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The actualities of Actual Play
A qualitative study on interaction within the netnographic
landscape of Actual Play
Felix Gardner
Department of ethnology, history of religion and gender studies Ethnology bachelor's degree course
Bachelors paper 15 hp Autumn term 2020
Mentor: Elin Nystrand von Unge
Svensk titel: Verkligheten av Actual Play, en kvalitativ studie om interaktion inom det netnografiska landskapet av Actual Play
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The actualities of Actual Play
A qualitative study on interaction within the netnographic landscape of Actual Play
Felix Gardner
Abstract
This study’s purpose is to explore the online medium known as “Actual Play” through the perspective of both content creators, who work within the format as well as their audience who consume and interact with the content. This is a qualitative interview and observation study on the subject of Actual Play. The empirical material consists of four interviews with participants who are in one way or another involved with Actual Play content creation or distribution, an entire episode of an Actual Play series has also been analyzed to demonstrate the concept to readers unfamiliar with Actual Play and/or role-playing games. The questions this study has sought to answer regard what Actual Play is and looks like in practice and what the interactions between participants within Actual Play as well the interactions between these Actual Play creators and their audience looks like. The study’s findings show that the
interaction between the different social actors within Actual Play is similar to that of improvisational theater. To maintain the trust between the participants, social contracts that employ safety tools are often used. The interaction between the Actual Play content creators and their audiences seems more personal than average, since they’re all able to inhabit and interact over the Internet. The audience also seems to enjoy that aspect of getting to know the Actual Play actors and/or creators on both a personal level and through their characters. Finally, Actual Plays main appeal appears to be based around being a way to share and engage with others around a shared interest.
Keywords
Actual Play (AP), tabletop role-playing game (TRPG), interactionism, dramaturgy, actors, frames/framing, netnography
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION ... 4
BACKGROUND ... 4
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ... 6
THEORY AND CONCEPTS ... 6
PREVIOUS RESEARCH ... 8
MATERIAL AND METHODS ... 9
NETNOGRAPHY ... 9
INTERVIEWS ... 10
OBSERVATIONS ... 12
A SHORT HISTORY ON TABLETOP ROLEPLAYING GAMES ... 12
REFLEXIVITY ... 13
OUTLINE ... 14
CHAPTER 2 – A THEATER OF THE MIND ... 15
IT’S ALL AP BECAUSE YOU’RE REALLY PLAYING ... 15
FRAMING THE SOCIAL STAGE ... 19
FANTASY HIGHS FRAMINGS, ACTORS AND AUDIENCE ... 19
CHAPTER 3 – THE SOCIAL CONTRACT ... 25
PART GAME, PART IMPROVISATIONAL THEATRE, PART JAZZ? ... 25
A FOUNDATION OF TRUST ... 25
CHAPTER 4 – KNOWING PEOPLE ON TWO DIFFERENT LEVELS ... 30
SOCIAL WORLDS ... 30
THE APPEAL OF KNOWING PEOPLE ON TWO LEVELS ... 32
SUMMARIZATION: BUT WHAT IS THE APPEAL? ... 34
WHAT DOES THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT SOCIAL ACTORS; THOSE BEING THE PLAYERS AND GAME MASTER LOOK LIKE WITHIN AP? ... 34
WHAT DOES THE INTERACTION BETWEEN AP CONTENT CREATORS AND THEIR AUDIENCES LOOK LIKE? ... 34
WHAT IS THE APPEAL OF ROLE-PLAYING ONLINE IN AN AP RATHER THAN OFFLINE? ... 35
REFERENCE LIST ... 36
APPENDIX 1 - QUESTIONNAIRE ... 40
APPENDIX 2 – INTERVIEW CANDIDATES ... 42
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Chapter 1 - Introduction
Background
This paper comes as a continuation of my previous essay titled Dragons & Dramaturgy, a qualitative study on interaction, improvisation and insider humor in role-playing groups.1 In that essay a qualitative interview study was performed with three people who play tabletop role-playing games (TRPG) also referred to as pen-and-paper role-playing games.2 The study used an interactionist perspective meaning the social interaction of these role-players was the primary research focus. Questions of interest in the study involved social interaction; inside humor and what social function role-playing games serve.3 The essay also touched upon the increased popularity the role-playing hobby has seen in recent years. The study’s findings reasoned that the increased popularity was in part due to role-playing game (RPG) audio and video content spreading over the Internet.4 The study’s summarization stated that further research into the effect this content spread has had for the hobby would be a fascinating topic for study.5 However, fearing that question was too open-ended to answer within the allotted timeframe for this essay it was limited to a specific type of role-play content that has become known as Actual Play (AP). The medium of AP has transformed TRPGs from strictly being a game to a whole new form of entertainment. Within AP certain creators have even arguably archived minor celebrity status such as the Critical Role team.6 For those uninitiated with AP or TRPGs and what they entail this background section will endeavor to answer both those question.
A TRPG functions as an imaginative and interactive group storytelling exercise within the mechanical framework of a game. The participants take on one of two possible roles, either that of the Game Master (GM) or of a player character (PC).7 The GMs role is that of a storyteller guiding the PCs along the adventure by describing environments, situations and
1 Gardner, Felix, Dragons & Dramaturgy, a qualitative study on interaction, improvisation and insider humor in role-playing
groups, Stockholm University, 2020., S 1.
2 Tabletop Role-Playing Game is commonly abbreviated as either TRPG or TTRPG; this paper will be using the abbreviation TRPG. 3 Gardner, 2020., S 4.
4 Gardner, 2020., S 12-13, 30. 5 Gardner, 2020., S 30. 6 https://critrole.com/faq/
2 Tabletop Role-Playing Game is commonly abbreviated as either TRPG or TTRPG; this paper will be using the abbreviation TRPG. 3 Gardner, 2020., S 4.
4 Gardner, 2020., S 12-13, 30. 5 Gardner, 2020., S 30. 6 https://critrole.com/faq/
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non-player characters (NPC) that the PCs interact with.8 The PCs act as the adventure’s protagonists influencing the narrative through their actions and decisions. Whether these actions succeed or fail is determined by a formal system of rules or guidelines meant to facilitate play. This is usually determined by rolling dice. The GM establishes a so-called difficulty class or check (DC). If the PC or NPC dice roll equals or surpasses the DC their action succeeds, if not it fails. This is either helped or worsened by PCs skills and abilities. Each PC receives a number of starting points to distribute among a set of abilities or skills. Depending on how many points a PC has in a skill they either add or subtract from their roll. Since PCs begin with a limited set of points they are encouraged to specialize or fill a certain archetypal roles. This contributes to an existing spirit of teamwork within TRPGs. Since no character can do everything the PCs need to work together to achieve their goals. Finally, there exist a wide array of TRPGs that take place in many different settings and/or fictional worlds as to fit the preferences of different groups.
According to the Diana Jones award for Excellence in Gaming AP is a movement where groups record and broadcast themselves playing TRPGs over the Internet.9 AP while still a relatively new form of entertainment has grown substantially in popularity on video and live streaming sites like YouTube and Twitch with shows like Critical Role and Dimension 20.10 APs are also common in audio form with podcasts such as The Adventure Zone or Not
Another D&D Podcast.11 There are also examples of AP live shows such as Critical Roles live performance at the Austin Texas Bass Concert Hall.12
The aspect that makes AP stand out is the presence of the online audience. While TRPG exhibition and charity games at conventions have existed for years the concept of TRPGs as a watchable or listenable form of entertainment has only gained prominence in recent years. This study aims to explore the medium of AP and what its appeal is. In this endeavor the study will explore the differing aspects that play a role within AP. Those being AP structure, the interaction among the different social actors in AP and the interactions between AP content creators and their audience.
8 A NPC is any character that is controlled and portrayed by the GM. 9 https://www.dianajonesaward.org/the-2018-award/
10 https://critrole.com/faq/, https://brennanleemulligan.com/fantasy-high/
11 https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/adventure-zone/, https://www.naddpod.com/#the-band,
12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVu_Ib1fpVI&feature=youtu.be, https://critrole.com/event/live-show-the-adventures-of-the-darrington-brigade/
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Aims and objectives
This study will research the Internet entertainment medium known as AP and how the different social actors in the medium interact with each other. The study’s main aim is to
answer the overarching question of what the appeal of role-playing online in an AP rather than offline is? By answering this question, the study hopes to give readers insight into the
actualities of AP by showing how it differs from playing a TRPG offline without an audience. Beyond the overarching question the study will also endeavor to answer the two following research objectives:
• What does the interaction between the different social actors; those being the players and Game Master look like within AP?
• What does the interaction between AP content creators and their audiences look like?
Theory and concepts
Interactionism with a special focus on the sociologist Erving Goffman's dramaturgical perspective serves as the main theoretical perspective for this essay. Social anthropologist Sarah Pink describes interactionism as a theoretical perspective, which claims that our world is socially constructed and doesn’t exist outside of actions and social interactions.13 The ethnologist Magnus Öhlander states that interactionism from a cultural science perspective concerns how culture is created, communicated, used and is transformed within human interaction.14 As a theoretical perspective interactionism brings together a plethora of theories and theorists that center around human social interaction.15 Human social interaction includes actions and behaviors; the word social is often added to highlight interactionism focus on multiple people interacting.16
13 Pink, Sarah, Horst, Heather, Postill, John, Hjorth, Larissa, Lewis, Tania & Tacchi, Jo, Digital ethnography: principles and
practice, 1st edition., SAGE, London, 2016., S 80-81.
14 Gunnarsson Payne, Jenny & Öhlander, Magnus (red.), Tillämpad kulturteori, Upplaga 1, Studentlitteratur, Lund, 2017., S 75-76. 15 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S ”Ibid”.
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Goffman’s dramaturgical perspective aims to explain everyday social interactions by
employing theater terminology.17 Goffman does this to highlight the ways that social context shapes the roles and performances people take on in their everyday lives.18 While not an exhaustive list of the concepts presents in dramaturgy, the following ones listed below are those used in this essay.
First the scene, Goffman frames every social interaction between people as a scene.19
According to Goffman all participants in a scene simultaneously inhabit the role of actor and
audience member. In a scene an actor presents themselves to the audience, based on the
reaction the actor then alters their presentation accordingly based on the audience response.20 The ultimate goal for an actor in any scene is to control the impression one is sending out to the audience and thereby controlling how once is being perceived.21 However, actors are often restricted in how they may present themselves. This is because every social situation has certain parameters of social acceptance, which determine who someone can present oneself to be while still getting the audience to confirm and accept this self-presentation.22 Goffman referred these social situations as frames or framings. The framing consists of the physical environment, possible items or props within it and the interpretation of the social context, in other words the norms and/or values associated to the particular place or situation.23 For example, the framing of a high-class restaurant is different from a fast-food joint and therefor the actors are expected to act accordingly. When an actor does something that creates a gap between their self-presentation and the audience’s expectation this creates stigma or a
stigmatization process. Stigma in this case doesn’t refer to individual or group stigma certain people face, rather stigma is what happens when the audience is faced with something doesn’t conform to the specific framing they’ve come to expect.24 An actor who dresses in sweatpants and a hoodie at a fancy restaurant would create stigma since they’re not altering their
performance to fit the expectation the audience have based on the framing they’re in.
17 Gunnarsson Payne & Öhlander, 2017., S 77-81 18 Pink, 2016., S 80-81
19 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S 79-81. 20 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S ”Ibid”. 21 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S ”Ibid”. 22 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S ”Ibid”. 23 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S ”Ibid”.
24 Öhlander, Magnus, Skör verklighet [Elektronisk resurs] en etnologisk studie av demensvård i gruppboende, Studentlitteratur, Lund, 2005., S 142-143, Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S 79-81.
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Previous research
This section is an overview that accounts for prior research, which relates to this study’s theoretical and empirical focus. This study is focused on a specific academic field of research within cultural science namely that of play, games and performance. Beyond the field of play, games and performance this paper also uses interactionist research with a focus on Goffman's dramaturgical concepts. The study exist sort of in-between these fields since they overlap with each other to varying degrees. Research on the subject of play, games and performance that have been influential for this essay include the following:
The ethnologist Lotten Gustafsson Reinius doctoral dissertation The Enchanted Zone: Playing
with Time, Space and Identity During the Medieval Week on Gotland.25 The dissertation is an analysis on how the medieval era is staged and used in play during the medieval week festival on Gotland. Its primary focus is on play, ritual theory and performance.26 Gustafsson Reinius also discusses the subject of cultural heritage as well as the commercial and private actors involved in the festival.27 Gustafsson Reinius used interviews and observations (Within her observations she also sketched and recorded videos) as her primary secondary methods respectively.28
The ethnologist Erika Lundell’s thesis entitled Embodied Fiction and Fictionalised Bodies:
Live Action Role-playing in the Baltic Sea Region.29 Lundell’s thesis concerns live action role-playing (LARP) and aims to analyze how bodies materialize, take and are given space within larping.30 Lundell’s study uses the methods of participant observations, interviews and online ethnography to gather material around the Baltic Sea region in countries like Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Latvia.31 Lundell like Gustafsson Reinius also uses interviews and observations as her main methods for material gathering, but beyond that Lundell also uses photography and a blog to record her material.32
25 Gustafsson Reinius, Lotten, Den förtrollade zonen: lekar med tid, rum och identitet under Medeltidsveckan på Gotland, Nya Doxa, Diss. Stockholm: Univ., 2002,Nora, 2002., S25-32
26 Gustafsson Reinius, 2002., S 25-28.
27 Gustafsson Reinius, 2002., S 21-23, 73-75, 257-261. 28 Gustafsson Reinius, 2002., S 32-36.
29 Lundell, Erika, Förkroppsligad fiktion och fiktionaliserade kroppar: levande rollspel i Östersjöregionen, Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis, Diss. Stockholm: Stockholms universitet, 2014, Stockholm, 2014., S 14-15.
30 Lundell, 2014., S 14-17. 31 Lundell, 2014., S 34-38, 168. 32 Lundell, 2014., S 34-39.
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Lastly, prior research on interactionism and dramaturgy used for this essay is Magnus Öhlanders doctoral dissertation A fragile reality: an ethnological study of dementia care in
group dwelling.33 The thesis is a study of a group home for elderly persons with dementia. Öhlanders aim was to see how the staff understood and coped with as he put it the fragile reality of their residents.34 In the thesis he uses terms and concepts borrowed from Goffman’s dramaturgical perspective.35 The dissertation also overlaps with the field of play, games and performance since Öhlander use performance theory.36 The methods used of gathering material were observations and interviews. However, beyond that Öhlander also collected a large amount of literature and reported material on dementia.37
Material and methods
This study uses a combination of three qualitative methods to gather material on the subject of AP. These three methods were netnography, interviews and observations. This section will go over what these methods entail, why they were chosen for this study and how applying them went in practices.
Netnography
Professor of journalism Robert V. Kozinets created the method of Netnography in 1995. Netnography adapted the anthropological approach of ethnography which is used to study cultures and communities and applied this to online communities and cultures, or as Kozinets refers to them Cybercultures.38 According to sociologist Martin Berg netnography is a
qualitative ethnographic research method used to study social and cultural contexts on the Internet.39 Since AP as an entertainment form primarily exists online as videos, podcasts and on community sites netnography seemed a natural method to research it. Many researchers make no distinction between research offline and online instead just seeing the Internet as 33 Öhlander, 2005., S 2. 34 Öhlander, 2005., S ”Ibid”. 35 Öhlander, 2005., S 12, 45-46, 36 Öhlander, 2005., S 146. 37 Öhlander, 2005., S 16-22.
38 Kozinets, Robert V, Netnography redefined, MTM, Johanneshov, 2019., S XI,
https://annenberg.usc.edu/faculty/journalism/robert-kozinets
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another part of the human experience. However, since AP as a medium exist primarily online it felt important to have a method which was especially suited for gathering information on online cultures and communities.
Netnography as a research method is best used in combination with other methods such as interviews and observations.40 The reason for this according to Pink is that ethnography is not a meaningful practice by itself. Pink says the following regarding ethnography: “It is only useful when engaged through a particular disciplinary or interdisciplinary paradigm and used in relation to other practices and ideas within a research process”.41 This is relevant since Pink and the ethnologist Hanna Jansson assure us that ethnographical activities and practices are largely transferable from an in person to a digital and/or Internet approach.42
Interviews
The ethnologist Billy Ehn described interviews as an art form used for scientific purpose within many disciplines.43 Interviews are a widely used ethnological method for material gathering within ethnography. Kozinets even claims that the interview method is virtually inseparable from ethnography, according to him this also goes for netnography and online interviews.44 Netnographies penchant for online interview was especially beneficial for this study. This is because in person interviews were not an option due to both geographical distance and the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefor all the interviews for this study were conducted over the Internet using either Zoom or Discord.45
While this was always planned to be an interview-based study this was almost changed. The reason for this was an initial problem with acquiring interview candidates. Most of the candidates who were contacted either didn’t reply or were simply unavailable due to
scheduling conflicts. It wasn’t until the first interview with J Gray from R. Talsorian Games
40 Berg, 2015., S 97-99. Pink, 2016., S 99, Kozinets, 2019., S 1-4, 8-9, 66-68. 41 Pink, 2016., S 2-4.
42 Pink, 2016., S ”Ibid”, Jansson, Hanna, Digitala texter och analoga fältarbetare – Internetetnografins metodologiska dilemman, Nätverket etnologisk tidskrift, 2010., S 1-2, Kozinets, 2019., S 69-70.
43 Ehn, Billy & Löfgren Orvar, Vardagslivets etnologi: reflektioner kring kulturvetenskap, Natur och kultur Stockholm, 1996., S 129. 44 Kozinets, 2019., S 59-61.
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who generously advised on other possible interview candidates that he had worked with previously that this problem was solved.
Altogether four interviews were conducted with people involved with actual play, which all lasted between 30-150 minutes. Among the people interviewed was J Gray the Media Ambassador for R. Talsorian Games, Rob Mulligan who runs and host the AP series Cyberpunk Uncensored, Simon Goudreault who runs The Wandering DM an AP Twitch channel and the final interview was with Philip Harker-Smith the GM and one of the co-creators of the AP podcast Role To Cast.
All the interviewees were white males between the ages of 34 to 45. J and Rob are both Americans, residing in Dutchess County, New York and Los Angeles, California respectively. Simon is Canadian and currently resides in the town of Otterburn Park outside of Montreal. Philip is originally from Hampshire, England but currently resides in Adelaide, Australia. All the participants we’re either married or had a partner. J and Philip were also both parents while Rob and Simon did not have children. Lastly, none of the interviewees were
anonymized or given aliases. This is due to interviewees already being public figures within the AP medium and therefore there was no need for anyone to be anonymized.
Another reason for implementing the interview method was due to how it’s frequently used in combination with observations when studying fields related to interactionism.46 When picking interview candidates for this study it was vital that they had experience with AP. This is because of a thesis within interactionism called the insider perspective. The thesis concerns how the researcher should not attempt to find definitive reality but attempt to view reality as seen by those who are being studied.47
The interviews themselves were all conduct according to a semi-structured interview
approach. Being semi-structured in this case meant that the interviews were looser and more open than a structured interview. While the interview still followed a set list of questions the interviewees were encouraged to explore any ideas or thoughts that might come up in the hope that it might lead to new and interesting revelations. 48
46 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S 81-82 47 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S 30, 81-84. 48 Kozinets, 2019., S 182-188.
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Observations are another widely used ethnological method. If interviews are meant to capture what people say, observations are used to capture and analyses what they do.49 The method is flexible enough to accommodate a wide variety of situations or events and is feasible to use it for either long-term observations or more intensive short-term observations.50 Another reason for choosing the observation method is due to it and interviews commonly being used in combination with an interactionist perspective.51 For the purposes of this study an observation and analysis of a single episode of an AP series was done. Unlike many other types of
observations, no participation was needed for the observation portion itself since it was entirely based off of video material. The processes for this observation involved watching and re-watching the episode multiple times. Each time analyzing shorter segments around ten to twenty minutes long, writing down quotes and searching for possible interactions that either conformed or differed from the concepts found within dramaturgy.
A short history on Tabletop role-playing games
The origin of TRPGs can be found in War Gaming. War Games are a genre of strategy game developed by militaries to realistically simulate warfare and to train officers in military strategy.52 In a War Game the participants command military regiments represented by miniature figurines or tokens in mock war or battle scenario on a simulated battlefield.53 A judge monitors the game and analyzes the strategies employed by the commanders; thereafter according a set of rules the judge determines a winner.54 War Games eventually found a market outside the military among game hobbyists and creators such as Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.55
49 Arvidsson, Alf, Etnologi: perspektiv och forskningsfält, Studentlitteratur, Lund 2001., S 101. 50 Arvidsson, 2001., S “Ibid”.
51 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S 81-82
52 Lundell, 2014., S 55-57, Gustafsson Reinuis, 2002., S 55-58. 53 Lundell, 2014., S “Ibid”.
54 Lundell, 2014., S “Ibid”. 55 Lundell, 2014., S “Ibid”.
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Arneson was an avid fan of fantasy literature such as J.R.R. Tolkiens Lord of the Rings.56 Arneson decided to combine his love of fantasy and War Gaming by developing a new game system based on the foundations of fictional War Game created by his friend Dave Wesley.57 In 1974 Arneson and Gygax released the first TRPG titled Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).58 D&D streamlined the process instead of the players controlling regiments or whole armies they now controlled a single character inspired by the archetypes found in fantasy works like Lord of the Rings.59 D&D similar to War Games had it’s own version of a Judge called a Dungeon Master (DM). The DM while still in charge of arbitrating the rules now took on the role of a storyteller leading PCs through an adventure. Miniature figurines are often still used in TRPGs although many choose to forgo them completely instead opting for a theater of the mind approach. Theater of the mind means that everything in the game exists in the collative imagination of the group like in a story instead of on a game board.
Reflexivity
It’s important to point out that even before this study I had a strong interest for the role-playing hobby and this surly motivated my choice of essay topic. It should be stated that my familiarity and possible preconceptions regarding the hobby might have influenced how I interpreted the material even if unconsciously. It might for example have impacted how I formulated my questions and in turn how I interpreted my interviewees’ answers. Within the role-playing field I’d claim to obtain a so-called insider position, meaning I consider myself fairly knowledgeable on the subject. Nevertheless AP was something within the role-playing hobby that had long eluded me. While I had long been interested in TRPGs I only started playing around 2015 when I was seventeen. This was coincidentally around the same time when the popular AP Critical Role began airing on the YouTube channel Geek and Sundry.60 However, instead of embracing this new medium I found myself being a fogey old contrarian wondering why I would watch something I could simply do myself. Three years later though in 2018 when I found myself with more responsibilities and less time to actually play, I began to vicariously enjoy TRPGs again by indulging in AP videos. While I would still probably
56 Lundell, 2014., “Ibid”, Gustafsson Reinius, 2002., S 54-56. 57 Lundell, 2014., S “Ibid”.
58 Lundell, 2014., S 56. 59 Lundell, 2014., S “Ibid”.
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only call myself a casual fan of AP, I would say it’s a medium that is continuously growing on me.
Finally, I want to look over my own position and what it means for this study and within the role-playing hobby at large. Among my set of questions for the interviews there was one regarding inclusion and diversity within the role-playing hobby. While the answers varied, a common point of reference made by the interviewees and myself was that of us all being cisgendered straight white males. This is important since the role-playing hobby while more open and welcoming now long has been and still arguably is a space dominated by people like myself and interviewees. I do not say this to try discredited my interviewees. They are all knowledgeable and well situated with AP field. I’m honestly thrilled with the participants that I was able to get. I do feel it’s important however to point out that the lack of diversity could be seen as a possible and valid case of criticism against this study. Especially since this diversity does exist within the AP sphere with creators and/or advocates such as Tanya DePass, Gabriel Hicks, Jennifer Kretchmer, B. Dave Walters, Erika Ishii, Sara Thompson, Freddie Wong and Omega Jones.61
Outline
This essay is divided into three empirical chapters and a final summarizing chapter. In chapter 2 a video observation and analysis of an AP will be performed using the Goffman’s
dramaturgical concepts. This is done to give people uninitiated with AP an example of how it can look like in practice. Chapter 3 explores the first objective presented earlier in the aims and objectives section. That being what the interaction between the different AP actors looks like in practice. Chapter 4 examines the second objective that being what the interaction between AP content creators and their audience looks like. The summarization chapter will go over the previous chapters findings and answer the objectives before finally answering the overarching questions regarding APs appeal.
61 https://cypheroftyr.com/bio/, https://twitter.com/gabejamesgames?lang=en, https://twitter.com/dreamwisp?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor, https://twitter.com/BDaveWalters?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor, http://www.erikaishii.com/, https://twitter.com/mustangsart?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor, https://twitter.com/fwong, https://twitter.com/CriticalBard?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
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Chapter 2 – A theater of the mind
This chapter will break down an AP using Goffman’s dramaturgical concepts. This is done toexemplify how an AP might look in practice and to see whether AP interactions conform or differ from the dramaturgical perspective. The breakdown will not be done chronologically; instead selected excerpts have been picked out and analyzed. The AP chosen for this
observation is the first episode (titled The Beginning Begins) of a series called Fantasy High created by the YouTube channel Dimension 20.62 Fantasy High is a comedy AP series with a premise described as high fantasy meets an 80’s style John Hughes teen movie.63 The show creator and GM Brennan Lee Mulligan, jokingly put is as “Fantasy High, where we ask the question that has long gone unasked, what would happen if John Hughes ran a game of a tabletop RPG?” However, before beginning let’s look over Fantasy High to establish where it lies within the wider AP sphere.
It’s all AP because you’re really playing
Throughout the interviews a distinct and recurring method of categorizing AP into one of two classifications emerged. These two groupings concerned whether the AP was live or pre-recorded. In the interview with J Gray, the Media Ambassador at R. Talsorian Games, he explained the difference between live- and pre-recorded AP in the following way:
J: There are two kind of AP generally; there is live AP where you’re watching as they play,
and then there is recorded AP where it’s recorded and afterwards maybe they’ll edit out the ahs and the ums, they’ll edit out the dead spaces where you spend ten minutes looking up rules, the stuff that detracts from the flow of the game and the pacing.
The episode of Fantasy High being analyzed would be classified as a pre-recorded AP. This is clear due to recognizable editing elements present in the video such as jump cuts between the actors, added sound effects for emphasis, music, art and graphics.64 A scene in the episode where all these editing elements come together is when two of the PC gets into a fight. In this
62 https://youtu.be/_zZxCVBi7-k?t=5 (0:05-1:00), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zZxCVBi7-k 63 https://brennanleemulligan.com/fantasy-high/, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000455/ 64 https://youtu.be/kjIorkzxF0s
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scene the PC Fabian provokes the PC Gorgug into a fight, which gets stopped by a NPC named Vice-Principal Goldenhord.65
If we analyze each editing element in the scene as they occur one by one it looks like this: The scene begins with several jump cuts between Fabian and Gorgugs actors since they’re seated on opposite sides of the table they’re playing on. When Fabian punches Gorgug there is an added sound effect to emphasize the impact of the punch. As Gorgug takes damage a graphic appears to visualize the total amount of Hit Points (HP) he has in blue, part of it then turns red to show how much HP Gorgug has lost out of his total.66 Afterwards Fabian makes a boastful speech, which is accompanied by a snippet of music to highlight the sense of achievement Fabian feels. In retribution Gorgug attacks Fabian leading to a graphic of Fabians HP going down. As the fights breaks out the GM describes how a crowd gathers and starts chanting “fight, fight, fight“ meanwhile a faint background chant can be heard repeating this. Finally, the NPC Vice-Principal Goldenhord arrives to stop the fight. As he is introduced a picture of him is shown to visualize his appearance.
Pre-recorded AP appears to be somewhat similar to that of a TV show or a radio drama. Meaning its primarily narrative focused so the storytelling and character building takes precedent. Therefor pre-recorded APs tend to be highly edited to heighten certain character-moments and narrative beats as well as to maintain the pacing and flow of the story. Philip Harker-Smith the GM and one of the co-creators of the AP podcast Role To Cast had this to say regarding pre-recorded AP:
Philip: I only really like pre-recorded myself and I make a pre-recorded show. I think that
watching it live feels less like being part of the story then hearing a pre-recorded edited version does. So, sort of somewhat perversely I think that pre-recorded can sometimes, I guess it’s a bit broad to say it universal but for me it feels closer to being a player. Because when it’s your character who is on five health while the other people are taking their turn, looking things up or having their scene you’re naturally invested. You’re physically in the room and it makes a big difference. When you’re behind a screen and you’re just watching people, especially when it’s very highly produced and you got people around a nice table and
65 A NPC is a character controlled and portrayed by the GM that the PC are meant to and or can interact with.
66 Hit points sometimes also referred to as health points is common way in games of measuring how much damage a character can take before they die or fall unconscious.
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there is this amazing set or whatever. You aren’t there in that room and you’re actually disconnected from the story… For me the entertaining part is the storytelling. So, I want to pull people along with the players and the characters experiencing the story. And I feel like leaving in boring stuff hinders that in a way that it doesn’t for the people playing the game casually or when it was recorded.
When Philip says “boring stuff,” he’s seemingly referring to what is often termed as filler. Filler as a term is used to describe content or sections of a story that could be seen superfluous and that could be removed without changing the overall narrative. The idea of filler content doesn’t translate perfectly to AP since a lot of the material that gets edited out revolves around side conversations or rule discussions. However, since these might effect the narratives flow or pacing the general idea remains functionally the same.
Live AP on the other hand while still invested in storytelling and character building gives more focus to the overall TRPG experience. Including game mechanics, rules discussions, side conversations and jokes. Since the entire session is recorded and nothing is edited out it all remains part of the overall experience. Therefor the audience receives the full experience of a TRPG being played from start to finish. Rob who runs and GMs the live AP series Cyberpunk Uncensored had this to say about it:
Rob: Just the full gameplay so you’re seeing every aspect of the actual game.
Live AP also more often has a direct line of contact between the AP creators themselves and their audience. Simon Goudreault who goes under The Wandering DM and does live AP on the website Twitch, which has a live comment section feature, had this to say about audience interaction:
Simon: I love breaking the fourth wall, when I know there is an audience, I’ll often do things
for the audience, either an Easter egg or a wink at something. I will also often pull from the audience for minor things in the game like the name of a character for example, the name of a place. I went so far as to include them in one game I ran where the audience acted as the
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mischievous AI of a spaceship and so the audience could alter how the ship functioned in chat.67
Despite the differences listed here between pre-recorded- and live AP there doesn’t appear to be a strict line separating the two (except for the obvious difference of being either live or pre- recorded) in what they can and can’t do. While both live and pre-recorded AP seems to fall more naturally into certain approaches when it comes presentation and what is prioritized, there is still seemingly a degree of overlap between the two. Pre-recorded might look like the instinctive choice for narratively focused AP. While, live AP might seem better suited for audience interaction and/or showing off game mechanics. In practice however this is an overly broad and surfaces level observation concerning the two classifications of AP. For example, the AP Dungeons and Daddies while being pre-recorded implements audience interaction by allowing them to send in NPC names and/or fan created items that are later used in the game. There are also live APs such as Critical Role, which has long been praised for its narrative. Within the AP sphere there are differing opinions and even a minor ongoing debate concerning which type of AP that is more authentic and/or entertaining. Although, according to the interview candidates this debate is largely overblown. This is what Rob had to say about it:
Rob: It depends on why you’re watching; if you’re just watching for entertainment or
lightface value you might appreciate a more scripted game because it’s more entertaining, faster paced. But if you’re watching AP to see how the game is actually played you tend to want to see how the rules work and how the actual game is played including the
conversations in-between the role-playing and I think that’s where some of the debate starts… It’s all AP cause you’re really playing the game you know what I mean? It’s just how much of it are you showing and how much does that effect you defining what’s happening whether you’re actually calling it actual or not.
In summarization AP can be classified into two primary groupings, those being pre-recorded- and live AP. The different recording styles seemingly lend themselves more naturally to focus on certain elements within the overarching AP experience. The AP elements that have been pointed out include narrative, audience interaction and the inclusion of game mechanics.
67 The concept of the fourth wall is performance convention where there exist imagined walls between the performers and the audience. This stops them from directly interacting with each other. When Simon speaks of breaking the fourth this means that he is either directly or in character referring to and or communicating with the audience while he is performing.
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However, there is no strict line separating which of these elements either pre-recorded- or live AP can or can’t do. Regardless if an AP is aiming for narrative, audience interaction, game mechanics or combination of all three, this can be done, though the approach or structure must be tailored to fit the limitations of being either pre-recorded or live. Whatever the approach an AP does take these elements are important for its framing.
Framing the social stage
A central thesis in dramaturgy is that all scenes or social situations have a frame or framing. Frames according to Öhlander allows someone to sort through a number of real phenomena to conceptualize and interpret what is happening and to determine what kind of place one is in.68 In his dissertation Öhlander talks about how the nurses in a group home for people with dementia established two simultaneous frames. The first framing was a homely environment where the patients could relax and live a seemingly normal day-to-day existence.69 The second framing was that of a care facility, a therapeutic environment where the staff cared for and alleviated the dementia patient’s worries and symptoms.70 To maintain a frame there has to exist intersubjectivity between the actors involved. Meaning people within the framing need to confirm each other’s sensory interpretation of the place and its codes of conduct, otherwise the framing begins to falter.71 In case there are multiple framings that counteract one another, such as the example of the group home, it’s naturally harder to maintain the need level of intersubjectivity. This is where the concept of stigma comes into play. According to Goffman stigma is what occurs when an actor in a scene doesn’t uphold the expectations that the audience have for the specific situationor framing they’re in.72
Fantasy Highs framings, actors and audience
Fantasy High on examination also seems to exist between two simultaneous framings, each with slightly differing social expectations. However, in Fantasy Highs case these framings
68 Öhlander, 2005., S 95. 69 Öhlander, 2005., S 94-95. 70 Öhlander, 2005., ”Ibid”. 71 Öhlander, 2005., S 106-107.
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coexist without creating stigma. The First of these framings is that of a TRPG. As stated earlier a TRPG in practice functions as an imaginative and interactive group storytelling exercise. In this story all the actors take on a role either as GM or a PC. Let’s examine the group in Fantasy High to see an example of what kind of roles they’ve chosen to take on in this fantasy meets teen drama setting.
Fantasy High has seven actors, the Game Master Brennan and six player characters: Emily as Fig, Zach as Gorgug, Siobhan as Adaine, Lou as Fabian, Ally as Kristen and Brain as Riz.73 The GM acts as the narrator, describing the events unfolding in the story while also reacting and adapting it to the PCs choices and actions. The GM also functions as a rules moderator and arbitrator. Finally, the GM portrays any NPC that the PCs interact with. Here’s Brennan introducing himself:
“My names is Brennan Lee Mulligan, I’m the dungeon master for you guys this evening, we’re gonna be playing a little bit of a tabletop RPG.”
The PCs function as improvisational actors portraying the protagonists of the adventure. PCs will usually characterize themselves by adopting distinct personalities and/or mannerisms. In most TRPGs the PCs are motivated to diversify via playing separate classes or by specializing in different skillsets. Since each PC tends to have a unique yet limited skillset, cooperation is encouraged. The differing skills and abilities among the PCs are supposed to augment each other and make sure that every PC has distinct role within the group.
The first PC in Fantasy High is the Half-Elf Fighter Fabian Seacaster.74 Fabian is portrayed as an athletically gifted teenager from a wealthy family who comes off as posh and arrogant.75 Another aspect of Fabian is his admiration and close relationship to his (NPC) father William (Bill) Seacaster. William is a raffish, jaunty and eccentric retired pirate adventurer. The two share a close bond and Fabian longs to live up to his father legacy.76
“I’m Fabian Seacaster, son of Bill Seacaster and I’m here to be great!”
73 https://youtu.be/_zZxCVBi7-k?t=60 (1:00-1:41). 74 https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/fighter, https://www.dndbeyond.com/races/half-elf 75 https://youtu.be/_zZxCVBi7-k?t=129 (2:09-4:36). 76 https://youtu.be/_zZxCVBi7-k?t=325 (5:25-9:26).
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After Fabian there is the Human Cleric Kristen Applebees.77 Kristen is portrayed as a deeply religious teen (to the fictional deity Helio the God of Corn) from a conservative family and neighborhood.78 Kristen’s devotion partly steams from her being blessed and given magical powers by Helio. Kristen is eager to explore her new school and to socialize with her peers. Her parents however are apprehensive about Kristen mingling with people that are outside of their church or are non-human.79
“I really like the church, I really like the community and stuff like that, but I really wanted to come to this school and meet people who you know are not non-believers, just not believers yet, pre-believers.”
Thereafter we have the Half-Orc Barbarian Gorgug Thistlespring.80 As a Half-Orc Gorgug is a physically imposing figure, however personality wise he’s quiet, withdrawn and struggles making friends.81 Gorgugs adoptive parents Wilma and Digby love him but struggle relating to and offering him practical advice. This is partly due to the seemingly innate rage Gorgug possess as a Half-Orc; this contrasts his usually clam and somewhat goofy demeanor.82
“I had a weird dream where I got really mad, and then I woke up and my bed was broken.”
We also have the Elf Wizard Adaine Abernant.83 Adaine comes from a well-to-do upper-class family (The Abernants seem to be a parody of a stuffy upper-class English family) with unaffectionate parents and an overachieving sister who delights in tormenting Adaine. Adaine herself is an intelligent and headstrong individual. However, she regularly suffers from bouts of panic attacks, which make the high expectations placed on her difficult to handle. 84
“I was a Hudol but unfortunately, I failed the entrance exam to get into the upper school because I had… a little bit of a… panic attack. But Aguefort’s good too, Aguefort I’m happy to be at Aguefort, that’s good.”
77 https://www.dndbeyond.com/races/human, https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/cleric 78 https://youtu.be/_zZxCVBi7-k?t=597 (9:57-11:45). 79 https://youtu.be/_zZxCVBi7-k?t=705 (11:44-15:38). 80 https://www.dndbeyond.com/races/half-orc, https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/barbarian 81 https://youtu.be/_zZxCVBi7-k?t=970 (16:10-17:51). 82https://youtu.be/_zZxCVBi7-k?t=1092 (18:12-22:55). 83 https://www.dndbeyond.com/races/elf#Subrace, https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/wizard 84 https://youtu.be/_zZxCVBi7-k?t=1389 (23:09-34:12).
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Then there is the Goblin Rouge Riz Gukgak.85 Riz is a kid from the bad part of town being raised by his widow mother Sklonda. While very caring Sklonda is often absent due to her work as a detective. Riz idolizes his mother’s detective work and has picked up her formality; Riz even styles himself as an unlicensed private Investigator much to Sklondas dismay. While Riz claims to be very social he struggles making friends likely due to his formality and
obsession with solving crime despite only being a teenager.86
“I don’t have a lot of friends even though I’m pretty social, which is weird.”
Lastly, we have the Tiefling Bard Fig Faeth.87 Fig is a rebellious teen rocker who plays to her own tune, which often lands her in trouble. However, this behavior stems from some recent family issues. Figs mother Sandra Lynn had lied to Fig and her dad Gilear about him being Figs biological father, which caused them to split up. Fig feeling estranged from Sandra Lynn and Gilear now wants to find her real dad but her mother is against it, possibly because Figs biological father is a Demon.88
“I think I’m just gonna stay home and work on some music. I’ve got a song called My Dad is a Demon but He’s also a Deadbeat.”
While these roles might seem delightfully odd or just downright weird the players are able to faithfully inhabit them due to a willing suspension of disbelief. A willing suspension of disbelief commonly referred to as just suspension of disbelief describes the avoidance to critically examine or analyze surreal elements of art or speculative fiction. By willingly ignoring to question these surreal elements the audience is able to enjoy the work without being pulled out of the experience. In practice this operates as sort of an unspoken agreement between the speculative work itself and audience. If the audience agrees to keep an open mind the work will provide them with entertainment.
In dramaturgy the concept of the audience is a role like that of the actor, which everybody in a scene inhibits. Goffman describes how participants in everyday social scenes are constantly
85 https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/goblin, https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/rogue
86 https://youtu.be/_zZxCVBi7-k?t=2068 (34:28-41:39).
87 https://www.dndbeyond.com/races/tiefling, https://www.dndbeyond.com/classes/bard
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acting opposite and/or observing each other as audience members.89 According to Goffman the audience give actors feedback on their presentations during the interaction.90 Since all the participants in a scene are constantly switching between these two roles, they’re in fact all signaling to each other what is acceptable within the framing of the scene or situation.91
However, what is considered acceptable within a scene depends on the social context of the framing. According to Goffman the situation makes the person. With this statement Goffman meant that since framings dictate what is socially acceptable within a scene, this effects how actors can present themselves to be while still getting this self-presentation confirmed by the audience.92 This is because the audience has certain expectations based on the social context the framing provides. An actor needs to adhere to these social expectations in order to avoid creating stigma. An important part of the framing includes the physical environment the actors occupy which in this case is a studio set. The Dimension 20 set consists of a large table that sits within a translucent plexiglass dome structure with lights that change the color of the dome. In the middle of the table there is raised area used as a battle set with modeled train on either side. Three PCs are seated on either side of the table and at the head separated from the rest of players by a wooden screen sits the GM or DM in this case.93 The environment matters for the framing since it’s part of creating the social context for the scene.94
Within the framing of a TRPG the actors are expected to role-play, to inhabit their characters. A good example of this can be seen in the very first interaction between Lou as Fabian and Brennan as Fabians NPC father William.95 This interaction or improvised performance gives a good look into the dynamic of the relationship between the two characters. While this
interaction was going on the other players took on the role of the audience. They intently followed and laughed along with the scene. By doing so the audience signaled their approval to actors and confirmed that the expectations of the framing were being met.
Fantasy Highs second framing is simply a group of friends hanging out together. This fairly low stakes social situation allows for the actors to joke around and be playful with each other.
89 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S 79-80. 90 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S ”Ibid”. 91 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S ”Ibid”. 92 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S ”Ibid”. 93 https://rickperry.myportfolio.com/dimension-20-table 94 Gunnarsson Payne, & Öhlander, 2017., S 79-80. 95 https://youtu.be/_zZxCVBi7-k?t=336 (5:36-9:26).
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An example of such playful behavior can be seen when Emily and Ally tease Brain due to his character Riz having a detective style board with missing girls on it in his room.96
The actors having the opportunity to step out of character and poke fun at the game and each other seems to bring certain benefits. The humor appears to offset the TRPG from taking itself too seriously. These moments of respite are needed since TRPGs can often be a time intensive form of entertainment. This is good for the PCs since role-playing or inhabiting certain
characters can be emotionally and/or physically draining. It also helps the audience members since they now aren’t expected to maintain the suspension of disbelief indefinitely. They’re allowed to question it in a joking manner so long as it doesn’t completely break the illusion of the adventure. However, if taken too far this could presumably break the illusion that the actors and audience members have built up. Looking back at the earlier example where Emily and Ally joked about Riz this was very well handled. Brain simply reaffirmed that he was the actor in the scene and the others were currently audience members.97 This resulted in the TRPG framing being successfully reestablished while still allowing for a moment of poking fun at each other. This scene points out why the two framings of Fantasy High coexist without creating stigma. The two framings create a balance where those involved are allowed to fully immerse themselves in the fictional narrative they’re creating, while also letting them take a step back and simply enjoy the social aspect of spending time with friends and joking around.
In summarization this chapter has analyzed an episode of the AP series Fantasy High. First, the two classifications of AP those being live and pre-recorded were discussed. This was done to give context on the existing types of APs as well as inform readers what type of AP
Fantasy High belongs to. Afterwards excerpts of Fantasy High were analyzed to show how this particular AP looked in practice. This was achieved by applying Goffman’s dramaturgical concept. The results indicate that interactions within AP do indeed conform to the
dramaturgical perspective.
96 https://youtu.be/_zZxCVBi7-k?t=2146 (35:46-36:40) 97 https://youtu.be/_zZxCVBi7-k?t=2184 (36:24-37:00)
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Chapter 3 – The social contract
This chapter will examine what the interaction between the different social actors; those being the PCs and the GM look like in AP. The interaction between these actors is vital since the entertainment value of an AP is largely carried by the actors’ ability to effectivelycommunicate and play off one another.
Part game, part improvisational theatre, part jazz?
As an entertainment form AP shares many similarities with that of improvisational theatre. The psychologist Margareta Öhman describes improvisational theatre as a play without a finished script; the improviser’s actions are instead conceived of and acted out in the moment. However, Öhman states that there still exists a loose structure or agreement, which the
participants follow. This ensures that the improvisers’ actions are done in a collective spirit and that no individual has too much control over the performance.98 Öhman compares and exemplifies the structure of improvisational theatre with that of jazz music. A musician in a jazz band is often allowed a great deal of autonomy to improvise by adding variety, repetition or to push for a new rhythm. However, jazz musicians like improvisational actors are
expected to activity listen and adapt to their co-actors ideas and creative choices as well. This is crucial since without group cohesion the entire performance falls apart, be that musically or theatrically. 99 While this type of cohesion might come naturally to certain groups it won’t for others. Thankfully within the AP and TRPG space there exists tools and concepts that can aid in making sure everyone is on the same page.
A foundation of trust
While playing with a close-knit group there might exist an implicit understanding regarding what topics or themes are and aren’t acceptable within any given scene. Such an implicit understanding however is according to the interviewees the exception rather than rule. Simon
98 Öhman, Margareta, Det viktigaste är att få leka!, TPB, Johanneshov, 2012., S 160-164. 99 Öhman, 2012., S 162-164.
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said the following in regards to playing with his home group as opposed to playing with new people in an AP:
Simon: The players I have in my home group, the core I call them. The four of us met in high
school, not even high school damn it was in 7th grade and we stuck together, it’s been 22 years. There are a lot of unspoken rules between us… I know them so well that if I am prepping for a game, I know exactly how they’ll react to what I’m putting in. Whereas when you’re doing it on stream unless you know these people very well for the most part, you’re going to have to establish a social contract and that is something that might be more unspoken with a home game then with a public streamed game.
It’s vital that there exists an understanding between the different social actors in an AP of what is on and off the table so to speak. Otherwise, this could risk ruining the performance as well as hurting one of the participants either emotionally or mentally. J had this to say on the subject:
J: It’s either stated or unstated with various AP groups and needs to be. Because when
someone is uncomfortable, they shut down and when they shut down, they can’t play their character and then the whole thing comes tumbling down and not to mention that you’re hurting an actual person which sucks.
If an understanding isn’t already established or one is playing with a new group it’s generally advised to have what’s called a session zero before you play. In a session zero the participants discuss their expectations of the game and address possible boundaries before they begin playing.100 Rob explained how he went about doing this in his games:
Rob: I’ll usually have session zero where I’ll talk to the players about my style of play, their
style of play, what they want out of the game and what I enjoy getting out of the game. Then we go over things like we’re not going to tolerate any racism or offensive talk, no excessive sexual descriptions and things like that. So, every Game Master typically whether you’re streaming or at home will usually go over that with the players and everybody has their limitations and prerequisites when playing.
100 Within TRPG terminology a session is every time group plays. In a session zero the participants don’t usually play but instead establish expectations and possible ground rules before beginning to play actual game sessions.
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In a session zero the social actors are essentially establishing what Simon earlier called a social contract. Social contracts function like informal agreements were those involved acknowledge and commit to certain rules or conditions. These conditions aim to ensure the comfort and the ease of mind for all the social actors involved. This is achieved by
establishing set parameters of social acceptance, so that all the social actors are aware of what is and isn’t allowed within the particular framing. This is especially important for APs since the content is publicly available; Rob had this to say about it:
Rob: Even though it’s the same for me at home or when streaming I think it’s more important
for streamers to go over this because you know you’re streaming it in front of people. You are not just at home with you and your friends so you’ve got to be a little more aware of other people’s feelings and try not to push other people’s buttons too much.
According to the interviewees safety tools are often implemented within social contracts. Many of these safety tools can be found in the TTRPG Safety Toolkit resource document created by Kienna Shaw and Lauren Bryant-Monk. This document compiles a list of therapeutic tools and concepts that can be applied to TRPG gaming.101 Simon who knows Kienna and Lauren said this about the document and his stance on safety tools in TRPGs: Simon: The safety tool document that was released on social media was made by Kienna
Shaw and Lauren Bryant-Monk. They compiled it more then they made because most of these safety tools are things that are used by therapist and by other health professionals. It stems from that and was adapted to gaming. I know both Kienna and Lauren so even before they released it; we were already using them in the games that we were in… I am a big proponent of safety tools and I use them in all of my streamed games and even many of my private games aside for those with the friends that I have known for twenty plus years. Even with them I’ve talked about it, just never happened that we needed them. But I will use social contracts and safety tools in every one of my games. Because you don’t know everyone you’re going to play with and even with the audience I could say something that is totally benign to me but it resonates with someone who is watching. And now for some reasons they’re crying and they’re having a hard time, having a panic attack because I triggered something.
101 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/114jRmhzBpdqkAlhmveis0nmW73qkAZCj, https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1583202183294.pdf,
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One of the safety tools present in the document is that of lines and veils, which became a prominent talking point in several of the interviews. Lines and veils are used by the social actors to set up boundaries or limits on certain types of content within the TRPG. J said this about lines and veils:102
J: The concept of lines and veils is very important. Basically, the idea is certain ideas, certain
topics, certain scenes can make people very uncomfortable.
Lines are hard limits or boundaries set up by the GM or one of the PCs. When one of the actors sets a line regarding any type of content, topic or idea it means that it will not appear during the game at all. J gave the following two examples:103
J: This person is a former soldier they’re suffering from PTSD, having scenes with intense
gunfights or warzones makes them uncomfortable and risks triggering a flashback. That’s a very intense version. A less intense version is this person is an arachnophobe and you very graphically describing spiders will trigger that arachnophobia. So, they have lines which are; I would prefer you do not cross this line period, do not include this content in your game because it will make me very uncomfortable or it will hurt me in some way and I’ll need to leave.
Veils on the other hand could be described as soft limits. While veil content is allowed it’s relegated to the background or as something, which is acknowledged but not focused on. J put it like this:
J: Then they have veils which are I don’t mind this content being in the game but I prefer that
during that point it fades to black and we say it happens off camera so to speak.
While there are many more safety tools, they all functionally exist to provide the social actors with methods in which to maintain the social contract they’ve established. The Social contract is fundamental since it enables the social actors involved to establish a joint understanding regarding social acceptability. This is especially important for AP content creators due to
102 https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1583202183294.pdf 103 https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1583202183294.pdf
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them often playing with new people or other creators with whom they presumably do not share an unspoken bond with or implicit understanding of the others limits.
In summarization the interaction between the social actors within AP can be described as an interactive and improvised group performance similar to that of improvisational theatre. Due to these improvised performances not being scripted almost anything can happen since the social actors are only hindered by their imagination and the game mechanics. The wide variety of possible topics or themes that can occur has the possibility to catch the AP actors off guard and negatively affect their performance and/or cause them distress. Therefore, the establishing of socials contracts and use of safety tools are encouraged to set up boundaries or social parameters of acceptance before playing.
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Chapter 4 – Knowing people on two
different levels
This chapter examines what the interaction between AP content creators and their audiences look like. The chapter will cover the idea of social worlds and the enjoyment the audiences receive from getting to know AP creators on both a fictional and personal level.
Social worlds
The notion of social worlds as described by Pink are the domains of social life that while bounded are not airtight.104 Researchers often immerse themselves in these worlds as a way to learn about the people who inhabit them. According to Pink it functions as a heuristic device meaning it’s an open-ended way of exploring a question.105 Within the notion of social worlds, the concept of community has long been prominent. Communities are described as a general “sense of human togetherness, evoking a social world that is warm and supportive.”106 Communities are believed to form among social groups and subcultures that are tied to a certain geographical location.107 A football team and its associated fans are common type of community with a strong tie to a certain location. These football communities are traditionally centered in a local area that has several collective meeting grounds for the community. The English football club and team Chelsea for example could be said to have a collective meeting ground at its home arena of Stamford Bridge.108
However, the Internet has replaced these local communities to become the most dominant way in which to foster social formations according to sociologist Manuel Castell.109 While local communities still exist they’ve been reconfigured to fit into the more individualistic way people now create their own geographically dispersed communities through personal
networks online.110 Kozinets calls these new personal networked based communities’ 104 Pink, 2016., S 101-103. 105 Pink, 2016., S “Ibid”. 106 106 Pink, 2016., S 103-105. 107 107 Pink, 2016., S 105-107. 108 https://www.chelseafc.com/en/about-chelsea/history/stadium-history?pageTab=Building%20a%20Bridge 109 109 Pink, 2016., S 105-106. 110 110 Pink, 2016., S “Ibid”.
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cyberspaces.111 AP as a social world could certainly be classified as one or even several cyberspaces since its audience is tied to the Internet or to specific websites and not to any geographical location. Most APs and their associated audience tend to have multiple
cyberspaces or communities, which spread over several sites or platforms. Robs audience for example has cyberspaces over both Facebook and Discord.112 These AP cyberspace
communities like local physical ones also form bonds of togetherness via engaging with one another. They make inside jokes, have discussions or debates, and create their own
terminology or slang. An example of this can be found with Critical Role fans, which refer to themselves as Critters.113 These AP communities also engage with each other and content creators by making and sharing art based around characters or references to the actual APs they watch. The community manager for the award-winning AP series Dungeons and Daddies Ashley Nicollette had this to say about messages and fan art that they’ve received:114
Ashley: We do receive a lot of comments from fans! We actually do have a P.O box, too, so
we even receive physical mail and gifts: herbal tea blends, custom Funkopos and even written letters. There's a wide variety of digital fan art as well: cosplays, drawn art, TikTok dubs, Christmas trees! Compiling these various comments is a large part of my job - for every episode, I compile sentiment reports so that the team can see all of the wonderful things our fans make and send us. Our subreddit is fan-run and includes a lot of fan art and user created memes around the show content. Lately, we've been receiving a lot of messages from fans who are sharing their struggles with the global pandemic and how the show helps them in these trying times. We never expected to receive these sorts of sentiments but it's become quite a common occurrence lately and we're very honored to know we can have a small part in brightening people's days.115
Since AP audiences and creators both primarily occupy digital spaces they have unique level of interaction and engagement compared to other entertainment creators and their audiences.
111 111 Pink, 2016., S “Ibid”, Kozinets, 2019., S 8-9.
112 https://www.cyberpunkuncensored.com/ (Look under Choombas)
113 https://critrole.com/faq/, https://www.reddit.com/r/criticalrole/wiki/faq#wiki_why_are_fans_called_.27critters.27.3F 114 Kozinets, 2019., S 8-9.
115 Example of fan art or creations Ashley sent. https://twitter.com/dungeonsanddads/status/1309657862478745600,
