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Playing With Narrative: Canon and Collective Memory in Tabletop Roleplaying Games
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2025-08
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Media & Communication
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https://doi.org/10.34944/a4pk-tz69
Abstract
This dissertation examines the intersection of canon, fandom, and collective memory within the participatory context of tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs), focusing specifically on player experiences in Star Wars-themed campaigns. By integrating interdisciplinary frameworks in fan studies, memory studies, and analog game studies, I investigated how players simultaneously engage with established narratives and co-create their own through collaborative play. Through qualitative, ethnographically informed methods—including interviews with 25 players and game masters and participant observation of a Star Wars TTRPG campaign session—I explored how players navigate the tensions between narrative fidelity, creative agency, and community-building.I argue that TTRPGs function as sites of collective memory work where canonical lore is not merely referenced but actively negotiated, (re)interpreted, and transformed by players. Canon, in this context, serves as both a cultural anchor and a flexible narrative scaffold. Players navigate a spectrum of approaches to canon, from reverence for established lore to prioritizing creative freedom, often engaging with canon selectively or subversively. Across these engagements, players co-construct communal narratives that foster social cohesion and deepen group identity.
By situating these practices within the broader Star Wars fandom, particularly in light of Disney’s contested redefinition of canon, my study reveals how players balance corporate authorship with personal investment and community consensus. It also highlights the unique position of TTRPGs as a transformative fan practice akin to improvisational fanfiction, blending game mechanics with deeply affective narrative participation. Ultimately, my research contributes to scholarly conversations on participatory culture by demonstrating that narrative play in TTRPGs is not only a site of creative expression but also a powerful mechanism for sustaining and reshaping collective memory. It offers insights into how fan communities negotiate identity and meaning through collaborative storytelling within transmedia storyworlds.
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