Distributed Roleplay: A Proposed Game Mechanic for Exploring Difficult Social Concepts

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 11:25 am
  In Roundtable Session: Care, Resistance, and Learning in Media (Table 35)

Abstract

Roleplay games can provide learners with a unique environment for exploring difficult historical or social concepts. These games allow players to better understand the perspectives of others by creating opportunities to make choices and experience consequences in a game world that approximate those in the material world. While game worlds are generally safer than the material world, they may not be entirely free from harm, especially when they contain painful or violent narratives. This paper describes an ongoing case study of distributed roleplay in a game for teaching sexual consent: The Hook Up Game. Preliminary findings suggest that distributed roleplay can mitigate some of the harms associated with traditional roleplay while maintaining the experiential learning affordances.

Author

• Caleb Probst, University of Wisconsin - Madison