dimanche 2 octobre 2011

Séminaire sur le jeu de rôle



L'Université d'Etat de Portland (PSU) a autorisé pour cette année un cours d'analyse critique du Jeu de rôle comme littérature. Il y a déjà eu plusieurs thèses sur les jeux de rôle mais il me semble que c'est toujours du point de vue sociologique (et donc externe) et non pas d'analyse interne des théories des "rôludistes" eux-mêmes. Il s'agit ici d'un cours organisé par un étudiant thésard en littérature comparée. Il est même venu sur RPG.net défendre un peu son Syllabus :

Week One - Introduction
TU Sept. 27th – Introduction to course
Discussion: Syllabus, outline of course, assignments, introductions.
TH Sept. 29th – Central questions
Readings: 'Games, Storytelling and Breaking the String' – Costikyan, skim 'I Have No Words and I Must Design' – Costikyan
Discussion: Game/story/literature, central issues and questions, your experience with RPGs.

Week Two – Historical & Theoretical Background
TU Oct. 4th – Historical background
Readings: 'A Hard Look at D&D' – Edwards, 'From the Basement to the Basic Set' – Mona, 'Original D&D' – Gygax
Discussion: How RPGs have changed, history of RPGs.
TH Oct. 6th – What is a game?
Readings: Homo Ludens CH 1 – Huizinga
Discussion: Nature of games/play, principle of Actual Play, ontology of RPGs.

WEEKEND PLAY SESSION ONE

Week Three – The Field of RPG Studies
TU Oct. 11th – RPG Studies
Readings: 'The Hidden Art: Slouching towards a Critical Framework for RPGs' – Laws, 'Making Games that Make Stories' - Wallis
Discussion: Play Report #1, RPGs in academia, games and stories, etc.
TH Oct. 13th – Library visit: Room 160, 5pm

Week Four – Role, Identity and Experience
TU Oct. 18th – Role, Self and Character, Frame Theory
Readings: 'The Role-Playing Game and the Game of Role-Playing' – Waskul, 'Incorporative Discourse Strategies in Tabletop Fantasy Role-Playing Gaming' – Hendricks
Discussion: Player/person/persona, Frame Theory, discourse in gaming, etc.
TH Oct. 20th – Identity and Desire
Readings: 'Playing with Identity: Unconscious Desire and Role-Playing Games' – Nephew, 'On John Tyne's Puppetland' – Thorne (Take a look at 'Puppetland' under GAMES in D2L)
Discussion: Desire and identity, competition, Puppetland, brainstorm final project ideas.

WEEKEND PLAY SESSION TWO

Week Five – RPG Theory & Criticism
TU Oct. 25th – The Forge
Readings: 'GNS Theory and Other Matters', 'System Does Matter' – Edwards, 'Dogs in the Vineyard' – Baker (under GAMES in D2L)
Discussion: Play Report #2, GNS theory, DITV, system vs. story, etc.
TH Oct. 27th – The Big Model
Readings: 'Simulationism' – Edwards, Theory From the Closet podcast interview (audio)
Discussion: Exploration, creative agenda, social contract, authority, etc.

Week Six – RPG Theory & Criticism
TU Nov. 1st – More Forge Theory
Readings: 'Gamism' and 'Narrativism' - Edwards
Discussion: Games designed through theory, game design activity, etc.
TH Nov. 3rd – (Guest Speaker?)
Readings: Forthcoming
Discussion: Forthcoming

WEEKEND PLAY SESSION THREE

Week Seven – Structuralist Analysis and Campbell
TU Nov. 8th – Structuralism, Campbell
Readings: Morphology of the Folktale – Propp, 'Structuralist Criticism' – Tyson.
Discussion: Play Report #3, understanding structuralism, structuralism and games, Campbell.
TH Nov. 10th – Campbell
Readings: Hero with a Thousand Faces – Joseph Campbell
Discussion: The heroic journey, structuralism and games

Week Eight – Aristotelian Analysis And Theater-as-game
TU Nov. 15th – Aristotelian analysis
Readings: Poetics – Aristotle, 'A Preliminary Poetics' - Mateas
Discussion: Purposeful misreading, catharsis, dramatic irony, Aristotelian game theory, etc.
TH Nov. 17th – Theater-as-game
Readings: 'Finding the Game in Improvised Theater' – Uren, 'Bestial Acts' – Costikyan
Discussion: Game-as-theatre, theatre-as-game, Aristotle, improvisation in RPGs, etc.

WEEKEND PLAY SESSION FOUR

Week Nine – Narrative Elements in Other Games
TU Nov. 22nd – Card games, Board games.
Readings: Selection from The Castle of Crossed Destinies – Calvino, 'Social Events and Roles in Magic' – Weninger, 'Consumption and Authenticity' – Williams.
Discussion: Play report #4, narrative elements in card games, boardgames, etc.

Le corpus vient souvent des discussions théoriques du défunt site indie de TheForge mais il est assez original d'avoir pensé à inclure des séances de jeu en dehors des cours, en plus de l'examen des articles.

Je ne comprends pas bien pourquoi les Américains veulent confondre l'universalisme jungien de Campbell avec le structuralisme.

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