Another Kind of Future/Past: Decolonial and Asiafuturist Imagination in the Philippines from the 19th Century to the Contemporary Tabletop Role-Playing Games of #rpgsea

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33063/ijrp.vi18.1188

Keywords:

Philippines, Filipino games, cultural history, decolonialism, Asiafuturism, #rpgsea

Abstract

This article explores recent tabletop role-playing games from the Philippines (The Islands of Sina Una, Gubat Banwa, Karanduun, BALIKBAYAAN, and ON THE BONES OF BATALA) in the context of historical writings from the 19th century by Pedro Paterno and Isabelo de los Reyes. I argue that these 21st century Filipino games are important contributions to an alternative cultural history of role-playing and are embedded in a larger tradition of speculative writing that engages with colonial violence and proposed alternative decolonial and anticolonial visions of the future-past.

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Published

2026-04-04

How to Cite

Hermann, A. (2026). Another Kind of Future/Past: Decolonial and Asiafuturist Imagination in the Philippines from the 19th Century to the Contemporary Tabletop Role-Playing Games of #rpgsea. International Journal of Role-Playing, (18), 7–21. https://doi.org/10.33063/ijrp.vi18.1188