Pen, paper, dice…screen? Digital resistance in the Swedish tabletop role-playing game community

Abstract

This article explores the digitization of Swedish pen-and-paper role-playing games through the inflamed online discussions in the role-playing community that followed in its wake; discussions that in some cases resist the very idea of Digital in an age where Digital has become synonymous with ubiquitous progress and efficiency. The case in question focuses on Riotminds, a Swedish RPG publishing company that in 2010, in one broad stroke, transformed and converged all their analogue printed products into a single, online subscription service. Drawing on a general theoretical framework of materiality and (cultural) practice, the purpose of this article is to investigate the effects of digitization by asking: What does this particular instance of technological transformation and expressions of resistance reveal about materiality and the ongoing tensions between what constitutes meaningful digital and analogue immersive experiences? The results contribute to a critical, materialist perspective on digitization that encompasses both Digital’s virtues and challenges in terms of the digital transformation of physical practices and physical space. In other words, forwarding an understanding of digitalization as an intricate aesthetic shift, where identified analog sensibilities are converted into digital sensibilities, and its consequences for creating meaningful gaming experiences on behalf of the user (or player).