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Saturday, December 25

Book Review: The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games


I've just finished reading Michael Tresca's new book, The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games, and I wanted to share my thoughts. It's a grand history of both role-playing in its many forms and Tresca's own games and explorations over the last several decades. His love of games and imagination rings clearly throughout his perceptive analyses and clear, cogent descriptions of games, ideas, and behavior. He brings a thoughtful, theoretical background, based in his own wide experience in gaming and his graduate work examining the behavior of online gamers.

I highly recommend The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games for both its historiographical content and its exploration of the theoretical boundaries of various forms of role-playing and our sprawling hobby overall.


Read more at Games & Education.

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posted by Mike Tresca at 6:37 AM | 0 comments


Want more? Please consider contributing to my Patreon; Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and the web; buy my books: The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games, The Well of Stars, and Awfully Familiar.

The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games book review

The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games is a great book to learn how and why certain RPG game mechanics came about. Surprisingly, it is one of the few of its kind.

Every RPG really has the same goal in mind, for the player to achieve agency with his or her character. That is, they want the player to feel like they actually are their character. This is the essence of "role-playing." Whether this is achieved by taking on the role of an established character like Kaim Argonar in Lost Odyssey on the Xbox 360 or creating your own character in Dungeons and Dragons at your kitchen table, the general principle has remained the same for decades. The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games is a must-read for anybody interested in playing or ever creating an RPG.


Read more at National Xbox 360 Examiner.

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posted by Mike Tresca at 6:35 AM | 0 comments


Want more? Please consider contributing to my Patreon; Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and the web; buy my books: The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games, The Well of Stars, and Awfully Familiar.

Wednesday, December 22

The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games

My book is on sale now! If you'd like to purchase it for a 30% discount contact me and I can set up your order.

Tracing the evolution of fantasy gaming from its origins in tabletop war and collectible card games to contemporary web-based live action and massive multi-player games, this book examines the archetypes and concepts within the fantasy gaming genre alongside the roles and functions of the game players themselves. Other topics include: how The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings helped shape fantasy gaming through Tolkien’s obsessive attention to detail and virtual world building; the community-based fellowship embraced by players of both play-by-post and persistent browser-based games, despite the fact that these games are fundamentally solo experiences; the origins of gamebooks and interactive fiction; and the evolution of online gaming in terms of technological capabilities, media richness, narrative structure, coding authority, and participant roles.

Read more at McFarland Publishing.

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posted by Mike Tresca at 11:02 AM | 0 comments


Want more? Please consider contributing to my Patreon; Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and the web; buy my books: The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games, The Well of Stars, and Awfully Familiar.