Archive for sociology

Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing Games as Social Worlds

Posted in Books with tags , , , on June 1, 2008 by frans

This book is a classic in the area of fantasy role-playing studies; making use of Erving Goffman and other social-psychological theories it provides useful perspectives to the use of imagination and the ‘role’ or ‘game character’ also in digital play experiences.

Fine, Gary Alan (1983) Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing Games as Social Worlds. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. Amazon.com preview available here.

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Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades

Posted in Online papers with tags , , , , , on March 9, 2008 by frans

This is the classic paper that is often quoted in studies into online player typologies, online sociology and player psychology:

Bartle, Richard (1996) ‘Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDs’. The Journal of Virtual Environments, 1(1). Online:

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