From there, most of the work is done because the JavaScript libraries do all the rest of the work. You just have to modify them a little each time to have the desired effect (like filtering the data or coloring it). Several visualizations are thus made:
    •         Undirected graphs
    •         Chord diagrams
    •         Classic bar charts, etc.


https://observablehq.com/@pascaliensis/on-the-shoulders-of-cloud-giants

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Thursday, February 15, 2024

R Studio & Javascript to analyze your Zotero reference library

My proposal to present the conference “Vous êtes dans une taverne… Retour sur 50 ans de jeux de rôle ” [You are in a tavern… A look back at 50 years of role-playing games] was accepted. Entitled “Historical evolution and bibliometric analysis of academic research on tabletop role-playing in academic publications”, it mainly consists of carrying out a descriptive study of the academic publication on tabletop role-playing since the 1980s.

Since 2014, I have undertaken to collect academic references relating to the study of tabletop role-playing games. This approach resulted in the creation of a database freely accessible via Zotero, comprising a total of 2400 references. Among these, there are 460 peer reviewed articles, 180 books, 300 theses, and many others.

The bibliographic database is freely accessible at: https://www.zotero.org/groups/446523 . Since 2019, Michael Freudenthal has joined me to manage this database.

Last Christmas, I gave you my R

In order to carry out a well-reproducible analysis, not only do I provide open access to the data but I also provide the algorithms that allow them to be analyzed. Everything is posted on GitHub at https://github.com/pmartinolli/ZoteroRnalysis

First, I chose to use the R Studio software because I learned to use it in the context of my work, also because it is powerful and free software, and finally because it is easy to request to ChatGPT 3.5 from OpenAI to fix my coding bugs (which I do very often).

The principle is simple:
  • I export the bibliographic references from Zotero in the formatcsv
  • I import the data into R Studio
  • I grind the data in R Studio
  • R Studio produces nice graphs and other tables for mecsv
  • Along the way, I align my data with that of Wikidata to augment my data (in a process called "reconciliation", done by the OpenRefine software ). For example, with the list of names of academic journals, I will look for the date the journal was created and its country of origin to spot trends.
Secondly, my co-worker Philippe taught me how to use the platform ObservableHQ and JavaScript. I decided to translate part of the R code in JavaScript to benefit from the very user-friendly interface and visualisation functions of this platform. Anybody can make a fork of the code, upload their references and analyze them (in the open with a free account).

The code is here: https://observablehq.com/@pascaliensis/zoterojsnalysis

All I want for this graph is you

The original post was in French for Christmas (to explain the silly titles).

Here are some nice extractions in graphic form. Note that these are not the final versions because, between now and the conference, I will still “shampoo the data” to correct and improve it.




For the rest, I will meet you in Reims (I will be by Zoom), or on this blog, or later in a more definitive publication.

Appendix: text of proposal at the conference


“In the presentation, I will explain how the compilation of peer-reviewed articles and works published since the 1980s, both in English and French, is almost exhaustive and makes it possible to generalize the analyzes that will follow. I will also highlight possible selection and indexing biases that may be present.

“My project consists of carrying out a historical and bibliometric analysis of publications such as peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. This analysis will highlight the variations observed over the years, in various disciplines, for different research subjects, as well as the issues surrounding publication (notably pre-publications, systematic reviews, potentially predatory publications, retractions, etc. .). I will show, for example, how the first publications of the 1980s aimed to explain the rise in popularity of this passion and to respond to the moral panics of the time. Likewise, I will illustrate how recent publications focus more on themes such as gender, actual play and psychotherapeutic aspects linked to the practice of role-playing. I will also highlight the great diversity of academic fields addressing the study of role-playing, ranging from traditional disciplines such as sociology, psychology and the humanities, to more atypical fields such as music, neuroscience and the philosophy. This presentation also extends internationally, encompassing Europe, North America, as well as other parts of Latin America and Asia. I will highlight the predominance of the game Dungeons & Dragons , while identifying other games studied or mentioned alongside this preponderance.

“To enrich this analysis, I will discuss the theoretical and practical reflection of the gaming community on their leisure in parallel with the academic environment. I will also review conferences, congresses and symposia devoted to role-playing, as well as dissertations and theses addressing this subject. Finally, I will discuss citation practices in tabletop roleplaying, in its study, and in its communities of practitioners. »

 

 

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Friday, June 10, 2022

Building community by citing each other's games

This post is part of the On the Shoulders of Cloud Giants series, studying citation practices in tabletop roleplaying games.

1970s-1980s

We've seen in previous posts that the earliest citation practices in tabletop role-playing games were primarily for the purpose of paying tribute or giving thanks. They appeared in prefaces and other introductory texts of games.

This early practice has been seriously undermined by lawsuits from major players like TSR. For many years, this type of citation has declined sharply. I am in the process of gathering data to quantify this phenomenon.

Since the birth of TTRPGs the fanzines (ALA publications, etc.) and specialized magazines supported the most interweaving work of referencing between games with critics, comments, comparisons, etc. 

2000s-2020s

The Forge

Around The Forge community, many role-playing game designers and contributors have devoted one or more paragraphs, even sometimes entire sections, to citing other role-playing games. Very often, the games cited are part of The Forge community. Again, I am gathering data to quantify this phenomenon.

It seems that the game Sorcerer (1996) holds an important place:

  •     In number of references (roleplaying games, fiction, people, etc.);
  •     In the number of citations by the community;
  •     In the diversity of types of references (bibliographies, acknowledgements, epigraphs, sourced notes of intent, etc.).

OSR blogosphere

The 2000s saw the advent of many amateur publications in the form of blogs, such as the community of gamers practicing so-called OSR (old-school renaissance) gameplay for example.

Blogues OSR
OSR Blogs and theirs links

Here is a graph of citations between OSR blogs. It has been published on Discord. The author is unknown to me. The method is unknown but it seems that the citation links come from the menu of each blog. Given the graphic appearance, it was produced by VOS Viewer (a very good free tool by the way). According to Josh, who relayed the information, it appears that red colors a "grognard" trend in the movement, while green colors an "artpunk" trend in the movement.

We can see that citations between blogs are important. In order to draw interesting conclusions, we would have to analyze the citation strategies (perhaps a questionnaire?). However, at first glance, I notice that the most visible blogs are also the ones that are original, or relevant, or erudite (and counting several years of existence).

Citing for Community Building

Zedeck Siew, a Malaysian role-playing game designer, recently emphasized the importance and duty of citing his sources, especially to prevent memory loss in a creative community :


According to him, « Interlocking chains of citation reinforce a creative culture for all working within it. An immune system against the attention economy, that: Has us bunkered / broken up by social media; Causes creators with less access to online time *appear* to stop working. » 

Very interestingly, he adds that « Plus, awareness of citation politics generally helps creators from less privileged contexts- Women; queer folk; non-White people; people from outside the West; people from non-English-language contexts; etc Who for a myriad reasons are often left un-cited. »

He witnessed that some designers mention their inspirations early in their creative process but that list diminishes as their work progresses. 

He concludes his loving ode to quotation [touching my librarian values] by saying that « Citation helps you understand your own work, too. (...) If you have nobody to cite- cite someone anyway. (...) You excavate unconscious antecedents. Situation it in an ecosystem. No work lives in a vacuum. »

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Monday, May 30, 2022

Working with literary epigraphs in Wikidata

This post is part of the series on epigraphs. Many tabletop roleplaying games use this literary technique.

In 2019, a new property named epigraph (P7150) was created in Wikidata to index epigraphs in literary works*. This is a very interesting initiative as it proves that Wikidata can have a rich ontology with precise qualitative descriptions. For the moment, the property is quite little used (most of the contributions come from me**).

I dream that one day the data will be complete and meaningful enough to produce interesting results in digital humanity. This would be a nice topic for a thesis. 

Hypothesis (developed in a future post): Perhaps fantasy literatures are more referenced than the "normal" literary works, in the sense that they contain more diverse references to other works or sources.

Some examples of use

In speculative fiction

  • Foundation: the intra-diegetic epigraphs reveal the success of Hari Seldon's Encyclopedia Galactica project and thus frame the narrative.
  • In Dune, the epigraphs come from characters such as Princess Irulan, who will become central character later in the work. In general, they create a chorus style (before it was fashionable).
  • The Lord of the Rings: with its famous epigraphic poem that synthesizes past history, present situation and issues. Partly in the words of the main antagonist. Brr.
  • The Handmaid's Tale: with sourced epigraphs that reveal the conflict of values at play in the novel.
  • The King in Yellow contains one epigraph per chapter/novella, as well as an epigraph for the collection: some epigraphs refer to existing works, others to fictional ones. This creates an effect of confusion and surreal proper to the decadent movement, as well as a playful effect with the reader.

In the tabletop role-playing games

In videogames

  • Uncharted (Naughty Dog 2007, 2009, 2011, 2016)

Some SPARQL queries

  •     To find all the epigraphs in speculative fictions
  •     To list the works containing the most epigraphs
  •     To count how many epigraphs are indexed in Wikidata

How to contribute ?

Exemple d'indexation
Indexing example

For indexing specific epigraphs

  • P7150 (epigraph) =
    • Typing the body of the epigraph. No quotation marks like « » or "" "".
    • Indicating the language of the epigraph : en or fr or la (latin) or others. In case of multiple languages : mul. In case of unknown language : und.
  • Qualifiers of P7150 :
    • P1545 (series ordinal) : in case of several epigraph : 1, 2, 3,…
    • P5997 (stated in reference as): the reference of the epigraph as written in the work.
    • P1552 (has quality)
      • = Q96102813 (in-universe perspective) : in case of an epigraph from a fictive work in the work (true in the fiction). (Example : the poem at the beginning of the Lord of the Rings).
        • OR Q96102813 (fictional quotation)
           
      • = Q112046597 (made up quotation) : in the case of a false, invented, apocryphal quotation (Example : false quotation of Eleanor Roosevelt in Talladega Nights).
  • References of P7150:
    • P248 (stated in): QID of the work from which the epigraph is taken.
    • P50 (author) : QID of the author of the epigraph.
    • P792 (chapter) : where is the epigraph in the work (if not at the beginning : in this case don't indicate the location). Or P958 (section, verse, paragraph, or clause).

For indexing multiple epigraphs (without indexing specific ones) : 

  • P2283 (uses) =
  • epigraphs (Q669777)
    • has quality (P1552) = referenced value (Q71536081)
    • quantity (P114) = number of sourced epigraphs from existing other works 
  • fictional quotation (Q18011336)
    • has quality (P1552) = in-universe perspective (Q96102813)
    • quantity (P114) = number of forged epigraphs for this work  

Exampleemple de code Quickstatement pour une importation en lot :

qid,P2283,qal1552,P2283,qal1114,P2283,qal1552,P2283,qal1114
Q105349656,Q669777,Q71536081,Q669777,1,Q18011336,Q96102813,Q18011336,24

______________________
* I have also clarified the ontology and other definitions of the term epigraph (in archaeology, mathematics, etc.).
** I have indexed the 84 crazy epigraphs of Moby-Dick for example.


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Friday, March 4, 2022

Tabletop role-playing games as games of expectations

Last year, I concluded a presentation at « Donjons & Labo : les lieux du jeu » with a very sketchy slide saying TTRPG are also games about expectations. After reading the article “Pretensive Shared Reality: From Childhood Pretense to Adult Imaginative Play” (1), I finally have the opportunity to elaborate on this point.

Expectations, a subcategory of role

Any social role can be described with many elements: statuses, functions, … and role expectations:

  • expectations of others on the role holder,
  • or of the role holder on himself,
  • or of the role holder on the others.

When expectations are not explicit and shared people are making assumptions. Social relations are problematic when assumptions about others (knowledge, emotions, motivations) are wrong. The best way to eliminate assumptions is to ask appropriate questions.

In everyday life, everyone takes on a series of roles. These roles may interlock, overlap, conflict, alternate, etc. This multitude of roles comes with a multitude of expectations. In social psychology, role theory specifically studies these phenomena.

It can be difficult for someone to list/explain expectations, to prioritize them, to clarify them, to understand their extent or their limits. Some expectations may be perceived as unchosen and potentially infinite. This confusion can lead to anxiety.

Expectations in a role-playing session

When playing a role-play or pretend game in a pretense shared reality (1), one adopts only two clearly interlocking roles: a player role and a character role. Unlike expectations in real life, expectations in a play situation are delineated within the game (the magic circle concept) and are chosen (voluntary and conscious participation in the game).

Sometimes, when the role of player is predominant, then the expectations are mainly social. The dimension of hospitality can be important (2): some are hosts, others are guests. Some master the rules, some have authority over the narrative, some generate fiction, some react to it, etc.

Sometimes when the role of character is preponderant, then the emphasis is on immersion. In this case, the expectations are primarily narrative and diegetic (i.e., they come from the fiction).

Over the past decade, many games and accessories have pushed to clarify expectations around the table with so-called "emotional safety" tools. These innovations have met with resistance, mainly under the pretext that they were infantilizing methods. According to Ludomancien, clarifying expectations is a proof of maturity. Examples: John Stravopoulos's X Card (2012), Apocalypse World's MC principles, Bankui's Same Page Tool, etc.

Playing a role = decrease in brain activity 

A recent study (3) shows brain activity of actors decreases when they are acting, suggesting a loss of self as one plays a role and improvising answers (Romeo and Juliet).

Hypothesis

  • A role-playing session is satisfying, enjoyable and memorable if the expectations of the player and character roles have been understood, acknowledged, met and fulfilled by everyone.
    • Conversely, a participant who did not understand the expectations of others, did not have their expectations met, etc. would not have a good game experience.
    • A game that knows how to structure the questions asked would mechanically reduce presumptions.
  • To enter a game session is to reduce the mental dimensions to a smaller set of expectations (simpler, easier to make explicit, less engaging,…) than in real life.
    • Tabletop role-playing would be the type of game that would least restrict the dimensions of real life since anything can be attempted, under the validation of one or more other players.
    • When acting and role playing, does a loss of self is linked to a reduction of expectations ?
  • If entering a shared alternate reality means traveling in a sub-universe with reduced dimensions:
    • Is there a specific pleasure in manipulating the meta? A kind of libido contextus? To know that one is able to move from one universe to another and bring things back (experiences, values, ideas, etc.)? To know that one is in the distance, the oversight or the irony?
  • The less expectations there are, the more mental savings we make and the easier it is to play, think, experience emotions, empathize and let oneself go.
    • As a result, are we less anxious or confused? Tabletop roleplayers may have more social anxiety than the average person and this would explain why they engage passionately in this highly relational hobby.
    • To what extent can this apply to simulations in general or to other types of games: “In games like chess, everybody has the same set of choices, so its easier to go into other peoples minds than regular interactions. Easier empathy.” (4)
  1. “Pretensive Shared Reality: From Childhood Pretense to Adult Imaginative Play” by Kapitany, Hampejs and Goldstein (2022). Adults playing TTRPG = evolutionary spandrel of child pretend play. Same mechanisms BUT it needs to be socially shared, it uses more complex social contract & more rules, it uses cognitive quarantine to explore safely + Why studying TTRPG is good to understand human mind, play & agency.
  2. See series on Hospitality.
  3. Brown Steven, Cockett Peter and Yuan Ye , 2019, The neuroscience of Romeo and Juliet: an fMRI study of acting. R. Soc. open sci.6181908181908 http://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.181908
  4. Interview with C Thi Nguyen, around 00:12:00.
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