Dungeons, Dragons and Drama: The Tabletop RPG

Tabletop, or “pen-and-paper,” role-playing games revolutionized the game industry beginning in the 1970s by introducing complex storytelling to games. Even in 2012, most story-driven video games are either RPGs or incorporate RPG elements; and many massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) are RPGs, as well. The goal this semester is straightforward: Create your own tabletop RPG campaign. And just as you read aloud a screenplay in a screenwriting workshop, our roundtable critiques will involve playing through campaigns in class.