Spectating Play: Theatre, RPGs, and Critical Spectatorship
Nicholas Orvis discusses the links between theatre and role-playing; what it means to perform and to watch others performing.
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Playtest Material launches its first ever subscription drive
Playtest Material needs 75 subscribers to break even — one of those could be you.
Issue One of Playtest Material: A look inside our pages
I’m thrilled today to be able to say that the layout for the first issue of Playtest Material is complete.
Though there are still refinements to be made, (proofreading, reference checking and final layout shifts) we’re looking at almost 100 pages and over 44,000 words of analysis,
Role-playing Games Are Raucous and Transformative
Introductions from the editors to the first issue of Playtest Material.
Determining a Melodramatic Sensibility in Tabletop Role-playing Games
Kayla Dice presents an argument for the existence of a developing melodramatic sensibility within TTRPGS, based on the analytic criteria of heightened emotionality, pathos, and meaningful dichotomies.
Disability, Dignity, and Hope in Apocalypse Keys
Luka Brave writes about Apocalypse Keys' monstrous PCs as a metaphor for the disability community, and hones in on Robert Perske's concept of "dignity of risk," which states that vulnerable groups, should be allowed the freedom to weigh the potential risks of a choice for themselves.
Polyhedral Diegesis: Mimicry, Narration, and the Linguistic Turn in TTRPGs
Benjamin Klug writes about classical concepts of mimesis and diegesis, applying them to analyse the language games played during a TTRPG.
Issue Two: Histories
It’s my great honour as guest editor to introduce the second issue of Playtest Material, “Histories.” The call for submissions for this issue will open to the public September 15 and close October 15.
Call for Submissions
We welcome work engaging with historical memory, historiography, archival practice, nostalgia, lineage,
First Look: Writing the Strange: An Interview with Elizabeth Little
This interview, with Elizabeth Little, creator of You Will Die In This Place, was conducted for a piece on lyric games for Playtest Material Issue One.
First Look: Someplace Between There and Here
This text explores the permeability of fantasy and the physical world in role-playing games.