GDC Vault is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC
This is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Tabletop Summit: The Elements of TTRPGs: A Starting Point
If film, video games, and fiction can have elements, what are the elements of tabletop roleplaying games? This panel presents a rubric for general elements that can be found in most, if not all, tabletop roleplaying games. It is less about establishing universal principles that will make a tabletop roleplaying game "bad" or "good," and more about starting a discussion about tabletop games that players and designers can both benefit from. Any kind of review or critical discussion about a games medium cannot start without definitions. By dissecting these nine elements Fantasy, World, Body, Tension, Design, Principles, Form, Touch, and Intentthe panel presents important questions that designers may ask themselves during the practice of their art. And, through providing starting definitions and presenting examples of tabletop games themselves, create critical scaffolding for tabletop roleplaying games as a vehicle for storytelling.
Did you know free users get access to 30% of content from the last 2 years?