Uncovering seams in distributed play of tabletop role-playing games

Andrew M. Webb; Pablo Cesar

doi:10.1145/3341215.3356253

Uncovering seams in distributed play of tabletop role-playing games

Multimedia Computing

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volume › Conference contribution › Scientific › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

60 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We uncover how geographically distributed players of tabletop role-playing games engage narrative, ludic, and social aspects of play. Our existing understandings of tabletop role-playing games are centered around co-located play on physical tabletops. Yet, online play is increasingly popular. We interviewed 14 players, experienced with online virtual tabletops. Our findings reveal the seams—points where media, activities, and technology intersect—within virtual tabletop environments that enable distributed players to shift among collaborative storytelling, applying game rules and mechanics, and socially interacting with each other.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	CHI PLAY 2019 - Extended Abstracts of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Pages	773-780
Number of pages	8
ISBN (Electronic)	9781450368711
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3341215.3356253
Publication status	Published - 17 Oct 2019
Event	6th ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, CHI PLAY 2019 - Barcelona, Spain Duration: 22 Oct 2019 → 25 Oct 2019

Conference

Conference	6th ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, CHI PLAY 2019
Country/Territory	Spain
City	Barcelona
Period	22/10/19 → 25/10/19

Keywords

Dungeons & Dragons
Narrativity
Roll20
Virtual tabletop

Access to Document

10.1145/3341215.3356253

p773-webbFinal published version, 2.93 MB

Cite this

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title = "Uncovering seams in distributed play of tabletop role-playing games",

abstract = "We uncover how geographically distributed players of tabletop role-playing games engage narrative, ludic, and social aspects of play. Our existing understandings of tabletop role-playing games are centered around co-located play on physical tabletops. Yet, online play is increasingly popular. We interviewed 14 players, experienced with online virtual tabletops. Our findings reveal the seams—points where media, activities, and technology intersect—within virtual tabletop environments that enable distributed players to shift among collaborative storytelling, applying game rules and mechanics, and socially interacting with each other.",

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author = "Webb, {Andrew M.} and Pablo Cesar",

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Webb, AM & Cesar, P 2019, Uncovering seams in distributed play of tabletop role-playing games. in CHI PLAY 2019 - Extended Abstracts of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), pp. 773-780, 6th ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, CHI PLAY 2019, Barcelona, Spain, 22/10/19. https://doi.org/10.1145/3341215.3356253

Uncovering seams in distributed play of tabletop role-playing games. / Webb, Andrew M.; Cesar, Pablo.
CHI PLAY 2019 - Extended Abstracts of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), 2019. p. 773-780.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volume › Conference contribution › Scientific › peer-review

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Uncovering seams in distributed play of tabletop role-playing games

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