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Līber Lūdōrum

Līber Lūdōrum

exploring the print & material culture of tabletop gaming

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Category Archives: Theory

Games & Systems

The tradeoff between flexibility and direction, and the pitfalls of thinking about both

Posted byLīber LūdōrumMarch 20, 2023March 20, 2023Posted inTheoryTags:Ava Islam, Ben Milton, Caillois, Carolina Death Crawl, Errant, Fiasco, improv, Jason Morningstar, Linda Codega, Questing Beast, Shab-al-Hiri Roach, ttrpg5 Comments on Games & Systems

Callers, Multilogue, and the GM as Ant Queen

Army ant bivouac by Geoff Gallice. Used under CC BY 2.0.

More musings on communication and structure in TTRPGs

Posted byLīber LūdōrumJanuary 2, 2023Posted inTheoryTags:communication, complexity, Theory, ttrpgLeave a comment on Callers, Multilogue, and the GM as Ant Queen

Trustlessness & Centralization in TTRPGs

System as social contract between designers and players

Posted byLīber LūdōrumOctober 10, 2022Posted inTheoryTags:agency, design, gameplay, incompleteness, rpg theory, rulebooks1 Comment on Trustlessness & Centralization in TTRPGs

Revaluating RPGs, Abridged

A summary & discussion of my paper about RPGs and art

Posted byLīber LūdōrumApril 13, 2022October 21, 2022Posted inTheoryTags:Theory, ttrpg3 Comments on Revaluating RPGs, Abridged

A Typology of TTRPG Consumers

Some thoughts on understanding behavior in the TTRPG market

Posted byLīber LūdōrumFebruary 14, 2022Posted inTheoryTags:behavioral economics, consumers, industry, ttrpg3 Comments on A Typology of TTRPG Consumers

Science & System

Johannes Kepler's platonic solid model of the Solar System, from Mysterium Cosmographicum, 1596. Public domain.

Philosophy of science as RPG theory

Posted byLīber LūdōrumOctober 4, 2021January 12, 2022Posted inTheoryTags:philosophy of science, Theory, ttrpg1 Comment on Science & System

Databases & Dragons

Dragon by Pearson Scott Foresman. Public domain. Modified using Text-Image's ASCII converter tool.

New media’s influence on RPG design and experience

Posted byLīber LūdōrumSeptember 6, 2021January 12, 2022Posted inTheoryTags:narrative, new media, ttrpg1 Comment on Databases & Dragons

Story & 💿🐴

How narratology can clarify (and confound) discussions of story in RPGs

Posted byLīber LūdōrumAugust 2, 2021January 12, 2022Posted inTheoryTags:discourse, narrative, narratology, story, Theory, ttrpgLeave a comment on Story & 💿🐴

Table Talk

TTRPGs as communication & communication in TTRPGs

Posted byLīber LūdōrumFebruary 15, 2021June 6, 2022Posted inTheoryTags:communication, rpg, Theory, ttrpg3 Comments on Table Talk

Roleplayer’s Dilemma

Making tough choices in RPG theory and game theory

Posted byLīber LūdōrumJanuary 18, 2021January 12, 2022Posted inTheoryTags:design, game theory, play styles, rpg, rpg history, rpg theory, ttrpgLeave a comment on Roleplayer’s Dilemma

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