QTRPG Research
I grew up learning to work with textiles, but I cam to associate the medium with gender and the assumption of meaning associated with prescribed gender roles. I developed a personal connection with the material that I then avoided for years by focusing on painting, installation, and photography.
When I returned to my textile practice, I had a weekly TTRPG group that was mostly made of women who had majored in textiles in university. With this new context, I felt like I could return to my textile work and find new meaning in it. My quilt started as something that allowed me to untangle my relationship with the material, to reconnect with it as something that can be made for care and comfort when resources are limited. It felt easy because I didn't know I was doing any of this at the time, it just felt like a good idea. I thought playtesting the quilt would be easy, but have found that the work carries more emotional weight for me than I expected. I think there has been a mismatch between the way games are commonly perceived, and what they mean to me.
For me, all games are inherently social. They can be played alone, but even a solo video game is something that has been created through a lot of someone's hard work. They are a way of connecting with someone who may not be there, and this can be incredibly important for someone who might not have other ways of connecting with others. But TTRPGs are explicitly social. They require the effort of not just a game designer, but of a facilitator (/GM) and players.
Several of the women in my ttrpg group played D&D several nights a week, so the rules came quickly and easily to them. I was overwhelmed by school and work, often missed our weekly sessions. The group was still deeply meaningful to me, but at times I felt lost and like my confusion got in the way of gameplay.
Now that I am out of practice playing, I am worried about my skills as a facilitator. I have decided to let this guide me by guiding the research I am doing for the systems I playtest. I am sorting through a variety of mostly ultralight systems (rulesets of only several pages), and systems that are less reliant on knowledge of the fantasy genre. I want to find games that are inherently accessible for new players, but that might still be interesting as a oneshot for more veteran players.
I will write more about the systems I am looking at in future posts, because what I am looking for right now is more insight into others experiences with TTRPGs. I want to understand the barriers to entry to the hobby, but also what has drawn people to the hobby. There are lots of people who successfully braved entering a hobby in which players are sometimes expected to be familiar with multiple books worth of mechanics, and I want to understand that passion as well.
If you are interested in talking to me about your experiences, please submit through this form