International Journal of Role-playing Issue 19 -- Table of Contents

Abstract

International Journal of Role-playing Issue 19

Table of Contents:
"Editorial: TPI Seminar 2025: Games, Conflict, and Education"
Kjell Hedgard Hugaas, Sarah Lynne Bowman, and Josefin Westborg

-- This issue of the International Journal of Role-playing is based on the proceedings of the Transformative Play Initiative (TPI) ROCKET seminar on “Games, Conflict, and Education” in Visby, Sweden, June 12thand 13th 2025.

"Asteria and Neurodiversity in Role-Playing Games: Inclusion or Tokenism? Examining Community Conflicts Over Autism Representation"
Kevin Rebecchi

-- This article examines how represenations of autism in games can polarize gaming communities. It explores inclusion of neurodiverse characters can foster meaningful representation or constitute tokenism and virtuesignaling.

"Masculinity at the Table: Untangling the Male Preserve in Indie and Mainstream Gaming"
Irene Hilman, Alula Hirst, Wescott (Scooter) Flanagan, and Diana J. Leonard

-- This article looks at how the differences in values and practices between mainstream RPGs and indie games allow indie games to serve as a space away from the male preserve, and can provide players with a stronger sense of real-world agency.

From Digital to Analog: Disco Elysium’s Conflict Transformation Mechanisms for Educational Larps
Minyue Wu

-- This article looks at the narrative and mechanical elementsof the role-playing video game Disco Elysium (ZA/UM 2019). It looks at the “character sheet” and internal monologue as tools for self-reflection, and it discusses the character arc of the NPC Cuno in particular.

"Transformative Play for Building Resilience to Misinformation"
Lars Konzack and Chris Coward

-- This article explores how transformative play can be used to build resilience against misinformation. Through the educational escape room – The Euphorigen Investigation – it shows how this type of gameplay can foster critical reflection, emotional engagement, and epistemic growth.

"Press Start for Heritage: Representing University Sports Rivalries in EA Sports College Football 25"
Guus van Tilborg and Peter Groote

-- Focussing on the video game EA Sports College Football 25, this article illustrates how universities can be compelling places for worldbuilding in games, by arguing that university heritage is both inherently conflictual and deployable as a tool for conflict.

"Aesthetic Conflict in the Musical Role-Playing Game Runic Soundscapes"
Tom Blancarte

-- This article examines the concept of aesthetic conflict, both in relation to role-playing and improvised music. It focusses on
the musical role-playing game piece Runic Soundscapes and how aestethic conflict can be a valuable lens for role-playing game
designers.

"Bleed as Intrapersonal Conflict: Understanding Bleed Management and Resilience as Parts of a Homeostasis Recovery Process"
Kjell Hedgard Hugaas

-- This article explores how the instability and imbalance that are associated with bleed experiences can be explained with the theory of physiological and psychological homeostasis.

"Let’s Do It Together!: Why Participatory Design and Co-Creation Are Promising Approaches for Designing an EduLarp"
Olivia Fischer

-- This article looks at benefits of participatory design approaches when designing edu-larps, including the quality of the edu-larp, the empowerment of students and working towards societal transformation.

"Larp with Erasmus: A Quantitative Study of Live Action Roleplay Projects Funded by EUs Erasmus+ Program Between 2014-2022"
Karin Johansson and Mafalda Morganti

-- This article presents and analyzes a database of 111 larp related projects that have received funding from Erasmus+ between 2014-2022. It showcases how the EU gives substantial funding to larp related projects.