This article explores how players and their characters inhabit distinct but interconnected social environments in role-playing games. Drawing on Bowman’s and Banks’s theories, it highlights processes like ego-bleed, shadow play, and individuation, and argues for deeper attention to play rituals, group dynamics, and cultural contexts. The piece also recommends innovative research methodologies—action research, actor–network theory, and autoethnography—to advance the understanding of RPGs as both personal and collective practice.
What is Actor-Network Theory (ANT)?
Actor-Network Theory (ANT) explores how networks of humans and nonhumans collaboratively construct social and technical realities. Developed in Science and Technology Studies, ANT redefines agency as distributed and emergent rather than exclusively human. This perspective provides a powerful lens for analyzing complex systems like science, technology, and role-playing games, challenging anthropocentric assumptions.