1

NarrativeStructureinTransRealityRole
PlayingGames:IntegratingStory
ConstructionfromLiveAction,TableTopand
ComputerBasedRolePlayingGames
CraigA.Lindley
DepartmentofTechnology,ArtandNewMedia
GotlandUniversity,Cramergatan3
SE62157Visby,Sweden
+46(0)498299765
craig.lindley@hgo.se

MirjamEladhari
DepartmentofTechnology,ArtandNewMedia
GotlandUniversity,Cramergatan3
SE62157Visby,Sweden
+46(0)498299766
mirjam.eladhari@hgo.se
ABSTRACT
Transrealityroleplayinggamesareconceivedofasaformofroleplayinggameevolvingfrom
andintegratingestablishedtabletop,liveactionandcomputerbasedroleplayingforms.Eachof
theseestablishedformshasspecificstrengthsandmodalitiesfortheongoingarticulationofthe
historyofagameworldregardedasanunfoldingstory.Integratingtheseformsinatransreality
roleplayinggame involves the evolutionof their techniquesandtechnologies toallow eachto
functionas astagingapproach for gameplay within asinglecoherentgame world.Toachieve
thisintegration,newtechnologicallybaseddesignconceptsarerequiredtoallowplayerswithin
thedifferentstrategiestointeractwitheachotherascharacterswithinthesamegameworld.
Keywords
MMORPG,LARP, RPG,TRRPG,pervasive,crossplatform,game,transreality,design.
INTRODUCTION
Transreality games are games combining virtual gaming with game experiences staged and
played inphysical environments. The development of design principles and methodologies for
transrealitygamesrequiresmodelsofhowplayfunctionsvarywithdifferentgamestagingand
scenarios,andhowthesevariationscanbeintegratedwithingamesthatinvolvedifferentmodes
of physical, virtual and mixed reality game play. In the case of TransReality RolePlaying
games(TRRPGs),acoherent,commonandpersistentstoryworldmustemergethatintegrates
ProceedingsofDiGRA2005Conference:ChangingViews WorldsinPlay.
2005Authors&DigitalGamesResearchAssociationDiGRA.Personalandeducationalclassroom
useofthispaperisallowed,commercialuserequiresspecificpermissionfromtheauthor.

2
differentRolePlayingGame(RPG)formsincludingTableTop(TTRPG),LiveAction(LARP),
computerbased, andespecially MassivelyMultiplayer Online(MMORPG), RPGs. ATRRPG
can be based upon common game systems consisting of core rules and basic models for
characters and objects, their features and capabilities, combat, economics and trading. Virtual,
tabletop and live action RPGs involve different ways of expressing player moves that canbe
regardedasperformanceprimitivesforthearticulationoftheunfoldinggamestory.Developing
a TTRPGrequires technicalsolutions that allowtheseperformanceprimitives tobe mapped to
andfunctionwithinacommongameworld,accessibletoallplayersindependentlyoftheirlocal
gamestagingandplaymodes.Thispaperpresentsandexploressomeproposedtechnicaldesign
approaches that might provide a feasible foundation for achieving the vision of a TTRPG as a
collective story world accessed by performers using very different stages and languages of
expression.
STORYCONSTRUCTIONINROLEPLAYINGGAMES
Previous work has analysed the relationships between simulation, game play and narrative in
computergames(Lindley,2005).Theseelementsworktogetherintheunfoldingcreationofthe
historyofthegameworld,astoryworlddetailedbytheplayers.Thediegesisofastoryconsists
ofits specificobjects and events.The selection andpresentationof elementsof thestory,with
expressivevariationsofemphasis,constituteaplot.Theplotisexpressedinanactoftelling,ie.
a particularnarrative. Theavailabletext isthenarrative, whiletheother layersof meaning are
inferredfromthetextanditsrelationshipwithothertexts.
Considering narrative construction and encoding within RPGs reveals very different
relationships tothismodel. ATTRPG istypicallybasedupon apredefinedworld andscenario
that a game master and group of players use to improvise a new, primarily verbal, narrative
throughtheunfoldingplay sessionsof a TTRPGcampaign. Improvisation involves assembling
sequencesof fictiveblocks,basicfragmentsorunitsof fictional/narrativesignificancethatmay
be strung together to form a higherlevel story or narrative (Mackay, 2001). Fictive blocks
include moves and text provided by the game system together with those drawn from the
players imaginations and experiences. This process most strongly resembles the collective
creation of a verbal narrative, the simulation level being achieved partly by imagination and
partlybytheuseofmorespecificsimulationrulessuchasthoseinvolvedinsimulatingcombat
interactionsusingminiaturefiguresanddice.
AcomputerbasedMMORPG,however,providesplayerswithafiniteandfixedsetofpossible
moves, together with the media foundation for realising moves as audiovisual and simulation
events. Hence the MMORPG player generally chooses from a comparatively limited set of
predefined fictive blocks, supplemented by textual interaction with other players via chat
facilities.ThisisaseverelyconstrainedimprovisationalfreedomcomparedwiththeotherRPG
forms the computer RPG removes much of the space for individual interpretation and
imaginative elaboration found in the other forms by providing very explicit visualisations
togetherwithverylimitedoptionsforchoosingperformanceprimitives.
Collaborative story formation in LARPs is different again. While a TTRPG collaboratively
produces a kind of collective text upon which individual acts of imagination build, a LARP
consists of a kind of performative multitext there is a different story for each player, none
occupying a privileged position as the holder of an authoritative story perspective. The LARP
setting may vary in its diegetic freedom between that of a MMORPG and that of a TTRPG,

3
dependingupontheliteralnessofrepresentationofitssetting,costumes,propsandperformances.
LARP performances have the full advantage of all avenues of direct, facetoface human
communication, leading to the possibility of the highest levels of immersive and emotional
experience.
ATRRPGmustintegratethesedifferentstagingmodalitiesandtheirrespectiveperformanceand
communications affordances in a way that allows a common story world to develop. Each
modalitypresentsitsownspecificstrengths,requirementsanddeficienciesintermsofexpressive
potential. Technical solutions for TTRPGs must therefore meet basic requirements promoting
player perceptions of inhabiting a common game world together with specific requirements
arising from the tabletop, live action and computer based interaction environments used by
differentplayers.
GLOBALREQUIREMENTSFORATRANSREALITYRPG
A TRRPG must integrate thedifferentnarrative modalitiesof RPG forms tocreate a coherent
common story world, as represented on Figure 1. Ideally this involves a careful mapping
between player roles, technical mechanisms and narrative functions in ways that preserve or
enhancethestrengths ofthedifferentplaymodalitiesinvolvedand disseminate these strengths
throughouttheoverallTRRPGgame.

Figure1: Acommongameworld.

4
AcomparisonofthefeaturesofdifferentRPGformsispresentedinTable1.Thiscomparisonis
broad,includingtypical,possible,andnotalwaysnecessarycharacterisations.
Feature

MMORPG

TabletopRPG

LARP

apparatus/technology

interactive3Dworld,
characters,gameobjects,
mobs,NPCs
automationofgame
systems,rulesand
procedures

players,pens/pencils,
paper,dice
printedscenarios,maps,
rulesandsystems
tabletop,miniatures,
boards,items

sizeofgamespace
gamesessions
playsessions
visibilityof
rules/mechanics
primaryrepresentation
mediaofstory

verylarge
severalyears
severalhoursdaily
low

largetohuge
severalyears
severalhoursweekly
medium

players,pens/pencils,
paper,dice
printedscenarios,maps,
rulesandsystems
locations,sets,props,
costumes
communicationsand
audiovisualequipment
smalltolarge
severaldays
severaldays
high

imaginative,verbal.text
andfigurines

verbal,bodily
performanceandtext

verbalexpressions(inand
outofcharacter),moveor
positionminiatures,play
card,userandomiser
imaginative,move
miniatures
closegroup

Physicalactions,verbal
expressions

2Dprojectionof3D
world,animation,text,
chatandemotes
fictiveblock/performance triggeredactions/
primitives
animationsequences,chat
text,NPCtext
objectmanipulation

viaavatar

interplayerphysical
location
visualiseddiegetic
elements

norelationship

positionalaccuracy

high

all

directhandson

closetowidelyspread
group(s)
maps,charactertypesand positions/locations,body
relativelocations,mobs
language,gameobjects,
andNPCs,immediate
dress
location
lowtohigh
high

Table1: ComparisonoffeaturesofRPGforms.

A TRRPG cannotbeexpected toachieve the integrationof these formswithout fundamentally

changingsomeaspectsoftheplayexperienceanditssupportinginfrastructure,sinceintegration
requiresinterfacesuniquetoTRRPGs.Inparticular,tabletopandliveactiongamesevolvemore
towards augmented and mixed reality games (eg. Szalavri98,Bjrk 2001,Piekarski 02, Mag
2003,2004).BeforedescribingsomeTRRPGtechnicaldesignapproachestoillustratethis,itis
useful to state some proposed requirements aimed at encouraging players in different staging
situationstoperceivethemselvesasplayingacommongame.Theserequirementsare:
there should be a unified game space within which ingame actions are understood to
occurthisgamespacecanincludemorethanonegameworld
thegamespaceshouldbeequallypersistentforallplayers
thegamespaceshouldbelogicallyconsistentandcompatibleforallplayers

5
the same game characters, objects, nonplayer characters (NPCs) and mobs (monsters
etc.)shouldbepresentwithintheworldforallplayers
theeffectsofgameworldeventsuponcharactersshouldbeperceivedassuchandinthe
samewayforallplayers
somesubsetofgamesystems, rules, mechanics andproceduresshould besharedbyall
players
Thegamespacecouldconsistofmorethanoneworld(eg.asdifferentplanesofrealitywithina
fictionaldiegesis).Here,however,weconsiderthecaseofasinglegameworldthathasdifferent
butintegratedrepresentations,somevirtualandsomephysical(eg.tabletopsorLARPsettings).
Transrealityinthiscasereferstotherepresentationalmediaofthegame,ratherthanitsdiegesis
(a diegetically transreality game involves game play crossing different ingame realities see
Lindley,2005b).
TECHNOLOGIESFORTRANSREALITYRPGS
TechnologiesforthedifferentstagingcontextsofTRRPGscanincludethefollowing(manyof
whicharereviewedinkessonetal,2004).
Forcomputerbasedplay:
conventionalcomputers,gameconsolesandperipherals
stereoscopicvisualizationandvirtualrealitysystems
Fortabletopplay:
technologies for detecting the positions, identities and orientations of tabletop
miniatures,suchasradiofrequencyidreaders,infrareddetectors,touchscreensorCCD
cameraswithassociatedvisionprocessing
technologies for determining the use and values of randomizers such as dice these
includemanyofthemechanismsusedfordeterminingthestatesofminiatures
visualdisplayssuchasfrontorrearprojectionforgamestateinformation(eg.character
statistics),environments(dungeonpassages,townstreets),etc.
audiooutputdevices,suchasstereoorsurroundsoundsystems
audioinputdevices(microphones)
augmentedrealitydevices,suchasheadsetswithpositioninginformation
roboticandanimatronicdevices
ForLARPderivedgameplay:

6
technologies for detecting the positions, identities and orientations of players, sets and
gameobjectsthesecouldbethesameasfortabletopgames,butalsoincludewiderarea
technologiessuchasBlueTooth,wirelessandGPSsystems
visualdisplaysandaudioinputandoutputdevices,asfortabletopgames
roboticandanimatronicdevices,possiblyonalargescale
GAMEDESIGNFORTRANSREALITYRPGS
Specific design solutions for a TTRPG can be regarded in terms of both shorter term design
concepts and longer term concepts requiring or depending upon what may in many cases be
considerableongoingresearchbutneverthelessrepresentinganottoodistantfutureofhowthese
kinds of games might be created. Plausible designs might be based upon the following basic
elements:
acentralserver,databaseandgamestateenginerepresentingtheoverallstateofthegame
world together with the rules andprocedures of the game implementing game systems.
Game systems may include systems for combat, trading and magic. The game world
shouldbedescribedgeographicallyanditsdescriptionshouldincludegameobjectssuch
ascharacters,NPCs,mobs,artifactsandspecialitems.
a player controls their own character within a tabletop, virtual or liveaction play
session.
a player in one staging context should be able to experience and interact (via their
character) with representations of the characters of other players in different staging
contexts
For playersusing conventional computersystems, the relationshipbetween their client and the
server is quite standard for current MMORPGs. The major differences would be the presence
withinthegame worldof player charactergroupshavingdifferenttimeschedules from typical
MMORPG players, representing the tabletop and liveaction players. Interactions with these
playersmayalsoinvolvespecificconstraintsasdiscussedbelow.
TTRPGs offer the possibility of using physical game pieces such as dice, miniature figurines,
boardsandotherequipmentastangibleinterfaceswithaTRRPG.Designapproachesinclude:
each character may be represented as a miniature figurine incorporating a method for
automaticallydeterminingitsposition,itsorientationanditsidentityuponagameboard.
Themethodcouldbeabarcodeoraninfraredtransmitterinthebaseofthefigure.This
allowsthecentralgamesystemtotracktherelativepositionofeachcharacterinrelation
toothercharactersandtheingamelocationandorientationtheyarein.However,despite
theuseoftangiblecharacterrepresentations,TTRPGstendtousegametimestepshaving
astandardingametimedurationbutvariableplayduration.Representingpositionsinthe
other staging contexts will therefore require predictive extrapolations subject to
correction.

7
thegamemaybeplayedonagameboardhavingsuitableinterfacesforthefigurines(eg.
a builtinbarcodeor IRscanner). Thiscanbesimplifiedbyusingaboard with a fixed
numberofdiscretepositionsforfigurines,ratherthanacontinuoususablesurface.
useofadisplaydeviceforshowingthelocationsoffigurineswithinthegameworldby
projectingmapsoriconsontothegameboard,aswellasdisplayingcharacterandother
game object state information. Mobile devicescan be used for displaying more private
characterstatedata.
use of audio input devices with associated processing to capture and disseminate the
playersincharacterspeechactsandoutofcharacterdescriptions.Thiscouldbedoneby
having players key a microphone at appropriate times. However, there are many and
oftenlongtermdesignchallengesinvolvedinthis.Asimpledesignmightsimplyrecord
these expressions and, for example, play them in association with visualizations of
characters in virtual or live play contexts. Speech to text processing could be used to
enabledisplay oftheseexpressionsas text. A longer term and moreinterestingsolution
wouldbetogenerateanimationsprocedurallybaseduponcomputationalinterpretationof
themeaningsofmovementdescriptions.
Adesignquestionhereis:howtorepresentthecharactersofotherplayers,NPCsandmobsthat
arenotcontrolledwithinalocalTTRPG.Somepossiblesolutionsare:
represent them graphically and project them onto the game board. This is simple but
createsarepresentationalmismatchwiththeuseoffigurines
a player or game master moves generic figures by hand to positions indicted by
projection,withthegameboardsensingwhenvalidatemovesarecompleted.Thiscould
include using game pieces having a builtin visual display, such as an LCD screen, to
displaygame agentgraphics(eg.apictureofacharacter),whichcouldalsobeanimated
(seeFigure2).
use a form of automatic movement, eg. electromagnetic movement, pickandplace
roboticsorevencompletesmallscalerobots.Inthiscasethetimingofdifferentpacesof
the motion of game characters among local and remote players would have to be
addressed.

Figure2: AtabletopgameincludesarepresentationofaLARPplayer.

SimilarissuesareinvolvedforintegratingLARPgameplay.AsimplewayofintegratingLARP
playistopreventinterminglingofLARPandotherplayercharactersanddefineclearinterfaces
betweenthetwo.Forexample,theLARPplayerscouldbeinaroomcorrespondingtoaroomin
thecentralgameworld.FortheLARPers,theviewsfromwindowsarecreatedascameraviews
within the virtual world backscreen projected onto simulated windows in the LARP setting.
Thenfortheotherplayers,theLARPisvideorecordedasviewsinsidethewindows,mappedas
texturesinthevirtualworld(seeFigure3)andalsodisplayed(perhapsontoaverticalscreen)on
thetabletopfortheTTRPGplayers.

Figure3: IntegrationofvirtualworldplayandLARPplay.

ForinterminglingLARPandotherplayerswithinthegameworld,thepositionsandorientations
oftheLARPcharactersneedtobeaccuratelytrackedandmappedontocentralizedgameworld
models of those characters for representation in the other staging contexts, using the same

9
methods as used for computercontrolled characters. In principle this can be accomplished by
highaccuracyopticalmotioncapture.CheaperbutlessaccuratemethodsmayuseIRemittersor
tagson costumesor gameobjects. An alternative would be tousehumanplayers as NPCs for
nonLARPplayerswithinaLARP,eg.usingmovementandspeechinstructionstransmittedvia
mobiledevices).Inthelongerterm,robotsandanimatronicsmightfunctionintheseroles.
CONCLUSION
ThispaperhasconsideredanumberoftechnicalapproachesforthedevelopmentofTRRPGs.A
great deal of ongoing work is needed to test and refine these concepts and to tune game play
withinsuchasystem.Theoverallconceptneverthelessappearstobefeasible,allowingforvery
differentmodalitiesbywhichplayersmaycollaborativelyconstructrichgamestoryworlds.
REFERENCES
kessonK.P.,HanssonP.,SthlO.,AppeltW.,HenneP.,LindtI.,OhlenburgJ.,FlinthamM.,GenderL.,Elofsson
R.andSuomelaR.GuidelinesofInfrastructureandToolstechnologystandards.EUIntegratedProjectonPervasive
Gaming(IPerG),Deliverable6.1and7.1,2004.
Bjrk, S., Falk, J., Hansson, R., & Ljungstrand, P. Pirates! Using the Physical World as a Game Board. In:
Proceedings, Interact 2001, IFIP TC.13 Conference on HumanComputer Interaction, July 913, Tokyo, Japan,
2001.
LindleyC.A.2005TheSemioticsofTimeStructure in Ludic Space AsaFoundation forAnalysisand Design,
GameStudies,Vol.5,Issue1,[onlinejournal],April2005. http://www.gamestudies.org.
Lindley C. A. 2005b Game Space Design Foundations for TransReality Games, Keynote Paper, Advances in
ComputerEntertainment(ACE):SpecialTrackonGameDevelopment,Barcelona,Spain,June1518.
MackayD.2001TheFantasyRolePlayingGame:ANewPerformingArt,McFarland&Company,Inc.,Publishers.
MagerkuthC.,EngelkeT.andMemisogluM.AugmentingtheVirtualDomainwithPhysicalandSocialElements.
In: International Conference on Advancements in Computer Entertainment Technology (ACM ACE
2004),Singapore,ACMPress,June35,2004.pp.163172.
Magerkuth C., Stenzel R. and Prante Th. STARS A Ubiquitous Computing Platform for Computer Augmented
TabletopGames. In:Peter Ljungstrand, Jason Brotherton (Ed.): Video Trackand AdjunctProceedingsof theFifth
International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (UBICOMP03),Seattle, Washington, USA, October 1215,
2003.
PiekarskiW.andThomasB.,ARQuake:TheOutdoorAugmentedRealityGamingSystem,Communicationsofthe
ACM,2002Vol45.No1,pp3638
Szalavri Z., Erik EcksteinE. and Gervautz M. Collaborative Gaming in AugmentedReality. In: Proceedings of
VRST'98,pp.195204,Taipei,Taiwan,November25,1998.