Tabletop Roleplaying Games as Procedural Content Generators

TL;DR

This paper explores how tabletop roleplaying games can be understood as procedural content generators, linking concepts from PCG research to TTRPG design to foster new interdisciplinary insights.

Contribution

It introduces a novel perspective by framing TTRPG design as a form of procedural content generation, supported by case studies connecting key PCG concepts to TTRPG design.

Findings

Linking PCG concepts to TTRPG design offers new analytical tools.

Case studies demonstrate the applicability of PCG frameworks to TTRPGs.

Suggests future research directions uniting TTRPG and PCG communities.

Abstract

Tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) and procedural content generators can both be understood as systems of rules for producing content. In this paper, we argue that TTRPG design can usefully be viewed as procedural content generator design. We present several case studies linking key concepts from PCG research -- including possibility spaces, expressive range analysis, and generative pipelines -- to key concepts in TTRPG design. We then discuss the implications of these relationships and suggest directions for future work uniting research in TTRPGs and PCG.