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The Magic of Role Playing Games with FutureTech's Resident RPGuru John!

Writer's picture: John MilliganJohn Milligan


Introduction to Futuretech’s Gaming Program

We have just begun our new after school tabletop roleplay gaming program. This hobby is something of a passion of mine, some might even say obsession.


So I am very excited to share this with the amazing young people at Futuretech. Some of you may be asking what even is a tabletop roleplaying game?


This blog will give you a brief primer on just this, and more importantly, why you should be excited should this also become your young person's new interest.


Tabletop Roleplaying Games: 101

Role Playing games are essentially collaborative games of playing make believe, but with formalised structures and rules (unlike say, playing house or cops and robbers).


Also unlike games of simple make believe, they are games that involve actual stakes and challenges the players need to overcome.


Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) was the first commercial game of its kind, and celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Throughout its many iterations over the past 50 years D&D has largely remained the most popular game of its kind.


Many people who started playing way back then still continue to this day, some people have even had games that have been running continuously for decades!


However, there are now multitudes of other games out there!


Traveller and Call of Cthulhu, their first editions were published in 1977 and 1981 respectively, so have been around nearly as long as D&D. Apocalypse World (2010) and Blades in the Dark (2017) are modern, highly influential games, which in the intervening years have inspired a profusion of off-shoot games that (broadly) utilise the same rules.


This medium is more popular than it has ever been, and we are in many ways in a golden age of tabletop gaming. Today, roleplaying games have very wide ranging publishers and producers, along with audiences, themes and genres.


The complexity of the rules between different games also varies widely, from dense multiple rule tomes, to incredibly minimal systems with core rules that only take up a page or two. 



But… How do they Actually Play?

While there are an abundance of games out there now, most games do follow the pattern set by D&D.


One player takes on the role of the referee or game master (GM), who describes the world and all its other inhabitants (otherwise known as Non-Player Characters or NPCs).


The other players take on the role of an individual single Player Character (PCs), and describe what they want their player characters to do in this shared world.


The referee describes the outcome of their intended actions. Sometimes the rules will interject into this game play loop, usually if what the players want to do is risky or where the outcome is uncertain, in which case the referee will ask for a dice roll to help determine the outcome.


The Greatest Game Ever Invented

So, in essence the game play loop is a conversation between the referee and the group of players, and sometimes dice are rolled.


But what makes this (in my completely unbiased opinion) the greatest type of game ever invented?


They are highly social games, but their structure means you do not need to be an extrovert to participate.


They are about self expression, inclusivity and individuality. And from that foundation, the players collaborate to see how each player's unique skills and ways of thinking are important in achieving a shared goal.


These games are all about problem solving, but lateral thinking and creativity are often more important than knowledge of the rules (especially in the games I favour).


These games heavily involve imagination and engaging with creative fiction, but you do not need to be Tolkien to contribute to the fiction or fantasy that is being created collaboratively at the table.


Anyone can play. In fact, the game is more interesting when people of all experience levels and mindsets come to the table. 





The Benefits of Playing

While more formal research is certainly warranted, studies indicate these games provide educational, developmental, social, therapeutic and mental health benefits.


A recent study conducted by the University of Plymouth UK, investigated the ability of tabletop roleplaying games to provide a safe environment for where autistic adults to develop relationships with other autistic adults.


From the paper’s lay abstract:


“Analysis showed that while real-life interactions could be challenging, in TTRPG play, they felt they experienced significantly fewer struggles. Results suggested that TTRPGs can provide a safe space environment where autistic adults can engage in productive social interactions with like-minded individuals. It also may allow autistic participants to experience ‘bleed’ or the ability to take on a new character that changes the way they feel about themselves outside of the game.”



Therapeutic roleplay is empirically well established. A study from 2021 sought to investigate evidence for how this might apply to Dungeons and Dragons.

In short, the findings proved promising though more research was needed to conclusively support D&D in a therapeutic context.


“It appears that D&D facilitates higher levels of creativity and empathy. This was linked to a variety of other factors, for example, maintaining friendships and general feelings of connectedness, exploring varying lifestyle models, as well as a heightened ability to consider group’s needs and more balanced differential moral reasoning.”



Looking Forward

This just touches the tip of the iceberg, and while all of these skills and practices hold true for both players and the referee, the latter is also effectively a designer (and host, facilitator, and team manager).


This also overlaps with my day job as a product designer; someone who researches, designs, tests, and most importantly co-creates, products and services to meet business and user needs.


I mention this because while I am very keen to run some games at Futuretech, I also can’t wait to see how together we might develop this program further in the near future and hold space for our kids to design and influence their own experiences.


I greatly look forward to helping foster not just a great gaming group, but also helping some budding designers to create their own fiction, worlds, games, mechanics and systems. 


Conclusion

Both players and would-be designers need to embrace collaboration, taking chances, learning through others, and testing ideas even if it means failing.

This is in order to learn, iterate and build something all the better for it.


These creative, social, interpersonal, and problem solving skills (phew) are highly transferable to not just my own profession but honestly, to life in general.


These do not need to be innate skills (if that even is such a thing), but are something that anyone can grow and hone through practice in the right environment.


With an open mind and heart, anyone can play these games to learn and explore ideas about the world, people, and even themselves, through play in a safe, engaging and neuro-affirming environment.


So come join us at Futuretech and roll some funny dice with us!



About the Author

John is a product designer with strong research and problem-solving skills, using empathy and human centred design methods to shape his approach to design. With a background in technology and innovation, he’s also passionate about community-focused design, especially within social enterprises like Futuretech.


A dedicated tabletop roleplaying game enthusiast, John is also venturing into writing, designing and self-publishing gaming products and books. At Futuretech, he leads afterschool gaming workshops, where he combines his design expertise with his love for gaming. He’s also an illustrator and digital artist, resuming his practice after a (very) long hiatus.

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