Antropologicheskij forum, 2016, no. 30

A Review of ASHLEY M. L. BROWN, SEXUALITY IN ROLE-PLAYING GAMES. New York; London: Routledge, 2015, 148 pp.

Olga Vorobyova

European University at St Petersburg
3 Gagarinskaya Str., St Petersburg, Russia
ovorobyeva()eu.spb.ru

Abstract: Ashley Brown’s monograph Sexuality in Role-playing Games is dedicated to the analysis of erotic and sexual behaviour of players and their characters in video and tabletop role-playing games. The author focuses on players’ motivation to construct erotic contexts for their characters during the play, on regulation of in-game sexual behaviour with external (made by game designers) and internal (made by the players themselves) rules, and on the influence of characters’ sexual behaviour on their players’ off-game daily sexuality. The conclusion of the research claims that characters’ sexual interaction is used as an integral part of more general plots to enrich the role-playing storyline and the relationships between the characters, rather than to provide off-game sexual satisfaction for the players. Besides the analysis of the book, this review observes the new field of game studies and the application of the results of video and tabletop role-playing to live-action role-playing games.

Keywords: sexuality, game studies, RPG, video role-playing games, tabletop role-playing games.

To cite: Vorobyova O., 'A Review of Ashley M. L. Brown, Sexuality in Role-Playing Games. New York; London: Routledge, 2015, 148 pp.', Antropologicheskij forum, 2016, no. 30, pp. 270–282.

URL: http://anthropologie.kunstkamera.ru/files/pdf/030/vorobyova.pdf