Usually I publish the article's text here as a blog entry, and then attach to it a (slightly) nicer PDF as reference.

Not this time. Because this "article" is the whole of my bachelor thesis. A whopping 30 pages of me ranting about the history, evolution and state of the RPG culture... and unlike 99% of other texts out there it's not focused on the market/industry perspective, but tries to stick to the lens of community, play practice and game design.

I'll offer here a minimal outline, to give you an idea of the contents...

Why Grognardpunk?

How modern game design can reimagine the Old School RPG play experience for the digital age

• 01 - Introduction
  • An RPG by any other name
  • Non-playful roleplay
  • Video Games
  • Board Games
  • Sharing is Playing
• 02 - Historical Frame
  • The Old School
  • The Traditional Mainstream
  • The Old School Renaissance
  • The Indie Revolution
• 03 - Digital Media
• 04 - Grognardpunk
  • Lost & Astray
  • L&A as a “video roleplaying game”
• Reference List
• Appendix

The Introduction offers my personal take on "what is a tabletop roleplaying game?" focusing on a functional definition of the concrete RPG play experience. I then try to confute it against other media that are commonly named as "RPGs".

The Historical Frame offers a very brief look at the history, evolution and current state of the RPG scene. From its pre-70s ancestry, to the hobby's blooming in the 70s, to how it gradually changed into the contemporary Traditional mainstream, to the post-2000 phenomena of the OSR culture (and its many phases and souls) and the modern design ideas brought about by the "Indies".

 The Digital Media chapter is there mostly to make the case, to my professors, that yes... this paper CAN indeed be valid within the context of a Major in Digital Media 😝
It's short, don't worry, and it might still hold a few interesting ideas.

The Grognardpunk part finally brings the whole thing together by pointing a finger at what I consider an interesting and under-explored design space. In this context, Lost & Astray is an initial personal stab at the thing, a proof of concept, if you will.

That's it. I hope you'll find the reading enjoyable and though-provoking, even if in disagreement 😘