How Dungeons & Dragons changed the way we play / Aaron Trammell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Trammell, Aaron, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dungeons and Dragons (Game).

Dungeons and Dragons (Game)--Design.

Dungeons and Dragons (Game)--Social aspects.

Fantasy games--Design.

Fantasy games.

Fantasy games--Social aspects.

Genre:

Role-playing games

Place of Publication:

Duke University Press, 2026.

Summary:

"How Dungeons & Dragons Changed the Way We Play shows how the designers of fantasy game worlds embedded a set of conservative values within the architecture of Dungeons & Dragons. Aaron Trammell investigates the development and reception of Dungeons & Dragons' early editions and argues that the game innovated influential mechanics that were largely based on the dreams, fears, and even prejudices of its designers. These mechanisms, pioneered by Gary Gygax and other gaming designers, have today become blueprints for countless other games that were designed in the decades following the release of Dungeons & Dragons in 1974. Trammell scrutinizes the design architecture of Dungeons & Dragons: a platform for quantifying and transforming culture into game mechanics. At its heart, How Dungeons & Dragons Changed the Way We Play tells the story how the design architecture of Dungeons & Dragons was developed to exclude women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA folks, and how these fans pushed back and innovated rules that made Dungeons & Dragons the inclusive franchise it is today"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

A Short History of Dungeons & Dragons

From Where Do Dungeons Come?

Quantifying the Body: A Blueprint for Avatar Design

Quantifying Culture: Adventures with Orientalism

Quantifying Religion: Dungeons, Dragons, and the Outer Planes

A Culture of Hegemonic Masculinity

The Ludic Bestiary

Mastering the Self Through Role-Play

How Dungeons & Dragons Became Inclusive.

ISBN:

1-4780-6267-3