Ethos in Roleplaying Games

[Mmagsgreen]

Hello! My name is Matt Green and I am a PhD student in the Writing and Rhetoric program at George Mason University. I am conducting a study on tabletop roleplaying games; with this study, I’m interested in how players explore different identities through their characters.


Toward this end, I was hoping some of you might be interested in filling out a four question yes/no survey. If you are, I would like to direct you to this page, which contains the informed consent document with a link to the survey at the bottom. I’ll also be keeping an eye on this thread to chat in case you’re interested in talking about this sort of thing.


We anticipate the survey should take you no more than five minutes.


Here’s the link to the informed consent document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzPgFMohGCl4WTdtaURoZ0tneDg/view?usp=sharing


IRBNet Number: 1151502-1


Earlier this year, I posted a thread for a different TRPG study. You can find the slides from the subsequent presentation I gave at the 2017 Conference on College Composition and Communication here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzP...ew?usp=sharing

[TheTeaMustFlow]

I think the first question could stand to be a little clearer. I assume it meant "did your character share a similar outlook on life to you"?

[Mmagsgreen]

I think the first question could stand to be a little clearer. I assume it meant "did your character share a similar outlook on life to you"?

That is the correct interpretation, and thanks for the note!

[EccentricCircle]

I wonder if limiting it to the most recent game is necessarily a good idea. The last character I played was only for two sessions, so playing that character didn't notably change my outlook. However in the past I have definitely found playing different characters to provide different outlooks and perspectives. I think that if you embrace that sort of gaming it can be one of the most rewarding aspects of this hobby.

I have definitely found that I have adopted verbal quirks or different word use for a long term character, and later found myself slipping into them out of game. I've found that playing against gender/race/religion etc can be a very useful thought experiment to examine ones own understanding of the issues relating to identity. But I don't know to what extent that sort of gaming has affected my relationships with the other players in the game, but it is certainly a useful experience.

[Recherché]

I really wish there was an option for more complex answers than yes and no or a place to explain some of the answers.

Most of my characters are based around one portion of my personality magnified to an extreme but they aren't my normal personality entirely. Playing as them can shift me more towards part of myself that already exist. For example, Izzy, the character that I played last session, shares my pacifism and takes it to an even higher level because she's not burdened with my occasional pragmatism. Also because the moral/ethical choices she faces are much different than the ones I face in real life. Playing as Izzy does put a focus on what I believe and makes me have to stand up and justify it in ways I don't do everyday. But it doesn't make me act in completely different ways. It just shifts the emphasis.

[War_lord]

I didn't answer, with four yes or no questions I seriously doubt that the purpose of this is to gather any useful data.