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This thesis analyzes current participatory practices, distinguishing hybridised gaming styles while retaining traditional tabletop play. An Internet survey supports the study, exploring how community matters during play and what audiences find compelling in constructing fictitious identities through shared play. Findings discuss experiences of entertainment, fantasy, community, and preferred D&D editions, arguing the game supports identity exploration and lasting real-world effects via long-term relationships.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/a-living-and-breathing-world-examining-participatory-practices-within-dungeons-dragons-thesis/153487/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/a-living-and-breathing-world-examining-participatory-practices-within-dungeons-dragons-thesis/153487.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Sophia Brooks","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-18","2026-08-28",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",12,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What participatory practices does the thesis examine in Dungeons & Dragons?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"The thesis analyzes current participatory practices in D&D, including evolving hybridised gaming styles while also accounting for retained traditional tabletop play. It focuses on how play formats shape participant experiences.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How does the study address community and identity during gameplay?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"Research questions investigate the importance of community when playing Dungeons & Dragons and the appeal of constructing fictitious identities within the group through notions of play. The findings emphasize ongoing community formation and identity negotiation.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What data and methods are used to support the conclusions?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"An Internet survey was developed to answer the research questions. Survey data is presented, analyzed, and contrasted with existing role-playing game scholarship, with findings organized around themes like entertainment, fantasy, and community.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},153487,1787876987,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":130,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962084925636,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","“A Living and Breathing World…”: Examining Participatory Practices Within Dungeons & Dragons  \nby Corey Ryan Walden  \nA thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree  \nof  \nMaster of Communication (MCS)  \nJuly 18, 2015  \nSchool of Communication Studies  \nii  \nCopyright © 2015  \nby Corey Ryan Walden  \niii  \nABSTRACT  \nPermeated and referenced throughout popular culture, Dungeons & Dragons has become iconic as the cardinal and archetypal tabletop role-­‐playing game. Participants have been drawn to D&D for over forty years, departing into imagined and collaborative fantasy worlds. This thesis is concerned with analysing current participatory practices in D&D, accounting for evolving styles of hybridised gaming and retentions of traditional tabletop play. It ventures beyond initial conceptual enquiries, developing tangible conclusions to the questions: “How important is the idea of community when playing Dungeons & Dragons?” and “What is appealing about constructing fictitious identities within the group, actualised through notions of play?” To assist in answering these questions an Internet survey was developed. Survey data is presented, analysed, and contrasted with existing role-­‐playing game scholarship. Emergent findings discuss participant experiences of “entertainment” “fantasy”,“community”, and preferred “D&Deditions”. It is strongly contended that D&D transcends the superficialities associated with a “game”. Participants powerfully engage—transmuting participatory experiences into broader realms of purpose and meaning. The game facilitates the continual formation and negotiation of community and identity, demonstrating its wider socio-­‐cultural applicability. The ability and appeal to engage with substantial identity exploration is clearly observable within D&D practices. The game offers participants accessibility into divergent paradigms of reality. Participants’ playful explorations have a lasting effect in the “real world”. Finally, participants develop and enjoy a strong sense of community through their long-­‐term gaming relationships. Regardless of whether these communities are enacted in “online” or “offline”spheres, these spaces endow participants with substantial benefits—belonging, acceptance, and a shared sense of “fun”.  \nKeywords: Dungeons & Dragons, fantasy, game studies, popular culture, sociology.  \niv  \nTABLE OF CONTENTS  \nABSTRACT iii  \nTABLE OF CONTENTS iv  \nLIST OF TABLES ii  \nLIST OF CHARTS ii  \nATTESTATION OF AUTHORSHIP ii  \nACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii  \nCHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 3  \n1.0 Introduction 3  \n1.1 Background 3  \n1.2 Research Questions and Rationale 4  \n1.3 Thesis Structure 5  \n1.4 Definition of Terms 5  \nCHAPTER 2: THE SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXTS OF DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 7  \n2.0 Introduction 7  \n2. 1 Overview of Dungeons & Dragons 7  \n2.2 1960s-­‐1970s Culture: Sex, Drugs & Rock n Role-­‐Playing 8  \n2.3 The Millennium and Satanic Panic 9  \n2.4 Post-­‐2000 North America and Fantasy Media 11  \n2.5 Gaming, Digitality, the Internet and Fandom 12  \nCHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW 14  \n3.0 Introduction 14  \n3.1 Community 14  \n3.2 Social Identities: Cultural and Subcultural 18  \n3.3 Gaming Cultures 21  \n3.4 Fandom 24  \n3.5 Nostalgia 25  \n3.6 Fantasy 27  \n3.7 Conclusions 29  \nCHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 30  \n4.0 Introduction 30  \n4.1 Methodology 30  \n4.2 Research Design 31  \n4.3 Conclusion 33  \nCHAPTER 5: SURVEY DATA AND FINDINGS 34  \n5.0 Introduction 34  \n5.1 Questions 1-­‐3 34  \n5.2 Questions 4-­‐6 35  \n5.3 Questions 7-­‐13 36  \n5.4 Questions 14-­‐19 41  \n5.5 Questions 20-­‐30 45  \n5.6 Conclusion 52  \nCHAPTER 6: ENTERTAINMENT 53  \n6.0 Introduction 53  \n6.1 Experiences of “Fun” 53  \n6.2 Play 55  \n6.3 Freedom 57  \nv  \n6.4 Adverse Affects of Participation 58  \n6.5 Engrossment and Identification 60  \n6.6 Conclusion 62  \nCHAPTER 7: FANTASY 63  \n7.0 Introduction 63  \n7. 1 Transmutative and Magical Realms 63  \n7. 2 Morality and Ethics: “My Lawful Good ","cbCaim2MaiOrCOtt","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaim2MaiOrCOtt","pdf",1785077,134,"English","# CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION\n## 1.0 Introduction\n## 1.1 Background\n## 1.2 Research Questions and Rationale\n## 1.3 Thesis Structure\n## 1.4 Definition of Terms\n# CHAPTER 2: THE SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXTS OF DUNGEONS & DRAGONS\n## 2.0 Introduction\n## 2.1 Overview of Dungeons & Dragons\n## 2.2 1960s-1970s Culture: Sex, Drugs & Rock n Role-Playing\n## 2.3 The Millennium and Satanic Panic\n## 2.4 Post-2000 North America and Fantasy Media\n## 2.5 Gaming, Digitality, the Internet and Fandom\n# CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW\n## 3.0 Introduction\n## 3.1 Community\n## 3.2 Social Identities: Cultural and Subcultural\n## 3.3 Gaming Cultures\n## 3.4 Fandom\n## 3.5 Nostalgia\n## 3.6 Fantasy\n## 3.7 Conclusions\n# CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY\n## 4.0 Introduction\n## 4.1 Methodology\n## 4.2 Research Design\n## 4.3 Conclusion\n# CHAPTER 5: SURVEY DATA AND FINDINGS\n## 5.0 Introduction\n## 5.1 Questions 1-3\n## 5.2 Questions 4-6\n## 5.3 Questions 7-13\n## 5.4 Questions 14-19\n## 5.5 Questions 20-30\n## 5.6 Conclusion\n# CHAPTER 6: ENTERTAINMENT\n## 6.0 Introduction\n## 6.1 Experiences of \"Fun\"\n## 6.2 Play\n## 6.3 Freedom\n## 6.4 Adverse Affects of Participation\n## 6.5 Engrossment and Identification\n## 6.6 Conclusion\n# CHAPTER 7: FANTASY\n## 7.0 Introduction\n## 7.1 Transmutative and Magical Realms\n## 7.2 Morality and Ethics\n## 7.3 Alternative Interpretations of Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy\n## 7.5 Conclusion\n# CHAPTER 8: COMMUNITY\n## 8.0 Introduction\n## 8.1 Participant Valuation of Community\n## 8.2 Online Communities and Digital Hybridisation\n## 8.3 Community at a Personal Level\n## 8.4 Nostalgia and Community\n## 8.5 Conclusion\n# CHAPTER 9: EDITIONS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE\n## 9.0 Introduction\n## 9.1 Edition Wars\n## 9.2 Edition Preferences\n## 9.3 Nostalgia and Edition Preference\n## 9.4 Current and Future Directions for Dungeons & Dragons\n## 9.5 Conclusion\n# CHAPTER 10: CONCLUSION\n## 10.0 Introduction\n## 10.2 Limitations, Restrictions, and Avenues for Future Research\n## 10.3 Conclusions of Research and Significant Findings\n## 10.4 Final Conclusion\n# REFERENCES\n# APPENDIX I: GLOSSARY\n# APPENDIX II: RAW SURVEY DATA","[{\"question\":\"What participatory practices does the thesis examine in Dungeons \\u0026 Dragons?\",\"answer\":\"The thesis analyzes current participatory practices in D\\u0026D, including evolving hybridised gaming styles while also accounting for retained traditional tabletop play. It focuses on how play formats shape participant experiences.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the study address community and identity during gameplay?\",\"answer\":\"Research questions investigate the importance of community when playing Dungeons \\u0026 Dragons and the appeal of constructing fictitious identities within the group through notions of play. The findings emphasize ongoing community formation and identity negotiation.\"},{\"question\":\"What data and methods are used to support the conclusions?\",\"answer\":\"An Internet survey was developed to answer the research questions. Survey data is presented, analyzed, and contrasted with existing role-playing game scholarship, with findings organized around themes like entertainment, fantasy, and community.\"}]","A Living and Breathing World - Examining Participatory Practices Within Dungeons & Dragons - Thesis | PDF",338]