Project Director

Heinrici, Dominik

Department Examiner

Green, April

Department

Dept. of Education

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

With the introduction of multimodality enhancements to literature, such as e-books and audiobooks, alongside the resurgence of Tabletop Roleplaying Games such as Dungeons & Dragons, there has been little consideration for how these two seemingly unrelated fields marry into a new opportunity for literary development. These games often have a fundamental purpose: storytelling. Storytelling has long since been an oral tradition which has been converted into its literary form: books. Books tell us their story without the need of company and are often written by a sole author. However, with more and more Tabletop RPGs coming into popularity, storytelling is reverting back into a collective ritual. However, the story is complicated by chancing the dice, multiple players weighing in on the narrative, and the intrinsic immersive nature of these games. Even so, Tabletop RPGs are now paving the way for a new method of narrative: one that is being created and shaped as the players involve themselves at the table, but also by the luck of the rolls, what backstories each player contributes, and even the music and battlemaps created. Therefore, these methods of storytelling are quickly evolving into a new genre of literacy, featuring immersive and interactive narration alongside multiple-authorship. This type of storytelling, influenced by not only the Game Master, but also the players, battlemaps, and dice, truly becomes a new type of literacy that Crits Different!

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgements to Dominik Heinrici for guiding this research and reminding me to keep rolling the dice and April Green for providing her expertise.

Degree

B. A.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

Date

5-2021

Subject

Dungeons and Dragons (Game); Literacy; Interactive art; Storytelling

Keyword

collaboration; dungeons and dragons; game; immersion; literacy; tabletop roleplaying games

Discipline

English Language and Literature | Language and Literacy Education

Document Type

Theses

Extent

[i], 19 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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