Supporting Identity Exploration and Formation in Collaborative Tabletop Role-Playing Games

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Playful Learning: Games, Puzzles, and Play (Table 2)

Abstract

Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) serve as collaborative storytelling systems whose affordances allow players to embody characters and navigate shared narratives, often negotiating between individual and group identities inside and outside the game. In this paper, we utilize observations from two different Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) campaigns as real-life examples from a Game Master (GM) and adventurer player of how TTRPGs facilitate identity exploration and engage players in decision-making that reflects both personal and group dynamics. We advocate that cooperative and storytelling elements of TTRPGs cultivate identity formation via problem-solving within a shared narrative, suggesting broader implications for fostering collaborative thinking through playful systems in educational contexts.

Authors

• Grace Jean-Joo Choi, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Mara Danoff, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Stephanie Yang, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Nathan Holbert, Teachers College, Columbia University