(Ebook) Role-Playing Game Studies: Transmedia Foundations by Sebastian Deterding; Jose Zagal ISBN 9781138638907, 1138638900

(Ebook) Role-Playing Game Studies: Transmedia Foundations by Sebastian Deterding; Jose Zagal ISBN 9781138638907, 1138638900

This handbook collects, for the first time, the state of research on role-playing games (RPGs) across disciplines, cultures, and media in a single, accessible volume. Collaboratively authored by more than 50 key scholars, it traces the history of RPGs, from wargaming precursors to tabletop RPGs likeDungeons & Dragonsto the rise of live action role-play and contemporary computer RPG and massively multiplayer online RPG franchises, likeFalloutandWorld of Warcraft. Individual chapters survey the perspectives, concepts, and findings on RPGs from key disciplines, like performance studies, sociology, psychology, education, economics, game design, literary studies, and more. Other chapters integrate insights from RPG studies around broadly significant topics, like transmedia worldbuilding, immersion, transgressive play, or player-character relations. Each chapter includes definitions of key terms and recommended readings to help fans, students, and scholars new to RPG studies find their way into this new interdisciplinary field.